Flexitime, an employee magnet

Flexible working used to be a benefit of salespeople and a few senior managers whose travelling stints were particularly long. However, new technologies and the need to increase productivity have radically changed this landscape. Flexible working has come to be regarded everywhere as an essential, particularly by tech-savvy generations Y and Z who see it as normal to always be connected via smartphones, tablets and instant messaging services. The tide has changed so far, that latest research by Regus recently discovered that flexible working is a major differentiator when choosing between new jobs and a key factor in developing employee loyalty and retention.

Recruitment has long been a major challenge for businesses around the world and – even with high rates of unemployment in industrialised economies, in particular – it remains an expensive and difficult issue. Accordingly, it is not surprising that 24 per cent of global businesses interviewed for the latest Regus Business Confidence Index indicated they were keen to reduce the cost of the process.

In addition to this, executives have increasingly been concentrating on keeping existing workers as a key means of avoiding recruitment and training costs. More than a third of businesses contributing to the Regus survey said this would be a priority for the coming 12 months.

As a result, businesses around the world are starting to acknowledge that flexible working may provide an answer to the vexing issue of recruitment and retention. Recruitment agency fees, training of new employees and other loyalty enhancing perks represent an expense, while flexible working actually provides cost-savings for businesses that take it up as it reduces unused desk space.

Seventy-five per cent of senior managers and business owners in India confirm their belief that flexible working can enhance retention. Businesses in emerging economies, where workforces are typically younger and technological, are particularly likely to acknowledge the importance of flexible working in retention strategies.

Flexible working is also believed to make employees more loyal to their employers, a view backed by 72 per cent of those responding to the survey. This is because it enables them to achieve a better work: life balance and with the result that they are more reluctant to leave.

However, the survey also shows that flexible working is not just a retention tool as it can also aid recruitment with 73 per cen tof the senior workers reporting that having such a policy could help attract top talent. Moreover, 73 per cent of respondents said they would pick a job offering flexibility over a similar one that did not, while more than 56 per cent would actually turn down a job that ruled it out. Indeed, 62 per cent of those interviewed said they would have stayed longer in one of their previous positions if it had offered flexibility.

Moreover, while it is often felt that smaller businesses are more likely than larger organisations to embrace flexible working because they are less formal and more agile, the research suggests the opposite is true (although the difference is admittedly marginal). This may be because their recruitment costs are higher and so the benefits are greater, but it is also likely to be connected with the fact that they have the specialists and systems and departments in place to measure and manage a flexible scheme.

Flexible working is therefore increasingly seen as a vital factor in retaining key employees and attracting future top staff. Businesses, especially those with a younger workforce, should be careful to acknowledge their demands for flexible working as this is no longer seen as a nice-to-have, but as an essential business benefit and may often be the make-or-break of attracting top talent.

The author is the Chief Operating Officer, India, Regus