In her blog Motherlode this week, The New York Times’ Lisa Belkin said flexible work arrangements may not survive the recession. That’s because many still consider flexible scheduling a “perk” created by companies as favors for their working moms. But we have always understood that real flexibility is a bottom-line benefit to all companies, large and small. Now, during these tough economic times, the saaviest companies are embracing flexible work arrangements more than ever, because they can acquire top talent well within budget. As Best Buy and other companies have proven, employees given real flexibility are MORE productive, focused, motivated, and committed. FWAs are the best way to attract and retain top talent.
And most important — they are not favors granted to employees — they are truly the only way to conduct business. Companies who force their employees to remain in their cubicles all day are under the tyranny of managers who think that ” if the cat’s away, the mice will play.” This is a demeaning view of employees and it is only human to produce inferior work when you feel demeaned. In fact, the opposite is true. Most employees stuck in their cubicles these days spend 2-3 hours per day on Facebook and other social networking sites. Our clients understand that RESULTS — not face-time — matters most. If you judge your employees only by the quality and timeliness of their results you will maximize their value. Employees who can’t produce on a flexible schedule were probably not dedicated professionals in the first place
We are placing women in flexible work arrangements even during these tough times, at companies large and small who appreciate the value of hiring only the best professionals on a flexible basis.
I had the privilege of hearing Lisa speak a couple of years ago on an all-woman panel including Jean Chatzky and Lisa Belkin.
I have to agree that companies still consider FWAs a perk and fail to see the true benefit, aka, bottom line benefit, of these types of arrangements.
The challenge clearly resides in educating the existing HR environments, and being persistent in doing so. I find the best tactic to use to have someone or a company for that matter which is risk adverse to the concept of FWAs is to use a trial concept. Once you get in with a few placements of successful employees under these FWAs the company will be quick on the uptake and see the benefit. Create a flexible contract from the beginning for potential clients so you decrease their risk and demonstrate true value.