Carolynn Elliman | Director | South Africa | International Workplace Group (IWG) | mail me |
More flexible ways of working could unlock billions of rands in productivity gains by helping businesses attract and retain talent and protect critical knowledge.
As businesses compete for critical skills and seek to improve productivity, attracting and retaining the right people has become an increasingly important boardroom priority.
The new analysis shows that hybrid working can turn this challenge into tangible economic value. Improved employee retention alone could be worth billions to businesses over the next five years.
Our research also found that 81% of CHROs say hybrid working is critical to retaining top talent. Meanwhile, 86% identify flexible working as the most in-demand benefit among prospective employees. Many professional workers now also cite remote work as the leading factor when choosing a new job, ahead of salary.
Flexibility becomes the deciding factor for talent
Nearly three-quarters (72%) of business leaders say offering hybrid or flexible working is key to attracting younger leaders. These employees recognise that they can work just as productively, if not more so, without a long daily commute.
Leaders also say that hybrid working is now the most common strategy for competing for the best tech talent (37%). It ranks ahead of competitive pay (35%). Furthermore, more than three quarters (78%) believe organisations offering hybrid or flexible working have a clear advantage over those that do not.
By offering greater flexibility and removing geographical barriers, hybrid models allow employers to access a broader recruitment pool. They also help businesses build more efficient operating models. This approach is central to the “new talent equation”, in which flexibility, technology and wider access to skilled people combine to create measurable productivity value. In this context, flexible working can help employers reach talent beyond traditional geographical boundaries while strengthening their ability to compete for critical skills.
Retention is the largest productivity opportunity
Improved talent retention is the largest single driver of productivity gains. Reducing staff turnover could also help companies avoid significant losses. When people leave, businesses lose momentum, experience, and output, as well as the individuals themselves.
Keeping experienced employees also delivers a crucial benefit: it protects institutional knowledge. Reducing knowledge-related disruption can generate significant productivity gains. This underlines the operational value of preventing expertise from walking out of the door. By prioritising flexible working, employers can support retention and help preserve the skills and experience that keep their operations running effectively.
Stronger talent attraction can generate further productivity gains over five years. More efficient recruitment and onboarding can add significant value.
Together, these gains show that workplace flexibility is not merely an employee benefit. Instead, it is a strategic lever for growth, resilience and productivity. As businesses reconsider how they attract and retain employees, flexible working can form an important part of a broader strategy to protect organisational knowledge and improve performance.
AI amplifies the advantage
Artificial Intelligence (AI) could amplify these benefits further. Four in five CEOs (80%) say combining AI with hybrid working increases productivity. Meanwhile, an average of 60% of workers report that AI is already improving their hybrid work experience.
For every business, having the right people is fundamental to performance. This research quantifies something many leaders already understand: retaining experienced people, attracting talent from a wider pool and giving them the flexibility to do their best work can have a significant impact on productivity.
– Christian Schmitz, CEO at IWG
Technology is making that opportunity even greater. AI is changing how and where work gets done, while more flexible ways of working give businesses access to people wherever they are. Together, they can help companies build more agile, productive organisations.
