Flex your recruitment muscle

That’s the advice by UK employment law expert Croner, which is encouraging employers to introduce formal policies on flexible working not only to compete in the war for ‘fresh’ talent, but to retain quality staff.

In a recent YouGov survey of employees, 38% ranked flexible working as an important perk when searching for the perfect employer – a term that can include homeworking, part-time, flexitime and job sharing.

Many of today’s employers could be missing out on the winning ticket in the scramble to recruit the crème de la crème however, with almost two-thirds (65.1%) regarding company reputation, rather than flexible working (28.9%), as the most attractive perk for employees. Yet only 22% of employees felt reputation was important to their job satisfaction.

Gillian Dowling, employment technical consultant at Croner, said: "As [people] search for their dream jobs, their choices distinguish the progressive people-focused employers from old line companies.

"It’s therefore really important that employers consider the benefits that flexible working can bring to their business, such as improving employee relations and staff morale and setting themselves apart from competitors to attract and retain the best talent graduating from universities today.

"The survey results showed that today’s employees are increasingly looking for perks that help them balance their work and home life. Flexible working can be a powerful benefit to employees, who are likely to feel more loyal to an employer who gives them greater control over their time."

Croner offers employers the following advice on how to get the most out of flexible working:

• Have clear policies on flexible working and fully brief line managers. Explain the benefits of flexible working to line managers and ensure that they implement the organisation’s policies fairly.

• Involve staff. Involve staff in agreeing working patterns in line with the ebb and flow of business.

• Set expectations. Working hours, availability and adequate supervision have to be agreed at the outset. Where appropriate, agree in advance ‘reporting in’ procedures and regular attendances at the workplace premises.

• Allow for change. In your policies, ensure that there are provisions for future change to meet developing business needs.

• Improve recruitment processes. Ensure that recruiters emphasise the opportunities for flexible working.

• Measure results. Establish benchmarks for recruitment, retention and absence, and measure these regularly to establish the effect flexible working has had on the workforce.

• Count the cost. Estimate the cost of implementing flexible working. Although this is unlikely to be substantial, it is important to recover the investment.

• Review. Review how flexible working operates to ensure that operations are not compromised, all staff have an equal opportunity to work flexibly, and that expected business improvements have materialised.