Why family friendly policies are good for business
For most employers, staff are your most valuable asset. Finding and keeping good employees is essential to business success.
Some of the benefits of introducing work and family measures include:
- Competitive edge in recruiting and enhanced corporate image;
- Improved ability to retain skilled staff and increase return on training investments;
- Reduced absenteeism and staff turnover;
- Improved productivity;
- Reduced stress levels and improved morale and commitment; and
- Potential for improved occupational health and safety records.
Employers generally want to employ the best staff they can and no employer likes to lose valuable staff. Replacing staff takes up resources in terms of time and money and there is a cost in loss of continuity and corporate knowledge.
In an organisation without good family friendly policies and practices, the pool of talent may become smaller as potential job candidates opt out of the running, preferring to work for a company which will allow them to have a better balance between their work and family lives. Global studies have shown that work-life balance is a major determinant of job selection for graduates in the 21st century.
Current employees, too, may decide to leave a company which is lagging behind on family friendly policies. For example, women who go on maternity leave may not return to a company which does not offer them flexible working arrangements on their return to work.
The cost to companies of workers leaving due to lack of family friendly provisions is significant. For example, Minter Ellison, a National Work and Family Award winner in 2004, found that increasing its rate of return of staff from maternity leave from 47% in 2001 to 78% in 2002 has led to considerable cost savings.
The more experienced the staff member, the more it will cost to replace that person if they leave. Costs are incurred through paying out a leaving staff member’s entitlements, advertising a position, conducting a selection process and training the new staff member. Additional costs will be incurred through factors such as lost experience and corporate knowledge, lack of consistent service and customer relationships and the general impact of staff turnover on the work environment.
The quantity of these costs will be different for each organisation, but a quick summary for your organisation may provide an eye-opening figure! For example, some estimates argue that it costs around $120,000 to replace a lawyer with four years’ experience or around $80,000 to replace a bank teller with ten years’ experience. The Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA) has a useful costs calculator on its website at www.eowa.gov.au.
Companies can significantly reduce their staff turnover and the costs associated with it by introducing and promoting family friendly policies. These policies do not have to be prescriptive and difficult. There is a wide range of family friendly work practices which can be introduced to an organisation, with little or no cost. Go to our section on 20 cheap, easy ideas for family friendly work practices for some inspiration.
For more information about costing work and family policies, go to our evaluation guide.