Flexible Working – The Way Forward for Candidate Attraction and Retention?

Being fortunate enough to work for a business that offers flexible working, I can understand why an ever-increasing number of candidates are attracted to businesses that offer the ability to work remotely when either seeking a new role or deciding whether to stay with their existing employer. I live in rural Wexford and enjoy the balance of commuting up to Dublin three days per week and being able to work from home twice per week. I find this balance hugely effective as it enables me to avoid spending hours commuting and gives me a good couple of days at home where I have no office distractions. I can condense all of my internal meetings and interactions into 3 days along with client and candidate meetings. 

My colleague Tanya Thomas also enjoys working from home in Kilkenny once a week and we both attended the “How the Future of Remote and Flexible Workers Impact Your Business” event hosted by Abodoo last Tuesday evening at the newly opened ‘The Hatch Lab’ in Gorey, Co. Wexford. The event gave a good insight into the benefits of flexible and remote working, how other people are doing it and how it is impacting business’ ability to attract and retain the best talent.

So, here are a few of the takeaway points from the hosts Abodoo, highlighting why remote and flexible working does work;

• In the UK there are 4.2m people who work from home and statistics show that they are 10% - 20% more effective than their office bound counterparts
• Over 50% increase in staff retention
• People are happier – 82% of remote workers reported lower stress levels
• Remote workers save around €7k per year working from home
• The environmental impact on homeworking cannot be ignored reducing the amount of commuters on the road
• Offering flexible working opens up a diverse talent bank, particularly amongst working parents and people with disabilities.

An inciteful talk by Brendan McDonald – Manager South East Region at the IDA outlined how flexible working can have a real impact on the economy of Ireland. When attracting foreign investment to the South East of Ireland, Brendan highlighted added benefits of having a strong pool of flexible and remote workers. He additionally gave a success story in home working with the eCommerce business Shopify. Now employing 150 people in Ireland with no office at all. All employees work remotely and it works exceptionally well.

Any Drawbacks?

Working from home doesn’t suit everyone and a key drawback can be isolation and a lack of human interaction. This is where hot desking and hub-working can really come into play. The newly opened ‘The Hatch-Lab’ in Gorey offers fantastic state of the art and affordable hot desking facilities in Gorey. Businesses or individuals can rent hot desking facilities on a long term or flexible basis. There is a commitment from the government to create a hot desking community across Ireland in every Community, so we are set to see more of these types of facilities not just in the cities but all across Ireland.

So, is Ireland ready for Remote Working?

Minister Denis Naughton, Minister for Communications, Climate Action & Environment outlined how the government in encouraging and gearing up for an increase in flexible and remote workers. Denis is leading the National Broadband Plan which will see Ireland as the first country in the world to have high speed broadband to every premises in the country.

With the technology available and the appetite from workers, it looks like Flexible working is on the increase and here to stay – is your business ready for it?