Take it from managers who've been there. Any company that chooses this path has to be very clear about the fact that they may risk losing some pieces of business. Some clients may be frustrated if they can't always have the same service representative or if they are not given a pager to reach employees after hours, she explains. The customer with rigid expectations, or the customer who invariably calls with a big order at the last minute, may be an account that a truly flexible business cannot accommodate to full satisfaction. It's a trade-off, Hopkins admits, but she feels that her firm gains back in employee quality and longevity whatever it might sacrifice in some types of business.
Flexibility can be the key to attracting qualified candidates.
When we have had the opportunity to offer flexible scheduling, we have been able to get some very talented people who did not find those opportunities within their existing companies. Smaller companies would do well to keep this in mind when thinking of ways to edge out name-brand competitors in a tight labor market. Remember that people choose an employer based on their innermost values. Flexible staffing is a great strategy if you want to gain a competitive advantage in retention or if you simply want to improve your employees' quality of life. That's not mere philanthropy.