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Survey shows managers believe recession makes for happy employees

October 19th, 2009 by Flexible Resources

The Monster survey just released yesterday (Oct. 15, 2009) documents a serious disconnect between employers and employees who remain in place at companies following layoffs. It appears that many managers are taking advantage of this recession to overwork their employees, mistakenly believing that their employees are content simply to have a job, and are blissfully unaware of the resentment and disloyalty brewing because of increased workload and longer hours.

LINK:

http://www.ere.net/2009/10/14/survey-shows-disconnect-between-workers-and-bosses/

Heaping work upon a beleaguered staff — one that is laboring under the stress caused by the threat of further layoffs — breeds contempt and makes for bad employees — and thus poorer quality work. Ultimately, this impacts the bottom line.

We believe that as soon as the recession begins to ease and companies start hiring again, these long-suffering employees will jump ship looking not simply for more money, but for companies that appreciate and support employers with the kind of benefits that really count — flexible work arrangements.

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Smart companies provide the kinds of perks that really count — and that cost nothing to the bottom line — flexible work arrangements for both full- and part-time employees. True flexibility is based on trust. And trust breeds loyalty, commitment and productivity.  Companies that measure their employees’ value based on RESULTS instead of face-time are in step with the 21st century workplace that allows us to work anywhere, anytime without being chained to our desks.

Only the smartest companies will be prepared to attract the best and the brightest of Gen Y and Gen X by using flexible work arrangements to create a motivated, energized staff that is committed to taking the company forward.

Companies that don’t trust their employees are the ones who measure productivity by the hours logged in their cubicles.  And the lack of trust is what in fact reduces productivity. How can you work for someone who believes you are out to rob them?

More than 85% of the flexible professionals we have placed in middle- and upper-management positions transition to long-term relationships with their companies.  This supports the contention that maintaining flexible work policies attracts top talent that values control over their time over other types of compensation.

And once companies experience the enormous value and high productivity of flexible professionals they give FWAs a permanent place in their HR policy.

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What does the “Best 100 Companies” list really mean?

October 1st, 2009 by Flexible Resources

Few offer what working moms really want: flexible work arrangements

  • Only 18% offer flexibility to all employees;
  • A mere 2% allow any employee to telecommute
  • 27% of companies that permit telecommuting say 75-100% ‘have access’

to this benefit

  • At 66 of the 100 companies on the list where ‘working from home’ is permitted,

fewer than half of the employees at those companies avail themselves of the benefit

What do employees say?

Working Mother Magazine’s “100 Best Companies 2009” list is out. Every year many of the companies on the list rightfully use their inclusion as a recruiting tool for top women executives. And many of their policies indeed make life easier for working moms.

But many of the perks offered focus on childcare and paid leave, and there is less focus on what we believe really counts: flexible work arrangements.

By flexible work arrangements, we mean the ability of work both in and out of the office, from home or any remote location, judging the employee’s performance on results instead of face-time.

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Forward-thinking companies see value in FWAs

September 25th, 2009 by Flexible Resources

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.

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What can a flexible professional offer your company?

September 15th, 2009 by Flexible Resources

Attributes of typical candidate for flexible work arrangements:

  • Female
  • Ages 27-54
  • Holds an MBA, sometimes multiple graduate degrees, also many are licensed CPAs
  • At least 5 years experience, most have 10 or more
  • Middle-level to senior-level management
  • Areas of specialization: marketing (includes advertising and public relations), finance, and human resources
  • Our candidates typically demonstrate great depth and breadth of experience rather than one narrow career focus, making them versatile multi-taskers who are flexible and not easily flustered by last-minute changes, multi-tasking, or deadlines
  • Highly motivated to build a long-term track of success based on strong work ethnic and strong self-image
  • Fierce commitment to both work and family make them highly resourceful, productive, focused, an asset to any company
  • Creative outside-the-box thinkers due to willingness to tackle all types of situations and assignments, they exhibit a roll-up-their-sleeves attitude that translates into excellent management skills because they lead by example

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How flexible work arrangements improve business

August 27th, 2009 by Flexible Resources

11 WAYS FLEXIBLE WORK ARRANGEMENTS HELP BUSINESSES

We know flexible work schedules improve our lives immeasurably. But managers often resist, believing the conventional wisdom that the only way to get the most out of employees is to ensure that they are in the office as long as possible, grinding it out in their cubicles.

In fact, it is probably the least efficient way to work. We say: measure RESULTS, not face-time.

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Flexible work is about healthy bottom lines, not moms

August 4th, 2009 by Flexible Resources

Womenomics misses the point - it’s not a ‘mommy issue’

We concur with fellow blogger Leanne at Career Life Connection.  If flexible work arrangements are a device that employers put into place - at times reluctantly — to help moms balance work and family they will forever be viewed as a necessary evil or worse - as a perk that discriminates against childless employees.

We know from experience many businesses embraced work-life balance because it was politically correct to do so.  But in fact they really don’t believe in them.

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Recovery Staffing — The new path to flexibility?

July 30th, 2009 by Flexible Resources

Business again discovers the bottom-line benefits of a flexible workforce.

Over the past 18 months we have placed innumerable professionals in part-time and full-time contract positions at all kinds of companies large and small.  These companies didn’t come to us because they were looking to create a more flexible workplace. They were in total deadline mode, trying to cope with heavy workloads that were hitting their pared-down workplace.

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How work-life staffing can turn a company green overnight

July 23rd, 2009 by Flexible Resources

It’s a no-cost option for creating greener, cleaner company while improving the bottom line.

STAMFORD, CT, July 22, 2009 — Flexible work arrangements, particularly telecommuting, not only can turn a business green overnight, they also create a more productive, focused, motivated, and loyal workforce.

Telecommuting, whether in full- or part-time positions, means employees work remotely - from anywhere, anytime. “It’s the most effective option for reducing greenhouse gases, fuel consumption, and has the power to virtually eliminate the bane of every commuter - rush hours.  It’s also the only workplace model in step with technology and a global workforce that functions 24/7,” according to Flexible Resources co-founder Nadine Mocker.

“Keeping employees off the road doesn’t only reduce cost and gas consumption, it is a major life change that benefits people and businesses,” says Mockler.  “Blackberries, Palms, and iPhones haven’t just replaced PCs they can eliminate the need to commute regularly.  Companies can gain as much as three hours a day from their employees who work at home or from remote locations.”

Other types of flexible work arrangements, such as part-time and staggered work hours, keep employees off the road at peak hours and reduce the number of days they need to commute.

Flexible staffing also allows companies to keep office space and resource consumption to a minimum.

Among the other bottom-line benefits of flexible work arrangements:

  • Flexible staffing allows small businesses to compete for top talent by attracting top-level people on a modest budget;
  • Flexible scheduling is a huge personal bonus for employees who often value time over money. When faced with hiring and salary freezes, and reduced benefits, flexible staffing is a no-cost perk that boosts morale and aids retention;
  • Large companies can fill in for medical leaves, staff up quickly to deal with workloads that fluctuate seasonally, and alleviate crushes that occur during hiring freezes.

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MBA Moms 3.0: Gen Y Moms Making FMA a priority

July 20th, 2009 by Flexible Resources

MBAs 3.0 —

GEN Y WOMEN, NOW YOUNG MOMS, PUTTING CAREER FIRST

News from Nadine

We’ve been getting a lot of Gen Y women in our offices lately — born around 1980, graduated from college in the late 90s and finished graduate school in the first years of the 21st century, they are now married and starting families. They are disarming in their self-assuredness and their absolute conviction about needing flexible work arrangements. But unlike the Gen X moms before them, they are not interested in managing every aspects of their kids’ live. In fact, most tell us they have not even considered not working. Here’s what they are telling us:

  • The current economic situation had made it imperative that they accumulate as much wealth as possible for their futures, having experienced a major economic meltdown very early in their careers;
  • They fear that taking even one year off will cause their skills to erode, because technology changes the workplace almost daily;
  • They are a decidedly driven group and are focused on keeping their edge, worried that the workplace will not want them if they step off the career track for any length of time.

They tend to be very driven young women. We are interviewing more and more women, now in their early 30s, some fully employed, others who took a brief time off to have a child, tell us they want to get right back to work ASAP. They ‘project manage’ their lives, making time for family but always keeping career on the front burner. Not working is not even an option.

These women have much to offer companies. They are super efficient and focused, and can pack 10 hours of work into a five-hour day.  We are having no problem finding places for them, even now, on a contract basis, or in permanent part-time positions. They make the case for flexibility, which creates focus, commitment, motivation, all good for the bottom line.

If you’re a Gen Y mom tell us what your experience has been in getting (or not) getting flexible work arrangements. Even if you’re not a Gen Yer, we’d like to hear from you.

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Small biz secret weapon: MBA Moms

July 6th, 2009 by Flexible Resources

Tracey Austin, director of our Fairfield, New Jersey office, talks today about the dilemma faced by small business owners trying to grow their businesses while keeping costs in line.

Success has its drawbacks for entrepreneurs when they discover the challenge of simultaneously growing their business and doing the work. They need help fast.

How can you hire the top pros you need – with the right expertise, who can hit the ground running – without paying top salaries and benefits that big companies can offer?

Use a ‘secret weapon’  — a virtually untapped workforce of “MBA moms” who are eager to put their advanced degrees and years of in-depth expertise to work on a part-time and flexible basis.

They are innumerable CFOs, marketing executives, senior brand managers, public relations, human resources, and financial executives who are looking for non-traditional work arrangements and are willing to weigh that desire against top salary and benefits to work on a flexible basis. As a result they are coming to the aid of small business owners who cannot offer top-tier salaries or benefits but are ready and willing to offer flexible scheduling. Telecommuting is particularly appealing to entrepreneurs who can ’staff up’ without having to take on the additional overhead of bigger office space.

These MBA Moms are women who may have been downsized or quit for lack of flexibility from their employers in the past. They are a human resources pot of gold for the small business owner. Not all have MBAs, of course. But all are highly regarded in their fields, women who have put in 10 - 20 years in the workplace, have diverse backgrounds and years of expertise and are able to get down to business ASAP. The highest level of productivity is the reward.

Tracey Austin
taustin@flexibleresources.com

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