Work / Life Balance
A Business Issue or another HR fad?
City Forum
19 September 2002
Sue Young, Innova Partnership Limited
Outline of Session
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Background
Research and Summary of Findings to Date
Projecting Ahead…where is WLB headed
Introducing an organisational diagnostic
framework
• Discussion
Our Research Approach to Date
Research based approach:
•
In depth interviews with sample of 20 companies - SMEs, large
corporations
•
Professional organisations - IOD, CIPD, CBI, Industrial Society
•
Government bodies and research groups - DfEE; IER; DTI;
Employers for Work/ life Balance; Work / Life Balance Research
Centre
Key Research Areas
• Drivers for attention to WLB
• What companies are doing
• Implementation issues
• Benefits and Gaps
Drivers for Attention to Work / Life
STRATEGIC/
PROACTIVE
BUSINESS NEEDS
AND ISSUES
VALUES / SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY
COMPLIANCE
STAFF WELFARE
REACTIVE /
PROCEDEURAL
ORGANISATION
NEEDS DRIVE
INDIVIDUAL NEEDS
DRIVE
Drivers: Compliance
1.
2.
3.
4.
Maternity provision and right to return
Paternity leave
Equal employment rights for part time workers
‘Right to request’ part time working
arrangements
5. EU Working Time Directive
Drivers: Welfare Issues
1. Increased number of women in workplace
2. Demand for increased flexibility in working
patterns
3. Demand for extended leave options.
4. Value to people of benefits other than financial
5. No ‘one size fits all’ solutions
Drivers: Business Issues
1. Competition to attract and retain staff
2. Need to improve return rates
3. Cost of recruitment
4. Shortage of skills / knowledge
5. Business pressures for productivity/flexibility
6. Technology
7. Globalisation - 24 hour working day
Drivers: Values / Social Responsibility
• Changing values of individuals
• Increasing pace and complexity - reliance on
greater self direction
• Desire / need to engage people more
• Employees as important stakeholders
Range of Measures on Work / Life
STRATEGIC/
PROACTIVE
BUSINESS NEED LED
COMPLIANCE LED
VALUES / SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY LED
STAFF WELFARE LED
REACTIVE /
PROCEDEURAL
ORGANISATION
NEEDS DRIVE
INDIVIDUAL NEEDS
DRIVE
Measures Led by Compliance Needs
Driven by legal minimum requirements. Currently:
• Maternity provision and right to return
• Paternity leave
• Equal employment rights for part time workers
• ‘Right to request’ part time working arrangements
• EU Working Time Directive
Looking ahead:
• Further regulation / legislation
Measures Led by Welfare Needs
1. A range of flexible working measures - time / remote
working
2. Extended leave options for maternity / paternity
3. Extended work breaks - sabbaticals, study leave, career
breaks
4. Flexible benefits packages - some tailoring for individual
needs
5. Support for home-based working - technology, equipment
6. Variety of staff welfare benefits - medical, counselling,
concierge services, gym
7. Individual counselling available
8. Information / support through intranet / other
communication channels
9. Work / Life champion in HR department
Measures Led by Business Need
1. Education for managers
2. Flexible working arrangement linked to business need /
benefit
3. Work / Life measures linked clearly to business strategy
4. Performance measurement - Outputs rather than Inputs
5. Overt senior management support
6. Sharing / communicating ‘best practice’ cases
7. Greater emphasis on personal development as core to
developing skills / attributes needed in business
Measures Led by Values / Culture
1. Attention to Work / Life issues seen as integral to
creation of desired corporate culture
2. Support for career and personal development seen
as worthwhile objective in its own right
3. People encouraged to take part in corporate
/community initiatives as part of their personal
development
4. Developing an ‘Employer Brand’
Typical Benefits Companies Experience
• Improved staff return rates, retention and attraction
of right skills
• Improved productivity and performance
• Improved morale and motivation
In addition:
• Improved services to customers
• More attention to assessment of performance /
contribution
• Questioning of established work processes - more
creativity
• Individuals prepared to put in more in return for
flexibility
Issues in Making it Happen
• Organisational culture - habits of hierarchy, command and
control
• Work / life issues not yet seen as part of normal people
management practice
• Covers a wide range of issues - can easily ‘fall between the
cracks’
• Lack of integration with business needs / strategies
• Flexible and remote working requires attention to
performance measurement
• Different quality of dialogue needed between individual
and organisation
Critical Success Factors
• Work / Life policies closely linked to business objectives
• Support from top
• Shared responsibility business / individual
• Supportive of desire for flexibility if reasonable case is made
• Involvement and ownership by line management
• A package of HR policies that can be tailored
• Focus on outputs, rather than inputs
Opportunities
• Greater linkage between business values / vision and
strategies on work / life
• Individually tailored packages of remuneration and
benefits
• More effective performance measurement will aid
flexibility
• Culture change - move towards more involvement,
empowerment, self direction
• Full integration of Work / Life measures
• People development
Implementation Framework
STRATEGIC/
PROACTIVE
BUSINESS LED
COMPLIANCE LED
VALUES / SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY LED
STAFF WELFARE LED
REACTIVE
ORGANISATION
NEEDS DRIVE
INDIVIDUAL NEEDS
DRIVE
Strategic Review
•
•
•
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Work / Life issue getting too big to be ad hoc
A major policy area
Covers a wide range of business / HR policy areas
The need to benchmark
The Work / Life Scorecard
To enable a company to benchmark itself against range
of measures that can be taken as part of a Work / Life
Strategy
•HR policies and procedures
•Links to Business Strategy
•Role of Senior Management
•Measures
•Communication
•Physical working environment
•Development and training
•Career management
•Performance management