Insights

If you are not already thinking about how your business can embrace flexible working, then you are likely to miss out on top talent as your business grows. 

The ground is shifting under the feet of property companies, who need to understand that to attract new talent and stay at the forefront of the market, they will need to start reviewing their employment policies. 

No longer is the working week bound by the 9-5. In fact, an article from The Muse predicts that by 2030, the majority of millennials will have adopted a flexible working schedule, with 77% of them currently agreeing that such policies would make the workplace more productive for their peers. 

So, what does 'flexible' mean? Historically flexible working is a term that we usually associate with part time employment, but 'flexible' can mean anything from job sharing, working from home, compressing hours, staggered hours, phased retirement, and much more and is fast becoming an expectation, not a perk. 

With lots of employees already working flexibly, employers should expect to be rewarded with happier, highly capable and diligent employees, who are more productive as a result of a more open-minded company culture. 

Our clients, and all employers for that matter, need to start realising that they will get more from their employees if they can be afforded flexibility in the work place. 

It’s not just the millennials that are demanding the flex, parents (dads as well as mums) want to have great careers and still be able to drop their kids at school, turn up for the parent meeting and not be frowned upon. There are lots of mums who worked in big jobs pre-children but without the flexibility find it hard to return and balance the two. Clever employers can take advantage of hiring senior, highly qualified and experienced women who want to work flexibly for the same cost of hiring a full time junior. 

So, next time you are hiring, take a look at the job spec and ask yourself if it really requires someone sat at their desk 9-5 to do a good job. If you open your mind to flex, you could be opening the door to some great talent you might otherwise miss out on. 

Good to know:

“Flexibility in the workplace allows employers and employees to make arrangements about working conditions that suit them. This helps employees maintain a work/life balance and can help employers improve the productivity and efficiency of their business.” - FairWork Ombudsman

JP Morgan Chase found that 95% of employees working in an environment where the manager is sensitive to work and personal life—including informal flexibility— feel motivated to exceed expectations, compared to 80% of employees in environments where the manager is not sensitive to needs for informal flexibility.