Flexible working 'offers recruitment advantage'

A small business may be more successful in recruiting new staff or retaining old ones if they offer flexible working schemes, an industry expert has suggested.

According to Lynette Swift, managing director of flexible working specialist Swiftwork, applicants are attracted by the chance to work from home and current employees can be kept happy if they can vary their working arrangements.

"Flexibility is definitely an advantage to small businesses in recruiting or retaining staff," she said.

"Many women would not be able to return to work after maternity or to remain in work if they were not offered flexibility.

"Flexibility enables small business to retain their key staff who have valued knowledge and skills," she added.

VoIP services can link in with company IP PBXs to allow employees to receive calls from the office even when working from home.

This allows companies greater opportunities in managing their workforce and could help a growing firm continue to expand without having to upgrade to a larger office.