The never-ending march of technology has changed the way we all work. Rather than everyone having to be under the same roof, businesses are now finding a range of natural advantages to giving their staff freedom to work from wherever they choose. Laptops, tablets and smartphones mean that people are contactable 24/7, and realistically everything can be turned into an office from your cosy bed to your local coffee shop outlet.
Despite all this, a lot of businesses are still slow to embrace the trend. Trust is one of the key issues, but with many talented individuals now embracing flexible working ahead of salary increases, companies that have faith in their staff members are starting to reap the rewards.
Escaping the Office
There’s still a level of distrust amongst both business owners and other employees about flexible working, but for office workers in particular, it just makes sense. Eliminating the daily commute and cutting out dead time are just two of the reasons workers love flexible working, while companies can find themselves saving thousands without the need for desk space. Some businesses are even looking at virtual offices, offered by companies like The Hoxton Mix. Ultimately, employees are more productive when their life is more balanced and they have the freedom to pursue other interests and spend time with their families.
Stay in Touch, All the Time
Collaborative working is now more possible than ever without every member of the team having to be in the same room. Virtual conferences provided by the likes of Skype mean that idea sharing is possible between people anywhere in the world. Not only this, you can do business with people all over the globe without the need for expensive travel, accommodation, food and a myriad of other costs.
A Wider Pool of Talent
No longer is your business restricted by only being able to hire people a one hour commute away from your office. Embrace flexible working, and the entire country’s worth of talented people are available to you. Not only this, they are more likely to want to work for your organisation because, as already stated, flexible work is what they are looking for as well.
Once you have assembled a top team, they are more likely to stay with you for longer. This saves significant costs in constantly having to recruit all the time, and you are also likely to have a reduced rate of employee absenteeism. In turn, this is likely to be positive for your clients, who will benefit from an improved level of service from people who are happier in their jobs.
Before rushing in head first, you need to think about the ways in which you can implement flexible working - whether you will need people in the office sometimes, or can offer them complete freedom to work from wherever they choose. Once the groundwork has been done, your business should be in a strong position to experience the benefits of introducing a flexible working system that works for everyone.
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