Example cases:

Learn valuable lessons from these organisations:


Herga Electric, UK
 
Flexible Work Arrangements lead to increased retention

Herga Electric had a partnership approach concerning employee relations and achieved the "Investors in People" standard continuously since 1994. To the organisation, `everything was negotiable` regarding employee working arrangements in association with the employee's personal circumstances. Employees wanting to change shifts or working hours simply put their request to the HR department. It was understood in meeting employee needs that the quid-pro-quo for this flexibility was commitment and loyalty. Arrangements varied from full-time, part-time, job share arrangements, to Fridays-only or term-time working. Some employees chose to work as little as five hours, while others were employed on two or three different shift arrangements. At Herga there were over 200 shift patterns among 150 employees. The working day itself was flexible, with a day shift comprising of a minimum of five hours, and full-time employees could start any time between 7am and 10am, finishing between 4:00pm and 5:30pm. Part-time employees had individually negotiated start and finish times with breaks being taken at any time with employees clocking in and out. Herga's approach was not only value driven it also made sound business sense by helping employees to avoid stress and to give more to the business. Giving employees as much control as possible over their working time was found to be vital in making them feel valued and respected within the employment relationship. The organisation had 95% staff retention rate compared to an industry average of 60%. The recruitment process was also enhanced through the organisation's working environment and work-life balance. [21]

Royal Bank Financial Group USA
 
Job Sharing – benefits the company and families

The Royal Bank Financial Group introduced job sharing as part of its “work and family life” initiatives and had approximately 1100 job-share positions. The first shared job was an account management position involving a two-woman partnership. The two were overwhelmed with work and were not spending enough time on their families but did not want to leave their jobs. They worked very hard at making the arrangement a success. Key elements to that success were:

1. Good communication, and
   
2. Finding the right partner

ob sharing benefited the company and allowed the women to spend more time on their children, community service, and skills development. The bank conducted employee opinion surveys to better understand future needs. A job-share registry and a phone number was offered to help connect employees seeking job sharing positions. In addition, job sharers were eligible for full benefits.[22]

Forestry Commission, UK
 
Flexible Work Arrangements at UK Forestry Commission

To improve the experience of employees at work and develop a better psychological contract, the Forestry Commission committed to flexible work and to address the long-hours culture. Although the organisation had a range of flexible working options for some time, the improvement programme allowed it to introduce parity and equality of opportunity for all employees. A significant proportion of the workforce took advantage of the flexible working patterns available, including part-time working. The improvement of the psychological contract created an atmosphere where employees received the respect and recognition they deserved, while the organisation benefited from a more driven, empowered, and contented workforce. [23]

National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) USA
 
Flexible working arrangements reduce staff turnover
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) had a rising staff turnover rate of 30%. To address the problem the NAIC conducted in-depth exit interviews, focus groups and benchmarks against other organisations, and followed up with employee attitude surveys. The following programmes were then implemented to address staff retention problem:

1. Four day/Compressed work week which was the most successful programme involving participation by some 85% of staff. The scheme offered choices of a:
• 4 day workweek;
• 4 ½ day workweek;
• 3 full days and two ½ days or,
• 9 days on and 1 day off.
2. Home computers, mobile phones, e-mail, voice mail and pagers allowed managers to communicate with employees as necessary. Company policy was that:
1. Managers were to approve all work schedules and they were responsible for maintaining coverage during normal business hours;
2. Employees were required to commit to the schedule for at least three months, and to work on days off if required.
3. Disadvantages of the compressed work week programme were that sub-optimum coverage was possible if careful planning was not carried out, and scheduling days off or arranging meetings could present difficulties.
4. Telecommuting with 5% of staff involved. The organisation was very selective about who participated, recognising that not all employees, positions, and supervisors were suited. A programme audit in 2001 determined that telecommuting was very productive and had a good impact on retention - in five years only one telecommuter left for another company;
• Other programmes implemented were: Business-casual attire/jeans day; Infants in the workplace; Emergency financial assistance; No-interest computer loans. The choices and programmes led to the following results:
  
• Turnover steadily declined from 30% to 9% which was largely attributed to the introduction of the above low-cost programmes;
• Productivity was maintained;
• Employee quality of life increased significantly;
• Workplace cross training improved. [24]

Automobile Association Limited, UK
 
Teleworking experiment proves successful

The AA Roadside Assistance Division used 150 teleworkers who operated from their homes in several English cities. Remote working which began as an experiment had been operating for seven years.  Trust and reliability were believed to be at the heart of the successful remote working project. The AA sought to specially recruit appropriate people for the teleworking jobs and used psychometric testing and role-play exercises. Potential remote workers were at first monitored over a 3 to 6 month training/induction period at a central AA office. Specialist managers were used to run teams of up to 18 teleworkers. Performance reviews were either conducted at the worker's homes or in the central office. The managers of the teleworkers needed to have strong management styles and good communication skills to be able to go into a worker's home and to effectively managing the individual concerned. [25]

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