Attracting the Right Talent Through Flexible Work Opportunities
- Jonathan H. Westover, PhD
- Feb 6
- 4 min read
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Abstract: The modern workforce is rapidly evolving, with younger professionals increasingly prioritizing flexibility, purpose, and work-life balance over traditional job structures. To attract and retain top talent, organizations must thoughtfully adapt their culture and work arrangements to meet these shifting employee needs and preferences. Key elements of an effective flexible work philosophy include location flexibility, schedule flexibility, and robust support for skills development and career growth. Leading organizations across industries have found success implementing flexible work models, citing benefits such as expanded talent pools, improved productivity, and strengthened employee engagement and retention. By crafting flexibility policies with both employee well-being and business sustainability in mind, organizations can gain a competitive advantage in recruiting and retaining highly skilled professionals.
The modern workforce is changing dramatically. Younger professionals, in particular, increasingly prioritize flexibility, purpose, and work-life balance over any single job (Xing & Handy, 2019). As leaders try to attract and retain highly skilled talent, they must thoughtfully adapt organizational culture and work arrangements to meet evolving employee needs and preferences.
Today we will explore how offering flexible work opportunities can help organizations attract the "right" talent—those who will contribute maximum skill and passion while maintaining a sustainable career-life framework.
Understanding Motivations of Highly Skilled Professionals
Several studies provide useful context on what motivates highly skilled professionals and shapes their career choices. According to research from Gallup (2021), these individuals increasingly desire flexibility in how, when, and where they work. Specifically:
Location flexibility: 76% say the ability to work remotely some of the time is important for job satisfaction.
Schedule flexibility: 66% prefer a flexible schedule over strictly set hours.
Purpose-driven work: Highly skilled professionals are more motivated by meaningful impact than financial incentives alone.
Additional research from Gallup (2017) found these individuals also prioritize well-being, growth opportunities, and work-life integration over any single job. Deloitte's 2020 Global Millennial Survey similarly reported millennial and Gen Z professionals strongly value flexibility, personal fulfillment, and skills development during their careers.
This research indicates today's highly skilled workers, especially younger generations, seek ways to blend career advancement with achieving life goals outside of work. As a result, leaders must thoughtfully adapt policies and culture if aiming to attract top talent.
Crafting A Flexible Work Philosophy
To compete for highly skilled professionals, organizations should thoughtfully develop a flexible work philosophy centered around three key components: location flexibility, schedule flexibility, and skills/career development support. Some specific policies and practices to consider include:
Location Flexibility
Establish a formal remote work policy allowing employees to work partially or fully remote as their roles allow, with clear communication of eligibility criteria and expectations.
Provide resources like laptops, virtual meeting tools, and wifi reimbursement to enable remote productivity.
Foster remote collaboration through continued team-building efforts and open communication channels between remote and in-office employees.
Schedule Flexibility
Allow flexible schedules where employees can choose start/end times around core business hours or compressed work weeks.
Promote results-focused evaluation over task-oriented time-tracking to empower productivity from any location.
Accommodate occasional shifted schedules for life events like medical appointments or family obligations.
Skills & Career Development Support
Provide learning and development stipends for continuing education classes and certification programs.
Offer rotational assignments, special projects, or stretch opportunities for skills expansion.
Provide leadership coaching, mentoring programs, or tuition reimbursement for career-focused degree programs.
Recognize achievements transparently to showcase new skills and expanded potential roles.
While policies alone are not transformative, combined with authentic leadership behaviors, this flexible work philosophy signals an organization truly values employees' whole lives. Such authentic commitment strengthens talent attraction and retention.
Industry Examples: Flexible Work In Action
Leading organizations across industries have seen success implementing variations of the above flexible work philosophy. Their experiences underscore both challenges and opportunities that can inform any leadership team crafting their own policies.
Technology
At Anthropic, an AI safety startup, 95% of employees work remotely with fully flexible schedules, supported through open communication practices. Founder Dario Amodei reports this model enables recruiting top global talent while maintaining high productivity and culture through intentional relationship-building. Other technology giants like GitHub, GitLab, and InVision also implemented highly flexible policies citing strengthened attraction and retention of in-demand engineering talent.
Professional Services
Accounting firm PwC allows over 50% of US employees to work virtually or in satellite offices, supporting clients nationwide. Client services are not location-dependent, so this flexibility significantly expanded the potential talent pool. Meanwhile, leadership prioritized frequent video meetings to foster culture across dispersed teams successfully.
Media & Publishing
Vox Media shifted to largely remote work in early 2020 due to the pandemic and committed to a long-term flexible model, with roles tailored to suite either in-office, remote, or hybrid arrangements. Editor-in-Chief Melissa Bell reports retaining and attracting top journalists nationwide through location flexibility, cultural events supporting remote staff connections, and transparent feedback on new role possibilities within teams.
Higher Education
At Western Governors University, competency-based learning programs are entirely online with flexible enrollment timelines. Faculty support students fully remotely through one-on-one mentorship and virtual community spaces. Program Director Rebekah Richards notes this teaching model enabled recruiting top professors nationally, while maintaining student support and outcomes at scale through technology-driven tools and communication best practices fostering personal connection.
Conclusion
Attracting and retaining highly skilled professionals requires adapting to evolving talent motivations around flexibility, purpose, and work-life integration. By crafting policies and practices supporting location flexibility, schedule flexibility, and ongoing skills/career development, organizations signal authentic commitment to employees' whole lives—not just their work outputs alone. Done thoughtfully in partnership with leadership communication and relationship-building, flexible work frameworks like those highlighted can help attract top candidates, empower their performance, and support retention and talent development over the long-term. Leaders must thoughtfully craft flexibility with sustainability in mind for both employees and business outcomes. But meaningful flexibility thoughtfully implemented can deliver significant competitive advantages to those ready to meet evolving workforce needs and preferences.
References
Gallup. (2017, October 24). State of the American workplace.
Gallup. (2021, January 12). Gallup study: Workers want flexibility in remote work.
Xing, F., & Handy, F. (2019). Factors influencing worker satisfaction with teleworking. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 48(2), 281–305.
Deloitte. (2020). The Deloitte global 2020 millennial survey: Burnout and disconnect rising amid pandemic.
Jonathan H. Westover, PhD is Chief Academic & Learning Officer (HCI Academy); Chair/Professor, Organizational Leadership (UVU); OD Consultant (Human Capital Innovations). Read Jonathan Westover's executive profile here.
Suggested Citation: Westover, J. H. (2025). Attracting the Right Talent Through Flexible Work Opportunities. Human Capital Leadership Review, 17(3). doi.org/10.70175/hclreview.2020.17.3.6
