4 posts tagged flexible workforce

Last week we announced our partnership with FlexJobs.com.  This partnership combines our software product capabilities for creating, managing, and retaining a flexible workforce with FlexJobs’ credible and targeted capabilities for attracting and recruiting results-oriented talent looking for flexible work arrangements.

Because FlexJobs CEO Sara Sutton Fell is a flexible worker herself, we thought it only appropriate that we ask her to pull back the curtain on her company and her own work lifestyle.

Why did you start FlexJobs.com?

 SSF: I started FlexJobs after experiencing frustration in my own job search.  I was pregnant with my first child at the time, and as a professional woman I looking for a job that was both in my career path AND that would also allow some flexibility for family.  I quickly learned that the search for professional, flexible jobs was very much like finding “needle in the haystack” of ads, scams and other junk.  I was shocked that there wasn’t an easier, more reasonable way to find these jobs.   

 My experience also led me to the profound realization that although women have come incredibly far in the workplace, when it comes to incorporating pregnancy and motherhood into our careers, there is still a very long way to go to find the kind of flexibility we need.

What’s your most notable jobseeker success story yet?

SSF: Honestly, there are so many that come to mind, and they come from all kinds of job-seekers — women, men, mothers, fathers, military spouses, executives, caretakers, students, retirees, etc.  One of the most recent success stories was with a new mother who was looking for a flexible job, ideally one that would allow her to telecommute with flexible hours.  She had actually applied for a job with FlexJobs, and I thought she was a fantastic candidate and ended up offering her the job.  But, she had actually received two other job offers through job leads she had found on our site!  As it happened, she decided to accept a different offer than mine, as it was a better overall fit for her career background and goals.  Although I was disappointed personally, of course, I was thrilled that she had found a great job that truly fit her life!

What about most notable employer success story?

SSF: Similarly, there are so many that are notable or different reasons, but a sentiment that I have had the good fortune to hear from several employers  is that “FlexJobs helped us find the most impressive employees we have ever had – thank you so much!”   

A recent standout employer experience was with Forrester Research.  They had great success using FlexJobs — they were pleased to get a robust pipeline of high quality candidates for their job, and there were impressed with how quickly it happened.  Even better, they ended up hiring someone who applied as a result of the posting!  In their words, “It is a huge success story for us at Forrester, and I’ve shared this great resource with all of our recruiters for our future remote staffing needs.”  

 Our bottom line is that we are thrilled to help great employers of all sizes and in all industries find great flexible candidates.

When you are hiring, do you post the opportunity on FlexJobs?

SSF: Yes!  In fact, we just went through a big hiring process for 6 positions, including both a Director of Marketing & PR and a Director of Business Development.   I only posted the jobs on FlexJobs, and I am thrilled to say that we hired amazing people for each and every role. 

What are your predictions for the next 12 months when it comes to flexible talent acquisition?

SSF: I believe that flexible talent acquisition will continue to increase, and largely due to the numerous bottom-line benefits that it offers employers.  Many employers who hadn’t considered hiring remote staff or freelancers before the recession have opened their minds to these alternative arrangements from a cost savings perspective. 

Additionally, with the long and short-term benefits of increased productivity and reduced turnover, employers are realizing that workplace flexibility isn’t just a perk for the employee, but also for the company!

Have you seen an increase in flexible job listings?  What are some of the trends you’re noticing?

SSF: We definitely have seen an increase in flexible jobs, by about 400% in the past three years.  We’ve seen growth in many career categories, especially education, medical, nonprofit, information technology, and sales.  We’ve also experienced a surge in companies – both large and small – that are integrating a virtual component to their business models, and really implementing telecommute options into their work culture. 

More about Sara…

Sara Sutton Fell is the CEO of FlexJobs, an innovative job site for telecommuting, part-time, freelance, and other flexible job opportunities.  As CEO, Sara is responsible for managing all aspects of the company. 

Sara is a specialist in the online job market, particularly on the topics of online job searching, telecommuting, and flexible work arrangements.  She is frequently quoted in the media and has appeared on CNN, NPR’s Marketplace Money, Entrepreneur Magazine, Forbes.com, Yahoo!, and many other sources to discuss employment trends.  In addition, she is a passionate advocate for work-life balance and the environmental benefits of embracing alternative work arrangements.

Prior to starting FlexJobs in 2007, Sara spent 12 years in management and entrepreneurial roles. She also co-founded another online job company in 1995, JobDirect, which was acquired by Korn/Ferry International in 2000.

Sara holds a BA in Society, Technology, and the Environment from the University of California at Berkeley.  She resides in Boulder, Colorado with her husband, two young sons, and chocolate lab.

Every week, “Ask the Founders” features our founders Meryl Rosenthal, President & CEO and Robin Roschke CTO & COO.  They’ll be providing answers to your burning questions about flexible work best practices, telecommuting policies, the legalities related to the flexible workplace, and workforce productivity.

This week’s Ask the Founders question at first sounds like it’s about approach…but you’ll find it goes deeper than that.

One person on my team has a flexible work schedule because she has to take care of her ailing relative.  I know there’s a few people, including me, that would also like a flexible work arrangement, however, our need is not as urgent.  How do we approach our manager?  

ROBIN:

Your request for flexibility has nothing to do with whether or not your associate does.  Furthermore, why your associate has flex does not make their arrangement more or less important than yours.  Elder care is not more important than adoption or a sabbatical or just a need for a compressed work week.  Your manager has already shown a readiness towards managing flexible teams so approaching your manager should be fairly straightforward.  While you may be informed of company policies, it is more important to take into consideration the business impact of your “flex-ing” and address that in your discussion with your manager.  Each member of the team should prepare their “flex request” and allow time for your manager to work with each team member one-on-one. 

One special consideration – given that  multiple colleagues are requesting flex schedules – perhaps give your manager time to readjust workflow and schedules so that everyone’s efforts are synchronized and the entire team’s efforts are optimized.  Consider how you will work together, share information and conduct meetings.  Assuming your manager says yes, it is important to think about how you will be successful at working flexibly.

MERYL:

Teeing up a flexible work request should not be about ‘Why do I need it?’ or ‘Why is it important for me?’. Rather it should be about ‘Why it is important for the business I am in?’.  The answer should hold true for the company, the team, the manager, and the individual making the request. 

Flexible working is about shared responsibility. 

Framing it this way from the beginning changes the whole discussion. So while you may deem your colleague’s request as urgent, that isn’t the point.  What is urgent to the individual isn’t necessarily urgent to the business.  It is more about having a compelling business dialogue about why flexible working would be effective in your situation, in other words, your role and/or working environment.  So take a moment to step back and ask yourself some important questions and prepare yourself for a solid business dialogue. 

These questions will involve your company culture, manager style/work environment and your own capabilities/realities. 

With regard to company - Does it stand for and promote flexible ways of working?  Is there an openness and appetite for it or did your colleague get approved as more of an accommodation or quite frankly due to legal reasons given she is a caregiver and has rights as a result? 

If there is openness, how has the company messaged or strategically aligned flexibly working?  Is it discussed as a health/wellness stress reduction measure?  Does it talk about it as it relates to cost savings?  Does it integrate it with retention and engagement of diverse talent?  Is it teed up on your company’s recruitment website as a reason why the company is a  best place to work? 

Having this perspective is important as it helps frame your having a smart, aligned business dialogue with your manager or HR.

Second, size up your manager.  Do they work flexibly?  Are they comfortable with the topic, have others approached them successfully?  What do they respond to?  Are they more of a ‘dip your toe in the water’ – let’s try this out first?  Or, are they more innovative and apt to stand behind this publicly?  Are you both operating from the same definition of what is possible?   Are you being emotional, telling stories, making it personal or are you have a business dialogue?  Steer clear from the former.

Third, think about your world and its realities.  Does your job truly allow for flexible working?  Can you successfully perform your role independently mixing up where, when, how and how much you work?  Do you have the discipline, wherewithal, capabilities and confidence to work this way?  Do you really want to work flexibly?  Or is it out of need? You need to really consider this.

Approaching your manager in a way that is relevant, tied to business, objective, when they see this can be a triple win -the trifecta of company, team, individual- ultimately gives you the best probability of success. 

Have a question you want to ask Robin and Meryl? Email it to jessica (dot) smith (AT) flexpaths (dot) com, send a Direct Message via Twitter to @FlexPaths, or write on our FlexPaths® Facebook wall.

Today two organizations, truly leaders in our space, will officially announce their partnership later this morning.  I’ve been asked to attend the press conference and I will be live tweeting from both the @FlexPaths and my personal Twitter account, @JessicaNow.  The hashtag to follow along is #workflex starting at 9:30am.

Don’t forget to follow @SHRM and @EllenGalinsky, President of FWI on Twitter as well.

This new, multi-year partnership, known as “Moving Work Forward”, will help transform workplaces by highlighting the importance of effective and flexible workplace strategies to the business bottom-line.

During the announcement this morning, leaders from the corporate world along with the military will be joining SHRM and FWI at the National Press Club.  There, they will provide their points of view on workplace flexibility and how it has been successful at their organizations.

Military and business leaders we can expect to hear from include:

•         Henry G. Jackson, Interim President and CEO, SHRM
•         Ellen Galinsky, President, FWI
•         Sharon Allen, Chairman of the Board, Deloitte LLP
•         G. Brint Ryan, CEO, Ryan Inc.
•         Ted Childs, Jr., Principal of Ted Childs LLC, Board Member of FWI
•         Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

At FlexPaths, we’re extremely excited about this partnership because it reinforces the value that flexible work practices add to an organization’s overall success .  We’ve seen this first hand with our own clients as they reduce overhead costs and increase productivity all while empowering and retaining top talent.

Yes, suggests a survey by Harvard Medical School. Researchers found that how often academic authors were cited in papers was connected to how closely they sat to each other. This correlation led the researches to conclude that “despite the positive impact of emerging communication technologies on scientific research, our results provide striking evidence for the role of physical proximity as a predictor of the impact of collaborations.”

In other words, collaboration is more effective if you’re face-to-face rather than working in virtual teams.

Extrapolating from that research and conclusion, commentator/Forbes blogger Dan Bigman writes that working from home might dent your shiny new career - especially if your job requires working with teams and collaboration.

But don’t tell that to Ingrid Van Den Hoogen, who, after twenty years with Sun Microsystems, was recently hired as Chief Marketing Officer for Plantronics, a company based in San Jose.

Van Den Hoogen is - obviously - a successful executive who telecommutes to San Jose, California from her home in Alaska.

Apparently it can be done.

Just ask the executives at Flexpaths - all of us practice what we preach, from our homes, our cars, planes, and hotel rooms.

(And, occasionally, the office.)

Need a reason to explore further how teleworking could be beneficial for you and your company?  Pledge to telework during Telework Week brought to you by the Telework Exchange. 

Photo credit: Tina Lawson

In the meantime, what do you think?  Do you think telecommuting can be detrimental to your career if you’re required to collaborate and work with an extended tea?