With the battle for talent only likely to increase in years to come, employers are having to come up with new ways to attract and retain staff.

It's no longer enough to wave fat salary cheques around and that will be less of an option when times are tough in any case.

Small businesses in particular are often unable to compete with larger rivals when it comes to pay but they do have one advantage in that they generally find it much easier to offer flexible working as a valuable perk that can increase productivity as well as helping to keep hold of top employees as their own personal situation changes.

"As your employees' lives change, so also will their priorities and requirements," says Kim Fletcher, a business adviser at Business Link. "However, you don't necessarily have to lose a good employee simply because their circumstances have changed. Letting your employees work flexibly allows them to maintain other commitments they might have, including caring for children or other dependents.

"When employees feel valued and supported in their work life, it can help increase productivity within the workplace and can even increase customer satisfaction," she added.

Business Link offers the following tips on how to implement flexible working:

Choose the right way for you
Flexible working means changing the pattern, length and location of your employees' work and there are a number of options to choose from. It includes a number of working structures such as part-time or shift work, working from home, job-sharing, flexi-time or compressed working hours. Look at your business and figure out which one's the best method for you

Consider the impact
The benefits your organisation gains from a workforce that works flexibly will depend on how suitable it is for your business type, so consider the likely effects on your other systems and procedures. For example, think about what deadlines your organisation works to, any geographical requirements you have for meeting these and any technology staff would need to continue working outside the office

Be aware of legislation
Know which of your employees has the right to request flexible working and what you, as an employer, need to provide if you grant them permission to do so. Managing requests to work flexibly can be easily handled using free online tools and advice such as those provided on www.businesslink.gov.uk/flexibleworking [1]

Update the paperwork
Existing contracts may have to be changed with the prior written agreement of the employees. With alterations to the working relationship, it would be wise to reflect this in your formal contract. Consider using the www.businesslink.gov.uk/writtenstatement [2] tool which can help quickly and cheaply create, or recreate, working terms and conditions

Tell them about it
If you chose to make flexible working a formal business-wide policy, keep employees informed and consult them before you introduce the policy. This should help employees consider the question of work-life balance from your perspective as well as their own

See how it goes
Once the new schedules have been properly bedded down, keep a close eye on operations to ensure that flexible working is indeed benefiting the business. Talk to employees regularly to ensure they are still happy with their new way of working.

Remember, there are no hard-and-fast rules on what constitutes an acceptable work-life balance. This will depend on your organisation's operational requirements and the needs of your employees.