Their focus on work and family balance has resulted in excellent staff loyalty and retention, an impressive workplace safety record with no accidents resulting in days lost in over 21 years, and increased revenue due to reputation and repeat customer business.

Turning On Flexible Employment - A Case Study on TakeABreak.com.au

TakeABreak.com.au is an online holiday accommodation service that lists over 38 accommodation types including hotels, holiday houses, bed and breakfast, cabins, and more.

Currently employing a staff of 12 employees,TakeABreak.com.au has been growing strongly over the last five years, and this growth has been fuelled in part by the flexible employment options built into their human resource policies.

Key work/life issues affecting employees and how TakeABreak identified them

TakeABreak employees, like employees in most organisations, have widely varying needs. Regular group and individual discussions are used to identify ways that the business can better support its staff. Approximately twice per month they hold a 'lunch and learn' where issues are discussed over an informal lunch provided by the company. The most important work/life issues arising from these are:

“Employees need to be able to control the amount and timing of their work. Sometimes they want to do more work, sometimes they need to give priority to other things and do less work. So the ability to schedule their work to the right times and durations is very important to staff,” says Penny Young, Joint Chief Executive Officer (Marketing).

“Those caring for small children need to be able to schedule work to fit with child care, but more importantly, they need the flexibility to be able to deal with difficulties such as illnesses, sleepless nights, and so on, which usually come with no notice,” Penny continues. “Therefore, the ability to change their working times or to take leave at short notice is very important.”

In addition to family, everyone has different social, sporting, hobby and other life commitments and activities which need to be balanced with their work. Several of TakeABreak’s staff are involved in volunteer work including St John Ambulance, Marymead (volunteer respite/foster care), school management/fundraising and Girl Guide leader.

Lisa, who has worked for TakeABreak for two years in a part-time capacity as a marketing communications writer, says ”It is the flexibility of work arrangement, combined with being able to work as it suits me in my chosen field, that makes TakeABreak such a special place to work. I feel that I am fulfilling my need to work and contribute, and yet I have the time to be involved with my sons’ school and also to undertake study that will add to my skill base.”

An important way TakeABreak.com.au has learned about what their employees need is by observing which options staff actually take up. For example, they allow (and even invite) staff to bring children to work for emergencies however this has rarely been taken up, as staff tend to use flexibility in working hours and location to solve this type of challenge.

Key work/life balance initiatives

Work/life issues are a fundamental aspect of the culture of TakeABreak.com.au. The company's founders decided that creating a genuinely good place to work was a central part of their vision for TakeABreak.com.au. Their vision statement begins with the words 'A great place to work'.

TakeABreak's business systems are engineered from the ground up to enable work/life balance:

Key systems can be accessed through any internet connection (using a combination of web interfaces and virtual private network). This means that team members can, when they wish to, perform a significant amount of their work from home.

Communication strategies to raise awareness of work/life balance issues with employees

Communication of TakeABreak’s work/life policies and approach begins with the recruitment process. They emphasise work/life balance in job advertisements, and explain in detail their approach as part of the interview process. They seek employees who understand and value the approach - right from the start.

The most important element of communication is visibly putting policies into practice. “It is easy to say you're flexible on working hours, but when you consistently implement this, staff are empowered and are much more likely to ask if they have a need which is not being met,” says Craig Davis, Joint Chief Executive Officer (Operations).

“Rather than rely on a pile of policy documents, we work on our business processes to maximise the flexibility for staff and managers. Where the business process enables flexibility, it is easy for staff to use this flexibility and easy for managers to agree to requests,” continues Craig.

Individual and informal communication is constant, and is backed up by formal 6-monthly reviews which include discussion of employee satisfaction and future needs. Staff are employed using AWAs in order to offer above-award payments and to cater for employees who do not fit easily in award categories.

Integrating work/life balance into day-to-day operations

Realistic expectations of the needs of staff needs for time off and flexibility are built into TakeABreak’s business plans. The management team considers impact on the working environment and work/life balance for staff before making any substantial change to the business plans.

TakeABreak’s recruitment strategy emphasises offering genuine flexibility and a friendly (and professional) working environment as a major competitive advantage in recruiting the best people. “We believe this has gained us staff who are more motivated, and more skilled than we would otherwise have been able to attract,” says Davis.

Business systems at TakeABreak are designed to enable flexibility for employees. Any new system or procedure must meet three goals - meet business needs (eg stay within budget); meet customer needs/expectations (eg average response time); and not compromise employee flexibility or other needs (eg require rigidity of staff availability). With some creativity and determination all three goals can always be met. Sometimes this may involve compromises or working to influence customer expectations (e.g. explaining to customers the advantages of email over phone communication for most customer support requests).

Where a staff member has a crisis and needs to change their working times or other aspects of work at short notice, TakeABreak’s policy is to offer as much flexibility as possible. This would include granting leave at short notice - due to smart business systems this can usually be done with little impact on customer service. Occasionally this results in a senior manager doing front line customer support, but this is regarded as a good thing in terms of keeping in touch and ensuring that the business is staffed at a level where this need is rare. The willingness of senior management to step in rather than push staff to work in ways that conflict with their family needs shows a true commitment to putting work/life balance principles into practice.

Outcomes including benefits for employees and for TakeABreak

TakeABreak sees a number of specific benefits that are attributable to flexible employment options:

TakeABreak believe their employees are generally happier overall due to its employment and management approach. They have at least one employee who they believe would not be in the workforce at present without the flexible options that are provided. One employee recently completed a university degree which was assisted by the ability to take study leave. Another is coping successfully with the challenges of being a sole parent.

Nicole, TakeABreak’s Marketing Coordinator says "I can't emphasise enough what a flexible boss we have and how we feel comfortable asking or requesting leave or working from home. Also, I love that my suggestions are taken seriously and we genuinely discuss them, unlike other jobs I've had."

“We believe that our work/life policies also benefit TakeABreak - primarily by building high staff motivation and loyalty.” says Davis “We are often able to attract an extremely high calibre of experience than otherwise would have been the case, simply by providing flexible employment options”.

Low staff turnover is another major benefit. Over the five years of operation, there have been only a few staff members resign, to either go on to other careers, travel or if they were looking for something closer to home.

Customer satisfaction is another benefit. With a number of staff working on a part-time basis, their approach to customers is generally fresh; they are not tired out after sitting 8 hours straight at a computer, nor stressed by tight deadlines and working in an unfriendly call centre environment. This positively impacts the quality of their interaction with customers. TakeABreak regularly surveys customers and find very high (industry leading) levels of satisfaction. The most recent results showed 94% of respondents would recommend TakeABreak.com.au to their friends.

Flexible employment options are also contributing to another key strategy, which is environmental sustainability. By allowing staff to work from home and/or to schedule their start and finish times to coincide with bus timetables or school pickup, we are helping to eliminate the environmental impact of traffic congestion and pollution.

Finally, TakeABreak.com.au's business success has been outstanding. They recently won the NSW Tourism Award in the Tourism Marketing category for the third year in a row, and were inducted into the Hall of Fame. They were awarded a High Commendation in the 2007 National Work and Family Awards (ACCI, BCA) and were NSW State Finalists in the Telstra Business Awards.

For the last five years,TakeABreak.com.au has been one of the top ten websites in the highly competitive destinations and accommodation category, revenue growth in the past year was over 100%, and TakeABreak.com.au was reviewed by the Sunday Herald Sun as 'one of the best websites to "find an escape" '. “While it seems that at times we put our people ahead of profit, our profits are strengthened by our approach,” adds Davis.

For more information, go to www.TakeABreak.com.au

Telecommuting - David's Story

David works at a company that employs 15 people in Sydney. It sells post-production systems for film and television. It offers service, support and training. David’s job is to provide technical support over the phone.

David lives in Penrith, which is 57 km away from his office. He was spending three hours a day getting to and from work until one day he rang Telstra and got chatting with the operator. She said she was in Broken Hill, half a state away from where he wanted information. He started to think about the time he wasted travelling and the fact that he too could do his job fromanywhere. He did not have to be in his office. If he were to work from home three days a week, that would give himan extra three hours a day he could spend with his wife and three children.

David didn’t know anyone who worked from home.There was no-one in his office who was doing it. David was scared to suggest such a radical change to work patterns. He had no model to follow, but after he had collected as much information as he could he put his case to his manager. His manager could see the sense in it and took the idea to the CEO, who also had no problem with it. It was decided to give David a trial, working from home for three days a week for two weeks. There were some communication problems (e.g. diverting calls) but these were quickly sorted out and after the two weeks’ trial period David continued to work from home for three days a week.

To do his job David requires the specialized workplace system on computer and a phone. He installed the computer system and a second phone line at home. He has a modem, which means he can dial into the server at the office to access the phone bill. David comes into the office two days per week. He says he likes to do this as it means that people know he is still around. It makes him feel he is still part of a larger organisation, and it instils a sense of teamwork when staff all have the opportunity to be together. He does not think that he could work five days from home for these reasons.

David can now have breakfast and lunch with his wife and children. When he worked from the office he used to leave at 6 a.m. every day to beat some of the traffic; his family was still asleep. Now he can also spend time during the day with his children, and he makes up work time after they are asleep.

Problems? There have been some technical hitches but these have been sorted out as they occurred. David was worried about whether the company’s insurance would cover the expensive equipment that he took home. The company’s financial controller reassured him that it did.

Because David is working only two days in the office, he works more hours on those days for the company than he did when he worked five days in the office. He arrives at 7.30–8 a.m. and leaves at 5.30–6 p.m. But the days that he works at home he often starts at 9.30–10 a.m. He works odd hours at home so he doesn’t slow the system down when he logs in. It is possible for David to organise his hours to suit himself. The only requirement that his company has is that he is contactable by phone to deal with anyone that requires information or has a problem with the equipment from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week. For this he has a pager. His phone in the office is diverted to his home phone or to the pager so he never misses a call. One work day he needed to pay the car registration and go to see the school teacher, and he simply diverted the calls to his pager. One stressful day David needed to get out of the house and ‘chill out’, so he went for a walk in the fresh air and simply took the pager and the mobile phone with him.

When his son comes home from school at 4 p.m. he and David can go into the backyard and kick the ball around or practise his Reader, something David can never do when he is working in the office, as by the time he gets home he is too exhausted. The work itself is mentally draining and after he adds the driving and the distance, some days he gets home and is just a ‘shell’.

David’s workplace conducts annual employee reviews where performance criteria are agreed to. He does not require supervision as he knows what he is expected to achieve; if it is not done, the company will know about it soon enough.

David is a happy employee. He puts in a lot more hours at home and in the office than he was doing before he acquired this flexibility. He says he is now more productive and more committed to his employer

Launch of "The Small Business Work & Family Tookit"!

The Small Business Work & Family Toolkit provides the tools, information and support needed to successfully implement flexible work practices.

With more than a decade of experience in small business and with helping workplaces implement flexible work options, we know the challenges that need to be met. We have developed The Toolkit to address these substantial challenges. We also know the opportunities that can result from well managed work/life programs such as improved profits and productivity, and look forward to working with you to capitalise on these opportunities.

Our Small Business Toolkit offers outstanding value and includes:

A great deal of wasted time and expense can occur when workplaces “reinvent the wheel” when it comes to implementing flexible work programs. Small businesses can now take advantage of our extensive experience with family friendly work arrangements and benefit from the cost savings that our Toolkit provides. For further details contact Flexibility At Work on Tel: (02) 9402 4741

News Flash!!! Small Business Work and Family Grants Program

Under the Fresh Ideas for Work and Family Grants Program, small businesses can apply to DEEWR for funding of $5,000 to $15,000 to assist them in meeting the set-up costs of implementing family friendly work arrangements. Applications for the first funding round close on 24 April 2009. You can contact Flexibility At Work to help you set up your family friendly work arrangements.

Our Small Business Work & Family Toolkit is now available and is the culmination of our many years of research and experience in implementing workplace work/life and wellbeing programs. The Toolkit can be purchased as a complete package or in separate modules, depending on the needs of the business. We expect that the cost of each Toolkit (or part required by the individual business) will be covered by the Work & Family Grant.

When a business contacts Flexibility At Work to assist with their Work & Family Program the usual starting point is a Work/Life audit. (Module 1 of the Toolkit). This is a survey and consultation process. The results of this audit will form the basis of the individual business work/life needs analysis and Grant Application. The cost for this audit and other Toolkit components will form part of the Grant Application. There will be no charge to the small business for this audit. If any part of the Toolkit is not covered by the Grant, the small business can then decide which, if any, aspects of the Toolkit they may wish to purchase. The Toolkit is a very cost effective way of obtaining the support, tools, guidelines, policies, training and resources needed to successfully implement Work & Family arrangements.

Small businesses can now take advantage of our extensive experience with helping workplaces implement their family friendly work arrangements and benefit from the cost savings that our Small Business Work & Family Toolkit provides. For further details contact Flexibility At Work on Tel: (02) 9402 4741

Video: Small Business Owner, Rob Davidson recommends the Flexibility At Work work/life programs

Further access to training programs

Further Work/Life Balance Resources to assist you with your Work & Family arrangements

"I have been a subscriber to your newsletters for a quite a while and as a small business owner in the HR space I find them useful for both myself in managing my own business and for my clients. Really practical and useful advice so thanks. I have also seen your articles in some publications trying to get the word out about the benefits of flexibility in the workspace. Good on you!" E Rasul, Director, Effision HR

"You'll be glad to know I have referenced your web site in our company Part-Timers Teamroom, and people are quite enthused about the good articles there. Also, I have just purchased your book and hope to use some of your ideas in the Flexible Work meetings I am running quarterly for part-timers at IBM GSA ! Thanks for your input - I look forward to reading the book over the weekend."
K. Payten, IBM GSA Business Operations Manager

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