Largess still short of toenail painting

We've all seen it. That fabulous Telecom ad. Her with the power suit on (the top half anyway); him under the table, painting her toenails.

Just a few minutes more and they can get back to that relaxed snog that the video conference call interrupted.

It's probably not quite what the EEO Trust (or the nation's employers) have in mind when they describe "flexibility" as the hot workplace issue for 2002. But it will do.

The trust says flexibility in working hours and leave is on the rise as enlightened employers recognise their recruitment and retention policies need to bend more in their employees' direction.

It is not all PC stuff. Research by recruitment company TMP Worldwide has shown a strong correlation between flexible work practices and staff turnover.

TMP found an average attrition rate of 13.5 per cent across 80 large organisations in New Zealand, covering the public sector, local government, manufacturing, SOEs, IT, telecommunications, professional services, fast-moving consumer goods and not-for-profit groups.

Professional services and IT experienced the highest turnover rates - 23 per cent and 26 per cent respectively.

TMP found that the organisations which paid the highest remuneration were not necessarily considered "employers of choice".

John Harvey, head of PricewaterhouseCoopers, which won top honours in the large organisation category at last year's EEO Awards, says senior management should support flexibility.

PWC has an average turnover of 12-15 per cent.

Harvey says a "good suite of policies" is integral to the firm's success.

A look at the programmes and benefits that PWC offers under four categories - work/life balance, health and wellness, training/development and EEO/diversity - shows why it was recognised.

Among them: unlimited sick leave, flexible hours, four weeks' annual leave for managers (compare this with the two weeks in the United States, notes Harvey), team-building, mentoring, and international secondment.

The trust reports that although some industry sectors had initially baulked at flexibility, they were now coming up with creative ways of giving their employees control.

Among this year's entrants, Auckland Regional Council offers teleworking, because it helps to get cars off the road and allows people more quiet than they might get at work.

3M, another entrant, has 30 per cent of its staff able to work from home through the provision of cell phones with caller ID, faxes, remote LAN access and laptops.

Strategy Recruitment offers home office, dual location and independent contractor arrangements, along with non-traditional and part-time working hours.

There is also a trend towards buying and selling leave and shift times that is determined by the workers.

Paid parental leave - that is the amount by which leading companies top up the Government's base entitlement - is another major issue.

The Government's paid parental leave legislation came into effect on July 1, but already many workplaces are going further, with banks leading the way. ANZ and WestpacTrust, for instance, offer their staff a top-up so they ultimately receive full pay for the entire 12-week statutory period.



The trust points to other ways to persuade staff to return to work after tending to baby: keeping in touch with the parents while they are away, inviting them to staff functions and smoothing their return to the workplace with flexible hours.

Employers are also ensuring cultural diversity needs are met.

There is a much stronger move away from the old Anglo-Saxon workplace culture to a recognition that New Zealand is a diverse multi-cultural nation.

Ford, for instance, has what it calls a "diversity team" of volunteers and runs a global networking system that offers support for women, gays and minorities.

Auckland University has launched initiatives to support Maori staff ranging from the use of the Waipapa marae, kohanga reo, a Maori advisory group, free training in the Maori language and Treaty of Waitangi, and flexible tangihanga leave.

Information Tools says it has a "willingness to recruit new immigrants, even when their written English skills are not high". The company has also extended bereavement leave for tangi and overseas funerals.

Auckland Central Remand Prison offers leave to attend unveiling ceremonies.

The trend is not yet fully established, but combined with the push for flexibility and paid parental leave, it will help to ensure that New Zealanders get a better workplace balance.

Now back to those toenails.