FLEX MATTERS--Doing Flex Math: 5 Ways Adding Flex Work Options Adds to the Business Bottom Line

May 26, 2010

Doing Flex Math:  5  Ways Adding Flex Work Options Adds to the Business Bottom Line

What do real estate, unpronounceable volcanoes, soccer, Ivy League grads, Baby Boomers, and greenhouse gases have in common?  All are Flex math variables; and opportunities for your business to save resources --while making your workers happier, healthier and more productive.  Here are just five of the many ways Flex-Friendly businesses are seeing how adding flex work options adds up.

1. Real Estate:  Honest Tea, a Flex-Friendly employer in Bethesda, has two-thirds of its workforce working from home and despite rapid growth, has not needed a larger office.  Citi saved millions after studies of office space usage worldwide and especially in high rent districts like London, Singapore and New York revealed waste not only in real estate but also in energy and related facilities costs. Consider making your workforce more virtual or offering telecommuting days to reduce your overhead.

2. Unpronounceable Volcanoes (unless you’re from Iceland):  Eyjafjallajokull volcano has wreaked havoc on travel globally and it’s not yet clear if the Volcano gods are going to remain calm or are going to start spitting up jet-engine clogging ash again.  Go to Meeting experienced a nearly 50% increase in Europe in the number of virtual meetings following the first eruption disruption.  Snow-mageddon, ice storms, traffic congestion and other emergencies large and small disrupt important business. Technology and a focus on flex can mitigate losses and considerably reduce travel expenditures and delays.  The Federal government is now encouraging broad adoption of telework and legislative changes among its huge workforce to allow for greater business continuity and savings, this after a  four- day shut down this winter cost the federal government millions. Flex-Friendlycompanies like VIPdesk, LiveOps,  Arise, and Alpine Access offer workers the opportunity to provide customer and concierge services from home giving them considerable autonomy and control over their schedules. Their high quality home-shoring virtual assistants give Fortune 500 clientele top-notch service, reducing disruptions, costs, and adding 24/7 coverage for clients. Consider the strategic use of technology to get your work done while minimizing or eliminating travel.

3. Soccer:  One of your top employees wants to coach his daughter’s soccer team and spend more time with the family, he quits to work closer to home. Employees who do not have work/life flex options have been shown to be less productive, less loyal to have greater stress and illnesses all of which cost the business and may ultimately result in losing the employee.  Barbara Taylor, chief counsel for BDO Seidman, says the consequences of losing even one employee far outweigh the upfront costs. Says Taylor, “To replace a mid-level manager it could cost well over 150 percent of his annual salary…There's an extreme business imperative that underlies the flexibility initiative in particular…anything that we can do to hold onto a talented person contributes to our bottom line.”

 At American Express, another Flex-Friendly employer, nearly one-quarter of the workforce has a formal flexible schedule or work from home.  A range of other blue chip companies have followed suit. Nearly three-quarters  of professional workers surveyed recently said they would choose one job over another based on availability of flex work options.  How much would you gain by retaining your important or hard to attract staff?

4. Ivy League Grads and Baby Boomers:  You’ve spent thousands on career fairs and your recruiter has traveled the country to meet with top business school and college students but your top recruits have turned down the job to work for businesses that offer time to volunteer in the community, travel or to work a personalized schedule. Flex-Friendly employers who want to attract younger workers are increasingly using a range of flex work options—like time off to volunteer or to  get more training.

When it comes to retaining institutional knowledge and expertise, Cornell University, another flex leader, is piloting a program to give retiring faculty and employees ways to stay connected to regular or occasional work and volunteer opportunities at the University.  Other flex minded businesses allow managers to retain consulting or part-time status or to  ‘off-ramp’ as an alternative to full retirement.  Flex options may also help employers to cherry-pick  from a global talent pool of senior level applicants who value their  lifestyle and prefer to work from home. Consider how flex can help you to attract and retain the talent of different generations.

5. Greenhouse gases:  Flex-Friendly  employer Accenture a company which prides itself on going where their clients are, made a bold move to reduce carbon emissions.   Their target of a 25% reduction per employee was achieved for their more than 150,000 employees within a year by reducing non-critical business travel, reducing the use of personal vehicles, and by using innovative collaboration tools and other interactive technologies like virtual and video conferencing and desktop sharing.  The company received accolades in 2009 from a range of stakeholders for Carbon Reporting Transparency and positive Impact.  Consider calculating your carbon footprint. In non-manufacturing facilities up to 98% of emissions come from your employees’ commuting to and from work.

None of us can forsee all contingencies, but by strategically thinking about how, when, and where work gets done businesses can be better prepared for inevitable disruptions-- whether that’s an illness, a recession, a soccer ball or volcanic ash.  Flex-Friendly employers are proactively staying ahead and rising to 21^st century workforce and economic challenges by doing theirFlex Math homework.   How much could your business save by utilizing more flex work options?

About Flex-Friendly
Got Flex?  Great!  Flex-Friendly is a national recognition project that celebrates flexible businesses meeting the needs of the 21^st century workforce.  Joining  our directory and getting taggged  is simple and can be completed online. We validate a range of flex work options and organizations on the flex spectrum.  To learn more about the program, get great resources on flex, or to nominate a Flex-Friendly employer find us at: www.employflex.com or contact us at 1-800-671-0018.  Experts in the flexible workspace, Flex-Friendly founders combine their decades of experience advising employers and employees about work/life and how to achieve workplace success. Our blog is FlexMatters