Moving forward, change is inevitable.
No, this is not referring to the referendum. Indeed, this change is not even something which government alone can achieve. The time has come for businesses to take a central role not just in creating more jobs, but better quality jobs. For in creating better quality, we can derive better results from the increased motivation of staff.
Businesses recognise this, and are now taking on a more focused approach in seeking to integrate policies and strategies more in line with the modern, 21st century workplace and the demands of 21st century society. This involves finding a balance between the individual and the workplace without sacrificing results.
This is not a drive for revolution, but evolution. In the past the notion of flexi-time was derided as something which could never succeed in the workplace and would, in actual fact, hamper productivity. Yet now it plays a central role in the operations of large and small businesses alike with many not able to operate without it.
A blueprint for further evolution of this type can be seen in the policy of Netflix in letting staff take as many holidays as they like, provided they can complete or arrange for work to be covered. It is not a gimmick. So effective has this proven to be, that it has been adopted by Virgin's Richard Branson for his 170 staff. It is, somewhat paradoxically, a means of balancing the increasing customer demand for 24/7 service, with an increased autonomy for employees, trusting them to get work done efficiently, and to reap the consequent rewards.
It is ideas such as this, which focus on the results that you produce, rather than restrictive formal rules to goad you towards said results, which may propel Scottish businesses ahead of their competitors, attracting and retaining the best talent, and keeping that talent motivated.
Businesses can grasp this opportunity and make innovation in the workplace beneficial for both themselves, and their employees.
Liz Cameron is chief executive of Scottish Chambers of Commerce
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