Reducing staff turnover is an ongoing headache for many businesses. Experts estimate it costs upwards of twice an employee’s salary to find and train a replacement. And churn can damage morale among remaining employees. But many employers are now finding that by creating and supporting a flexible work culture where part-time work is easily accessible if desired, creates loyalty, increases performance and reduces staff turnover.
Tips to making it work include:
1.Be realistic – staff moving from full-time to part-time need to adjust and manage their own expectations of what they can achieve.
2.Prioritisation – for the employee, the key to finding the balance is to make sure they are doing the important rather than the urgent.
3.Strategic approach – as an employer you should ensure that you have strategies in place to make this work. Being flexible and family friendly won’t be successful unless this is the case.
4.Support – part-time staff need the full support of their leader, their teammates and family for it to successfully work for everyone.
5.Review– re-visit and discuss compensation, benefits packages, and flexible work schedules at least annually.
6.Recognition– it is easy to overlook how important recognition and praise from managers can be, especially if an employee is not in the office full time.
A very real benefit many employers find with flexible arrangements is increased productivity –part-time employees may work fewer hours in the office, but they are capable of being just as productive as full-timers, they don’t have time to waste and are often extremely good at juggling a range of tasks. Not to mention the cost benefits to your business from reducing staff turnover!