Be Ready to be Flexible to Get Top Talent

Joe Weinlick
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Employee flexibility is more than just a buzz word flying around the labor market. Giving workers more flexibility is a way to attract and keep top talent. Keep this in mind as you recruit new employees to your candidate pool. Having flexibility as a benefit can make or break your hiring.

Statistics

A 2017 survey from ManpowerGroup Solutions took into account 14,000 professionals in 19 countries, including the United States. The survey illustrates why employee flexibility is so vital to your company. Nearly 40 percent of job candidates say that schedule flexibility is among the top three factors when making decisions about their careers. One-quarter, or 26 percent, of employees said they want flexible start and end times to the work day. Another 22 percent said they want telecommute or work-from-home options as part of an overall work package. A full 8 percent of employees value unlimited vacation time or paid time off.

What Does Employee Flexibility Mean?

Employee flexibility is more than just a scheduling thing. Workers want more parental leave, compressed shifts throughout the work week, sabbaticals for extended time off, caregiving leave and a choice when it comes to work shifts. While it may be impossible for your company to offer every type of flexible arrangement, you should start by giving new workers a few options when it comes to scheduling and how employees spend their time at work.

How to Manage Flexibility

Worker flexibility doesn't mean your workers have the final say in how they manage their schedules. There must be clear policies in place to avoid confusion and to achieve fairness for management and workers. Make sure employee flexibility leads to better productivity by running metrics on your staff's output by using project management software. Once you implement technology to track someone's time, set goals and deadlines for a project. Once employees meet those goals, keeping tabs on everyone becomes less of a problem.

De-stigmatize flexibility by making it a part of your company culture. If you need to make changes towards this new paradigm, you don't need to take huge steps all at once. Start by gradual implementing one or two flexible options and see what works and what doesn't. By making small changes first, you can change things as you receive more feedback and information from your employees.

As top talent recognizes your company has scheduling options, they understand you put employees first. Flexibility isn't going away any time soon as more millennials enter into the workplace and baby boomers retire. With technology in place, there is little excuse for implementing some kind of flexible scheduling at your firm.

Employee flexibility is a win-win scenario because workers with options to create an ideal work-life balance are more productive and get more work done on time and under deadline. Consider how much money your firm saves by bringing in better talent that works harder because you put people first.


Photo courtesy of BrandonSigma at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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