There’s a clear theme among the employer news roundup this week: recruitment and retention. Specifically, these five stories focus on how employers can both recruit and retain great employees by using flexible work options.
Our recent FlexJobs survey on working parents is featured in TLNT Management and HR’s article about retaining working parents. Increasingly, parents of both genders are considering their options before heading back to work after a baby is born or a child is adopted. And, probably not surprisingly, having children makes 91 percent of parents more interested in flexible jobs. For employers, that means flexible work options are the key to retaining their working parent workforce and attracting outstanding talent from other, less-flexible companies.
Flexible work isn’t just for working parents, however, and the next article this week discusses how millennials view flexible work. For many members of that generation, work isn’t simply meant to pay the bills—it’s also used to help create the lifestyle they want to live. And the more employers understand about this largest generation in the workforce, the better they’ll be at attracting and retaining them.
Heather Huhman at Entrepreneur tackles some of the most pervasive myths about flexible work in the next article on our list, showing employers that work flexibility isn’t necessarily the difficult, unwieldy work arrangement they might see it as. Instead, she demonstrates that when people work from home or have flexible schedules, they can do just as well as they would in a traditional office environment, or maybe even better. And they’ll be more loyal as a result.
Bringing a bit of a global perspective is the London School of Business and Finance, with an article about employee productivity. While it may not seem like productivity is directly tied to recruitment and retention, it actually is very much so. As the job market brightens and professionals have more options, they’re going to gravitate to work environments where they can do their best work. And that means leaving behind employers who don’t offer the flexibility they need to work where and when they are most productive.
Finally, the folks at Mimeo close our news roundup this week with a look at recruiting for remote positions. FlexJobs CEO Sara Sutton, who is also the founder of the remote work resource Remote.co, explains that remote work isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition. Most employers that let employees work remotely actually do so to varying degrees. For example, some people might work from home three days a week, and others for a few hours each day. Some may be full-time remote workers who never step foot in the office, and others work from home only occasionally, maybe several days each month. Employers should get creative with their remote work programs, building them in a way that supports both employees and business objectives.
How to Keep Working Parents Working for You on TLNT Management and HR
“Becoming a new mom or dad can present trials for both employees and employers. Working parents are looking for more work-life flexibility in order to continue working, but not completely sacrifice being a good parent. An August FlexJobs survey of 1,200 parents found 91 percent of working parents say having children living at home affects their interest in a flexible job.
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At some point, many of your employees will ask themselves: ‘Do I want to go back to work after the baby arrives?’ Here’s what you can do to help more employees answer ‘yes’ to that question.”
The Brief: This Is the Main Reason Millennials Won’t Quit a Job on Levo League
“Some people live to eat and others work to travel. Or at least that is what millennials do. According to a new survey from FlexJobs, travel is a huge motivator for why millennials work. Seventy percent of millennials identified travel as their primary reason to work, second only to paying for basic necessities and 15 percent of millennials identified themselves as digital nomads.
Only 42 percent of millennials were open to freelancing as a flexible work arrangement versus 47 percent of Gen X and 44 percent of boomers. In fact, 34 percent of millennials have actually left a job because it did not have work flexibility. Work schedule is a more important factor to millennials when considering a job prospect (65 percent), compared to 57 percent of Gen x and 62 percent of boomers.”
5 Myths About Job Flexibility We Should Eliminate Once and For All on Entrepreneur
“Fact: Offices are full of distractions—like colleagues who constantly interrupt others’ work, frequent meetings and a physically uncomfortable work environment. FlexJobs’ 5th Annual Super Survey in 2015 asked 3,100 professionals where they go to complete an important project, and only 7 percent said they felt most productive in the office.
Consider moving your main focus from hours worked to tasks completed. Employers who are nervous about the amount of work completed should lay out specific goals with set deadlines. Make sure employees understand the urgency behind each deadline, and at what time of day the deadline ends. This will put leaders and their teams on the same page to ensure that productivity is high and clients stay satisfied.”
Employees Feel More Productive at Home, Survey Finds on the London School of Business and Finance
“A survey from Flexjobs asked employees when they feel least and most productive. They found that most feel more productive at home, with 50 percent preferring to work from home rather than in the office. When asked what the main benefit of working from home was, seven out of ten employees said “less frequent meetings.”
Three quarters of survey respondents also said that distractions were a problem in the office, particularly for those who work in an open office environment.
According to Growbiz Media CEO Rieva Lesonsky, ways to reduce distractions include setting up an office with partitions or cubicles or permitting employees to use their headphones to block office noise.”
6 Tips for Recruiting Remote Workers on Mimeo
“How do you determine if a remote candidate is right for the role, your team, and your organization? Here are five tips for recruiting remote workers and how to avoid getting the wrong ones on your team:
Define What “Remote” is From the Start: ‘Most people think of remote work as 100%, all or nothing,’” said Sara Sutton, CEO of FlexJobs, a flexible job-seeking resource. Properly outline the amount of travel required in the role.
For example, a sales professional may need to be traveling for 30 percent of the month on client visits. Working remote doesn’t always necessarily equate to working from home; be clear in your organization’s definition of what “remote” is, and include an estimate of where their time will be spent.”
Looking to recruit potential employees? Browse resumes and professional candidates in 55 categories.
Readers, what are your thoughts on tying recruitment and retention with flexible work? Have you experienced the benefits of this partnership? Leave a comment and share your stories!
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