With the kind permission of Lance Berger of Lance A. Berger & Associates Ltd. we
are reprinting an interview Lance did with Jim Kisela, CEO of WorkLife Productions,
Inc.
Integrating Culture and Business
Work/Life Sensitivity Ensures Competitive Advantage
The issues generated by the unique problems of working women go as far back as World
War II when businesses had to address maintaining productivity while the traditional
workforce was at war. Businesses then had to make accommodations for women much
as they must make comparable adaptations today. With unemployment in low single
digits and the American economy blossoming, businesses are "dependent on women in
the workforce," according to James F. Kisela, chairman and chief executive officer
of WorkLife Productions, Inc. "Removal of women would put the U.S. at a serious
competitive disadvantage."
Many companies have tackled work/life issues from an altruistic sense. They see
providing accommodations for their workforce as "the right thing to do," asserts
Kisela. It is an organization's way of differentiating itself, and creating an environment
and positive image in order to hire, retain, and maintain productivity. Organizations
adopt state-of-the-art benefit programs to become "the employer of choice," with
the added advantage of attracting the best people at modest salaries.
"Leadership companies want to be ahead of the curve," says Kisela. With the evolution
of child care leave, and other forms of leave mandated by the federal government,
forward thinking companies want to assure that their policies meet or exceed those
mapped out by legislation.
With companies competing for the best talent pool, it is mandatory for organizations
to address the issues of their employees. This can be done through whole company
surveys or focus groups. Kisela points out that top management must "go to the people
and find out what's on their minds." Surveys and focus groups help diffuse the expectation
level by showing that management is committed to listening, and will communicate
back to its employees what can be done and what cannot be done based on company
needs.
Kisela also recommends exit interviews and follow-up interviews several months later
of people who have resigned from a company. Often managers assume that a work/life
issue caused the resignation when, in fact, it could be a pay or culture issue.
According to Kisela, day care is becoming like the "hammer in the tool box, with
every problem looking like a nail that needs hammering." Exit interviews can give
a true picture of employee issues.
Often day care becomes synonymous with work/life needs. Day care is only one issue
out of a whole array of work/life issues. "Day care centers are not the panacea,"
asserts Kisela. People concerned with work/life issues must be open and honest,
and, most of all, must develop a strategy that encompasses the whole spectrum of
the emerging care network.
Companies must take into account the demography of its workforce. Companies with
a high percentage of young females must focus on child care, and maternity and child
care leave. However, as a company's workforce matures, other work/life issues, like
elder care facilities, must be addressed. Yes, young women are concerned with the
accessibility, quality, and cost of day care, but older workers are equally concerned
with caring for aging parents.
Companies must reconcile the programs they make available with affordability. Can
a company afford to provide first rate day care, or reimburse for day care? The
bottom-line must be considered. In the final analysis, the company must rationalize
what is equitable and fair.
The key to employee needs across the spectrum is flexibility. Kisela points out
that "flexibility must become a core company value." Employees require flexible
work days and hours in order to meet their lifestyle needs. Some employees require
tailoring their work day by adjusting the hours worked, whereas other employees
may require days off while working additional hours on other days. Senior managers
must determine how to make individual requirements fit with the productivity needs
of the company. The question that must be addressed is how do we get maximum productivity
from the available pool of talent?
Senior managers must reconcile the demands of the work place with the requirements
of the employees. Often this is easier said than done. Older managers are used to
rigid and inflexible ways of managing. Intellectually they understand that accommodations
must be made, but they are having a difficult time making the needed changes. Managers
and many of their direct reports have different values. Many employees are willing
to sacrifice salary for flexible hours so they can spend more time with family,
hobbies, or traveling.
For the top executive the workforce shortage is as much a business problem as products
or markets. Foremost, the executive must be aware of the problem, and if the company's
culture can adapt to meeting the dilemma. The culture must be aligned with a business
strategy. Furthermore, the demographic make-up of the company and workforce needs
through culture surveys must be understood. The company must be prepared to reconcile
business requirements with people requirements. People requirements demand capital
investment, but with a workforce shortage companies have no choice.
"Communication is the real key to work/life issues," according to Kisela. Employees
must be given the opportunity to voice their needs to management, and management
must respond with strategies that work for the company and the employee.
Based on an interview with LBA Consulting Group. James F. Kisela is chairman and
chief executive officer of WorkLife Productions, Inc., located in Wayne, PA. The
company produces The Work/Life ToolKit, a CD-ROM-based program designed to provide
HR professionals all the informational tools needed for launching an effective work/life
program.
Source: The Change Manager newsletter
Spring 1998
Published by Lance A. Berger & Associates Ltd.
Lance Berger can be contacted at http://prweb0.voicenet.com/~lberger/index.html
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