Last week we began talking about how the federal government can increase its competitiveness in the global market by adopting workspace flexibility.
What is the call to action for the federal government that will help implement this strategic management system? In my opinion, there are two important steps:
- Develop long-term goals that support sustainability, as well as identifying operational inefficiencies that can be improved to guarantee business continuity
- Implement work-life balance programs that satisfy the needs of the 21st century employee
workspace flexibility has become a national priority that will help drive the economy of this country by helping working families and encouraging employee engagement with their companies. When companies begin to focus on employee satisfaction by allowing more job flexibility, what results is greater commitment to the company and increases in productivity. A company that has a foundation of happy employees doesn’t have to worry about high turnover and the associated costs of hiring and training new employees.
Adding to the value of flexibility is business continuity. Businesses that make an effort to comb through implemented processes for inefficiencies can establish long term solutions that enable productivity to carry on seamlessly, regardless of extenuating circumstances. For example, a company that has an established work from home policy will have no interruption in work flow due to parents staying home with a sick child, long commuting hours, or bad weather conditions.
The course of action going forward is to transition to a flexible work place on demand for government agencies. This will increase work performance and place the federal government on a higher plane of competitiveness in the global market.
Benefits of Workspace Flexibility
Organizational:
- Real estate cost savings
- Increase in productivity
- Business continuity
Environmental:
- Reduction in carbon footprint (office space, commuting, etc.)
Talent Acquisition
- Ability to compete with private sector
- Specialized and targeted recruitment pools
Increased Employee Satisfaction
- Better work-life balance
- Employee retention
- Increase in productivity
With these types of benefits and confirmed figures to back them up, it's clear why companies will need to start embracing workspace flexibility within their organizations.