Special Award Winners

2011 Special Awards Finalists

The 2011 Special Awards Finalists have been announced. Categories and their shortlist are below:

• Best for Career Progression
• Legal & General Best for Carers Award
• Best for Fathers
• The National Grid Best for Flexible Working Award
• Best for Mothers
• The Deutsche Bank Best for Innovation and Engagement Award

Best for Career Progression

Henmans LLP

Career progression is not dependant on hours worked or how they are worked (at home or in the office), Employees can choose to either work more intensively if they wish, or less so if they want to combine work with other interests or responsibilities. There is a recognition of the potential for home based workers to over-work, and they are discouraged from accessing company systems and email in their non-working hours. This is monitored and action is possible if an employee appears to be in danger of compromising their work-life balance. The business has seen positive results in terms of staff retention and satisfaction. Unusually for this sector, people have been promoted to partner whilst retaining a reduced hours working arrangement.

Jaguar Land Rover

One of the barriers identified by women is the ability to balance home and work life. Since 2009 a total of 124 women have received training around career development, planning, coaching, leadership etc. A number of those attending have flexible working arrangements. The feedback from participants, has said that it has allowed them to reflect on what they want from their careers and it has given them increased confidence.

This has created a network of women who have got involved with apprentice, graduate and experienced hire recruitment into Jaguar Land Rover, providing opportunities for female staff development whilst working flexibly. The network has provided role models of senior women working flexibly in a traditionally male dominated sector.

The Legal & General Best for Carers Award

Centrica

A highly developed and long established carer’s policy extends across the organisation to all people. This is backed up with a thriving carer’s network which has run since 2004. Dependants are widely defined, maximising the likelihood of being able to take the carer’s leave. Additional leave is at the discretion of the line manager, and flexible working policies are utilised both long and short term (at line manager’s discretion) to allow people with caring responsibilities the time they need. Paid additional leave may be available, at the discretion of the line manager. All of Centrica’s people can have paid time off for carer’s leave, via an annual leave offset scheme.

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Recognition of carers as an ‘unheard’ group of employees who were hesitant about asking for support led to the development of a strategy deliberately aimed at carers working in the Trust. An ‘easy read’ guide has been developed and lunchtime sessions for carers are held, as well as sessions aimed at managing stress for carers. The message that flexible working isn’t just for parents has been communicated to managers throughout the Trust. Dependents are widely defined. Carers are assisted with paid emergency dependents’ leave as well as career break options.

Registers of Scotland

Operating a very flexible flexitime system and a range of options that allow flexibility across the week, month or year means that carers are able to reconcile their work and caring responsibilities. In addition, special leave of up to 10 paid days per annum can be granted to support carers in managing their commitments. Information aimed at carers is available on the organisation’s intranet, including links to local carer support groups.

Best for Fathers

Centrica

Policies afford fathers flexibility and time off to spend with their children. Paternity pay is enhanced, and fathers are allowed to phase back from paternity leave (OPL and APL), they are also able to split paternity leave. There is awareness that life events, like having a new baby, may temporarily affect performance and work can be adapted accordingly. Father-friendly events are held, and there is a father’s champion who communicates messages aimed at fathers and is a resource for other fathers to use. As a result, Centrica has a very high rate of men using the flexible working options policy.

Henmans LLP

Paternity leave is paid at enhanced rates for one week, with no qualifying period for employees. Paternity returners are able to phase back to work. This is in support of a culture which seeks to treat men and women equally, with several men at a senior level working flexibly and sharing care more or less equally with their partners. The key drive is one of promoting the idea that parents of either gender may have the same opportunities for caring for their children.

LSE

LSE's policies for fathers are part of a wider organisation-wide strategy aiming to promote a good work-life balance and better wellbeing amongst its staff. The School aims to make it culturally unremarkable for fathers to be involved in caring for their children, so paternity pay is paid at full salary, and the leave is flexible: fathers can even take their leave before the birth if they wish or split it into as many blocks as required. LSE is also working on enhanced communications aimed specifically at fathers, and is planning a fathers mentoring programme and a series of presentations on issues important for new fathers, which will be available to both LSE staff and the partners of female employees at LSE.

Registers of Scotland

Fathers are given paid time off to attend up to three antenatal appointments and are able to use a very flexible flexitime system to take more time off if required. Qualifying fathers can take four weeks of fully paid paternity leave. Fathers are able to phase back from paternity leave, and work flexibly. Ten per cent of male employees work reduced hours. The emphasis is on the use of the extensive range of flexible working options to allow fathers to achieve a successful work-life balance.

The National Grid Best for Flexible Working Award

Accenture

Accenture have invested heavily in leading edge technology to enable colleagues to connect up globally, reducing the need for extensive travel and allowing flexibility for employees collaborating across time zones. They have also taken a lifecycle approach to flexibility, recognising that employees will have changing flexibility needs throughout their careers. Flexibility is available to all employees, and performance is measured on outputs rather than time. Flexibility is being embedded into the organisation as a core value, and improvements in retention and turnover of staff and engagement have resulted. More than half of all staff work flexibly in some way.

Allianz

A wide range of flexible working policies are available. All staff are entitled to work flexibly, not just parents and carers. The underlying notion of this is that parental responsibilities are constant irrespective of the time of day and that everyone is different in their approach to parenthood and way of dealing with its demands. Specific action has been taken to ensure that across the organisation flexibility is widely defined and is not stereotyped as just part-time working. Flexibility is built into the discussions around recruiting, and there is recognition that informal flexibility based on trust is an important aspect of the flexible working picture inside Allianz. The spread and effectiveness of flexible working policies is measured via the staff survey, which has shown increasing satisfaction with work life balance opportunities.

Centrica

Centrica take a lifecycles approach to flexible working, recognising that people will have different needs at different stages of their lives and careers. Wellbeing and flexible working are linked and developing a healthy workplace culture means one where people are able to find the work-life balance they need. Work:wise is a project which offers ‘anytime, anyplace, anywhere’ working, irrespective of grade or statutory requirements. Embedding flexibility is backed up with comprehensive and robust training. Managers are trained in administering flexible teams and training and psychometric testing are deployed to make sure flexibility works within teams. The success of policies is audited to provide evidence of their strategic and bottom line importance. Engagement and retention have improved, and there is evidence that performance has improved as a result of flexible working policies.

Chwarae Teg

Chwarae Teg offers a comprehensive approach to flexible working including flexi time, opportunities for compressed hours and flexi place working where the emphasis is always on the quality of work and not when or where the work is done.

Annual leave is calculated in hours, allowing employees the flexibility to take their leave in hourly chunks which can be used for things like watching a school play for example.

Chwarae Teg’s attitude to flexibility is that anything is possible, and the success of their flexibility policies have been measured in terms of improved recruitment, morale, engagement and performance.

Dell Corp

Dell have invested in the technology to allow people to work from home, providing employees with the tools and training they need to move to home based working. Additionally they offer financial support to do this. Training for managers and staff is provided to ensure that home based working is not stigmatised, and managers are trained in how to effectively manage remote workers. Feedback from staff has revealed that this is a popular policy, and the UK pilot has been rolled out to 10 countries. Staff are also able to access other flexible working options, which can be vital for those who work with colleagues in different time zones.

Best for Mothers

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

The Trust has recently overhauled its maternity provisions to make it easier for women to manage their pregnancy, leave and return. As well as producing a completely new maternity guide for mothers which covers antenatal and postnatal issues, all women going on maternity leave are given a designated HR contact with whom they can liaise and keep in touch. Staff are encouraged to book an early meeting with their HR contact to discuss options around flexible working, childcare, transitioning back to work. They are also encouraged to discuss relevant packages with the Employee Benefits Manager. Managers make arrangements to keep in touch with women before they go on leave and the Trust takes this further by arranging baby massage classes for women on maternity leave. Women are able to come in, enjoy the class and then stay for coffee and an informal chat if they wish with a HR representative who comes to the meetings to be available for the mothers should there be any issues they want to discuss.

The Children’s Trust

There is a subsidised nursery on site for staff which operates longer hours to support staff with doing shift work. Additionally, the Trust subsidises local summer camps for staff with school age children up to 12 years old. An onsite occupational nurse will work with managers to support pregnant staff and meet regularly with them if required. Women are encouraged to phase back into work after maternity leave, and this is supported by a range of flexible working options

Deutsche Bank

Having introduced a maternity coaching program in 2008, Deutsche Bank has seen this benefit grow in popularity year on year. The coaching is not only offered to pregnant women, but also to all managers of women going on maternity leave. For women, the coaching program is designed to support a successful transition from and back into work. For line managers the program highlights and reinforces the benefits of good communication and planning. The workshops also provide a support community for mothers, as well as access to information and materials. The coaching programme also offers a 12-24 month session to some women, as this has been identified as the point when women tend to question their career . There is an ante-natal healthcare programme for expectant mothers, and ante and post natal yoga classes. Expectant mothers can also use the on-site medical centre; having these facilities on site/ within close vicinity has resulted in less disruption for expectant mothers to their working routine. A wider benefit of the maternity provisions is that Deutsche Bank have seen an increased retention rate of women returing from maternity leave.

Everything Everywhere

Taking as a starting point their customer demographic, Everything Everywhere have put in place a programme to encourage working mothers to take a more prominent role in the companies customer facing areas. As well as putting into place a wide range of flexible working policies, they have also rearranged work shifts so that mothers with childcare responsibilities can work around school times, for example. As well as proving very popular with staff, it has also allowed the company to develop a more diverse employee base.

West Mercia Police

Using a buddying system through their maternity network, West Mercia Police support mothers through pregnancy and return to work and beyond. Buddies are trained volunteers, who offer support and guidance on a range of issues around family issues. They can also offer help and support to partners if so required. The buddying scheme and Maternity Network are backed up by a comprehensive and well used intranet site where parents and parents to be can meet, exchange information and find out more about things like flexible working.

The Deutsche Bank Best for Innovation and Engagement Award

American Express

American Express is focussing on developing its leadership into visible ‘champions’ of flexibility for the whole business and has put in place a programme to develop its top people into effective leaders of a flexible culture. The programme is designed to make sure that the leaders of the business fully understand and embody a flexible working culture: what it really means, understanding the business case at a fundamental level and how it can benefit the whole organisation and its people.. This will, in turn, bring a competitive advantage as flexibility embeds throughout the organisation and managing flexibility becomes a core skill of all senior leaders.

Ashurst

Ashurst has taken a holistic approach to work/life fit. In addition to focussing on individual requirements as they arise, the firm decided to review the way the organisation works as a whole. The senior partner leads a committee which has reviewed work practices and the work/life fit of employees, taking on board the responses of a number of focus groups from around the global network. Being driven by the most senior levels of the organisation ensures that the initiative has the necessary weight and credibility. This has resulted in practical outcomes which support a 'high performance, high support' culture, and avoid a 'one size fits all' approach across the organisation. The firm acknowledges that cultural change requires a long term commitment and takes time.

Deloitte LLP

Driven by a desire to improve retention, especially of women, Deloitte have developed a suite of benefits for parents which includes, amongst other things, mini fridges by your desk for storing breast milk, discounts to family attractions and events for parents on things like choosing schools. These benefits, which complement a comprehensive policy are designed to make Deloitte a family friendly place to work. In particular their maternity transition coaching programme helps women who are having a baby transition off and back into work, using a team of coaches. This coaching is currently being made available to all mothers and fathers either through 1:1 coaching or via a webinar system.

Mayer Brown

Mayer Brown set about developing a number of initiatives which would create greater engagement for their employees. For the first time they rolled out an employee survey and introduced a carers network, while also piloting a mentoring scheme. They have also implemented a backup dependant and child care scheme. The firm aims to be a sector leader in family friendly working, and aligning policies with business goals will determine the way forward for the next few years.

2011 Winners Gallery