Do employers ‘get’ flexible working?

Just 6% of quality job adverts in the UK mention flexible working: so why aren’t more employers adopting this valuable employee (and we’d argue, employer!) benefit?

It’s possible employers are still confused around what flexibility actually means. It certainly doesn’t mean that your employee will disappear into the sunset and start to slow down their output. It doesn’t mean they care less, and it certainly doesn’t mean they won’t be ‘as good’ as full-time members of staff.

According to Acas, flexible working can describe a place of work, for example homeworking, or a type of contract, such as a temporary contract. But it can also describe part-time working, flexi-time, job sharing and shift work.

Reduce absenteeism: throw out presenteeism

Flexible workers are people who don’t work a five-day week in usual office hours. In the case of a homeworking example, your employee – let’s call her Julie – might still do five-days, but one might be worked at home to help them avoid a hellish commute one day a week.

In that case, Julie will be more motivated, happy and even healthier for having greater rest by saving time that would otherwise be spent on a cramped train.

By offering flexible working in this type of situation, you as an employer are potentially cutting down on absenteeism and providing employees like Julie with the motivation they require to excel at their role. It’s a cliché, but a happy worker is a productive, and often more loyal, worker.

A better balance for everyone

We view flexible work as the kind of work that helps employers to get the most from their employees, whilst the latter gains a greater work-life balance.

As an employer, there are lots of options open to you to find your ideal flexible workers. If you’re growing, for example, you might need the expertise of a highly qualified finance or HR person to help you, but you might only have the budget for a part-time person.

We can help you identify how your money will be best spent and then recruit for that individual. It’s why we like to meet you and talk through your options in detail before we recommend how you tackle your approach to flexible recruitment.

Get in touch today to explore flexible recruitment in more detail. Many of our clients are repeat customers, so once you’ve discovered the benefits of recruiting flexibly for yourself, you might find it’s the ideal option for your business.

You’ll then be leading the pack as a forward-thinking employer who understands the huge benefits of flexible workers and how they really are going to drive the UK’s economy forward by 2020. We look forward to hearing from you.