Work / Life Balance

Work / Life Balance

A Business Issue or another HR fad?

City Forum

19 September 2002Sue Young, Innova Partnership Limited

Outline of Session

• 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

BUSINESS NEEDSAND ISSUES

VALUES / SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

COMPLIANCE STAFF WELFARE

ORGANISATIONNEEDS DRIVE

REACTIVE /PROCEDEURAL

STRATEGIC/PROACTIVE

INDIVIDUAL NEEDSDRIVE

Drivers for Attention to Work / Life

Drivers: Compliance

1. Maternity provision and right to return

2. Paternity leave

3. Equal employment rights for part time workers

4. ‘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

BUSINESS NEED LED VALUES / SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY LED

COMPLIANCE LED STAFF WELFARE LED

ORGANISATIONNEEDS DRIVE

REACTIVE /PROCEDEURAL

STRATEGIC/PROACTIVE

INDIVIDUAL NEEDSDRIVE

Range of Measures on Work / Life

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 / paternity3. Extended work breaks - sabbaticals, study leave, career

breaks4. Flexible benefits packages - some tailoring for individual

needs5. Support for home-based working - technology, equipment6. Variety of staff welfare benefits - medical, counselling,

concierge services, gym7. Individual counselling available8. Information / support through intranet / other

communication channels9. 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

• 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

Critical Success FactorsCritical Success Factors

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

BUSINESS LED VALUES / SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY LED

COMPLIANCE LED STAFF WELFARE LED

ORGANISATIONNEEDS DRIVE

REACTIVE

STRATEGIC/PROACTIVE

INDIVIDUAL NEEDSDRIVE

Implementation Framework

Strategic Review

• 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

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

The Work / Life Scorecard