Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Why Workplace Flexibility is a Business Issue

There has been quite a lot of talk in the Presidential election about workplace flexibility. While I am encouraged to hear the topic has received so much attention, I think the focus of the debate has been all wrong. Workplace flexibility isn't a women's issue, not really even a family issue, it's a business issue.

One thing Momentum Resources has spent the last five years proving is that this is a profitable, successful, high-growth business model. Not only do employees want and need flexible and reduced-hours roles, but that businesses benefit from them as well.

As we've worked through these challenging business cycles, Momentum Resources has helped non-profit organizations with very lean budgets hire exactly the help they need, often matching the expense of that employee to a grant or contract. We've helped businesses lure hard-to-find talent away from non-flexible organizations by offering the one thing that money can't buy and doesn't cost employers a dime: schedule flexibility.

But bottom line, we've kept people working and organizations operating. Through an historic recession and through multiple natural disasters (Snowpocalypse? Derecho?), by establishing workplace flexibility in our engagements from the beginning we've proven - with an astounding 2,169% growth over the last three years- that is a very smart move for successful businesses.

And the workplace flexibility hit home this week with the East Coast bearing the brunt of Hurricane Sandy. After securing my home for the storm and getting the boys settled,  I conducted candidate interviews via Google Chat and Skype until we lost power. I kept our clients informed as to the status of current and pending placements so that all of our people were safe, preparing for the storm, and working where they were able. Without power at home today I'm spending a few hours in the office  catching up on emails while charging our electronic devices and the boys have an rainy day movie on the iPad.

Workplace flexibility isn't a benefit, it isn't a nice-to-have in a stronger economic climate, it's a smart way for businesses to operate.

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