Without a doubt, flexible working has grown at a rapid pace in recent years – largely powered by the significant developments in technology, allowing for our teams to work collaboratively, regardless of location.
With 9 to 5 working being almost a thing of the past, the new flexible working setup has helped many businesses, including my own clients, to attract more talent from further afield. In fact, surveys have shown that candidates are favouring positions offering working flexibility, over those with higher salaries – showing just how influential this ‘new’ way of working really is.
I have of course come across debates and discussions around whether flexible working is affecting employee productivity and engagement levels, however statistics have indicated an improvement rather than a decline.
For example, a survey carried out by Vodafone on 8000 global employers showed that an impressive 75% of these businesses had already set in place flexible working policies for their workers. Out of those businesses, 83% confirmed that productivity had significantly improved – with greater employee satisfaction thought to be the influencer. 61% of the businesses involved also said that profits had increased since implementing flexible working patterns.
Of course, for a business to adopt flexible working and to make it a complete success, investments need to be made in adequate technology that facilitates this type of unified communications across the organisation. While the initial investment may be costly, the long-term implications, from both a productivity perspective but also in terms of talent acquisition, could be transformational.
But what is it about flexible working that’s so appealing to prospects? Many have said that eliminating the time, hassle and cost of the daily commute has been one of the biggest benefits – giving them more quality down time to spend with family or to pursue hobbies, including exercise. Not only is a better work-life balance appealing to employees, but employers themselves can help to reduce energy consumption, emissions and waste, all through this new and highly beneficial way of working.
I have been working in recruitment for 17 years at various levels; during this time I have worked for large global recruitment firms as well as niche, high-end operations. The core of my experience…
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