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Flexible Working - How Can it Benefit Your Business?
 With
more small businesses than ever before
offering some form of flexible working to
their employees, it is good to know that by
improving the work life balance of
employees; businesses can also reap
benefits.
The new report by the British Chambers of
Commerce (BCC) shows the efforts that many
businesses are putting in to help meet the
needs of their employees.
Amongst the key findings are:
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89 per cent of the businesses surveyed
provide their employees with some form
of flexible working.
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72 per cent offer part time working; 69
per cent offer variable working hours;
38 per cent offer working from home.
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71 per cent of employers believe that
there has been either some or a
significant improvement in employee
relations as a result of offering
flexible working.
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60 per cent of employers reported some
or a significant improvement in staff
retention.
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58 per cent of employers reported some
or a significant improvement in
productivity.
Interestingly, the reason why politicians may seem so keen to
regulate is the fact that businesses are
poor at celebrating their own achievements.
As many as 84 per cent of respondents do not
have a formal written ‘work-life balance’
policy, helping to explain the perception
gap that exists between what employers are
actually doing and what politicians assume
they are doing.
The reason that employers gave for not offering flexible working
shows the folly of trying to impose a
one-size fits all approach on business:
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56 per cent highlighted the difficulty
in achieving business growth with a
reorganised workload and resources.
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32 per cent cited a desire to be fair to
all employees.
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21 per cent cited the administrative
burden of new policies as being a
barrier to providing flexible working.
Instead of legislating it is clear that businesses need practical
guidance about how they can work more
flexibly at low cost. Without the HR support
that large firms have, SME’s need business
support schemes tailored specifically to
their needs.
Sally Low, Director of Policy and External Affairs at the British
Chambers of Commerce, said:
“Business is well ahead of the current debate. The overwhelming
majority of respondents to our survey are
embracing flexibility because they
understand clearly the benefits of providing
flexible working to their employees,
reporting improvements in employee
relations, staff retention and productivity.
“The debate now needs to shift away from what employers are not
doing to focus on what they are and try to
identify the real barriers to greater
flexibility. Those who aren’t providing
flexibility for their staff lack the
management confidence to restructure the way
they manage their staff, only advice and
support will rectify this while further
regulation will impose a needless and
onerous burden”.
More information on Flexible Working Rights
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