Employer Alliance to enhance work-life integrationBy Julia Ng, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 13 July 2007 1814 hrs SINGAPORE: Multi-national corporations are starting to recognise that work-life programmes help attract and retain good workers.
But many Singapore employers, especially the small and medium enterprises, are slow in adopting such programmes.
The Employer Alliance, a network of companies committed to enhancing work-life integration, hopes to change that.
According to global investment company Goldman Sachs, workers - especially those born after 1977 - want not just financial rewards but also work-life integration.
In fact, Goldman Sachs now lists work-life balance and flexible work arrangements as one of its benchmarks when assessing if a company is worth investing in.
Armed with information on the latest global employment trends, the new Chairman of Employer Alliance, Claire Chiang, wants to help more organisations build a successful work-life culture.
She says, "By designing a work process that can meet your organisational goals, yet at the same time satisfy [employees'] expectations, when you can do that, you probably have the best talents that will stay with you.
"And the millennials - the twenty-somethings, thirty-somethings - are talented. They're digitalised, they are netizens. They want the world, they want personal time, they want family time.
"Men are quitting because they want family. Women are quitting because they're forming a family. But they're not satisfied just being home makers. They want to work.
"So why can't employers still harness them - get their work contribution, while maybe do a compressed work, or work schedule, flexi arrangements to make it all happen!"
To share experiences of best work-life practices, Employer Alliance, with the support of the Manpower Ministry, has launched a book called "Integration and Achieving Work-Life".
David Wong, Managing Director and Chief Executive of ABN AMRO Singapore, one of the 11 organisations featured in the new book, says, "These days, the war of talents is out there. Besides pay, I think the most important thing is about talent management.
"How we can help our people grow, develop them to be the people they want to be, utilise their strengths, and on top of that we also have very strong work-life strategies... that's something the new generation is looking for.
"Work-life balance is different things to different employees. So we allow them to go home if they have to look after young children, or if they have to bring them to school. So the flexibility is there.
"And for some of them, if they can be posted nearer to their home, if there's a need to do that, then certainly. The turnover is actually lower than the market.
"Last year, the general turnover in the finance sector was very high, something around 20 to 25 per cent. Our turnover is way below that. That demonstrates that work-life strategies and also in terms of career development, talent management are key in attracting, retaining and developing talents."
For the first time, employers will be given a list of work-life strategies, which different companies from different sectors like banking, retail, hospitality and manufacturing can adopt and customise for their own organisations.
While the list is by no means exhaustive, it does provide a good guide on what companies can do to help their employees achieve work-life balance.
Employer Alliance also invites companies to share new and innovative work-life initiatives via its email address
[email protected].
Employer Alliance will also be conducting research on the business benefits and the challenges that local companies face in embracing work-life integration. - CNA/yy