Liberated by the Internet and new mobile solutions, more and more businesses are embracing flexible working arrangements in which employees work from wherever they want.
Smart businesses utilising flexible working know it's no longer about the hours you work - it's about results. These businesses are freeing themselves and their employees from the burden of counting hours and minutes worked, and are now focusing on output.
The benefits are clear:
1. Attract and retain top talent
If it hasn't happened already, it's not unlikely that one or more members of your team will need to move out of the commute area. Opening up to mobile working could prevent you from losing one of your most valued team members. Also, today's tech-fluent workers prefer to work for companies that allow them the flexibility to define their own "office". Providing a flexible work environment could be just what you need to attract top talent.
2. Boost employee satisfaction
You no longer need to speculate about the pros and cons of flexible working. Research from Pennsylvania State University shows that mobile work has the ability to improve job satisfaction, reduce stress, reduce turnover and mediate work-family conflict. Because happier employees are more productive employees, the benefits for your business are clear.
3. Boost employee productivity
Lack of direct oversight of employees is a common concern for businesses considering flexible working. You may be concerned that allowing employees to work from home will result in decreased productivity. As it turns out, the opposite is true. One study showed that 97% of workers and 87% of employers reported increases in productivity after integrating telecommuting into their business. Another study found that by reducing employee absences and time spent commuting, mobile working can increase worker productivity by 10% to 50%. These productivity gains could be a key source of competitive advantage for your business.
4. Cut your real estate costs
For most businesses, real estate costs are the second-largest overall expenditure, surpassed only by investments in human resources. According to American Express, traditional office space is only about 50% utilised due to sick days, vacations and travel. By allowing your employees to spend some or all of their work days out of the office, you can free up real estate for new hires, or even downsize to cut costs.
5. Expand your sales footprint
Many small and medium-sized businesses find that remote working can be an inexpensive way to expand their sales footprints. By having teammates distributed throughout the sales region or even the whole country, you can cut down on travel expenses while building stronger relationships with clients who may not be located near your home office.
How to get the most out of flexible working
Almost ready to make the move to a more flexible workplace? Here are a few things that will move you along.
1. Set clear expectations
Understand your employees' needs and decide early exactly how and how often you will keep in touch - weekly phone calls or frequent instant messages are just some examples. It's also a good idea to put in writing your exact expectations in terms of work deadlines, availability and response time.
2. Ditch the cubes
Many companies use non-dedicated desks or workstations that employees are free to choose from on a first-come/first-served basis. Doing so frees up space formerly used by bulky cubicles and encourages more collaborative working.
3. Take advantage of cloud software
Your mobile employees can work wherever they are in the ways that best suit the tasks at hand. And when teams need to collaborate, having the right software in place will allow them to quickly do so. Instant messaging, voice over IP (VOIP) and video conferencing software ensure your employees stay connected, no matter where they are.
4. Adopt mobile technology
With the proliferation of high-speed Internet access, laptops, tablets and cellphones, your workers have everything they need to be connected, wherever they are. As a result, the desk phone may not play as strong of a role. Many businesses no longer see the need to pay for dedicated landlines and instead use their laptops and mobile phones to place and receive calls.
5. It's a new world - embrace It
The global mobile worker population is growing rapidly and is expected to reach 1.3 billion by 2015 - approximately 35% of the worldwide workforce. Businesses large and small have seen the value in flexible working arrangements and are adapting their organisations in response. With this guide and our other secret weapons, we will help you to stay on top of this and other big trends.
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