Greg Roth, Senior Manager Institute for a Competitive Workforce ICW An Affiliate of the U.S. Chamber

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Workplace FlexibilityBenefits to Your Business

• Greg Roth, Senior ManagerInstitute for a
  Competitive Workforce (ICW)An Affiliate of the
  U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce November
  18, 2008

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When Work Worksa project of the Families and
Work Institute, the Institute for a Competitive
Workforce (ICW), and the Twiga Foundation
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Todays Agenda

• Research and Trends
• Defining Workplace Flexibility
• The Business Case
• Best Practices and Innovative Ideas
• About the Sloan Awards

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Part I
Research and Trends
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American Generations
Boomers 1946-64
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GenY 1978-94
GenX 1965-77
Matures Pre-1946
Source Leading Futurists LLC, using US Census
data.
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The Workforce Has Become More Diverse Over the
Past Three Decades (from 1977 to 2008)

• There are more women (from 42 to 49)
• There are more people of color (from 12 to 21)
• There are more employees over 40 years old (from
  35 to 65)
• Women in the U.S. have achieved higher
  educational levels than men of those 50 and
  younger, 32 of women and 23 of men in the U.S.
  have 4 years of college or more

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Sources 1977 QES and 2008 NSCW 2002 figures
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The Leadership Challenge
Source 2008, 1992 National Study of the Changing
Workforce
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Changes In Family and Home Life

• There are more dual-earner couples (from 66 to
  78)
• More employees have elder care responsibilities
  (35 of all employees)
• More men are involved in the care of their
  children (24 in 1992 to 30 in 2002)

Sources 1977 QES and 2002 NSCW
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Employees Want Work-Life Balance

• 67 of employed parents say they dont have
  enough time with their children
• 63 say they dont have enough time with their
  husbands or wives (up from 50 in 1992)
• 55 say they dont have enough time for themselves

Sources 2002 NSCW, 2004 Generation Gender in
the Workplace
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Graying Industries
Age ranges and percentages in the workforce

• Center on Aging Work at Boston College, based
  on data made available by the Census Bureau

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2020 What will shape our biggest challenges?

• The forces of change
• Doing business in a global economy
• Global consumers in a middle class world
• The American generations
• An information-driven world
• Not all work can be or will be automated
• Some work can be done anywhere
• Technology boom
• Business faces values change
• Supply, demand, and needs

Impacting Major skill issues Numbers
retiring Knowledge loss Management
The forces at play will raise new challenges but
can also help us solve challenges
Source Leading Futurists LLC
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The Younger Generations Say
It feels normal for Gen Y employees to check in
by BlackBerry all weekend as long as they have
flexibility during the week. Today, more than
half of Sun Microsystems employees work
remotely.
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The Older Generations Say
I just didnt know how to be retired. I didnt
know what to do with myself all day. I got bored.
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Part II
Defining Workplace Flexibility
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What Is Workplace Flexibility?

Dot-coms and tiny tech companies???
Foosball???
Concessions and accommodations???
No dress codes???
Cats and dogs???
Do what you feel???
Anarchy???
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Workplace Flexibility is

• How jobs and work are organized to the benefit of
  both parties
• Shared contract between employer and employee
• Shared responsibility for achieving business
  results
• Research consistently reveals that flexibility is
  linked to a return on investment
• The perception of flexibility is changing not an
  accommodation now, a strategic tool for doing
  business

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Six Research-Based Criteria for an Effective
Workplace in the U.S.

• Providing job autonomy
• Creating learning opportunities and challenges on
  the job where employees can grow, learn and
  advance
• Developing environments where supervisors support
  employees in being successful on the job
• Developing environments where coworkers support
  each other for job success
• 5. Involving employees in management decision
  making
• 6. Creating flexible workplaces

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Common Examples of Workplace Flexibility Practices

• Flexible hours and scheduling
• Telecommuting and remote work
• Job sharing
• Team and work partner rotations
• Career transitions and moving from full-time to
  part-time work and back
• Continued training and learning opportunities

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There Are Positive Outcomes for Employees in
Effective Workplaces
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Sources 2002 NSCW, 2004 When Work Works
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Part III
The Business Case for Workplace Flexibility
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Problem 1 Finding Talent

• 50 of employers report having a hard time
  finding qualified applicants
• Almost 60 of employers with 11-50 employees
  report the same

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Problem 2 Keeping Talent

• Supermarkets spend 1.40 on employee turnover for
  every 1 of profit.
• Retail clothing stores would have to sell 3,000
  additional pairs of khaki pants (35 apiece) to
  compensate for the loss of one worker.
• Replacing an exempt employee can cost 150 to
  200 of that employees yearly salary.

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Studies Show a Return on Investment for Flexible
Workplaces

• Job satisfaction
• Retention
• Engagement and commitment
• Health and well-being

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Positive Impacts on the Bottom Line

• Attracting and retaining employees
• Reducing turnover
• Plus
• Increasing employee engagement/commitment
• Reducing absenteeism and sick days
• Reducing business costs
• Increasing productivity and profitability

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Part IV
Organizations Embracing Effective and Flexible
Workplaces
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2007 Sloan Award Winners

• Professional Services (38 percent)
• Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (15 percent)
• Social Services (10 percent)
• Medical Services (5 percent)

Over 70 of winners have less than 100 employees
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Case Studies

• KPMG Has won a more Sloan Awards in more
  different communities than any other applicant.
• Flexibility has become a top retention strategy.
• 65 of employees either currently work or have
  worked on a flexible schedule
• Offerings compressed work weeks, telecommuting,
  job sharing, reduced workloads, and even
  day-to-day flexibility.
• Flexibility website, includes AWA guide,
  decision-making guidelines, reduced workload,
  telecommuting guidelines, and other resources.

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Case Studies

• Menlo Innovations three-time Sloan Award
  winner.
• Job and team sharing, no desks, no walls,
  increased productivity and engagement.
• Most recently, an employee decided he wanted to
  hike through South Africa. His job is waiting for
  him when he returns.
• An engineering firm considering a workplace
  culture shift paid a visit to Menlo. The firms
  employees found the project corkboard
  mindblowing.
• If you get laid off, don't bother to look for
  another job--create one.

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Flexibility Case Studies
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Case Studies
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Case Studies

• Bon Secours Health System in Richmond, VA allows
  employees working 16 hours per week to receive
  benefits
• pension accrual
• medical dental
• employer-assisted housing
• assists employees change jobs when desired
• Matures negotiate schedules. As long as they
  work 1000 hours per year, contributions flow into
  their pensions, pro-rated.
• In the last two years, as the hospital industry
  has consolidated, BSHS has flourished.

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Case Studies

• ARUP Laboratories in Salt Lake City UT
• Pairing Two employees work complimentary
  schedules.
• Optional schedule 10-hour days, 7 on and 7 off.
  Employees work 70 hours during any given two-week
  period, but are paid for 80.
• Targeting college students with flexible
  schedules and tuition re-imbursement.
• 1992 700 employees.2004 1,700.Yet, in that
  time, ARUP has cut its turnover rate from 22 to
  11.

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Other Case Studies

• Cooper Roberts Simonsen Associates
• Benefit time for continuing education
• Puget Sound Center for Teaching, Learning
  Technology
• Negotiate additional time for family medical
  leave
• NRGSeattle
• Sabbatical every five years, with banked time
• Boys Girls Club of Long Beach
• Changed hiring policies to begin hiring young
  workers for less than 20 hours per week

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Part V
Introducing Flexibility into the Workplace
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How to Get Started

• See flexibility as a strategic business tool
• Define goals
• Ask employees what they need
• Involve top and middle management
• Define flexibility as mutually beneficial
• Communicate

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Sloan Awards 2009 Why Apply?

• Self-evaluation process
• Company-wide attention of an effective workplace
  program
• Commitment to employee relations
• Stimulate positive staff morale
• Local and national recognition
• Benchmarking reports
• Free!

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Contact

• Greg RothSenior Manager, Workforce Education
  ProgramsInstitute for a Competitive WorkforceU.S
  . Chamber of CommerceP 202-463-5703F
  202-887-3424groth_at_uschamber.com
• www.uschamber.com/icw

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