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"60% of working mothers view part-time as the ideal work situation over working full-time (up from 48% of working mothers just a decade ago). Yet only 24% of working mothers have part-time hours."

Washington Post, July 12, 2007, citing recent study by Pew Research Center

“About nine out of ten workers cite work fulfillment and work-life balance as their top career priorities...”

USA Today, citing a 2003 study by Spherion

“Everybody wants flexibility—men and women, younger and older workers, workers with and without children, low wage earners and executives.”

Chicago Tribune, survey by Work & Family Roundtable of the Boston College Center for Work & Family

"Flexible schedules were ranked as a more effective retention tool than stock options, pay-for-performance, and bonuses."

AMA, survey of Human Resources Executives

"In a 2000 poll of more than 3500 company executives 61 percent of the participants believed the 9-to-5 workday will disappear in the next 10 years."

Salary.com article The Power of Flexibility

FAQs for Employers

What is a “flexible workplace?”

In a nutshell, a flexible workplace embraces many different workloads, schedules, and locations for work with the primary objective of creating a WIN-WIN for both the employer and the employee.  Flexibility means being creative about how work gets done and focusing more on results than location and schedule!  Here are some of the flavors of flexibility on the continuum from low flexibility to extremely flexible:

  • Low Flexibility –programs like flex-time that allow full-time employees the ability to vary their start and stop times
  • Moderate Flexibility – in addition to flex-time, having some members in an organization that work a reduced hour schedule (part-time or job-share) or telecommute
  • Extreme Flexibility – a few companies have taken flexibility to the extreme and have benefited tremendously!  Examples include Best Buy’s Results Only Work Environment (corporate employees work where and when they want as long as they get the job done) and Deloitte’s Mass Career Customization (employees can change their pace, workload, restrictions and role throughout their career).  What were the benefits?  Best Buy saw a 35% increase in productivity and improvements in retention and customer satisfaction. Deloitte estimated savings of $27 million in only one year from avoided turnover costs attributed to flexibility!  Want more examples?  Give us a call!

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Why foster workplace flexibility?

We thought you’d never ask!  It’s one of our favorite subjects because there’s a lot to talk about…

  • It’s the top benefit that many of today’s workers value AND it’s one of the cheapest benefits that an employer can offer (which means small companies with small budgets can compete with Fortune 100 giants when it comes to offering a very valuable benefit!)
  • It improves productivity, and isn’t that what every employer wants?  The logic goes something like this: Joe Worker has the flexibility to juggle the demands of work and life; Joe Worker is happy (or at least sane) and more focused at work because he has the flexibility to manage the day-to-day challenges that life deals him; Joe Worker’s happiness promotes healthiness (think good sleep, time to exercise, lower stress); his increased happiness & focus combined with better health make him more creative and productive -- a good thing for everyone!
  • You can access new pools of talent you might never have been able to access without flexibility.  Who are these talented people?  Retiring baby-boomers  who would rather work part-time than retire altogether; on-ramping moms (and dads) who value flexibility while they raise a family; the next generation of workers who value authenticity and balance more than they value climbing a career ladder.
  • You can reduce turnover costs.  Happy employees are loyal employees which means they stay on the job.  Most turnover cost estimates put the expense of replacing an employee at 1.5 times that employee’s annual salary.  Less time on recruitment and re-training flows directly to your bottom line. 
  • You can have a positive impact on your community and the environment!  How?  Telecommuting reduces highway traffic and CO2 output; telecommuting also lets you optimize your building use and delay/avoid  the need for more space; and flexibility allows your employees better work-life balance which allows for increased time and energy to volunteer in their communities.

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What is Balancing Professionals’ TRUE Flexibility AssessmentSM?

Our TRUE Flexibility AssessmentSM helps companies figure out where they are and where they need to go to create a flexible workplace that benefits their employees, their communities and their bottom line. Learn more by clicking here... 

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What types of workshops and trainings are offered by Balancing Professionals?

Want more information on why workplace flexibility is an important business strategy?  Need help identifying and implementing the cultural and organizational changes needed to enable true flexibility?  We offer workshops, presentations, and focus groups to help with these issues.  Here are some sample topics, but we are happy to customize for your specific needs.     

  • The Culture Shift -- True flexibility can’t flourish in an organization without a culture change -- Industrial Age workplace attitudes that have been with us for over 100 years can be hard to shake!  What aspects of your company culture are impeding flexibility?  This workshop will help teams identify the underlying and often subconscious attitudes and practices that are preventing them from becoming truly flexible and will offer strategies to promote a flexibility culture shift.  
  • Managing in a Truly Flexible Workplace -- Managers play a critical role in promoting workplace flexibility (management resistance is often cited as a top flexibility obstacle!) and they need new tools and strategies to succeed.  This workshop will educate managers about the strategic benefits of workplace flexibility and will provide them with important cultural, communication and performance management techniques for effectively managing in a truly flexible workplace.  
  • Workplace Flexibility: A Sustainable & Economic Strategy – (This is an HRCI approved workshop that can provide 3 hours of strategic credit) Tough economic times may have organizations seeking new strategies to cut costs while doing right by their people and their organization’s mission, but most organizations miss one strategy that gives them a lot of bang for very little buck: making their organization truly flexible. The benefits of a truly flexible workplace are numerous, offering strategies to help not only the bottom line, but also employees’ productivity and job satisfaction, the community and the environment.  Learn about TRUE flexibility (think way beyond flex-time) and how it can be a solution to many economic woes. 
  • The People Strategy Most Executives Overlook and Why It Matters --  Flexibility is a top priority of today’s workers (yes, studies show it’s true even in this economy!), making it important for executives, not just HR, to view flexibility as a critical business strategy.  This workshop looks at: The 4 workforce change-factors that are driving the need for new people strategies; how flexibility can be a win-win; why flexibility must be much more than an HR program; and the top ways an organization can capitalize on flexibility.

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What are Balancing Professionals’ fees?

The fees for our True Flexibility Assessment vary based on the size of your organization and the level of services you choose. Click here (pdf) for a description of TFA packages and starting fees for each package.

The fees for our workshops vary based on the size of the audience and the desired length of the workshop. We offer discounts for nonprofits.

Fees for customized consulting depend on the project.