So, what has been the response of employers to the directive? There is a long-held belief within the business community that any kind of law, rule, regulation or directive from the Government causes increased costs to employers. As the flexible working regulations were not compulsory it was up to individual employers to determine their own position and consider whether they could different kinds of flexible working without suffering any costs. Let us take a short look at the different types of flexible working, the cost implications of each and whether there are any benefits to be gained from offering them.

Many of the options involve varying the number and times of the hours to be worked. Part-time working is by far the most used option and has no extra costs connected to it. There are many operational benefits for employers using part-time workers and a cost benefit in only having to pay for the time worked. Installing “flexitime” will involve spending money on a computerised recording system to manageeach worker’s attendance. There will be some cost savings as any lateness and doctor or dentist appointments will be in the worker’s own time. Furthermore, the appeal of flexitime can help to retain experienced workers and reduce recruitment costs. Job-sharing is also an attractive proposition to thousands of members of staff and generates minimal additional costs to the firm. Again, there are operational benefits and experienced staff can be retained in the firm when they wish or need to work fewer hours. There are other variations which often occur in some industries with seasonal trading patterns or opening times. Annualised hours is self explanatory and will entail workers working extended hours at peak trading times of the year with longer holiday periods or shorter working weeks in the ‘off season’. An ideal example is term-time working which is widespread in the education sector.

Where there is often a cost implication for employers is when workers are allowed to Work From Home.
A newly formed Internet Business with the very latest communication technology will probably have planned to operate with Online Jobs from its launch as the cost of the technology can be balanced by a proportionate reduction in the need for office space when workers Work From Home. However, a firm that is firmly established would need to invest in the technology required to permit workers to Work From Home but could possibly take a first step towards becoming an Internet Business. The first task would be to identify any tasks within the firm that could be converted to Online Jobs and then estimate the costs involved. It is unlikely that savings could be made in reduced office space unless flexible working formed part of a company restructuring and subsequent relocation. However, if important workers were retained by permitting them to Work From Home then recruitment and training costs for new staff would be saved.

However, along with the positives of flexible working, the company has to accept some responsibilities for those staff who need to Work From Home. The usual health and safety provisions which are in place at the office premises need to be duplicated at the employee’s home. This will incorporate the workspace to be used, the equipment which the company will probably be providing anyway and other less tangible areas such as insurance, training and reporting. Risk assessments will have to be carried out to check for any hazards which could lead to slips, trips and falls. Additionally, any equipment being used at home will have to be tested and maintained in line with any current rules which apply at the firm’s own premises. Working away from the office will necessitate the use of some level of communication technology and, depending on its complexity, there could be a requirement for training in its use. In spite of the fact that the workspace is at the employee’s home, the company will need to satisfy itself as to the ergonomics of the surroundings by assessing features such as lighting levels, desk heights and the kind of chair to be used with the desk. For a recently-formed Internet Business this would not be a problem as it would have been taken into account when they decided to have their staff Work From Home doing Online Jobs utilising the latest state of the art communication technology. However, for an existing company this will be a completely new state of affairs and they will have to be totally aware of their responsibilities before deciding to offer staff the opportunity to Work From Home.

Having determined that they are happy that specific job roles can be performed at home, then some thought ought to be given to the staff who have expressed a desire to do their work at home. To some of the staff involved it can be a big shock to leave a noisy office and work in a quiet atmosphere at home, while others will thrive on the opportunity to get more work done without interruptions. The company needs to know that they are not going to undergo a loss of productivity so the performance levels of those who begin to Work From Home need to be monitored closely. Thinking back to the earlier example of the modern Internet Business where a lot of the staff are working full time from home in their Online Jobs, it is probable that they operate to deadlines which are set for every particular task and this type of performance management should be considered in the early stages for those making the change to this type of flexible working.

Companies, who have lots of dispersed Online Jobs, use VoIP as their number one method of communication as it considerably cuts their telephone bills. Voice calls over the internet, are priced differently from ordinary calls made over a landline or a mobile network. A ordinary telephone call is priced in minutes of line usage. If you Work From Home and are a member of an online project team, the costs for one to one calls will begin to accumulate. This is no issue if the company is picking up the tab, but not so astute if it’s your own Internet Business. For an international corporation, these costs could amount to millions of pounds per annum. On the other hand, voice over internet is charged by Megabytes for the quantity of data sent. Typically the amount of data in a voice call is tiny next to other files and data sent over the internet, so the cost is dramatically reduced.

Skype is an example of VoIP where users can use their pc or laptop to converse through instant messaging or voice chat. Voice chat allows pairs of registered Skype users to phone each other for free. In 2006, Skype launched video conferencing which links 5 Skype users simultaneously. For staff with Online Jobs, a more useful feature is the audio conference call facility for up to 25 users at a hotel or even paying a visit to a customer’s premises. As long as you can get an internet connection, you can link up with the Skype conference call and play a part in online meetings.

Mobile VoIP is now becoming more widespread as “Skype” Phones and other smart phones commence to offer internet calls over the wireless networks. This means that IP calls are no longer just a device of the corporate and Internet Business community. Anybody with a smart phone can employ VoIP to make free calls to family and friends. Even devices like Apple’s iPod touch have Skype capability. The big expectation from customers is that the World Wide Web is free, and it should remain that way. As long as it does, companies can add this communication cost saving to any others produced by Online Jobs moving out of the office.

Employee Engagement is involved with providing the best possible conditions that will permit workers to work as effectively as possible for the firm. Providing the proper equipment for workers to do their jobs has always been a standard requirement whether it is the latest communication technology for an Internet Business whose workers mainly Work From Home doing Online Jobs or the best wheelbarrow for a labourer on a building site. Employee engagement takes this a step further and encompasses every aspect of the worker’s contact with the business. Various surveys have pinpointed the areas which workers will appreciate when they assess their relationship with their employer and which will generate positive employee engagement. These include

• having the opportunity to propose ideas for improving the business and being assured that they will be considered seriously
• being made aware of events within the firm as a whole and not operating in isolation
• being involved in the decision-making process on topics which will affect them
• having the option to develop both their position and themselves within the company structure
• feeling that the firm is sincerely concerned for their safety and general well being
• knowing that their line manager and senior executives are committed to the firm.

In order to consider the possible application of employee engagement techniques within any firm then the existing attitude of workers needs to be established. A survey ought to be carried out which would encompass all elements of the employee’s work including pay, working hours, benefits, environment, management methods, opportunities for further training, promotion prospects and their overall work-life balance. While every individual company’s results will vary, some guidance can be taken from the Chartered Institute of Personnel And Development (CIPD) who commissioned a national survey which discovered that:

• over a third of workers feel engaged with their firm
• more women than men do so
• about 25 per cent of under-35s and two-fifths of over-35s feel engaged
• about half of managers feel engaged with their firm , but less than thirty three per cent of non-managers.

Once a business has confirmed its current position it will be aware of the size of the task it faces to achieve an engaged workforce and benefit from raised performance levels, lower staff turnover with welcome cost savings and a more harmonious working relationship. The concept is more involved with creating a psychological bond with the workers that goes beyond the more tangible issues such as pay and conditions, although these are also crucial. There will be many difficulties to be overcome in many businesses. For example, how does a firm engage those who Work From Home? It is possible, as the CIPD survey pointed out that workers on flexible working contracts are more likely to feel engaged, to speak positively about their employer and to feel more satisfied with their work than those on non-flexible contracts. They are also less likely to move on from their roles which saves the company recruitment and re-training costs and makes sure that it retains a motivated, experienced and skilled employee. Also, the large firms mentioned earlier will carry out a lot of Internet Business and those workers doing Online Jobs in those firms will have formed part of successful employee engagement programmes.

Here is an account of one of the NHL Franchises that has a huge location benefits and has including changes in owners and management over the years.

The Washington Capitals were conceived in the summer of 1972 when contractor and NBA franchise manager Abe Pollin won out over eleven contenders for an NHL expansion team. The new club was set to play in the intended Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland. The Caps would join the league in the 1974-75 season with hall of fame player Milt Schmidt as their first general manager and Jimmy Anderson behind the bench as the Franchises first head coach. Their first game was the home opener against the New York Rangers, a game the Capitals lost 6-3. This first year would be a harsh one for the club, which would break and set many NHL records for futility. They lost 67 games in that first season and finished with a measly 21 points. They only managed 19 victories in their first two seasons, leading to the replacement of both general manager and head coach. Schmidt was followed by Max McNab and Anderson was followed by Red Sullivan as coach of the Capitals.

The next off-season also saw adjustments in the front office with David Poile replacing Max McNab as general manager. The club would acquire Rod Langway and Doug Jarvis in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens and the winning approach of the new players would pay enormous dividends. The club reached the .500 mark in 1982-83 and made its first playoffs appearance that postseason. They lost to the final Stanley Cup champions New York Islanders but defenseman Rod Langway won the Norris Trophy as top NHL rear guard.

The early 1990s saw a modification in the Capitals players as the likes of Peter Bondra, Michael Pivonka, Joe Juneau, and Jim Carey would emerge. The franchise still proved to be a playoff enigma, losing in the first or second rounds. Owner Abe Pollin made the decisive change within the club in 1997 when he replaced long time general manager David Poile with George McPhee. They went to the Eastern conference for only the second time in club history and faced off against the Buffalo Sabres. With past playoff failures behind them, the Capitals finally put some of their critics to rest by defeating the Sabres in six games to make it to their 1st ever Stanley Cup final. Facing off against them were the Detroit Red Wings, who were looking to fortify their legacy of the late 1990s. The Capitals were no match for the Wings, who swept them in four consecutive games to win the Stanley Cup.

Numerous people forget that franchising has a high achievement rate with a low risk rate and Consequently is more appealing to funding possibilities. A Franchise For Sale is far more appealing to funding organisations than other kinds of business. Banks and building societies are more likely to provide a loan to a Franchise Opportunity than to a regular organisation start up.

To appeal to banks and other funding associations a business plan must be drawn up to persuade these lenders that the concept and idea of your organisation is a workable one. They must trust your plans and be confident enough that the Franchise Opportunitywill be sufficient to pay off the money that you need to loan. So it is a good start to familiarise yourself with the sections of a business plan and seek advice to creating an effective one.

The fist part is to give an overview of your plans for the franchise. In this section you will put a summary of your plans so that the lender has an idea of what your organisation is and what region you will be working in. Main issues to include are information on, return on investment, risk analysis, competition, advertising and marketing plans, all this information will give the lender a better look at whether they think your organisation is workable. Keep this section interesting but summarise your plans and keep to the most important features that your Franchise will offer.

The next section will be your mission statement, in this section you will be showing the franchise values to the lender. In this section you are basically presenting how your organisation works and what makes it function. Ask yourself a few questions in this section, is your priority offering a service? Or is it making profit? It will show the beginning of what your Franchise will be built upon.

The next section will be for you to analyse the market and how your Franchise Opportunitywill enter this particular region of organisation. You will need to demonstrate the target market and the increase or decrease of the product or service that you will be contributing in the market place. You will incorporate how, once you have bought a Franchise For Sale choice, you are going to take it to market and compare other organisations in the field and how they will affect your organisations.

With a well put together business plan and the drive to get a franchise off the ground, you will have a better opportunity of getting the funding you need and therefore getting the franchise you want.

I will try and lay out a few things to be taken into account when selecting the best Franchise For Sale. You will get a gut feeling about a certain industry and this is usually something you have knowledge in or have an interest about but don’t let this rule, also use your head. The most vital thing is always ask for advice from your family, your accountant, experts in the industry and any other resource that will help you select the best Franchise Opportunity.

Another major point is to ask yourself what do you want out of the franchise? Do you want to take control of your own earnings, be your own boss and work from home? Then this will restrict your search to home-based franchises. Another major aim that will determine what franchise you will buy is whether you go for a low cost franchise option or higher priced option, basically how much money are you able to put in? Some of the high-end franchise opportunities that require a higher investment include property investments, fast food chains and the vehicle trade, these require asset purchases and staff to employ. So if you have a low investment take a look at other industries such as the Internet, decorating and consultancy, these choices will have lower initial investment but could still be profitable.

The next vital stage in deciding the best Franchise Opportunity for you is your knowledge. What industry or sector have you worked in formerly, what do you enjoy doing? And are you good at it? You might want a complete change as you may have worked in a particular industry for a number of years and have become sick of the industry and want to try your hand to something different. Some franchises look for people with a particular skill and expertise, while other franchises train their potential clients from a beginner standard. As I have mentioned there are an enormous range of Franchise For Sale choices from computing to cleaning but if you are skilled in theses areas then use this a foundation for deciding on your best Franchise Opportunity.

The last major stage is what are your goals for the Franchise? Is this a long-term option and you see yourself operating the business for many years or do you see just setting it up and then selling it on to another investor? A short-term franchise option may be Internet based, decorating or cleaning but if you are looking long-term then a fast food chain, fitness centre or a vehicle garage may be better suited.

The conclusion is that to make a success of your franchise is too match it with your interests and decide on something that you are excited about, as this will play a part to the franchise being a success.

It is also disconcerting for a new franchisee to recognise that the good ideas that he comes up with on how to improve the running of the business are nine times out of ten not taken on the franchisor, and more than that are disallowed going forward. This is all very much part of the Franchise culture. A culture that causes a considerable amount of pressure and annoyance for individuals having recently purchased a Franchise For Sale and less so for those who are experienced at the franchise model.

Those with more experience of the ways in which a franchise model works can recognise the necessity for conformity across the whole organisation. This generally means that the same stipulations apply to all franchises across the country but equally it could apply overseas too.

The model must be easy to reproduce all over the territory in which it operates and therefore should be built to allow regional differences in the process. The model must also take into account that the individuals running each franchise will have different abilities and so it must be clear and informative enough for all to handle. This can sometimes mean that an individual with extra skills in a particular area is restricted in his actions as the rest of the franchisees would just not be able to work at that level.

A lot of the consistency boils down to the ease in which the Low Cost Franchise operator can check and control the complete team. If every franchisee for example was sending sales figures in a different configuration it would be very time consuming to assess the overall picture and so all franchisees have to use the same reporting documentation. If one franchisee decided that he was going to put a deal together for a particular package of products in a selected month the sales of the franchisee in the neighbouring patch may be affected. This could rocket to a complaint to the franchisor. A few of these types of situations needing attention and the franchisor is using all his time smoothing out disagreements rather than continuing to grow his business.

So the rule book, although huge, is there for a very good reason, the continued expansion of the entire organisation. If you are considering a Franchise Opportunity do not necessarily be disheartened by a large and detailed list of do’s and don’ts. Often it is a indication that the franchisor has a great vision for the business and has the fortitude and drive to get it there. This of course is just what a potential franchisee wants to hear as the brand and business growth will have a massive affect on the profits for each franchisee.

What is your financial position? Can you afford to lay out a considerable amount of money with no instant return. The pause for return may be weeks or months so people looking for an instant return to live on may not be fit for a Franchise decision.

When purchasing a Franchise always take your work and life knowledge into account. What work have you done in the past and in what company sector, what you are good at will help your new Franchise develop. Some franchises are looking for individuals or groups that have an exact skill set or experience while most franchises can offer training from a learner standard to best equip you with your company.

There are 3 main advantages of joining a Franchise, the first is the brand name you are buying into. The brand name has an important value in the current global market, every year millions of pounds are spent on advertising and marketing the brand name because consumers are all about trust, quality and consistency. If a consumer trusts your brand they are going too use it over and over again, so with taking a Franchise Opportunity with a principal brand you have already got yourself dedicated consumers and hence a trust-worthy brand.

The 2nd advantage of coming across a Franchise For Sale is the proven track record a Franchise can offer you. Reports shows that 90% of all start up companies fail within the first five years of trading. This is because company owners have to learn while on the job, they have to invest so much to get the company going that some of them run out of capital. The competition for nearly every product or service is enourmous and learning on the job takes the company owner away from marketing and selling their product or service. Where as by taking a Franchise Opportunity there will be a back up or support scheme in place whereby marketing, human resources, accounting and experience are all in the Franchise banner thus avoiding the mistakes that new companies fall into.

The established clients, or consumers, the Franchise can present you with on starting your company will be another large advantage. When starting your company your clients or consumers will be the hardest single duty to develop, with a Franchise there is a guaranteed consumer base of which you have piece. The strength of the Franchise will be a massive boost to your company as they have greater buying power and influence than any small company. A Franchise will be like having your own network of friends repeatedly selling your product or service to the public. Therefore your competitors will not just be competing with you, but a influential group of friends that are all working towards the same goals and selling your company.

Here is a look at one of the NHL Franchises that has had massive support over the years containing massive advertising campaigns including films and merchandise.

The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim are a National Hockey League (NHL) team based in Anaheim, California. They were created in 1993, with their home arena at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (”The Pond”). Their jersey colours are maroon and green, and have a hockey mask outlining a duck’s beak, in front of two crossed hockey sticks.

When created in 1993, the Mighty Ducks were owned by The Walt Disney Company. The clubs name was elected from the Disney movie The Mighty Ducks (much to the disdain of numerous traditionalists), about a collection of misfit teens who produce an amateur hockey team. Disney has subsequently also made an animated series called The Mighty Ducks, including a fictional Mighty Ducks of Anaheim team that consists of actual (albeit anthropomorphized) ducks.

With their 1st draft pick, the Mighty Ducks chose Paul Kariya 4th overall in Round 1 of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. Kariya would turn into the cornerstone of the young Mighty Ducks club, the team captain, and would nearly head them to Stanley Cup glory in 2003 before his transfer to the Colorado Avalanche.

In 1997, the franchise made their 1st playoff appearance and won over the Phoenix Coyotes in seven games in the Western Conference quarterfinals. Though, they were defeated in the semi finals to the Detroit Red Wings.

Their best playoff performance in club history was during the 2002-03 season which saw the team come within one game of the Stanley Cup. They swept defending Stanley Cup champs the Detroit Red Wings, won over the Dallas Stars in the quarterfinals, won over the Minnesota Wild in the Conference Finals, and finally fell to the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Finals in 7 games. For his heroics which had kept the franchise in the playoffs a lot of times, goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most-valuable-player of the playoffs.