Achieving work life balanceRetention and attraction strategies for WA Health

IntroductionThis publication identifies:

10 essential management actions for creating work life balance

10 most essential attraction and retention strategies; and

101 attraction and retention strategies.

These strategies cover a wide range of issues and are drawn from a range of resources. It is acknowledged that some of these strategies, or elements of some, have already been implemented in some areas of the Government Health sector. However, there is scope for wider implementation of greater flexibilities across all occupational groups and levels of employees.

The strategies outlined in this document are proposed as recommendations for managers and supervisors to consider for implementation in their work areas to assist employees achieve a better balance between work, family

and life commitments.

The benefit in creating a workplace that openly and honestly supports employees with family and personal responsibilities is an increased ability to attract and retain skilled employees.

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Creating work life balance within the workplaceThe following actions are considered to be the most essential for employers that are committed to work life balance:

Ten Essential Management Actions for Creating Work Life Balance

1. Positive Work life Balance thinking treating staff as adults who are balancing their work commitments with their family/personal responsibilities, and being positive about making changes to create a more flexible workplace in all aspects of employee relations. The importance of modelling best practice work life balance from the top cannot be underestimated.

2. Work Life Balance policy have a clear policy statement which announces that the WA Health is committed to providing a flexible responsive workplace, which enables all employees to balance work and family/personal responsibilities, which is incorporated into core values statements and corporate plans, and supported by policy guidelines outlining what that means for everyone in the workplace.

3. Work Life Balance employer - WA Health be promoted as an employer who respects and cares about its employees, who recognises that they will have family and personal responsibilities, and who provides flexiblebilities. Factors shown to impact the most upon staff trying to balance work and life include required hours of work, a lack of flexibility in being able to alter their working hours, time off or leave arrangements, a lack of access to suitable childcare arrangements, and undue stresses and tensions in the workplace which make working life more difficult and/or even unpleasant.

4. Awareness of entitlements - increase awareness of employees entitlements to access flexible working arrangements, and what assistance and services are available to them directly or by referral.

5. Work Life Balance survey conduct a survey to identify staff needs in balancing work and family/ personal life responsibilities, current awareness of flexible work options, and suitability of current working arrangements. Incorporate results into the human resource management plan and staff work planning arrangements.

6. Implement flexible work practices this will provide greater flexibility to all employees, including supervisors, managers and other senior staff, and will ensure flexible working hours schedules, rosters and leave arrangements to accommodate their family and personal responsibilities, without detriment or penalty.

7. Willingness to pilot or trial initiatives all managers and supervisors to demonstrate commitment to creating a flexible workplace that supports work life balance by considering employees needs and requests, and be willing to pilot or trial new initiatives and implement more flexible working arrangements.

8. Management accountability managers to be responsible and accountable for implementing work life balance arrangements, reducing staff turnover rates and increasing retention rates in their work area. Managers to be made accountable for decisions to refuse employees requests for more flexible working arrangements.

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9. Management Training training and development programs for managers should include human resource management skills, the benefits of creating work life balance, and how to manage a more flexible workforce.

10. Pre-exit interviews pre-exit interviews that include questions such as whether difficulties in balancing work and family/personal responsibilities were a contributing factor to the employee leaving, to be conducted prior to the employee leaving. This data to be collated analysed and reported to senior management. Where possible, alternative working arrangements should be offered to assist employees remain with a better work life balance.

Work life balance within the workplaceWhy do we need them? Retention and attraction strategies are an important means for attracting and retaining skilled employees - particularly in areas where there is a high staff turnover, difficulties in recruiting and retaining skilled staff, a competitive job market, and labour and skill shortages.

One of the first strategies to consider is current work arrangements and management practices that may be contributing to the difficulty in attracting and retaining staff. This may require the assistance of an external person to the work area who may be able to see work and management practices more objectively and therefore obtain more detailed comments and views from both management and staff.

Staff leave an organisation for many reasons, including career advancement, better job opportunities and retirement. These departures may be difficult to prevent. However, another key reason staff and in particular women - leave their job is to find a better work life balance. Changes to the family situation tends most often to impact upon women and results in increasing difficulty in managing a balance between work and family responsibilities. Factors shown to impact the most upon staff trying to balance work and life include required hours of work, a lack of flexibility in being able to alter their working hours, time off or leave arrangements, a lack of access to suitable childcare arrangements, and undue stresses and tensions in the workplace which make working life more difficult and/or even unpleasant.

Employees who are able to balance their work, family and life commitments have been shown to be happier in

their job and are more likely to stay and work towards a rewarding and productive career.

The cost of replacing skilled staff has been estimated by various organisations and businesses to be between $20,000 - $50,000 per employee. This includes the cost of lost productivity of the departed employee, and time taken by staff involved in the selection, recruitment, induction and on-the-job training processes to bring the new recruit up to the level of productivity of the former employee. Additional costs are incurred in advertising, engaging recruitment agencies, and temporarily filling the vacancy left by the departed employee until the new

recruit is working at a reasonable level of productivity.

Improving staff retention rates must, therefore, generate cost savings, and these savings could be used to improve flexibilities, facilities and working conditions for all employees.

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Who is family?Access to flexible working arrangements should be available to all employees, both male and female, at all classification levels, for all aspects of family/personal life.

The Equal Opportunity Act 1994 makes it unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of

Family Responsibility or Family Status, defined under the Act as:

In relation to a person, means -

a) having responsibility for the care of another person, whether or not that person is a dependant, other than in the course of paid employment;

b) the status of being a particular relative; or

c) the status of being a relative of a particular person;

Relative: in relation to a person, means a person who is related to the first-mentioned person by blood, marriage, affinity or adoption and includes a person who is wholly or mainly dependant on, or is a member of the household of, the first-mentioned person.

Retention and Attraction Strategies proposed The following 101 retention and attraction strategies are proposed specifically for the Western Australian Government Health Industry. Many of these may already be implemented in some areas. However, it is apparent that such practices are not accessible to all staff or applied in all areas, and further improvements can still be made.

These strategies cover a range of issues that can assist in changing work and management practices to assist employees balance their work and family/personal responsibilities, retain and attract staff, and create a better working environment for everyone.

Many of the strategies could be applied to a wide range of employees at all classification levels. Consideration also

needs to be given to encouraging mature-age, management and senior staff to access these flexibilities.

Some of these strategies could be implemented immediately. Some may need to be incorporated into enterprise agreements. Others, such as those in the training and development area, may require further dev