Working Flexibly and Effectively:
CWP Responds to Chambers' Requests for Innovative and Low-Cost Retention and Recruiting Strategies

Although at first glance workplace flexibility appears to be a simple matter of scheduling, it is proving to be an intrinsic piece of effective management practices in today's modern company. Employers are realizing that formal flexible scheduling policies are important recruiting and retention strategies. In order for workplace flexibility to be successful, however, employers and workers must have clear expectations about goals and objectives. Coworker equity questions must be addressed and customer needs must be anticipated.  Looming larger are the questions about employee performance and productivity. Though it may be difficult to find time to introduce the concept in a workplace that is always on the go, managers concerned about retaining talent will be wise to consider the practice.

Companies that need to develop low-cost recruiting and retention strategies will be interested to learn what innovative solutions have been discovered by the employers profiled here. They do not all offer company wide flexibility to employees. Instead they manage their employees in ways that provide a healthy approach to work and to managing life.  They have cultivated interesting ideas for supporting employees who are in stressful jobs and have figured out ways to manage with a little more flexibility. Some of the employers were once employed in companies in which they had very little voice in how their work would be conducted and left to found their own organizations. The successful companies profiled here, in addition to having productive and loyal employees, are seeing bottom line benefits.