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Investing in people: work/life solutions
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Charlie Coffey
Executive Vice President
Government & Community Affairs
RBC Financial Group
Robert Half International (RHI) Breakfast Session
Royal Bank Plaza
Toronto, Ontario
Wednesday, January 15, 2003
Dianne, thank you for the warm introduction…and for
inviting me to join you, Robert Half International clients
and members of the RHI team this morning. This event triggered
a memory about a presentation that came to my attention some
time ago - one that was delivered at a Credit Institute of
Canada conference - one where the speaker and the presentation
earned rave reviews.
The topic revolved around motivating employees in today's
labour market: that it's more important than ever for companies
to offer their people tangible ongoing support/tools that
will help them achieve work and life goals (support including
the advancement of mentoring relationships); and that employers
must develop innovative strategies which focus on both attraction
and retention of "top talent". The speaker was Dianne
Hunnam-Jones - she understands that investing in people
and work/life solutions merits what the Japanese
refer to as kaizan - continuous improvement.
To begin my remarks about investing in people, I'll
share a story with you that helps set the tone for the next
few minutes. The story goes like this…Heather Banks is
one half of a two-banker family: she leads a flagship branch
in the Toronto area and her husband leads a human resources
unit at head office. They have three children, who constantly
hear their parents talking shop and using business/bank lingo,
i.e., working smart, entrepreneurial thinking, coaching, teamwork,
strategy, solutions, win/win, investing in people,
and let's not forget the many acronyms that financial institutions
tend to use….
One weekend Heather "hired" her ten-going-on-twenty-year
old son Ben, to collate hundreds of sheets of paper at the
branch. The family slush fund would pay him $5.00
per hour…and he had to complete the 3-hour job very well.
After showing Ben what to do, Heather left the room to continue
working elsewhere. Her twin daughters, aged eight, remained
to play with Ben while he worked. Later on, Heather decided
to check on her son…and much to her amazement, Ben was
writing at the table and her daughters were happily talking/laughing
while collating the paper.
Rather annoyed at Ben for abandoning the project, Heather
asked for an explanation. Ben said, "Since I needed to
complete a story assignment for school, my solution was to
hire the twins at $1.25 per hour each, get the job done through
teamwork and coaching (by supervising and sharing the workload,
I also made money - that's entrepreneurial thinking), help
my sisters learn something new and have a fun time - they
even got a twenty minute break. Isn't this what you/dad call
working smart and a win/win?" Heather was somewhat lost
for words, but managed to ask Ben what he was writing about.
With a big grin on his face Ben said, IIP - "Investing
In People!"
Perhaps we all need a gentle reminder from time to time (and
invariably from children) to invest in people and to be creative
along the way. We should never stop thinking, learning, listening,
doing, improving and measuring results.
At RBC Financial Group, investing in people is part
of our vision and values - a holistic approach. As our CEO,
Gord Nixon says, "We believe that our success as a company
is intrinsically connected to the economic and social well-being
of our community and our country. To us, behaving in a socially
responsible manner is not just something we want to do. It's
something we know we must do as an essential part of our relationships
with our customers/stakeholders and as a strategic investment
in the future prosperity of a civic society…we believe
that by contributing our funds, our network, our leadership
and, most importantly, by encouraging and celebrating the
involvement of our people, we can make a difference in helping
to build a strong, healthy society".
Being socially responsible starts right in our own backyard,
where supporting our people makes the difference in promoting
and sustaining a healthy workplace and healthy communities.
We're strongly committed to investing in our people…not
only by offering competitive compensation and benefits - but
by investing in learning and education - by fostering a work
environment that values communication - and by supporting
diversity as well as work/life solutions.
At RBC, work/life is a formal series of policies, programs,
resources and benefits for our employees, designed to help
people manage work, family and personal responsibilities over
a lifetime, while meeting business objectives. Establishing
work priorities within our broader life framework is a partnership
between RBC and employees. We also continue to develop innovative
ways of looking at where, when and how work is done - offering
choices and customized work accommodation options as well
as introducing workload management solutions. RBC is in the
business of building business…and it begins with the
way we care for and treat our people. People are our most
valuable asset. Technology and financial products/services
can be copied, bank rates can be matched…and the list
goes on. So what's left? The one sustainable advantage is
what's left - the best people in the business. To secure and
manage the "top talent" on our team and your teams,
not to mention be an "employer of choice", we must
all be creative/flexible in our approach.
This is why work/life solutions support our business strategy.
They help RBC respond to the ever-changing nature of the workforce/workplace,
recruit and retain employees, increase individual and organizational
performance, leverage diversity, reduce stress and short-term
absenteeism, as well as gain a competitive advantage. Work/life
continues to have a strong tie to diversity, which is why
it's a high priority on the agenda of RBC's Diversity Leadership
Council this year, a Council composed of senior executives
from all businesses in Canada/United States and chaired by
Gord Nixon. Since our North American presence is on the rise,
we're moving from a RBC Canada to a RBC enterprise-wide work/life
focus for all businesses, including those in the U.S.
We're now operating in the most diverse marketplace, with
the most diverse workforce we've ever seen. The most successful
organizations will be those that best adapt to the current
reality - that re-shape their cultures - that plan for the
future today. The replacement cost of "top talent"
is huge…
Their research tells the story…
- 50% of Canadians experience a moderate to high level
of stress balancing work/life compared to 27% in 1989 (Conference
Board, 1999);
- Canadians who have a hard time juggling work/life are
costing employers at least $2.7 billion a year in lost time
due to stress, medical leaves/health care costs, absenteeism,
lost productivity;
- Stress-related disorders due to overwork cost Canadian
companies $12 billion per year. (Health Canada, 1998).
AON Consulting Canada conducted a work-study (in partnership
with RBC) and found that:
- Acknowledgment of people's needs outside of work is the
key driver to employee commitment - outranking compensation,
benefits, training, job growth; acknowledgement costs companies
almost nothing and the payback can be enormous in terms
of improved employee morale;
- Employers who help workers manage work and personal needs
will not only retain more of their workforce but also attract
new recruits looking for companies with a "people first
agenda," such as progressive work/life initiatives
and pay-for-performance incentives.
Since work/life solutions support human resources (HR) initiatives,
it's important to note Deloitte & Touche's study of HR
practices in more than 200 North American companies (the November
2002 report, Human Capital ROI Study: Creating Shareholder
Value Through People). Approximately 15% of the firms
were Canadian. Recent findings suggest that "when tailored
to individual needs, HR best practices can give companies
up to a 43% greater market value over competitors. Companies
that tailor (and align) their human capital strategy to their
unique business strategy and market orientation substantially
outperform organizations that do not. Companies in the top
quartile of earnings had 66% higher returns when they used
effective human capital practices, and a 300% greater return
to shareholders over the five-year period studied."
Speaking of human capital…the current issue of RealityCheck
(the Canadian Review of Well-Being) is right on the mark with
this comment…"when we build a new plant or purchase
new equipment, we recognize this as a capital investment that
depreciates over time. Eventually we'll need to repair or
replace that equipment if we want to maintain or expand the
value of the asset. But we often ignore other kinds of wealth
that are just as valuable, and we don't pay attention when
they depreciate, or when it's time to re-invest. Human capital
is a good example of this - we don't always track the health
of our workplace as a vital component of our human wealth
and economy."
And just yesterday, Claudette Bradshaw, the federal government's
Minister of Labour, announced the release of a new report
that speaks to specific issues in the workplace/economy, entitled
Voices of Canadians: Seeking Work-Life Balance. From
flexible work schedules and part-time work, to telework and
family care provisions, the report demonstrates once again
that employees want and expect changes (solutions) in the
workplace that will help them better manage the conflicting
demands of work and life. The complete report can be found
on the web site http://labour-travail.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/worklife.
RBC's work/life solutions have come a long way since we launched
the original Work and Family program in 1990. We've gone from
being reactive and active, to proactive and now interactive.
We know it's more about what we do, rather than how much we
do. From education, dependent care and flexible work arrangements,
to leave policies, wellness and financial/retirement planning,
we offer a comprehensive array of tools and choices.
Here are some examples of our work/life solutions across
the country - solutions that help us invest in our people
and build healthier workplaces and communities:
- Dependent Care. The RBC
EmployeeCare Program, our combined employee assistance and
work/life support services, provides up-to-date, expert
information and support, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week -
to help employees deal with various life issues such as
parenting and quality childcare, resources for seniors -
eldercare, disability and accessibility. Professional consultants
provide confidential, personalized telephone consultations,
individualized searches as well as referrals and educational
materials.
- Flexible Work Arrangements.
We experiment with various work arrangements where it's
in the interest of employees, the organization and our clients.
We provide ongoing professional development and career opportunities
to those employees who choose to pursue flexible work options.
Some options include: reduced hours, job sharing, flex-time,
modified work week, flexi-place (working off-site, from
home or a satellite office) and phased retirement.
With more than 1000 job-shares across the country, we're
finding that our teams tend to be very productive. In
many cases, customers also tell us they're receiving better
service because two people are familiar with their account/business.
- Wellness. A diverse range
of employee health service resources and information is
available to our people, including access to health and
safety committees and the RBC EmployeeCare Program…employees
can gain information/support on a number of health and wellness
related topics via telephone, e-mail, online and one-on-one
meetings.
We also developed an Intranet web site for staff that outlines
work/life components and how our people can benefit from the
variety of programs. Over the past few months, we've focused
on our "professionals" employees. We've designed
more tailored tools, resources and information, to support
the unique skills, expertise and interests of this segment.
Needless to say, I've only mentioned some RBC initiatives
today. If you're interested in finding out more about our
work/life solutions, please check out our web site, www.rbc.com,
then click on the Unique
Careers link followed by the Diversity
link. Members of our team can also tell you what
a healthy workplace means to them and to RBC. Norma Tombari
(who works directly with diversity and workforce solutions
in Human Resources), Melana Borovich (also representing HR)
and Felipe Garcia (from RBC Investments and my home province
of New Brunswick) are here this morning.
From the beginning, we knew that the success of work/life
depended on how well it was developed, communicated, managed
and measured. Nothing has changed on this score. Although
we know that on any given day, approximately 30%-40% of our
employee population uses a component of our work/life solutions,
we also know that employee/management buy-in, effective communication
and changing economic times, as well as shifts in values and
work expectations are ongoing challenges. We don't pretend
to have all the answers, however we subscribe to continuous
learning and improvement. Visible senior leadership and supportive
managers are essential, as well as employee ownership of the
tools at their disposal. Creating solutions where everyone
wins - the employee, the customer, the shareholder - the community…this
is the total reward.
Work/life solutions are not trendy…they're here to stay.
However, we need to consistently monitor programs (using measurement
tools) to ensure objectives are being met. We're also watching
what other companies are doing, sharing ideas and considering/piloting
innovative programs of our own, such as: back-up childcare,
expansion of scholarship program for children in the U.S.
etc. There are many success stories and best practices in
this room…
We realize that a number of people still have a hard time
understanding why work/life is important. It takes time to
change this thinking - change cultures. Some argue that with
today's business environment, the need to control costs is
reason enough for not doing it. But there's more to work/life.
It's not a short-term fix. It's a long-term commitment - incorporating
a solid, fundamental business strategy - ensuring we have
quality people/teams that can help us maximize results. The
real cost will be felt by companies that don't incorporate
this type of philosophy and approach - they'll find it increasingly
difficult to attract "top talent".
I also believe that work/life solutions affect the bottom
line by helping us improve the quality of service we provide
clients. It makes sense to me: if you treat your employees
well, create an environment where the needs of individuals
are respected, where people care for and help each other,
it's going to be reflected in the way employees serve their
customers.
RBC Financial Group is committed to staying on the cutting
edge of trends in the workplace. Partnering with leading Canadian
survey/research companies and academia has a two-fold result.
RBC has access to the information we need to remain leaders
in people management and we also contribute to the body of
workplace knowledge - assisting other companies and organizations
in nurturing the Canadian healthy workplace/workforce - today
and in the future. There's still much to be accomplished on
RBC's work/life journey…
In closing, special thanks to Dianne and Jim Dimovski for
coordinating this event and suggesting this topic…it's
clear that an increasing number of employers are recognizing
and reaping the rewards of investing in people through
innovative work/life solutions - solutions that also put more
humour and humanity into the workplace.
For RBC Financial Group, work/life is an investment that
has far-reaching benefits, not only for employees, businesses
and customers, but also for our children, the elderly, and
the community as a whole. What better return could we ask
for? And should you need a gentle reminder about the value
of investing in people from time to time, remember
the story about Ben Banks!
Thank you…now let's hear from you.
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