The issue of employee empowerment becomes more and more discussed every year. This topic isn’t simple. They must be able to share their ideas, however, few business owners can implement this approach in a right way. Most often, employees are willing to participate more actively. They know how they’d like to change policies and what working environment they want to create. On the other hand, efforts to empower employees often lead to selfish solutions. They just start taking advantage and getting rid of responsibilities. To understand how to empower your employees in the right way, you need to focus on what is really important and figure out how your company may benefit from each solution.
Modern Hiring Challenges
There’s no secret that millennials are different from previous generations. They are very picky when it comes to the workplace. They want to see transparent leadership and opportunities for personal and professional growth; they are interested in real-time feedback and constant development. Recruiters can no longer ignore these new standards.
Perhaps, the most popular demand is flexibility. According to the data of State of the American Workplace, more than 50% of employees consider flexible scheduling one of the most important factors when searching for a job. Many people want to be able to work from home, and flexibility often plays a more important role in choosing a company than salary. According to WorkFlex Solutions, 30% of employees would agree to change their schedule, even if it decreased their average pay by 2.5 %.
Flexible Schedule Is a New Trend
First of all, let’s define what a flexible schedule is. Some employers think of flexible scheduling as of employees coming to work anytime from 8 to 10 a.m. and leaving from 4 to 6 p.m. Obviously, such a definition is not quite right. Flexible scheduling is based on the trust between you and your team. Your employers must be able to spend as much time as they need to complete a certain task, with no need to be in a certain place. Everybody must be able to estimate his or her own abilities and create a personal schedule accordingly.
Some employees may want to come earlier and leave earlier. Others don’t need a five-day working week. They may spend the same 40 hours working 4 or 6 days. Many people want to adjust the length of their working day, depending on the day of the week. For example, they are ready to work 9 hours on Monday and Tuesday, and 5 hours on Wednesday and Friday. Some employees don’t have any problems with strict working schedules, but they want to work from home on certain days of the week. Thus, there is no single definition of flexible scheduling. Every employee has his or her own needs and is looking for an opportunity to customize scheduling according to personal preferences.
Benefits of flexible scheduling for employees look obvious, but how can your company benefit from such a new solution? The truth is, this solution offers benefits for both employees and employers.
5 Benefits of Flexible Schedules for Your Business
More productive employees
Empowerment improves the performance of your employees. They can work when they are the most productive, instead of forcing themselves to work during the defined periods of time. They enjoy a healthier life, avoiding stresses, and being able to work in a better environment.
College Writer is one of the companies that decided to empower employees with flexible schedules. Their employees notice that they don’t need to worry about their personal obligations anymore, which allows them to better focus on the necessary tasks. Many people who work from home demonstrate better results because they can avoid common distractions that are present in the traditional workplace.
More effective recruitment
Given that flexible scheduling is valued by most employees even higher than the increase in salary, many people are willing to work in a company that offers such an opportunity. A flexible schedule is one of the easiest ways to attract talent. At the same time, the pool of candidates grows due to people who need special scheduling options (for example, people with disabilities or parents).
More engaged workforce
When employees feel happier in their jobs, they try to deliver a better experience for customers. Simply put, they love their work more, so they want to put more effort into their work, showing better results. Thus, you get more loyal employees who don’t need any extra motivation to demonstrate a higher productivity.
Better retention
Flexible scheduling not only makes it easier to recruit new talent, but also helps in retaining the existing employees. The main reason is that employees who work on a flex-time basis are healthier. They sleep better and are less likely to take a few days off because of sickness. In addition, better sleep is another reason why such employees are more productive.
Reduced costs
Finally, this approach allows you to save money. When employees work from home, you spend less money on water, electricity, paper towels, and other resources associated with office life. In addition, more effective recruitment and retention help save costs associated with the turnover. In addition, having employees who are healthier may mean you spend less money on temporary workers that have fill in when certain employees are out sick.
Seeing all the advantages of flexible scheduling, it becomes clear that this trend isn’t going to disappear any time in the near future. Every company can benefit from healthier and happier employees. The main thing is to find a right way to implement this solution. At first glance, such a task may seem challenging, but in fact, all you need to do is build trust. Your employees must be interested in making a contribution, and you need to motivate them to make things work.
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