leading by example: workplace flexibility lessons from state and local governments december 1, 2010...
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Leading by Example:
Workplace Flexibility Lessons from State and Local Governments
December 1, 2010New America Foundation
Presented by Patricia KempthorneFounder, President, & CEO
Twiga Foundation, Inc.
In conjunction with Center for Aging and Work at Boston College and funded by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, we worked with state agencies to provide information and assistance about effective workplace practices to help RECRUIT, ENGAGE, RETAIN the best talent possible
We worked to show states the current opportunity to adopt and expand workplace flexibility and effectiveness to counter the impact that arises as the public sector workforce ages
The Project Consists of Four Key Elements:
1. Surveys (gather information)2. Webinars (share experiences)3. Fact-finding visits in the states4. Technical Assistance – including Toolkit
Why workplace flexibility?
Workplace flexibility is an effective practice that can help employers retain their older workforce and create an environment that attracts new generations of workers to the public sector workplace
What is workplace flexibility?
Workplace flexibility is a dynamic partnership between employers and employees that defines how, when and where work gets done and how careers are organized in ways that work for both.
It is NO COST / LOW COST
WIN …. For the EmployerIncreased Productivity – Decreased Overtime and Leave Costs
WIN …. For the EmployeeIncreased Job Satisfaction – Reduced Travel Time to Work
Balance Family/Work – More Opportunities for People with Disabilities
WIN …. For the CommunityImproved Services to Citizens like extended service hours and
reduced wait timeEnvironmental Benefits like less energy used, reduced
greenhouse emissions, and reduced gas consumption
The win win win in
UTAH—4/10EXTENDED SERVICE HOURSCustomer Satisfaction
◦ DMV wait ↓ from 11.4 to 7.3 mins◦ Friday calls ↓ from 70+ to under 10
REDUCTIONS IN◦ Paid Overtime ↓ from 30.31% to 22.04%
◦ Comp/Excess time ↓7.43%◦ Overall leave usage ↓ 3.60%
ENERGY◦ 13% ↓ in energy usage◦ 744,000 gallons of gasoline saved
An employer-of-choice has the following characteristics:
TRUST TEAMWORK EMPLOYEE FIRST RENEWAL DUAL-CENTRIC EMPLOYEES
ASSESSMENT Demographic Shift Matters
There are FOUR GENERATIONS WORKING SIDE BY SIDE for the FIRST TIME in America.
Project data showed the following demographics for state employees :
◦ 24.1% are between ages 55-65◦ 42.6% are between ages of 40-54◦ 26.1% is between ages 25-39◦ 3.8% is under age 24
The aging workforce is significant for state agencies
Distribution of the State Government and Private Sector Workforcesby Age, 2008
AWARENESSOlder State Workers are Valued
Survey respondents associated positive attributes with late career workers – contrary to the stereotypes of older workers
Survey respondents valued Older Workers for:* Experience and Ability* Loyalty and Reliability* Strong Work Ethic* Taking Initiative* Low Turnover Rate
ACTION
• States have been a laboratory of trying, but one size does not fit all
• Wide variety of flexibility options are used successfully.
• Regardless of the reason states tried flex (address an aging population, energy conservation, budget, leadership initiative), state personnel reported that workplace flexibility is a WIN.
Rhode Island Housing
Rhode Island Housing created workplace flexibility as a business strategy to meet the needs of our staff while also increasing employee commitment and productivity.
…and won theAlfred P. Sloan Award for Business
Excellence in Workplace Flexibility
ICMA—Knowledge Network
ICMA’s Next Generation Initiatives were created to attract and develop a wide and diverse group of people into the local government management profession, including students, early and mid-career professionals, and individuals from other fields.
www.icma.org
Twiga Foundation, Inc.816 W. Bannock Street, Suite 306
Boise, ID [email protected] Phone208.343-1720 [email protected]
In conjunction with Center for Aging and Work at Boston College and Funded by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation www.bc.edu/states
http://www.bc.edu/research/agingandwork/projects/employersofChoice.html