Achieving Work Life Balance by Barbara Holmes	Jul 09 | The life of the Human Resources Manager prior to the Global Economic Crisis was for the most part, focused on assisting the business to attract and retain talented, skilled employees. It was seen by best practice employers as an important ‘bottom line’ issue, in that to attract, recruit and employ a middle to senior level executive can cost up to three times their annual salary. Therefore not only has	BARBARA HOLMES IMAGE COURTESY : BARBARA HOLMES
the selection process got to be objective and thorough, but the induction and integration of the new employee into the business has also got to be well planned and developed around their needs and expectations as well as those of the business.  Whilst the emphasis on recruitment has changed considerably, recent feedback from HR Managers suggests that whilst they have not dramatically downsized in terms of staff numbers they have reduced working hours, and have more staff working flexibly. This places greater emphasis on the need to retain staff and manage their expectations. Ineffective practices of the past In Australia employers have recognised that to attract and most importantly to retain staff, they need to understand that the practices and offering that may have worked in the labour market 10 or even 5 years ago may no longer be effective. Employers need to be: More responsive to the diversity of needs of employees - a one size fits all approach no longer works Increasingly open minded about work practices, such as flexible work arrangements, working from home, parental leave and the focus on long hours rather than performance More understanding and supportive of employees work/life needs and priorities. Whilst in some Asian countries this has not yet gained traction, best practice organisations in Europe, the USA and Australia/New Zealand and increasingly in Singapore have identified clear bottom line and service delivery benefits from focusing on these issues Organisations such as KPMG, St George Bank, Westpac Bank and the ANZ Bank all publicly promote their work/life strategies and programmes as part of their employer branding, as they consider it an essential component of the overall package that will assist them to attract and retain the best talent. International studies that have shown the benefits of work/life strategies and flexible work arrangements (1) include those from the Families and Work Institute USA. In 2002, they found that employees with more access to flexible work arrangements are more committed to their current employers and more loyal and willing to work harder than required, to help their employers succeed. A study conducted by the Boston College Center for Work and Family (2)found that 70% of managers and 87% of employees reported that working a flexible work arrangement had a positive or very positive impact on productivity. Promote it and then make it happen  There is a considerable body of international research that clearly demonstrates that work/life balance and flexible work arrangements are an important component of an organisation's HR strategy. However, it is also evident that it is not sufficient to just promote the availability of the programmes; employees need to be able to actually take advantage of the options and feel comfortable doing so. HR practitioners and researchers report that employees leave leaders rather than organisations. It is the leaders who will contribute to the success (or otherwise) of the introduction and implementation of work/life strategies and flexible work arrangements. In many cases, it is the leaders who need the greatest amount of help to understand why all staff should have access to these options. They fail to recognise that it is not the hours that the employee spends in the workplace, that are important rather it is the productivity and service delivery that are the priorities. HR Managers therefore, need to take a strategic approach to the whole issue of work/life balance. They need to understand and quantify how work/life issues impact the bottom line measures of the business. They need to talk about work/life issues not as a ‘soft option’ but as an essential business tool that will deliver: A reduction in absenteeism An increased ability to attract and retain talented employees Increased ‘employee engagement’, motivation and use of discretionary effort Enhanced levels of customer service. In a new study just released in the UK, of seven major blue-chip companies, including Microsoft, KPMG and Centrica, it was found that work/life strategies that included flexible working had a positive impact on both the quantity and quality of work produced by employees, and that flexible workers have higher levels of commitment and job satisfaction than other employees. Flexible working also contributed to reducing and managing stress levels, according to the report. (3) The CEO's impact It (4) is commonly accepted that organisational commitment to enhance work/life balance stems from the personal commitment of the CEO. It is sometimes suggested that the pathway to change is through a vicarious or personal experience (eg the CEO has a daughter juggling work and family responsibilities). Is this view correct? What are the drivers of CEO decision-making on work/life programmes? In a recent study the researchers examined 26 companies which displayed various levels of organisational commitment to work/life programmes, and then matched CEO attitudes towards work/life balance and the drivers of those attitudes. This study provides important information about the processes by which CEOs make decisions about work/life balance, and therefore provides insights into the opportunities for persuasion. These findings indicate that CEOs employ a range of decision-making styles, which they apply to decisions about implementing work/life balance programmes. Consequently, in the absence of an understanding about which decision-making style the CEO employs, or with an expectation that multiple decision-makers will be involved in approving a work/life programme, a proposal to implement a work/life programme needs to cover multiple perspectives, including data, success stories and values. Moreover it cannot be assumed that appealing to a CEO's personal or vicarious experience will provide a compelling argument. Conversely, it cannot be assumed that a lack of experience will militate against a CEO's commitment to work/life programmes. The researchers did not suggest a robust process by which an employee could overcome the formidable barrier presented by a CEO who used conflicting decision-making processes and essentially paid lip service to work/life programmes. They acknowledged that such CEOs would be difficult to convince. However experience in many best practice organisations suggests that gaining commitment can be helped along by the HR Manager building the ‘Business Case for Work/Life Options.’ This business case will need to be presented in much the same way as other proposals from within the business when there is a request for an investment in a new process or piece of equipment. I needs to be focused on the needs of the business and the employees and how such a strategy will deliver benefits for the business. We would usually recommend that HR Managers find in-house ‘champions’ who are working within the business to help them promote the benefits to the organisation and the decision makers. Again, the focus needs to be on the links to the business issues. In addition it can be very useful if you can identify, usually through a targeted survey, the specific employee needs that will be met through your strategy. So, quantify and qualify the need, and then show senior management and other stakeholders how addressing these needs can help them in both the short and long term. What you can doWhen developing your work-life business case, it is important to consider the whole range of benefits. Start by making the links between your work-life strategy to your organisational goals and objectives. Then consider all the possible benefits that could arise from implementing your strategy such as: The possibilities for increased spread of service hours if some employees arrive earlier and others stay later Greater flexibility in employee schedules may help meet customer demand The potential to reduce employee travel time and impact on the environment Improved employee health and well-being Reduced stress, reduced absenteeism and reduced health and safety issues Increased employee commitment, satisfaction and engagement More effective workload management, reduced interruptions and distractions in the workday Increased capacity to deliver productivity gaols and ensure customer needs are their top priority. You may also want to link your strategy to other employer obligations you may face such as occupation safety and health as well as workplace health and well-being. If, in your organisation, work-life balance is viewed as "just an HR issue", you may find that you can alter these perceptions by building a strong business case for change. By demonstrating that you can deliver measurable results, your work-life strategy could become a powerful management tool. You may also wish to consider using culture change measures to support implementation. The question is often asked - how much work/life conflict do employees actually have. A realistic response is that there really is no one right answer to this question – much depends on where the employee is in the life cycle of events. Often those with dependant care responsibilities such as young children or the care of older relatives struggle with the often competing demands of work and family, especially where they cannot afford to pay for additional help. Where there is a workplace culture that places great emphasis on working long hours rather than performance and productivity, the stresses are greater and this has an impact on the employee’s health and wellbeing. It is important to recognise that work/life issues affect both men and women, and those who are parents, carers, single parents, and employees who are working and studying often have the most challenging times. In some cultures, it is more difficult for men to discuss these issues, and the organisation and in particular the team leader, needs to find ways to make it ok to have the discussion about what would help team members better manage their work/life responsibilities. In practice there are often very simple answers to what may seem like complex issues; however, it does mean that managers and supervisors may need to look at different ways of working and challenge established practices and attitudes about where when and how work is done. Options below are all tried, tested and proven ways to assist staff with their work/life issues, maintain their commitment and retain them: Making it possible for staff to work flexible hours Asking the staff what will work - they often know the real needs and can offer solutions Support the option to work from home for part of the working week (where possible) Introduce health and wellbeing programmes Identify low cost ways (if necessary) to assist with childcare Help staff reduce the stress of peak hour travel by staggering start and finish time. If we need further proof, that work/life strategies are important, then the UK study conducted in February 2005 by The Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD) (5) shows that ‘a desire to improve retention’ is the most popular reason for implementing flexible work practices and HR professionals believe that they are seeing results in this respect. Almost one in three participants (27%) perceive flexible working as having had a major positive effect on retention and almost half (47%) say that it has had a positive effect. 70% of survey respondents believe that implementing work/life strategies and flexible working practices has a positive effect on employee motivation. Over half of organisations feel that recruitment has benefitted from the implementation of flexible working practices. The experience of organisations in Singapore, Australia and New Zealand and many of the multi-nationals operating in this country would suggest that it is time to get started and to develop appropriate plans that will contribute to the overall strategy and success of the business.  Barbara Holmes is the Managing Director of Managing Work | Life Balance. She has over 25 years experience as a Human Resources Consultant, specialising in Organisational Change and Employee Involvement programs. In 2007 and 2008, Barbara was an adjudicator for the National Diversity Awards as well, in 2005 she adjudicated the Work/Life Award given as part of the Australian HR Awards. They are the leading events for recognition of benchmark HR practice in Australia and recognise excellence across the entire spectrum of the HR profession. She has appeared on the Channel 7 Sunrise Program, and spoken on ABC Radio, Triple J as well as having articles published in BRW, Australian Financial Review, The Australian. Most recently she contributed to the book – Finders Keepers published by CCH Australia and authored by Joydeep Horr of Harmers Workplace Lawyers.