Every few months, news outlets release rankings of the benefits that employees value most. They include the usual: compensation, remote work, health insurance, paid time off, retirement plans, blah, blah, blah. While these benefits are consistently listed, the rankings vary slightly based on factors like age, gender, and location.
It’s 2024. We’re in an era where certain benefits are now baseline expectations. If you want to attract and retain truly talented employees, offering good health insurance, competitive PTO, retirement plans, and life insurance is no longer optional. These are the minimum requirements just to compete. Without them, you’re not even in the game.
So, what can genuinely differentiate your company in this competitive landscape?
If you ask me, the answer is simple: flexible work schedules. It’s THE employee benefits that employees care about.
Flexible work schedules are a big plus for many employers, but they don’t work for everyone. An insurance company can allow employees to start their day at 10 AM and work until 7 PM without impacting operations. But, a restaurant can’t have its cook showing up at 2 PM when the lunch rush starts at 11:30 AM.
If your business can handle flexible work schedules, you’ll have an advantage in attracting top talent.
Why aren’t more companies embracing flexible work schedules? Many industries and organizations that haven’t traditionally offered flexible schedules could do so with minor adjustments. However, they’re often led by baby boomers and some Gen Xers who believe that if they can’t see you working, you must not be working. It’s really that simple.
The reality is that time spent in a seat is no longer a valid measure of productivity. With modern technology, we can accurately track the productivity and performance of our workforce. Unless an employee’s role strictly requires specific hours, does it matter if she prefers to start at 9 AM and finish at 6 PM instead of the traditional 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM?
Another common argument against flexible schedules is that it’s unfair unless everyone can benefit from them. What?! Not everyone gets a company car, but that doesn’t stop companies from offering them.
Employees who need to be there at specific times get why it’s necessary and probably won’t mind others having flexible hours. Instead of treating everyone under the same blanket schedule, why not be more flexible where you can? Your employees will appreciate it, and it won’t cost you anything.
Couldn’t agree more!
You hit the nail on the head that there’s some generational differences on work hours. I’m working on getting one of my recruiters a well-deserved promotion but I allow him to come in late and leave early to take his kids to, and pick them from school. He makes up any time lost by working from home, and often works later into the evening and may put in more hours than I do. The issue is that the HR directors see him showing up “late” and “leaving early” so he must not have enough work to do or is slacking off. I have the numbers to prove that he’s the most productive recruiter we have. I hate myself for having to do this but I’m trying to give him project work that will increase his face time with department leadership just to try and shift opinion. I don’t really want to take him away from recruiting but I feel that I need to support his growth in the company.