Flexible benefits ''help to attract and retain talented staff''

Flexible benefits in the workplace help employers to attract the most talented staff available in the marketplace.

This is the view of Chartered Management Institute spokesman Mike Petrook, who cautioned that organisations which do not offer flexible benefits may miss out on the best candidates.

One useful strategy can be to allow employees to operate from home on certain days, or to tailor their hours more closely to their lifestyle and family commitments.

"It''s not the hours that somebody spends at a desk or in their place of work - it''s what results they deliver," Mr Petrook remarked.

He was reacting to a survey by recruitment firm Hays, which found that many companies are failing to take advantage of the benefits of operating flexibly.

However, the majority of public and private sector organisations claimed that up to ten per cent of their workforce have been given flexible benefits over the past year. Back