If you’re currently working in an office, you soon might not be. By 2020, flexible working is set to be the default option for most employers (according to CIPD).
Why is this the case? With Generation Z and Millennials now common in the workplace, organisations are now having to reassess their working arrangements. According to Forbes, these generations favour flexible working over other benefits such as healthcare.
In this blog post, we will cover the main flexible workforce advantages and how this can help inform your overall digital workplace strategy.
Attract the best talent
Do you want the best people working for you?
Well of course you do. Although there are a number of factors that influence a job seeker’s decision, allowing them to work flexibly is fast becoming a crucial one.
The statistics back this up. A Deloitte survey found that 64% of employees would opt for a lower paying job if they could work away from the office.
Increased productivity
Now that you have the best talent, you will want to ensure that they’re as productive as possible.
I know what you’re thinking. If you allow people to work remotely they will just slack off and not get any work done.
For some this might be the case, (but we will brush over that.) However there is a feeling that this is simply just an old stereotype that won’t go away.
It appears that this line of thought is changing, with one survey having suggested that 53% of people feel that they would be more productive if they could work outside the office.
Cost savings
Whether you work in the public or private sector, most organisations and departments continue to put a strong focus on reducing costs.
This will never change. But one simple way to save money is to allow staff to work from home.
How? Well that physical location that you all go to everyday, (i.e. the office) needs less maintenance if there are less people working there. Savings can be made on heating, furnishing and electric to name a few.
In fact, in a study by mobile giant Vodafone, they found that UK plc can potentially save around £34bn by freeing up desk space and working more flexibly.
Increased employee engagement
An engaged employee is a happy employee.
Sadly, organisations are still not getting it right. An article by Gallup has stated that only 13% of employees working for an organisation around the world are engaged with the work that they’re doing.
Managing team members remotely allows you to address this. As you’re empowering rather than controlling them, they are more likely to want to be engaged with the project that they’re working on.
Reduced travel and meetings
Many of us have to commute to work.
Luckily, some don’t have to travel very far. However, there are a growing number of people that are having to commute at least 2 hours a day to work.
Isn’t there a better way to use this time? Instead of being squashed on the train or tube, they could instead be on their laptop being productive.
This also applies to meetings. Instead of asking team members to come into the office, use an online team management platform to allow team members to discuss ideas, collaborate on documents and create blogs in a secure environment, without having to leave their home.
Take advantage of innovative technologies
In the past, phone and email would be the main ways of communicating with remote workers.
But with security becoming a key issue in recent times, (especially in the public sector,) these methods are no longer suitable.
For sharing and collaborating on files in particular, this is even more important. Not only are there security issues with email, one survey by Insight has found that 59% of managers miss vital information in a document simply because they can’t find it or never see it.
That’s where online collaboration software comes in. It allows you to create a secure platform where you and your team members can work in real-time on or simply share and store documents, all in one place.
That’s not all. You can further engage your remote team members by creating discussion forums, blogs and surveys so they feel that they’re kept in the loop about all of the latest developments.
