Читать книгу How the Future Works - Brian Elliott - Страница 15

As we mentioned in the last chapter, in 2021 the top concerns for CEOs centered on people. As the authors of a Fortune/Deloitte CEO survey put it: “When asked about the biggest challenge they face today, CEOs named one above all others: talent, in nearly every form. Attracting, hiring, retaining, developing, growing, and engaging talent.”³ In fact, winning the battle for talent may be the most common reason companies adopt flexible work programs. As Helena Gottschling, Chief HR Officer for the Royal Bank of Canada, put it when talking about their flexible work model (something we'll look at more closely in the next chapter), “If done right, we believe it could be a true differentiator.”

First, let's look at how it can help with an organization's recruiting efforts. There's really no way around it: When employees work in an office, they must live within a commutable distance from that office. This limits the talent pool that organizations can draw from. It's also one of the main reasons that companies locate their offices in dense (and often expensive) urban markets, where there are more potential employees to choose from. But flexible work allows you to simply choose the best person for the job regardless of location. It opens up possibilities for both employees and companies. Tracy Layney, Chief Human Resources Officer at Levi Strauss & Co., is located in the Bay Area, but the vast majority of her leadership team is not—a situation she's quite happy with. “I just want the best talent,” she told us. “There's all this amazing talent in the world, so why would I want to narrow my choices to people who already live here or are willing to move to a place with a super high cost of living?”

There's also the fact that more people are looking for flexibility, so it's a real draw for companies, and it's an area where they can see an immediate impact. Soon after instituting their flexible work model, Dropbox began receiving three times the number of job applicants that they had gotten previously. We have seen similar benefits at Slack: a 70% increase in job applicants in Product, Design and Engineering after the company allowed for location flexibility.

Because people are looking for flexibility, particularly schedule flexibility, it's a model for retaining talent as well. In fact, flexibility ranks second only to compensation in determining job satisfaction.⁴ That's because it provides real benefits to workers on a personal level. Research shows that flexible work leads to markedly less stress (six times less with schedule flexibility), a better work-life balance (45% higher), and better overall satisfaction at work (30% higher). And schedule flexibility can be a lifeline for those juggling responsibilities outside of work. The tug of caregiving responsibilities impacts three out of four workers, according to a Harvard Business School study.⁵ Those responsibilities can impact job performance and even force some people out the door. But flexible work options can be a game-changer for caregivers. Women with kids, for example, say that the number-one benefit of a flexible schedule is “being better able to take care of personal or family obligations during the day.” (Men with kids rate “better work-life balance” as the key benefit.)⁶

Flexibility gives individuals room to meet both their personal and professional obligations. That's important because, as all leaders know, replacing employees is a time-consuming and costly endeavor, one that can amount to as much as twice an employee's annual salary.⁷