Many companies tout “workplace flexibility” as a benefit of working for them.
This is an error, says Geri Stengel, writing in an October Forbes.com article Instead, she writes, companies should look at a flexible workplace as a “business strategy rather than an employee perk.”
Why? Because having a flexible workplace can actually increase your firm’s bottom line, Stengel says.
“It’s not an employee benefit (which costs money); it’s a change in culture that reaps real dollar benefits,” she writes. “BDO, a global accounting and financial advisory firm with offices in 135 countries has the numbers to make the case.”
Stengel offers this statistic from BDO’s experience when expanding to Austin, Texas. Employees, Stengel writes, “set up shop” in their homes, in a coffee shop or otherwise not in a BDO office. Employees preferred to work in Austin and did so from their home offices until enough clients were secured that BDO felt it could open an office in the Austin area.
Another BDO example, cited by Stengel: The company opened an office in New York City.
Employee offices used to be about 237 square feet per employee but, due to the fact that BDO provided employees with flexible work schedules, the Manhattan office needed only 188 square feet per person. Considering the high leases typical of Manhattan coupled with the fact that BDO didn’t need as large a space, it saved more than $1.5 million a year.
Stengel also noted that BDO found that the flexible workplace strategy was deemed important by men as well as women, with more than 90 percent of all employees describing it as a an important “retention driver.”
Many companies in the Inland Empire provide warehousing, distribution, construction, and healthcare services. You may think that a flexible schedule may not be viable for your company’s needs. But we urge you to at least think and mull over the possibility.
Skilled machinists and other skilled professionals already are in short supply: The more you can entice them/retain them with flexible scheduling, the better you’ll be able to recruit top talent.
Want some more ideas regarding recruiting/retention for your Riverside or San Bernardino company? Contact Arrow Staffing. We look forward to hearing how we may be of help.