Lottery operator Camelot has found that a flexible approach to working can control labour costs and bring focus to core business activities.
Its HR team claims using part-time and agency staff on flexible contracts cuts costs and allows it to tackle problems such as absenteeism and sickness.
Issues such as sickness have become the responsibility of contractors – enabling Camelot to focus on corporate strategy.
Camelot’s findings are highlighted in a report on work trends published last week by the Birmingham-based Centre for Tomorrow’s Company.
In the study, New Working Patterns, Camelot’s HR team said offering flexible working has improved staff loyalty, commitment, morale and productivity. Service hours have been extended to meet the demand of Saturday Lottery draws. Camelot’s flexible work policies are based on the results of a Mori poll distributed to all managers.
The report claims firms offering a range of employment options including part-time work, job sharing and freelancing are not only better able to control labour costs but can also meet staff needs for a variety of work patterns.
It concludes that companies must integrate flexible work options into their overall strategy and values.
Those that have achieved this, such as BT, IT company AIT and Camelot, benefit from much higher performance levels than competitors, it says.
Carol Savage, managing director of flexible working consultancy The Resource Connection, agreed with the findings.
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“Flexible working allows you to find the best staff because it offers you access to a wider pool of talent. It also helps with retention because it allows employees a say in how they work as well as satisfying their employers’ business goals,” she said.
