How do you successfully integrate flexibility into your workplace? Review the successful businesses and see what they have in common. The following are common strategies used by businesses that have embraced flexible work practices. How does your business compare?
Research or workforce planning
Find out who you employees are. Do you know who works for you? Are they happy? What would make them more productive?
For example finding out:
•the proportion of women to men
•the most common age group
•the average retirement age
•the average length of employment
Managers at Pepsico Australia asks their staff the following question once each year: “What is the one simple thing I can do as your manager to improve your work-life quality?”
Policies and procedures
Do you have a teleworking policy, a flexible work policy and a parental leave policy? Are they accessible to all staff? Have they been updated lately?
Do you have procedures to turn theory into a reality?
Cultural change
Do senior level management support flexible work practices? How many senior managers work flexibly? Do senior level management have knowledge or experience with flexible work practices? Is flexibility only being offered to parents?
Regular training and workshops
Managers are continually named and shamed as the roadblocks to flexibility – help them. Look at the trends within your organisation. Do some teams seem to have more flexible workers than others? Why?
How many managers have training in how to manage a flexible workforce? Probably none.
How do you design flexible roles? How do you assess if a flexible role will work or not?
Ramping up technology
Simply having access to email and the intranet isn’t enough. Technology now needs to consider 2 things:
1. Maintaining productivity of workers in and out of the office
2. Connecting team members when they are not in the office together.
Recruitment strategies and channels
As the skill shortens worsens with an ageing population, where do you look? What will recruitment strategies look like? Be open to hiring flexible workers. Look at other channels.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
What you need to know about Australia's workforce
There is a growing trend towards a more remote and flexible workforce. Why?
General population trend and subsequent skills shortage
By 2050, 26% of the population is projected to be aged 65 years and over.
What is driving workforce ageing?
1. longevity - we are living longer, 20 years longer than 8 decades ago. males into late 70's, females into mid 80's on average;
2. fertility - despite recent increase in birthrate, it is still almost half of what it was in the 1960's when the average was 3.6 per family;
3. retirements - over 4m baby boomers (born 1946-64) are entering the retirement zone and if organisations do nothing to stop them, they will move out of the workforce, often prematurely.
Caring duties
41% of all employed people provide care (2009 ABS survey results). 75% of these people provide care is for children aged under 15 years. The next most commonly cared for age group was 75 years and over.
Transport and traffic problems
Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane are facing huge traffic problems. Many employers are now offering core work hours from 10am-4pm. Outside of these hours, employees are allowed to work from home. This offers employees the option to log in from home earlier in the morning and leave later to avoid traffic delays.
Proven success of businesses that have a remote and flexible workforce
It is becoming a common workplace offering. Back in 2007, 31% of employed people worked some hours from home. Most of these people worked from home for 15 hours or less per week. IBM has 140,000 staff worldwide working from home.
General population trend and subsequent skills shortage
By 2050, 26% of the population is projected to be aged 65 years and over.
What is driving workforce ageing?
1. longevity - we are living longer, 20 years longer than 8 decades ago. males into late 70's, females into mid 80's on average;
2. fertility - despite recent increase in birthrate, it is still almost half of what it was in the 1960's when the average was 3.6 per family;
3. retirements - over 4m baby boomers (born 1946-64) are entering the retirement zone and if organisations do nothing to stop them, they will move out of the workforce, often prematurely.
Caring duties
41% of all employed people provide care (2009 ABS survey results). 75% of these people provide care is for children aged under 15 years. The next most commonly cared for age group was 75 years and over.
Transport and traffic problems
Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane are facing huge traffic problems. Many employers are now offering core work hours from 10am-4pm. Outside of these hours, employees are allowed to work from home. This offers employees the option to log in from home earlier in the morning and leave later to avoid traffic delays.
Proven success of businesses that have a remote and flexible workforce
It is becoming a common workplace offering. Back in 2007, 31% of employed people worked some hours from home. Most of these people worked from home for 15 hours or less per week. IBM has 140,000 staff worldwide working from home.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Handling employers that have disregarded your career
Yesterday, I spoke with a a highly qualified and experienced woman who is being treated badly by her well known employer. Prior to going on parental leave, she negotiated (in writing) a 4 day week. On her return, she was told that the person filling in for her role had been doing a great job and she was no longer required to work in that position. They offered her a more junior role (a role that had orginally reported to her) but at the same salary level she was currently on.
Very cunning indeed. They know they are doing the wrong thing but have attempted to smooth it over by offering the same salary for a more junior role.
This example highlights a few things about this employer:
- They are not looking after the career development of employees;
- They are potentially in breach of the anti-discrimination act - now this woman is a mother, her career is no longer important;
- They obviously don't care about loyalty when it comes to their employees;
- They are not aware of a well publicised skills shortage in Australia.
The woman was very angry and disappointed with her employer. I recommended that she pursue one of two paths;
- Firstly, take the more junior role and settle back into the workplace. Use them while she prepares to springboard herself into a better role.
- Find a better role now with a better employer.
I also suggested that when she finally leaves this employer, she should outline potential breaches of employment and discrimination law in the resignation letter (start with www.fairwork.gov.au) as well as a breach of trust. This letter should then be given to her manager, and her manager's manager. It is then a formal document on record.
Very cunning indeed. They know they are doing the wrong thing but have attempted to smooth it over by offering the same salary for a more junior role.
This example highlights a few things about this employer:
- They are not looking after the career development of employees;
- They are potentially in breach of the anti-discrimination act - now this woman is a mother, her career is no longer important;
- They obviously don't care about loyalty when it comes to their employees;
- They are not aware of a well publicised skills shortage in Australia.
The woman was very angry and disappointed with her employer. I recommended that she pursue one of two paths;
- Firstly, take the more junior role and settle back into the workplace. Use them while she prepares to springboard herself into a better role.
- Find a better role now with a better employer.
I also suggested that when she finally leaves this employer, she should outline potential breaches of employment and discrimination law in the resignation letter (start with www.fairwork.gov.au) as well as a breach of trust. This letter should then be given to her manager, and her manager's manager. It is then a formal document on record.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Women on Boards
I am continually delighted at the amount of talent we see at CareerMums. Which is why you should consider board positions. There has been media coverage recently on the need for more gender diversity on boards. Boards require a range of knowledge and expertise. Some pay for your services and some don't. Board positions can also be remarkably flexible. Boards tend to meet monthly or quarterly. Your input is required throughout the year and this can be done by email, phone, fax, skype etc. For more information on board positions, visit Women on Boards or the Institute of Company Directors. Approach the Office for Women in your state and see if they have a register for you to add your details.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Letter to Julia Gillard
14 October 2010
- PRESS RELEASE -
335 working mums table ‘6 barriers to returning to work’
Dear Ms Gillard
This is a letter from 335 working mums from around Australia.
Recent changes to the National Employment Standards letting parents request flexible work arrangements and take 24 months parental leave, have been welcome news for most of us working parents around the country.
However, Federal Government support to help parents get back to work is still short of the mark.
According to a national Careermums.com.au survey of 335 working mothers aged between 25-50, conducted in August 2010, there are six key barriers stopping mothers from returning to work. These are:
* The rising cost of childcare
* Lack of flexible work options on offer from employers
* Lack of childcare centres/after school care in high demand areas
* The need for more qualified and better trained childcare workers
* Limited options to take extra (unpaid) holiday leave for parents of school aged kids
* No sick leave entitlements for employees’ children
While the 50% childcare rebate is appreciated, it is not keeping pace with inflation or rising childcare costs.
Childcare fees have gone up over the past year for almost half of our respondents. And 60% of respondents said the childcare rebate made no difference to their return-to-work plans. In fact, only 11% stated that it had made a huge difference. Many of us feel that it would help greatly if the rebate was paid monthly.
The rising cost of care is forcing families to use a mix of childcare options to reduce the financial burden and more grandparents are taking on carer responsibilities and leaving the workforce earlier to do so.
Limited flexible work arrangements and lack of senior part-time roles are also big issues. While more needs to be done by companies in this area, Government needs to take the lead and promote job-sharing and flexibility in the workplace.
Many more mums want to work – but they need access to better conditions.
Regards
Kate Sykes, on behalf of Careermums.com.au survey respondents
- PRESS RELEASE -
335 working mums table ‘6 barriers to returning to work’
Dear Ms Gillard
This is a letter from 335 working mums from around Australia.
Recent changes to the National Employment Standards letting parents request flexible work arrangements and take 24 months parental leave, have been welcome news for most of us working parents around the country.
However, Federal Government support to help parents get back to work is still short of the mark.
According to a national Careermums.com.au survey of 335 working mothers aged between 25-50, conducted in August 2010, there are six key barriers stopping mothers from returning to work. These are:
* The rising cost of childcare
* Lack of flexible work options on offer from employers
* Lack of childcare centres/after school care in high demand areas
* The need for more qualified and better trained childcare workers
* Limited options to take extra (unpaid) holiday leave for parents of school aged kids
* No sick leave entitlements for employees’ children
While the 50% childcare rebate is appreciated, it is not keeping pace with inflation or rising childcare costs.
Childcare fees have gone up over the past year for almost half of our respondents. And 60% of respondents said the childcare rebate made no difference to their return-to-work plans. In fact, only 11% stated that it had made a huge difference. Many of us feel that it would help greatly if the rebate was paid monthly.
The rising cost of care is forcing families to use a mix of childcare options to reduce the financial burden and more grandparents are taking on carer responsibilities and leaving the workforce earlier to do so.
Limited flexible work arrangements and lack of senior part-time roles are also big issues. While more needs to be done by companies in this area, Government needs to take the lead and promote job-sharing and flexibility in the workplace.
Many more mums want to work – but they need access to better conditions.
Regards
Kate Sykes, on behalf of Careermums.com.au survey respondents
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Dads: Practical tips and advice for supporting your partner at home
Keeping your relationship strong in the early years of parenting can be challenging. In a landmark Australian study about families in the early stages of parenthood, it was found that by the time their babies were 18 months old, almost a quarter of the new parents reported that their marriage was in distress. An additional 12.5% were separated or divorced by this time. The extent of ‘genuinely shared’ parenting in Australian families hovered somewhere between 1-2%. Relationships Australia has a quiz on how your relationship rates.
More and more dads are doing a great job at sharing parental responsibilities. And they are keen to understand how they can better support their partners at home.
Here are some practical and common sense tips and advice to help support your partner while she is at home caring for the kids:
- Put the shoe on the other foot - Consider how you would feel if your career was put on hold to be at home with a little baby. Women are having children later in life. They are used to working and earning an income. Being at home with a child is very different.
- Help at night - Don't assume that you need more sleep because you need to get up and go to work. The workloads are the same. Often to get a cup of tea or do the nappy change furing the night. If you baby is being bottle fed, offer to take turns. It is a lovely part of the day to get to know your little one.
- Your partner is still working - the difference is that she is no longer receiving an income for her work.
- Being at home is not one big party - Don't assume that life at home involves trips to cafes, tennis and endless social gatherings. Her life is dictated by your child/childrens needs, not hers.
- Praise her for her hard work - cleaning, caring, preparing dinner, ironing, washing, shopping and countless other domestic chores. In a work situation, you have a team assisting you and praising you for the work you do. At home, there is no one.
- Don't argue about who works harder. Both of you need to be respectful of each other's roles in your new life together as parents.
- Get home on time and early enough to help with (or take over) bathing and feeding. Talk to her about her day. It can sometimes be very lonely and isolating at home.
- Prepare dinner once or twice each week. It is so easy to prepare in advance (on the weekend) a lasagne, casserole or curry.
- Give her time to exercise. Exercise is a great stress reliever and contributes to mental health.
- Be aware of the symptoms of Post Natal Depression. It affects up to 30% of new mums. Don't ignore it. If you are concerned about your partner's health, seek advice from your doctor.
- Tell her that you love her. And then do something to show it. For example, take her out for dinner, organise a facial or massage, or organise a weekend activity to get everyone out of the house.
Love, trust, respect, communication and sharing parental responsbilities will ensure a strong relationship that will endure the challenges and joys of parenting.
More and more dads are doing a great job at sharing parental responsibilities. And they are keen to understand how they can better support their partners at home.
Here are some practical and common sense tips and advice to help support your partner while she is at home caring for the kids:
- Put the shoe on the other foot - Consider how you would feel if your career was put on hold to be at home with a little baby. Women are having children later in life. They are used to working and earning an income. Being at home with a child is very different.
- Help at night - Don't assume that you need more sleep because you need to get up and go to work. The workloads are the same. Often to get a cup of tea or do the nappy change furing the night. If you baby is being bottle fed, offer to take turns. It is a lovely part of the day to get to know your little one.
- Your partner is still working - the difference is that she is no longer receiving an income for her work.
- Being at home is not one big party - Don't assume that life at home involves trips to cafes, tennis and endless social gatherings. Her life is dictated by your child/childrens needs, not hers.
- Praise her for her hard work - cleaning, caring, preparing dinner, ironing, washing, shopping and countless other domestic chores. In a work situation, you have a team assisting you and praising you for the work you do. At home, there is no one.
- Don't argue about who works harder. Both of you need to be respectful of each other's roles in your new life together as parents.
- Get home on time and early enough to help with (or take over) bathing and feeding. Talk to her about her day. It can sometimes be very lonely and isolating at home.
- Prepare dinner once or twice each week. It is so easy to prepare in advance (on the weekend) a lasagne, casserole or curry.
- Give her time to exercise. Exercise is a great stress reliever and contributes to mental health.
- Be aware of the symptoms of Post Natal Depression. It affects up to 30% of new mums. Don't ignore it. If you are concerned about your partner's health, seek advice from your doctor.
- Tell her that you love her. And then do something to show it. For example, take her out for dinner, organise a facial or massage, or organise a weekend activity to get everyone out of the house.
Love, trust, respect, communication and sharing parental responsbilities will ensure a strong relationship that will endure the challenges and joys of parenting.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
CareerMums Q&A on negotiating flexibility
This week,a CareerMums user emailed me with the following question (specific details have been changed to protect privacy):
"I require some assistance to negotiate flexibility when returning to work in a few weeks. I am a Sales Manager and would like to work 3 days in the office, 2 days from home as I am struggling to get childcare for my 5 month old. Any assistance would be appreciated. I would like to send my request in writing to my boss this week to ensure that it is actioned prior to returning to work."
My response was the following:
"Thanks for getting in touch with CareerMums. Your challenge sounds very common!
Importantly, don’t communicate to work that you need to work from home because you don’t have childcare yet for those days. You will have to work that problem out but it is important not to indicate that your child will be at home while you are working. It just doesn’t work.
Instead, dissect your role immediately into the following groups:
• What can be done inside or outside of office hours
• What can be done at work or at home
Also, get a copy of your employer’s flexible work policy. If they don’t have one, refer to the new employment law (Jan 2010) stating that working parents now have the right to request flexibility if their child is under school age. See www.fairwork.gov.au for more information.
This will be the foundation of your business case in line with needing more flexible work arrangements because you are a parent with a young child.
Refer to the following web page for tips and questions to answer in your business case proposal: http://www.careermums.com.au/content/negotiatingflexibility
Mention that you are happy to offer a 3 month trial period to prove that it can work for yourself and the business.
Stick to the facts. Don’t be emotional. You will find child care for those 2 days eventually, and in the meantime, you would have set yourself up to work 2 days from home. It is important to understand that working from home does not negate child care. A sales role implies constant communication with customers and potential customers. If you have a child at your feet demanding attention, it doesn’t look good. The upside is that if you work from home, you can drop your child later to childcare and pick your child up earlier making it an easier day for all of you."
"I require some assistance to negotiate flexibility when returning to work in a few weeks. I am a Sales Manager and would like to work 3 days in the office, 2 days from home as I am struggling to get childcare for my 5 month old. Any assistance would be appreciated. I would like to send my request in writing to my boss this week to ensure that it is actioned prior to returning to work."
My response was the following:
"Thanks for getting in touch with CareerMums. Your challenge sounds very common!
Importantly, don’t communicate to work that you need to work from home because you don’t have childcare yet for those days. You will have to work that problem out but it is important not to indicate that your child will be at home while you are working. It just doesn’t work.
Instead, dissect your role immediately into the following groups:
• What can be done inside or outside of office hours
• What can be done at work or at home
Also, get a copy of your employer’s flexible work policy. If they don’t have one, refer to the new employment law (Jan 2010) stating that working parents now have the right to request flexibility if their child is under school age. See www.fairwork.gov.au for more information.
This will be the foundation of your business case in line with needing more flexible work arrangements because you are a parent with a young child.
Refer to the following web page for tips and questions to answer in your business case proposal: http://www.careermums.com.au/content/negotiatingflexibility
Mention that you are happy to offer a 3 month trial period to prove that it can work for yourself and the business.
Stick to the facts. Don’t be emotional. You will find child care for those 2 days eventually, and in the meantime, you would have set yourself up to work 2 days from home. It is important to understand that working from home does not negate child care. A sales role implies constant communication with customers and potential customers. If you have a child at your feet demanding attention, it doesn’t look good. The upside is that if you work from home, you can drop your child later to childcare and pick your child up earlier making it an easier day for all of you."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)