Flexibility and Business Performance

How Organisations and their leaders embrace flexibility

23 March 2010
Philip Morton, Managing Partner, Morton Philips

What will we be talking about today?

The dramatic changes to the places of work, work practices and employee expectations.
How an organisation and its leaders can embrace flexibility AND still deliver outstanding
performance?
What does the future look like for business leaders?

Topics covered

People don't want to work less.

They want to work differently

Setting the scene.....

What's happened in the workforce and how has the work place changed in the last 10
years?
Australia has enjoyed
Almost a decade and a half of uninterrupted
economic growth and historically strong labour
market conditions.
Unemployment is at its lowest in nearly 30 years
However...
An ageing population which will impact on labour
force growth
New set of expectations about work life situations
National skill shortages over the next 5 years the
estimated impact of population is an equivalent
shortfall to 195,000
A booming 24/7 global economy
For the first time in Australian History there will
soon be fewer people entering the workforce than
leaving it i.e. a dearth of human capital

Some facts....

Good news....
According to findings in the CFO Perceptions of Work Life Flexibility Study by Cali Williams Yost
the CEO and cofounder of Work + Life + Fit Inc who did a random survey on USs top CFOs
A majority of CFOs recognized a broad range of potential bottom line impacts that flexibility
could achieve, including recruitment and retention; improved employee productivity;
differentiation from competitors; minimizing environmental impact and reducing health care
cost.
Bad news....
Only 13 out of the 100 had a formal approach to flexibility in place and had a senior leadership
team that perceived it to be a strategy for managing work, resources and talent.
I.e. only 13% of the CFOs worked for organizations with the leadership understanding and
organizational infrastructure to translate that awareness into action for bottom line results.
The remaining 87 CFOs, or 87%, had no formal approach to flexibility in place and/or had a
leadership team that saw flexibility as an informal perk. Not a powerful recipe for seeing and
executing flexibility as a strategic lever.
Estimate 85% of all workforce growth will be supplied by people aged 45+ by 2012 up from
32% in 1992. this is a phenomenal shift in just 20 years demonstrating how fast the population
is ageing
Labour shortages were still 5 years away, of the 475 firms interviewed 66% of them said they
were experiencing difficulties filling jobs
73% of office workers believe that they would be more productive if they worked from home
(online poll ISP Lumison, London)
65% claim to work longer hours at home

Employee generations

What are the different generations?

Originally thought of as having a 20year age gap but social change in educational
opportunities, delayed marriage, rate of technological change etc has led to a blending at
the cusp of the generations
Matures
Matures
Born
Born pre
pre 1946
1946
They
They experienced
experienced economic
economic upheaval
upheaval during
during childhood.
childhood.
Discipline
Discipline and
and self-sacrifice
self-sacrifice were
were cornerstones
cornerstones of
of their
their out-look
out-look as
as they
they came
came of
of age.
age.
Common
Common goals
goals like
like overcoming
overcoming the
the Great
Great Depression
Depression and
and building
building suburban
suburban America,
America,
and
also
by
the
necessity
to
defeat
common
enemies
Germany
and
and also by the necessity to defeat common enemies - Germany and Japan,
Japan, then
then the
the
Soviet
Soviet Union
Union and
and China.
China.

Baby
Baby boomers
boomers
Born
Born 1946-1964
1946-1964
not
not aa homogenous
homogenous grouping,
grouping, consist
consist of
of aa number
number of
of subsets:
subsets: span
span an
an age
age range
range from
from
64-46.
64-46.
Large
Large number
number now
now retiring
retiring or
or have
have already
already retired
retired from
from 50
50 onwards.
onwards. Many
Many could
could live
live to
to
be
90
or
more.
be 90 or more.
Raised
Raised in
in aa time
time of
of phenomenal
phenomenal national
national wealth,
wealth, they
they expanded
expanded the
the economy
economy more
more
than
any
other
generation.
than any other generation.
They
They challenge
challenge hierarchies,
hierarchies, communicate
communicate and
and share
share responsibilities
responsibilities freely
freely

Employee generations

Generation
Generation XX
Born
Born 1965-1980
1965-1980
Accept
Accept diversity;
diversity; they
they are
are skeptical,
skeptical, pragmatic
pragmatic and
and practical,
practical, self-reliant,
self-reliant, independent
independent and
and
individualistic;
individualistic;
They
They reject
reject authoritarianism
authoritarianism and
and control;
control; they
they were
were latchkey
latchkey children
children and
and separate
separate friends
friends from
from
family.
family.
They
They like
like aa casual,
casual, friendly
friendly work
work environment,
environment, seek
seek challenge,
challenge, involvement
involvement and
and flexible
flexible learning
learning
arrangements.
arrangements.
Work-life
Work-life balance
balance and
and family
family priorities
priorities are
are very
very important
important to
to Gen
Gen Xers.
Xers.
Generation
Generation YY (Millennial
(Millennial Generation
Generation or
or Generation
Generation Next
Next or
or Net
Net Generation)
Generation)
Born1981-1999
Born1981-1999
celebrate
celebrate diversity;
diversity; they
they are
are optimistic,
optimistic, inventive
inventive and
and individualistic;
individualistic; they
they rewrite
rewrite the
the rules;
rules;
they
they enjoy
enjoy aa pleasurable
pleasurable lifestyle;
lifestyle; they
they don't
don't see
see the
the relevance
relevance of
of most
most institutions;
institutions;
they
they are
are masters
masters of
of technology
technology and
and social
social media;
media;
were
were nurtured
nurtured by
by their
their parents;
parents; see
see friends
friends as
as family;
family; like
like aa collaborative
collaborative supportive
supportive work
work
environment
and
interactive
work
relationships;
environment and interactive work relationships;
have
have high
high demands
demands and
and expectations;
expectations; want
want to
to work
work for
for companies
companies that
that are
are socially
socially responsible
responsible
and
they
want
a
balanced
life.
and they want a balanced life.

What will Generation Z be like??

What is meant by flexibility?

Some definitions you are likely

to hear
Flexitime
Hoteling
Job sharing
Part time employment
Phased retirement
Phased return from leave
Telecommuting/ telework
Virtual work

How as an organisation can you keep up and

still deliver outstanding performance?
Develop a proactive strategy
Include Attract and retain the new generation
and the previous generations
Assess policies and practices
Adequate supervision and controls
Differential performance reviews
Job redesign
Coaching and Counselling

Seven tips to maximising the effectiveness of your strategy:

11 Make the link to business goals

22 Review the current state

33 Be flexible with flexibility

44 Enlist managers

55 Communicate, communicate, communicate!

66 Think business results

77 Sell up!

What do you need to consider with your strategy?

To successfully implement flexible work practice you need a systematic culture

change approach
Start with Work/Life Audit to ascertain what practices are working
Develop strategies to overcome the challenges include creating
Develop an organisation specific business case
Engage managers and employees in the process
Address management issues
Train managers in how to manage flexible work practices
Evaluate the success of the program
Begin with a pilot program with a team of people committed to making workplace flexibility a success

Examples of what other companies are doing...

As generation Y plays a greater part in the workforce

strategies need to be in place to establish the work/life
balance of the company
For example
Revolving door policy keep the door open to younger staff who
leave to experience other companies and life situations
Provide introductions for overseas work and facilitate them,
keeping the relationship going until they return (Malleson
Stephens Jacques a leading Australian law firm)
Double parental leave entitlements (rates for return to work for
ANZ have gone up from 78 to 93% within the last few years)
Guaranteed part time work for staff over 55 allowing staff to
have a downshift, a career extension as a right this resulted in
a rise of average retirement from 55 in 2001 to 58 in 2005 (ANZ)

Advantages and disadvantages of flexible working practices to EMPLOYEES

Advantages and disadvantages of flexible working practices to

EMPLOYEES...

Advantages

Disadvantages

Better health

Cost disadvantage or
advantage?

Less stress

Working at home with children?

A sense of control after making
Isolation
a proactive decision
Better quality of life

Lack of supervision

Coping better with non-work

responsibilities

Lower salary if you work fewer

hours

Retaining earning capability

Need for a dedicated work

space

Less commuting/cheaper
transport costs
More effective time
management
Choice of working patterns
Good for children
Good for equality

Difficulty in judging
performance
Need to be self disciplined and
highly organised
Possible obstacle to promotion
A sense that you have been
forced into it by circumstances
not of your choosing

Advantages and disadvantages of flexible working practices to EMPLOYEES

Advantages and disadvantages of flexible working practices to

EMPLOYERS...
Advantages

Disadvantages

Increased retention

Difficulty of managing home

workers and monitoring
performance

Higher engagement and

productivity
Enhanced recruiting and
competitive position
Reputation as an employer of
choice
Improved scheduling and
coverage across time zones
and continents
Reduction of the companys
carbon footprint

Deterioration in employees
skills and work quality
Initial costs of training and
providing suitable equipment
including adaptations to meet
health and safety standards
Maintaining staff development
and upgrading skills
Risk of information security
problems
Increased telecommunication
costs
Risk of communication
problems and a sense of
isolation amongst home
workers
Can be harder to maintain
team spirit
Working from home is
unsuitable for some types of
jobs

What does the future look like?

Future of working practices what are companies doing now?

Many companies still do not embrace the concept of flexible working and according to a survey by ISP
Lumison, London who surveyed 1,013 people earlier this year, the break down of obstacles to working
from home were the following:

A note about potential security issues....

Businesses may be putting themselves at

risk by allowing staff to work at home
without proper security
Problem is that most businesses have
neglected security in pursuit of better
business continuity
They have neglected to think about the
security implications of having data stored in
more locations than ever before

Five tips for businesses on implementing remote working technology

Here are 5 tips for businesses on remote working technology
11

Cost-benefit analysis

22

Staff consultation

33

Remote working security policy

44

Flexible working policy

55

Training

What is the government doing to help?

Provision of additional child-care places for parents of school-age children, including

Outside School Hours Care
Targeted and improved industry and workplace engagement strategies
Strategies to increase employment of workers with a disability
Training for employers to manage an ageing workforce effectively
Additional training and employment preparation services for job seekers

10 ways Generation Y will change the workplace

1. More Productive Meetings

2. Shorten the traditional working day
3. Bring back administrative assistants
4. Redefine retirement
5. Find real mentors
6. Restore respect to the HR department
7. Promote based on emotional
intelligence
8. Continue to value what our parents
had to offer
9. Enjoy higher starting salaries
10. Reinvent the performance review

Roadblocks to success

If its such a win win situation why aren't more

employers embracing flexibility? Several roadblocks
keep employers from making the connection.
Biggest is long standing work place norms
Many cultures are still rooted in the industrial age and
focus on hours and face to face time
Rather than hours worked we use hours worked
specifically hours in the office to measure performance
Manager attitudes most managers have primary if
not sole responsibility for making flex work a reality
Nearly two thirds of managers have had no formal
training on flexibility for managers
Senior leaders most do not see the connection
between flexibility and quantifiable business results
and see the programs as soft
Poor execution employees need to understand what
is offered and have a clear expectation of their role
and responsibilities
As a result, it is very difficult to change the above
and does nothing to encourage flexible work practice

If you don't embrace the change what will happen?

As labour forces in Australia and globally shrink,

employers will need to be innovative about attracting the
shrinking supply of available talent in short if you don't
do anything there is a very real danger that your company
will face possible extinction
Gone are the days of treating everyone the same
Employees have different needs, expectations and
preferences
A one size fits all approach does not work in today's
changing work landscape

If you don't embrace these concepts you will lose the

competitive advantage of employing a more aligned,
engaged and productive workforce

Conclusion

The workforce of the future will be more diverse

it will consist of more older workers, more
parents, and more people wanting to work parttime so new strategies will be needed
Organisations interested in creating a flexible
work environment have a variety of options
available to them.
It is really a matter of tailoring the specific
type(s) of flexibility to employee needs, the
constraints of specific jobs, and the
organisations culture and structure.
Work flexibility practices can relate to other
types of psychologically healthy workplace
programs and practices.
Organisational decision makers themselves
have a lot of flexibility in how they choose to
utilise flexible work arrangements.

Questions and answers

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Australia
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