Work/life balance has been one of the catch cries of the past few years of corporate heavyweights. Banyule Council in Melbourne’s north has been working harder than most to ensure that work/life balance not just a slogan and but it is firmly embedded in work practices. The program has been based on a comprehensive audit of Council processes.
Director Corporate Services, Keith Yeo, said the approach challenged traditional auditing which is to always look backwards.
“It is difficult for auditors to look at intangibles, where measurement is not easy,” he said. “If staff have good work/ life balance then their health, happiness and overall wellbeing in maximised. This, in turn, increases work efficiency and effectiveness. This sense of wellbeing leads to achieving best practice service levels as reflected in our Customer Satisfaction Index.”
This index shows that Banyule City Council is Victoria’s top performing inner metropolitan Council and has been for past six years.
“Labour costs at Banyule represent 40 per cent of its budget and therefore the need to get the formula right is critical,” Keith Yeo said. “Unemployment is low and all organisations are competing for staff so there is a need to be an Employer of Choice with contemporary conditions of employment that result in low turnover and high retention of staff.”
The Work/Life Balance Program concentrated on introducing some flexible workplaces such as:
- telecommuting
- access to single days of annual leave
- negotiated start and finish times
- paid maternity leave
- paid paternity leave
- breast feeding policy
- health promotions
- purchased leave schemes (48/52).
The program involves studying the needs of the individual and the requirements of the organisation. Each staff taking work/life balance options are interviewed and tested to ensure Council’s commitment to work/life balance on a regular basis.
This entails documenting and evaluating the methods associated with control and management of work/life issues and programs and assessing the possibility of additional mechanisms. This could include working from home or more flexible working hours.
The audit’s objectives were to identify and review current policies and procedures; assess the effectiveness of the communication of work/life balance policies and procedures and assess the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement for work/life balance component.
For more information contact Keith Yeo on (03) 9490 4222.
