It’s one thing for an employer to put flex policies on the books, but creating a flexible culture that helps a company retain valued employees is a more complicated endeavor.

WorldatWork, a global human resources association, studied flex programs at 537 employers. Companies offered an average of six programs, with part-time schedules, flex time and ad hoc telecommuting being the most common options. But it wasn’t the quantity of programs that was important; it was how well flexibility was integrated into daily operations. The higher the company scored itself on flexibility, the lower the turnover rate. “Culture trumps policy when it comes to workplace flexibility programs,” says Rose Stanley, a WorldatWork work life certified professional. “It takes skills to create a culture of flexibility, yet very few organizations offer managerial training and education.” Most employers said flex programs boosted satisfaction, morale and engagement; however, only 7 percent said they were measuring flexibility’s contribution to the bottom-line. The study also found significant hurdles to flexibility, including resistance from top managers and few training opportunities for mid-level managers who are charged with implementing flex.

WorldatWork “Survey on Workplace Flexibility,” 2011

http://www.worldatwork.org/waw/adimLink?id=48294

This article was featured in the November 2011 issue of Working Mother Research Institute’s email newsletter, Working Mother Research Institute Essentials. To read additional stories from that issue, see the related content section above. To subscribe to Working Mother Research Institute Essentials, register on the newsletter page of this website.