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.
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