Savvy niche businesses survive in today's business climate, where outsourcing and freelancing are part of the picture. Functional Flexibility is a concept in companies where employees can work in different functions or can be deployed purposely to various functions with different roles and responsibilities. In contrast with a risk problem, a flexibility crisis is one of the large number of improbable but possible events that threaten the basic earning power of the business. "We have a team of 150 hardworking, talented people who have allowed our business to thrive.". When your vision changes, change direction with it. What we are seeing is that people want the ability to work remotely, work split hours, work around the traffic, do school drop offs or pickups or leave early on a Friday for a … There’s far less friction involved in the process, and you’re able to do more with less. Here are some examples of the ways workers can demonstrate flexibility. Differentiation can occur by way of a variety … Flexibility For Success Alessandra described five components someone should have to attain a high level of flexibility: respect for people, confidence, … This can be accomplished by making the employees multi-skilled so that they can perform various types of tasks whenever required. 56. Harvard Business Review, Nov./Dec. Strategic flexibility can be used by organizations as both an offense and defense mechanism, depending on the nature of change and its impact on the organization. Let no one think that flexibility and a predisposition to compromise is a sign of weakness or a sell-out. The Balance Careers uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. Freelance talent can be a major competitor for established small businesses. Able to change to cope with variable circumstances: "a flexible and quietly competent administrator" (Jerome Karabel). Flexibility on the part of a worker could be to adjust the hours they work—coming in early, staying late, or working on an off day—to accommodate the needs of the company. Pin. While flexibility is very necessary when your business is taking unexpected twists and turns; I think that flexibility, in general, is a wise trait for entrepreneurs to cultivate, even in times where things are feeling certain and going well. You can overdo this conditioning. For some organizations, it could mean hiring multiple temporary employees for a spike in business. But they will outsource to a marketing agency. Every niche faces its own set of challenges, but small businesses have a lot of commonalities. Flexible employees, for their part, are willing to do whatever is necessary to get the task accomplished, whether that means taking on more responsibilities, doing different tasks, or doing more at work. Freedom and happiness are found in the flexibility and ease with which we move through change. Quick Reference. With regard to joints specifically, flexibility is the degree of extension that its tissues are capable of. Equipping staff with the smartphones, tablets and laptops they need to … Adaptability & Flexibility Adaptability is a critical quality that employers seek in early 21st-century employees. Or, training temporary employees to take on full-time roles. Despite increasing momentum toward businesses offering more work flexibility, it’s still relegated to the status of a “nice to have” benefit at many companies. Chief Ideation Officer, CODA Concepts, LLC. Having employees who are willing to step outside their job description means employers don't need to find others to take on more work. vague meaning. Alison Doyle is the job search expert for The Balance Careers, and one of the industry's most highly-regarded job search and career experts. That's why the importance of flexibility in business can't be overstated. A flexible schedule is also dependent on employee availability to cover all aspects of the job and all hours of the day during which a business makes products or serves customers. Financial flexibility means different things to different business leaders, but it’s something every company should strive for. For example, when a new player enters the market with a new product, it is a major change in the external environment of an existing organization. Employees with a flexible attitude keep the company's objectives in mind and work to achieve them, tailoring their efforts to the mission at hand. But those in specific target markets are more likely to thrive during periods of global economic strife. By: Pam Lassiter. In a guest blog post for PR In Your Pajamas, co-author of Small Business, BIG Vision Matthew Toren wrote: "I define flexibility in business as the ability for a company to make whatever internal changes are necessary to respond effectively to … 57. When businesses embrace corporate flexibility, it can be possible to weather these challenges. Condensed schedules: Rather than a five-day workweek, a condensed schedule fits the same amount of work over a shorter amount of time, such as three or four days, giving the employee an additional day or two off during the week. Don’t just do what others tell you. Financial flexibility sounds great, but how do companies achieve it? Flexibility at Work Definition: Flexibility at the workplace allows one to evaluate what is happening and adjust to the role and responsibilities or even the job being offered. Share. The added competition, which often comes at a lower cost, can pose a challenge for established boutique firms. It spurs us on to outpace them. 5. (Definition of flexibility … The Advantages of Flexibility in an Organization. Some small businesses may find success with performance-based pricing, in which customers pay for results rather than time or services. You’ll Land More Clients. Workplace flexibility emphasizes the willingness and ability to adapt to change, particularly regarding how and when work gets done. For the purposes of this article, we propose using a simple framework for thinking about competitive strategy. Simply put, a flexible workforce describes a staff that is optimized for when it is needed. A flexible design will reduce redesign costs and allow quicker response to customers with increased performance. 4 Reasons Speed Is Everything in Business It's difficult to overstate the importance of speed in business. The importance of flexibility in business simply can't be overstated. From printing to marketing consulting, a multitude of small businesses are meeting the needs of larger businesses and corporations. Loyalty, engagement, and retention is improved, which helps a company's productivity and its bottom line. Our clients want to hire adaptable and innovative professionals. Flexible managers treat employees as individuals and make an effort to accommodate personal styles and needs. There are a variety of ways that workplace flexibility can be implemented by workers and employers. Please review. See more. Flexibility definition, the ability to bend easily or without breaking:The shoe soles are made from elastic materials to provide perfect flexibility. For example, one employee may require more structure in their job duties and another may function better working independently. They may telecommute during special conditions, such as inclement weather, or on a daily basis. May 2, 2020 By Jackie Harder Leave a Comment. Pricing is another area with two sides to its story. Golf is flexibility, and I notice more guys injured. Freelancing. This leads to customer frustration and spoils the customer experience which leading to loss of customers and profit. Product-based businesses aren't without options to innovate on pricing, however. Show Summary Details. Is the variation in the numbers of hours worked and the timing of the work. The strategic flexibility of a firm is its capability to adapt to changes in the external environment. Business flexibility refers to a company's ability to adapt to new circumstances. Being flexible gives the potential for a business to hold a competitive edge due to their wider variety, different volumes and varying delivery dates. Deploying new solutions. Being flexible is not something that business owners should fear; rather it is something that can actually help you take your business to the next level. The best example of strategic flexibility is the firm that is able to transform itself radically and permanently. are used … This flexibility can mean multiple things depending on the nature of your business. 54. A defensible positioning, i.e., difficult for competitors to replicate 3. Outsourcing can also mean more affordable labor for some businesses. A flexible business model can help a business shift its core focus to accommodate market demands. Workplace flexibility A company is said to have workplace flexibility when they acknowledge employees’ needs to deal with unforeseen circumstances in regards to scheduling. Don’t accept everything as it first seems. That in turn means employee turnover is reduced, as is the cost to recruit and train new hires. With it, there’s far more potential and peace of mind. A flexible workforce is a workforce that can perform a variety of different functions. flexible meaning: 1. able to change or be changed easily according to the situation: 2. able to bend or to be bent…. But flexibility isn't just about reacting to situations as and when they arise. Small businesses today must be flexible, or they risk failure. Learn more. How Employees Can Readjust to Office Life, Here Are Some Tips on How to Answer Questions About Shift Work, How to Implement a Long-Term Remote Work Plan, How to Negotiate to Remote Work From Home During COVID-19, How to Optimize Productivity While Working From Home, How to Take a Step Back and Still Move Your Career Forward, How to Maintain Company Culture While Remote Working, How Employers Can Effectively Manage Election Day Time Off, How Employers Accommodate and Welcome Disabled Employees, How to Communicate About Mental Health to Your Employees, Important Personal Skills That Employers Value, Reasons Why Teleworking Should Be an Option for Employees, Flexible Schedule and Telecommuting Is Changing the Work Environment, How to Use the Principles of Adaptive Leadership in the Workplace, Learning complex new software that will increase efficiency, Listening carefully to constructive criticism as part of a performance review, Offering to cover the responsibilities of a colleague while they are ill or on vacation, Offering to work extra hours during a year-end crunch, Pushing aside the work planned for the day to respond to an emerging problem, Working overtime to help a colleague meet a deadline, Analyzing the style and preferences of individual subordinates, Praising the work of a productive employee more frequently because she craves feedback, Providing release time for parents to attend school programs, Rewarding subordinates who make impactful suggestions. the quality of being able to change or be changed easily according to the situation: The new law gives auto makers more flexibility in meeting lower pollution targets. Flexibility definition, the ability to bend easily or without breaking:The shoe soles are made from elastic materials to provide perfect flexibility. This speaks to Thumbtack's business model: Serving new leads to small businesses, especially those desperate to secure new business. Our challenge is to determine if there is a way that all businesses can apppreciate and support “flexibility.” Why? It can also help an organization reach its goals thanks to improved productivity. 3. During periods of economic turmoil, some businesses may drastically drop prices just to make it, while others may make a killing. Don’t set a course and blindly stick to it. Readily bending or twisting the body without injury: You can play soccer much better if you're flexible. Flexibility requires strong communication, transparency and trust. When pollies and employers talk about flexibility in the workforce, bear in mind that ''flexibility'' has more than one meaning. Flexibility in the workplace allows employers and employees to make arrangements about working conditions that suit them. Competition keeps us awake at night. b. Closely linked to cost, efficiency and flexibility targets look at how effectively the assets of the business are being utilised, and how responsive the business can be to short-term or unexpected changes in demand. ble (flĕk′sə-bəl) adj. Flexibility is a personality trait that describes the extent to which a person can cope with changes in circumstances and think about problems and tasks in novel, creative ways. Decisions keep the business moving forward, and forward is always a good thing. All users of our online services subject to Privacy Statement and agree to be bound by Terms of Service. 5 key tips to maintain flexibility in business are: 1. An example of such flexibility is allowing employees to give input when creating schedules and allotting shifts. FLEXIBILITY is essential in changing business environments. Labor market flexibility refers to firms' ability under a jurisdiction's laws and regulations to make decisions regarding employees's hiring, firing, hours and working conditions. Typical forms are flexitime, overtime, shiftworking, zero-hours contracts, compressed working week, seasonal-hours contracts, and annual-hours contracts. 2. We have also had to lower our prices to get clients.". Capable of being bent or flexed; pliable: a flexible hose. © 2020 American Express Company. Customer loyalty – e.g. Strategic flexibility enables firms to achieve superior performance in dynamic and competitive business environment (Zhang, 2006; Nadkarni and Herrmann, 2010). Share 1. A flexible workforce is a workforce that can perform a variety of different functions. Process flexibility not only improves your processes in terms of their output, but trusting the process user in key moments makes following the process easier for them too. 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