What is it that employers of choice are doing to engender higher levels of employee commitment and engagement that in turn yield such significant impact on financial outcomes?  What do they know that their peers do not?

Empirical evidence from several sources (Families and Work Institute’s National Study of the Changing Workforce, Watson Wyatt’s Human Capital Index research, among others) identifies seven research-based criteria that describe the most productive and profitable workplaces:

• Maximizing job autonomy (providing adequate levels of control over the conditions of one’s own work)
• Creating learning opportunities that provide continual growth, learning and advancement
• Providing high levels of supervisor support, recognition and feedback for success on the job
• Ensuring high levels of co-worker support through teamwork and collaboration
• Involving employees in management decision-making
• Minimizing status distinctions
• Optimizing flexibility as a core business strategy

Most cultures were not designed from the onset to be flexible, and the way work is done in many organizations is a throwback to the industrial age, which doesn’t serve us very well in the global, highly technological, fast-changing conditions of the 21st century. 

The good news as we fast-forward into the future is that implementing workplace flexibility (in scheduling, management style, career options/strategies, thinking, processes, and benefits options) has few associated direct costs, so it is a remarkably inexpensive power tool for creating higher levels of attraction, retention, engagement, productivity and even wellness (workplace flexibility has been shown to reduce stress and burnout, thus impacting health care costs).  So if cost and efficacy across multiple fronts are immediate considerations, this is an excellent place to begin framing the optimal work environment.

If attracting, retaining and engaging your workforce falls within your scope of responsibilities look to WorldatWork.

WorldatWork is a global association dedicated to advancement of strategies and practices to attract, motivate and retain an engaged and talented workforce. Its focus is on total rewards, which include five components:

1. Compensation
2. Benefits
3. Work-Life
4. Performance and Recognition
5. Development and Career Opportunities.

WorldatWork has more than 30,000 members and customers worldwide who share this passion for total rewards and/or components of it. This includes specialists in work-life, compensation and benefits, as well as HR generalists and others who have an interest in education and networking. Founded in 1955, WorldatWork supports thought leadership, education, publications, research and certification, including the new Work-Life Certified Professional designation.

Join WorldatWork or get more information:

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