Workplace flexibility is not just a tool for recruitment and retention of employees; for SMBs, it's increasingly the way business that business gets done.

That was the theme voiced by companies at a recent Department of Labor panel discussion about flexible work options. sponsored by the Department of Labor. Three small to medium-sized businesses shared their approaches to on work-life balance and showed how it is possible to have a flexible workplace without stretching the limits of patience and resources.

'Extreme job sharing' at Menlo Innovations

If the "pick a partner" days of high school bring back bad memories: think again. Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Menlo Innovations, a software development firm, has taken teamwork to a new level.

The first thing someone entering the building notices is that it doesn't look like a typical cube farm -- there are no walls, offices, cubes or doors -- and there aren't enough computers or telephones to go around.

But the business isn't in the middle of a corporate move.

Software developers, called anthropologists, work in pairs and practice what President and Founder Richard Sheridan calls "extreme job sharing," meaning that the company has two people for every job. Each week, team members are paired together, sharing a single computer, keyboard and mouse, working together on the same project at the same time. At the end of each week, the pairs are reorganized.

While the initial reaction is "that's crazy!" Sheridan says that it's both a productivity and quality gain. "We keep knowledge racing around the team ... We're doing cross-training and mentoring all day long for free while work is getting done."

Sheridan's goal was to escape what he terms the "tower of knowledge," in which one person holds the key to an entire practice area or specific skill set. "When you escape that dependence on the tower of knowledge you free the person from that prison," Sheridan says. It also allows employees the flexibility to come and go as their life permits - vacations and maternity leaves are easy to accommodate when workers all share the same basic skill sets, and team members are constantly advancing their knowledge bases as they work with other team members on projects.

Still have doubts? The model works -- or at least business experts think so. The company has a negative attrition rate (many who leave ask to return … and do, Sheridan says) and the company sees tangible returns on productivity and quality, Sheridan says.

"People don't call us saying 'the software you built for us doesn't work.'"

Sheridan was featured on the cover of Forbes magazine for his entrepreneurial concepts in 2003.

'No mommy tracking ' at Shakespeare Squared

At Shakespeare Squared, a pre-K through 12 educational development company in Chicago, Ill., President and CEO Kim Kleeman says that her team is her talent.

Made up of 20 former teachers and over 400 freelance writers and editors, Kleeman admits that much of how she's structured the work environment started around her own flexibility needs after having a baby.

The company offers flex hours, paid sabbaticals, a "working parents" room, plus in-house an in-house stress management center, which includes monthly visits from a masseuse, employee-led yoga classes, and a meditation area. The only rule? Kleeman isn't allowed in the room -- it's strictly employees only.

The company, predominantly female, finds its best flexibility in their customized maternity leave. "Most of our policies were designed around an employee who had a conundrum of sorts," Kleeman says.

Megan, a young worker who wanted to participate in a master's program at Oxford University, was the first employee to leave on sabbatical. The company now has a policy allowing employees to leave for up to two years for educational or service opportunities with half of the insurance paid by the company during the leave. New job roles are discussed upon the employee's return to work.

The "working parents" room is actually an office once used by Kleeman. Parents can sign out the room, which has windows and doors plus a crib, allowing new mothers to spend quality time with their children while maintaining a more robust schedule.

Shakespeare Squared was named a 2007 best small business by Working Mother magazine.

Infrasafe keeps workers secure at home

Infrasafe is an Orlando, Fla.-based security firm that primarily does business with the Department of Defense. Many employees work long-term assignments in remote locations around the globe, explains President and CEO Todd Flemming.

Ironically enough, Flemming says, it's the advent of technology that has made the company most aware of the value of face-to-face communication.

"We treat flex time and work at home as a privilege, not a right," says Flemming, a feeling seconded by other panelists. Flemming stresses that having a successful flex policy begins with recruitment.

"One the keys to having a real successful flex policy is having the right people to begin with."

When employees are together, Flemming says, it's important to encourage face time. The corporate office has a large common break area with TVs and couches to stimulate interaction and relaxation.

It's helped -- the firm is growing and has less than 2% annual turnover, although "it's hard to put a dollar amount on" total ROI, Flemming says.

"We focus heavily on actual results, not on punching a clock," Flemming adds.