Here at Zywave we are in the process of wrapping up our annual performance review season. One of the questions we asked each of our employees this year was “What do you value most about working at Zywave?” What I expected to hear from my mostly millennial team were things like, “I value the idea sharing, the training and mentorship, the increased responsibility, the open communication and the culture of applause.” As expected, I heard all of those things from my team. What I didn’t expect, was how much our employee population values Zywave’s flextime policies.

As one of my direct reports wrote, “Flex hours rock my world. I like that I can be a mom and an employee and not have to feel like I’m choosing one over the other.” I heard this type of feedback in some form or fashion from each and every member of Zywave’s Content Development Team.

Flextime survey results

Employers have told us that attracting and retaining talent is one of the main challenges that keep them up at night. Recognizing that employees highly value work-life balance, more and more employers are turning to flexible work policies to help employees deal with issues such as child care, long commutes, and busy social lives.  Of the 2,833 employers who participated in Zywave’s 2013 Paid Time Off Survey , 28 percent offer flextime (up 2 percent from 2012’s findings), 20 percent allow for telecommuting and 11 percent offer compressed work weeks (full results available to Partners in Broker Briefcase). At Zywave, we have implemented all of these practices along with a generous paid time off policy as part of our strategy to keep our employees happy and productive in the workplace.

Strategic hiring and retention

What are you doing at your agency to attract and retain your top talent? Are you helping your customers address this pain point? If you’re a Zywave Partner, you have resources at your fingertips to help your employer groups introduce flexible hours into their workplaces. Check out the following in Broker Briefcase:

• 2013 Survey Results: Paid Time Off
• Paid Time Off Policy
• Is PTO Right for Your Organization
• Flextime Policy
• Make Your Workplace Flexible to Benefit Your Bottom Line
• Alternative Working Schedules Policy

Flexible working is clearly a valued employee benefit – so implement it at your agency and encourage your customers to do the same if they are interested in recruiting and retaining the best people for their businesses. It’s just one more way that you can be a strategic advisor looking out for your clients’ best interests.