If the idea of remote working or flexitime seems alien to you and your company it might be a good idea to rethink the way you work – especially if you are having a recruitment drive any time soon. According to a recent study, young professionals are 68% more likely to accept a job if there were the option to work remotely for at least some of their allotted hours.
Attracting the top talent has always been difficult, and this generation is no different. However, by giving prospective employees a little freedom and clear options to work from home at least some of the time, you will be presenting them with a tempting perk that not many others are considering – especially in more traditional industries.
What’s driving the desire to work remotely?
The days of sitting behind a desk for 8 to 10 hours each and every day are on the wane thanks to the advances in technology over recent years. Modern day devices loaded up with the latest software enable employees to work from anywhere at any time, be it in the local coffee shop or barefooted at home with the underfloor heating on full blast.
However, it is also about trust. Allowing your employees the freedom to work away from the managerial gaze shows that you are confident in their ability to get the job done, and that faith becomes reciprocal. Showing that you trust an employee can go a long way to building loyalty and improving staff retention.
More work, less commuting
As property prices continue to rise in all major cities across the globe, more and more people are commuting into the centre of town. Take London, for example. It is not uncommon for a commuter to spend three hours each day simply getting to and from work, which is ridiculous if the option to work from home is available.
By allowing remote working, it is likely that the amount of hours worked will increase as staff with a vested interest in a business will be perfectly happy to work on a project rather than sit on an overcrowded tube train. This means happier employees doing more work for your business, truly a win-win situation.
There are other benefits too
On top of attracting the very best employees from the talent pool and keeping them happy once they are in your employ, there are other advantages to remote working for your business. Studies have shown that adopting a remote working strategy can dramatically lower absences, save the company money and increase productivity too.
Companies like CIPHR are creating software that even enables employees to manage their time off remotely, with online leave booking and built-in verification. This allows even greater control for the employee while freeing up the businesses HR department to concentrate on other aspects of the company’s workforce.
By giving the millennial generation the option of working remotely you are demonstrating your company’s dedication to offering its employees a greater work-life balance, a benefit that is vital to many young professionals. Offering flexible ways of working will soon become the norm, but early adopters may well be able to get ahead of their competitors in the meantime.
Anyway, isn’t it about time that more business owners start to adopt the attitude of great work is great work, regardless of where it’s done?
