Two in three (67%) UK companies imagine providing flexibility to their staff is essential if they’re to efficiently retain and appeal to expertise, in line with a brand new report.
Companies realise they can’t compete on wage alone and as an alternative providing flexibility is vital to serving to corporations handle the rising prices of working their companies. Over half (52%) of companies have elevated salaries to draw proficient staff, however say wages rises can’t proceed on the fee they’ve been going.
The second ‘Future World of Work’ report from Sonovate explores what flexibility means to companies and staff all through the UK, and the way companies are using flexibility to stay aggressive in what’s been a candidate’s market throughout 2022. It brings collectively quantitative analysis from 4,000 individuals and 500 small and medium-sized enterprise homeowners, in addition to qualitative interviews with senior thought leaders from the way forward for work, employment and fintech sectors.
With half (49%) of companies saying they’ve been working in ‘a candidate’s market’ – one which favours candidates over corporations – companies are having to assume extra creatively about what versatile advantages they will supply to draw, retain and reward their staff. Seven in ten (70%) companies surveyed say probably the most expert individuals know their value and can solely work underneath circumstances that go well with them.
The usage of flexibility extends additionally to retaining the perfect individuals already working in everlasting positions. Over a 3rd (35%) of companies report a rise within the proportion of their everlasting workforce requesting to modify to contract or short-term roles.
Providing higher flexibility is sensible for a lot of companies from monetary and operational, in addition to recruitment, views. The report finds that companies are more and more turning to totally different types of flexibility to draw and retain workers, significantly the place it isn’t possible to compete on salaries in a excessive inflation, recessionary market. Greater than 4 in ten (43%) companies have raised wages for expertise however say they can’t afford these inflated salaries for lengthy.
The types of versatile working most favoured by the UK’s companies embrace permitting staff to decide on their very own hours (58%), accepting requests to maneuver from everlasting to short-term contracts (58%), and offering staff with utilities and web subsidies to work at home (additionally 58%). Different in style choices amongst companies embrace enabling staff to decide on which, or what number of, days they work (56%), and imposing a partial work at home coverage (54%).
These broadly tally with the needs and expectations of staff. Sonovate’s analysis finds that 30% of freelance staff need to select their very own hours, in addition to what number of and which days they work. Three in ten (27%) need to have the ability to work half time in the event that they want to, and 25% are eager to work at home after they need to.
Richard Prime, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Sonovate, feedback on the findings:
“As the price of dwelling disaster deepens and creates new dynamics and expectations, our understanding of what flexibility means and the way it works is quick evolving. Flexibility goes far past the place and when individuals work; it encompasses insurance policies that allow staff transfer between everlasting and short-term contracts, wider profit packages for longer-term contractors to match their everlasting colleagues, and the appropriate know-how to allow versatile working and immediate pay.
“The truth we’re seeing on the bottom places paid to the suggestion {that a} value of dwelling disaster or excessive inflation surroundings will stem the tide of staff requesting and even demanding higher flexibility from the companies they work for. The way forward for work is reworking month to month proper in entrance of us. Macro market occasions that we would assume would hinder the shift to a brand new world of labor are as an alternative accelerating and shaping working habits in fascinating methods.
“For a lot of companies, 2022 was the yr of the candidate’s market; it stays to be seen whether or not that may proceed into 2023. Both manner, if 2023 heralds higher progress, decrease inflation and extra stability, it’ll be fascinating to see how flexibility extends its attain additional and forces extra companies to assume creatively about how they appeal to, recruit and retain.”
