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Jul 16, 2021
As an SEO company in West Palm Beach working with several businesses across multiple industries, we totally get it if you feel hesitant to offer flexible work schedules to your employees.
Many other business owners have the same sentiments as you: Employees are the only ones who can benefit from this arrangement.
But, is this really the case?
According to a survey conducted by Statista, business owners can save up to $11,000 a year for each employee that works remotely. These savings come from eliminating overhead costs like utilities and rent.
The survey also showed that 76% of workers are more than willing to stay with their current employer if they could offer flexible working hours.
So, while it’s true that employees benefit from flexible work, these statistics show that offering a flexible work schedule can benefit you and your company too!
You might feel that keeping track of your employees’ different work schedules and monitoring their output are too much work for very little return, but the benefits of flexible work for companies go well beyond saving money and happier employees.
Workplace flexibility is a strategy or approach on how to adapt and respond to changing circumstances and expectations, specifically with when, where, or how a task gets done.
A flexible schedule is an alternative to the traditional 9-5 workplace model wherein the employer dictates when and where employees do their work.
This model also focuses more on meeting the needs of both employee and employer by allowing the workers to decide when, where, and how they work in exchange for better quality output, productivity, and employee retention, which benefits the employer.
Different Types of Flexible Work
As an employer, you can choose to offer one or more of these flexible work options depending on what works best for the company and your employees:
According to research conducted by IWG in 2018, a flexible workplace is now a top consideration for 80% of U.S. workers. 30% said that they find being able to work in flexible schedules more important than additional vacation time.
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Another study found that job seekers are willing to receive 8% less in salary if it meant being able to work for a company that offers flexible work schedules.
These statistics prove how important workplace flexibility is to the modern workforce. They’re willing to trade having more vacation leaves, higher positions, and even have higher salaries in exchange for flexible work options.
A survey conducted in 2019 revealed that 30% of respondents left their job because the company they were working for didn’t have workplace flexibility policies.
Imagine if you didn’t offer workplace flexibility and your best employees keep on resigning. This means you need to go through the process of recruiting, training, and hiring a new staff member, which can cost you an average of $4000.
Not only are the productivity and output of your company affected, but you’re also losing money in the process!
Millennials today look for a job that can provide them work-life balance. By adopting workplace flexibility policies, you can make your employees feel more appreciated and valued, which can help increase employee retention and reduce turnovers.
The statistics above tell us that many job seekers today are more interested in having flexible work schedules than other benefits. Offering workplace flexibility options will surely help you attract and recruit more top-tier talents.
When you have qualified employees working by your side, your company’s chances of growing and becoming successful are greater.
Over the last 10 years, 83% of companies have already offered flexible working schedules to their employees. When the pandemic hit, more businesses started adopting this model to cater to lockdown protocols and safety reasons.
One of the main reasons why some employers aren’t open to workplace flexibility is because they’re afraid that their employees won’t do their job.
However, according to a survey by CoSo Cloud, 77% of employees who were working remotely reported that they were more motivated to work harder and more efficiently.
This is mostly because they wanted to protect both the personal and professional benefits of working from home or wherever they want.
This proves that you don’t need to keep an eye on your workers to make sure they produce an output. In fact, allowing them to work according to their own schedules translates to better productivity (4.4% more compared to in-office staff) and better quality output.
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A 2019 survey shows that remote workers work 1.4 more days per month compared to in-office employees. If you sum it up, that’s 16.8 more workdays each year!
Another way you should look at this is that by allowing your employees to work remotely, you get to evaluate them according to what really matters, compared to judging them by how busy they look in the office without producing actual output.
This helps facilitate a results-oriented culture, which can greatly benefit your business.
They say that you can never expect your employees to work harder than you because it’s not their company, to begin with.
Sadly, this is the reality. Many employees only care about collecting paychecks while doing as little work as possible. This is mostly because they’re unmotivated or unhappy at work.
However, you can always do something to change how your employees feel about their work and their workplace.
To get your employees more involved and actually care about the success of your business, you want to create a culture of engagement in your company.
Employee engagement occurs when individuals in your company understand their purpose and importance in the organization, thus driving them to perform better. Engaged employees embrace change and look for ways to improve without being told.
So, how can you create a culture of engagement? By creating a workplace wherein your employees feel empowered and respected!
Offering workplace flexibility is a great place to start.
When your employees have the option to work from home or work flextime, you’re letting them know that you trust them.
Over time, you’ll see your employees getting more engaged with their jobs and performing better.
It makes sense, right? Not everyone is a morning person; some function very well at night, while others love starting their day at 4 am with a workout.
There are times where an employee is too sick to go to the office, but not too sick to get some work done.
By letting your employees work from home whenever they feel unwell, they can get the rest they need and make sure that their work still gets done.
Hiring a remote team or employees from other locations is a great way to increase the diversity in your workplace.
It also allows you to reach out to qualified candidates that you otherwise wouldn’t have access to if you didn’t offer workplace flexibility.
Putting ads online to promote that your hiring is a great way to reach the right candidates for your company. Digital Resource is an SEO company in West Palm Beach that can not only help get your company in front of the right audiences, but also reach the right candidates.
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Transitioning from an in-office to a flexible workplace is no walk in the park. This process may involve changing the way you do things, your daily operations, and your system. So, you want to be prepared and prepare everyone for this shift.
Here are some tips on to guarantee success:
It’s important to let your employees know how and what metrics will be used to measure their productivity and output. This will help set expectations and instill goals in their minds.
To keep everything organized and easy for you and your employees to communicate with each other and track progress, you need to have the right tools. You should also have a policy that mandates their use. This will not only make your life easier, but it will also foster improved teamwork and relationships despite the remote work setup.
Training and support play a significant role in your employee’s success, as well as that of your company.
Offer support and provide training for newly hired members to make sure they don’t feel lost and that they know what to do. You may require them to visit the office once in a while for training.
Be consistent with your flexible work policies and make sure you follow through. However, for this model to be truly successful, your employees also do their part of the deal.
Digital Resource is an SEO company in West Palm Beach that offers flexible workplace options to its employees! We believe that each and every one of our employees are essential in leading to the success and growth of our company.
If you’re looking to hire the right talents for your business, we can help you! By creating an awesome company culture video that best represents who you are and what you believe in as a company, you can attract top-tier candidates. Contact us today!
Think you've got what it takes to hang with the pros at Digital Resource? Check out our Careers page to browse current job openings!
