Truth #5: Flexibility: the Way of the Future

5 Truths of the Hourly Workforce, part 5

As we look ahead to the light at the end of this COVID-19 tunnel, a ‘next normal’ is emerging. Organizations and employees are pushing for attention to mental health and impactful self care. The desire to live with a balance between work and life is rising to the top of our collective priority list. In a world where there are more jobs than people to fill them, employers of an hourly workforce can’t afford to NOT adjust to some version of employee-first flexibility. But what does flexibility mean in a world where remote work isn’t an option? 

While it may not be possible for a grocery store clerk to man the register from home, it may be possible to revisit shift scheduling, including a view of part time roles. Little Spoon, a Baby food delivery company, began offering easy rescheduling of shifts. This simple pivot for their customer service employees–many of whom are parents–helped increase the company’s retention and productivity. The business has to plan more strategically around surges in customer service requests, but in those cases, they can call on higher level managers to pitch in. This has not only led to increased flexibility, but has resulted in many hourly workers transitioning to full-time roles.* 

Affording flexibility, begins with the hiring process. In the current hiring climate, organizations are not only competing to attract talent, but also facing the challenge of holding onto candidates throughout the recruiting process. Allowing the candidate to select their interview day and time, determine how soon they can interview and how quickly the can start in their new job put greater control in their hands. From their first interaction with your organization, they experience that key sense of flexibility and control.

ProsperCare has proven that speed equals trust from “apply-to-offer” for high volume hiring. Its solutions and services reduce process friction to yield instant candidate matches to interviews. ProsperCare buys time for employers to focus on engagement with their teams, to promote career pathing and to reduce turnover.

* https://www.inc.com/rebecca-deczynski/increasing-shift-worker-productivity-hourly-incentives-advice.html