If re-evaluating priorities and cutting costs is to a recessionas developing a flexible work program is to recruiting andretaining top talent, then opportunity may be knocking for creditunions.
“Personally, I think it is time credit unions make more of aneffort in coming up with flexible work programs,” said D. HiltonCEO David Hilton. “Part of the reason is that with dual-earnercouples as the new norm, taking jobs that are not the typical nineto five hours makes sense to families in today'senvironment.”
In general, workplace flexibility covers scheduling of hoursworked, including nontraditional start and end times, compressedwork weeks, job sharing, part-time work and telecommuting.
Given the competitive landscape in California, Technology CreditUnion Human Resources Senior Vice President LeeAnne Giblin saiddespite the challenges, flexible workplace arrangements are wellworth the effort.
The credit union not only has a job-sharing policy but also offerstelecommuting and is set to launch a new voluntary time offprogram, whereby staff can voluntarily request a reduced schedule(unpaid or partially unpaid) for a specified period of time.
“Some employees may want to take advantage of this during thesummer when their kids are off school. They may be able to affordthe reduced pay if they aren't paying for that extra week of summercamp,” said Giblin. “So this can be a win-win program. Thechallenge for us is that we are leanly staffed and not allemployees may be able to take advantage of it.”
The program is slated to run through the rest of the year, andGiblin said HR is doing all it can to make it work for as manyemployees as possible.
“This is a perfect time to roll something like this out becausetraffic volume is slower, and it's a creative way to retainemployees while helping the payroll a little,” said Giblin. “Wealso allow employees to cash out their PTO to help supplement theirincome. It's about being as creative as we can. This may turn outto be a once in a lifetime opportunity or it may be something wecan keep in place. We'll see.”
Hilton said that as employees' need to work differently andwork-life balance demands increase, companies offering some degreeof workplace flexibility may be more attractive to potentialemployees.
“It might not work for all positions in the credit union, forexample, front-line staff, but it's a matter of really figuring outwhat will work best for employees while ensuring there is coverageso that members continue to receive the same quality service,” saidHilton. “That could mean simply being more flexible from theperspective that employees can work anywhere between time A andtime B, and it comes down to making sure there is always someonethere to help the members.”
According to the Society of Human Resource Management 2008 employeebenefits survey, flexible working benefits are a cost-effective wayto help employees balance their work and personal lives. Inaddition, the benefits help organizations attract and retainhigh-quality talent and are a key factor in employeesatisfaction.
The move to make flexible work arrangements a workplace norm may begaining momentum. Georgetown University Law Center-based think tankWorkplace Flexibility 2010 recently released a report, “PublicPolicy Platform on Flexible Work Arrangements,” to providesolutions for expanding access to such programs.
The report finds that flexible arrangements can be as manageableand predictable as possible for both employees and employers.According to the report, because of the range of options employeeshave in scheduling their work time, offices are often able toprovide customer service over a greater span of hours. In addition,employees with access to flexible work arrangements tend to be moresatisfied with their jobs and appear more willing to work hard tohelp their employers succeed.
Hilton said the reason flexible arrangements are not more popularin workplaces in general is that they require a lot of trust instaffers and many wonder if they would harm employee morale if notall employees were eligible to participate.
–[email protected]