Research results presented at workplace leaders summit

25 July  2006

Quality flexible work is the solution for the growing number of businesses facing challenges in recruitment and retention, according to research presented at a recent Workplace Leaders Summit.

The real benefits of providing workplace flexibility are revealed in a report on a diverse group of workplaces exploring quality flexible working arrangements, which showed startling improvements in staff retention and recruitment figures.

“Many leading workplaces said they first explored flexible working options in order to retain women on parental leave and also to provide appropriate conditions for older employees who wished to work fewer hours,” the report said.

Entrants in the EEO Trust Work and Life awards as well as other employers were profiled in a series of case studies at the summit. They reported significant benefits from introducing work life programmes that included flexible working arrangements.

Legal firm Meredith Connell said they saved at least $600,000 per year in recruitment costs after they introduced enhanced paid parental leave in 2003. “Work performance and loyalty of staff returning from parental leave is outstanding,” they said. By 2005, 13 women had taken advantage of the new parental leave provisions and only one of those did not return.

In 2000 financial services firm Deloitte had no staff return from parental leave. With a new work life programmes in place, returnee statistics rose steadily to reach 86 percent by 2003.

Law Firm’s staff turnover dropped to 5 percent for professional staff and 15 percent for support staff in the 2006 financial year, half of that reported by the legal industry generally.

Vector’s work life balance programme VectorLife saw staff turnover drop to a “historic low” of 5 percent in just nine months, with the company also reporting that profits were up 40 percent and customer satisfaction is “at a record high”.

Many workplaces surveyed said the benefits of providing workplace flexibility outweighed the costs, citing improved retention and productivity and reduced absenteeism. Banking giant Westpac said, “The costs are in not doing it, especially in this market.”

The Department of Labour’s “Work Life Balance in New Zealand” report was also presented at the summit. The report, promoted as “a snapshot of employee and employer attitudes and experiences”, surveyed 1100 employers and 2000 employees. 

 

Minister of Labour Ruth Dyson said she was heartened to learn that the majority of employers did not see barriers impeding their ability to improve flexibility. The report showed that 74 percent of employers did not think flexible work arrangements were too expensive and 62 percent did not find them “too complicated” to arrange. Just over half had no strong need to have all their employees in the workplace at the same time.

Among the employees, over half reported satisfaction with their work life balance. However 40 percent said they had some or a lot of difficulty getting the balance they wanted. Key findings of the report were:

 

Workers wanted: 

 

  • more flexible start and finish times
  • more paid and unpaid leave
  • more choice about the hours they work and the way they work.
  • Workmore input into rosters and shifts.

 

Employers most commonly offered: 

 

  • Occasional variations in start and finish times in order to cope with a problem
  • Being able to use sick leave to care for others
  • Flexible break provisions
  • Study leave

    Employees reported a strong correlation between work life balance and workplace productivity.