100 GREAT BUSINESS IDEAS • 95In practice
- Market your fl exible working options to potential employees—
this can help recruit graduates and give your company a valuable
selling point when competing for the best workers. - Flexible working does not mean sacrifi cing important deadlines
or performance. Give your employees goals and responsibilities,
not schedules. - Job sharing, where two or more people are employed in one role
part-time, can provide increased fl exibility. - Be prepared for a fl atter organizational structure that can result
from fl exible working—open plan and fl uid working environments
tend to break down physical barriers and hierarchies. This can
be met by resistance from senior managers. - Manage the transition. Many workers may be wary of change,
and others may be unsure of how to cope with the new challenges
it brings. Educate employees on how to get the most out of
the changes. - Flexible working is not suitable for everyone. Some employees
work better in an environment with an element of rigidity. - Use it as an opportunity to decrease costs and reduce transport
expenses by holding meetings via telephone and IM (instant
messaging) technology.