Four methods to increase the effectiveness of

Flexible work is in high need. In fact the report by Apollo Technical found that 72 percent of people prefer flexible work environments over working from home.

The companies are seeing tangible benefits. The productivity has increased by 47% and higher performance of employees ( 40% fewer defects in the quality of work) and increased profits (with the average of 11,000 dollars saved/year per halftime remote worker) This makes flexible working look more like a requirement as opposed to a benefit for employees.

If you're considering how you can design flexible work arrangements or enhance the way your employees can collaborate remotely, then you're at the right place.

In this article, we'll look at some of the important components of flexible work, shifting expectations of employees, as well as some suggestions on how you can prepare your company for the future with video powered tools.

What is flexible work?

Flexible work arrangements allow employees to choose the location and time they work. Research by SHRM suggests that increased flexibility for employees offers a variety of advantages including higher retention and engagement as well as lower overhead and improved work-life balance.
Two types of work flexibility:

Flexibility in location

The flexibility of location allows employees to work from an office, or a specific workplace. The most common forms of location flexibilities include remote work hybrid work, and telecommuting. A 2021 SHRM survey reported that 30% of employed Americans prefer the possibility of working from home or doing some form of remote work, and if their employers don't offer that choice, they'll look to find a job that has it.

Flexible scheduling

Schedule flexibility is based on the ability of employees to arrange their work hours outside of the traditional five days a week schedule of 9-5. Most common forms of schedule flexibility include:

• Workweeks compressed
• Shift work
• Flextime
• Job sharing
• Part-time schedules

Our work methods are changing

It was reported that the US Labor Department reported more than 47 million Americans were laid off in 2021, a record-breaking huge workforce migration.

From dental offices to gas stations, the shortage of workers is making employers rethink how we view the traditional workplace. 64 percent of the workers who took part in a recent Pew survey reported feeling uncomfortable going back to the office and 57% chose to work from in their home because of COVID-related issues. The Harvard Business Review reported that 36 percent of the workers who were surveyed would search for an alternative to work if given an alternative that was hybrid or remote while 6% of respondents were willing to quit outright regardless of whether a new job was lined up.

Economic uncertainty coupled with a shifts in the labor market and changing expectations from employees is forcing employers to consider the way and location employees can work.

Recent research shows that flexibility at work can boost recruiting, retention, satisfaction, as well as the productivity of employees.. Gartner found 43 percentage of those who took part in the Digital Worker Experience Survey said flexible working hours made them more productive. Thirty percent of respondents said saving time by not having to commute boosted their productivity.

4 ways to create a flexible work environment

The workplace is evolving the onboarding process, training enablement, and leadership teams require virtual communication, training, and engagement technology for their workplace.

These are the four steps to create an effective flexible workplace to your employees. They will also prepare your team to be successful.

1. Engage employees

As your workers don't gather more frequently than in the traditional workplace, it is important to find other ways to prioritize employees' engagement. 74% of employees believe that they're more efficient at their job in a workplace where they feel valued. 88% of employees at top companies in their industry feel heard while only 62% of employees in financially struggling companies feel heard.

Everything you should learn about town halls

Learn how to live stream your town hall.

Boring town halls are bad and shaky live streams can be even more frustrating. An investment in high-quality video means exponential returns in alignment of teams, employee engagement, productivity, and connection to help create a more flexible and cohesive workplace.

"We won't return to how it was. Video isn't just a COVID-19 option but a contemporary solution to the changing work environment."  
 Peter Strella, Director, Communications & Creative Media Services at Rite Aid

2. Develop a virtual Onboarding and training processes

When work shifts from the office, training has also been undergoing a change as well. In spite of remote work - or perhaps because of it, onboarding and education have grown increasingly important. Nearly 97% of employees are now onboarded by virtual meetings, and it is the responsibility of the company to create streamlined and effective training programs.

"Technicians do not always wish to make the trip to our learning centers, it's not a "one-size fits all" approach for our diverse population of learners...What we started to do was use the same excellent educational content from the classroom and put it online."   Steve Hamaday, Virtual Training Manager at Axalta

A must-read guide for online courses

Get your remote team with ease with this in-depth instruction.

3. External and internal communication

"With , we launched a weekly live stream for our global clients, in the midst of a pandemic, in just weeks and not months. The entire process was managed on the platform, collaborating remotely with our team as well as our agency. We went live multiple times a week, in several languages."   Alvin Mudun, Senior Web Product Manager for Zendesk in EMEA

4. Consider investing in tools that facilitate remote collaboration

If your employees have to travel across different areas and time zones, your tools could determine the team's efficiency and motivate.

Offering more options for using video could have an measurable effect on your team.  The State of Workplace Communication report found video-forward workforces benefit from a 75% greater percentage of employees reporting high engagement as well as better team collaboration. Collaboration refers to communication between team members, and video can make communication more effective and more inclusive by:

• Better employee engagement
• Increased productivity
• Anytime, anywhere.
• Increased Transparency
• Easy-to-use training libraries and resources

  The was originally written by Clara Wang and updated by Bianca Galvez on July 26 2022.