Work/Life Balance: What Does It Really Mean? - Online Recruitment Magazine Feature

By Paula Santonocito

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The term work/life balance has been used so frequently that it has almost lost its relevance. When a company says it focuses on work/life balance, what is it really saying? Does such overused messaging really resonate with candidates?

From general to specifics

A review of corporate careers sites and job postings shows that a majority of employers today claim they offer work/life balance. In fact, the term, coined in the mid 1980s, is among the most commonly used phrases in the recruitment arena. Indeed, work/life balance seems to be a recruitment elixir; companies believe if they offer it, candidates will come.

But blanket statements, such as ìwe offer work/life balance,î no longer cut it with job seekers who want tangible programs that can help them manage their complex lives.

An employer that has specific programs may think it doesnít have a problem. However, programs must be geared for its workforce and the candidates it targets. Then, the company must articulate offerings in order to keep current employees and attract new ones.

Itís a two-fold strategy smart organizations are realizing they must adopt in order to gain competitive advantage.

Consider the experience of Grant Thornton, a leading global accounting, tax, and business advisory organization, named to Working Mother magazineís 100 Best Companies list for its focus on work/life issues.

ìUnder work/life we had to choose what we are going to commit to,î says Judie Crossan, Northeast Director of Human Resources for Grant Thornton. ìA lot of companies have great programs that are not used.î

Determining focus

Grant Thornton basically operates on four guiding principles: respect, integrity, professional excellence, and leadership, and it decided to look at offerings in the context of these principles, Crossan explains.

The firm also realized it had an issue with the very concept of work/life balance. ìWe felt balance was a promise we couldnít keep,î Crossan says. ìBalance is a personal thing.î As a result, the company chose to focus on integrating the professional and personal.

By examining this integration in the context of its guiding principles it came up with what Crossan calls three buckets: respect time, create time, and ìenrichî time.

Employees want us to respect their time, create time, and enable time to enrich their lives for things like community services, Crossan explains.

A program with options

With these buckets providing a framework, Grant Thornton established a formal process that allows employees to better integrate the professional and personal aspects of life. It created a flexible work program that has five options: a compressed work schedule, telecommuting, a combined schedule, an alternative to change core hours, or a reduced work schedule.

An employee interested in the program has to present the case to his/her immediate supervisor, which includes addressing how s/he will handle key responsibilities. ìThere are people who handle it, and handle it very well,î Crossan says.

But handling it, for associates at Grant Thornton, doesnít only mean working with a direct supervisor. Many of the firmís positions are client oriented and, for the program to work, clients need to be aware of an associateís availability.

Crossan says most clients are very understanding as long as theyíre informed of scheduled hours. She gives the example of a senior manager in New York who has chosen to reduce her hours by 30 percent in order to care for two young children. Working a 70 percent schedule that includes three days onsite and one day at home allows her to meet client and family needs.

And this associate isnít alone in her flexible arrangements. Crossan says 308 employees are currently on reduced schedules, and many are taking advantage of compressed work schedules and telecommuting. In fact, the entire Northeast region, about 1,000 people, will be on a compressed summer schedule.

A recruitment tool

The flexible work program helps the firm from both a retention and recruitment perspective. From a retention standpoint, helping employees integrate the various aspects of their lives leads to greater job satisfaction.

When recruiting, the company looks for people who share its values. ìIf a person expresses an interest in work/life, it can be started at the initial stage,î Crossan says. ìOn campuses, itís looked at as a promise. We are also able to attract people who are able to speak with people, who are good role models.î

One of these role models is Kim Nunley, Managing Partner for Grant Thorntonís Albuquerque, N.M., office, who speaks to life at Grant Thornton in a video clip available at the firmís careers site. ìThe video has been very, very helpful in attracting candidates. Sheís a highly valued and visible partner,î Crossan says. ìIn a subtle way it shows there is a road that can get you to partner.î

The video shows Nunley on the job, and she speaks to various work issues. But it also shows Nunley integrating her professional and personal life. She speaks about work/life balance, specifically about raising a family, and there is footage of her at home with her daughters.

Crossan says Grant Thornton plans to create more videos that show lives outside of work, and they will focus on other aspects of life as well. ìItís not only the family situation; itís the community service. Itís very, very important when you get to the context of work/life balance,î Crossan explains.

The firm has surveyed employees, and one of the comments is they want more time for community service. Employees are currently involved in a lot of community service initiatives, and some of these initiatives will be articulated at the website. Sharing this information will help provide more information about Grant Thornton and its values, and aid in recruiting.

ìStudent particularly ask a lot of questions. Theyíre fresh from doing a lot of community service,î says Crossan.

People interested in community leadership appeal to Grant Thornton. ìWe favor hiring those people who share our values. We expect our people to be leaders at all levels,î Crossan says.

Itís important to articulate the firmís values and its work/life offerings to all candidates, but messaging for the college audience is critical. Campus recruiting, according to Crossan, is the firmís life blood. ìAs much as we are aggressively pursuing experience hires, we spend a considerable amount of time focusing on the future of the firm,î she says.

Grant Thornton recognizes that younger workers seek specifics about the employment experience, and that they look to corporate careers sites for details. ìThis generation is focused on work/life balance,î Crossan says.

Paula Santonocito is a journalist specializing in workforce management issues. She is the author of nearly 1,000 articles on a wide range of topics, including online recruitment, which she has covered since the early days of Web-based employment advertising and candidate sourcing. In addition to serving as features editor of Online Recruitment Magazineís North American edition, she also serves as AIRS News editor, overseeing news content for the global recruitment training and technology solutions company at www.airsdirectory.com. Articles by Paula Santonocito are featured in many global and domestic publications and information outlets, including HRWire, a publication to which she regularly contributes. She can be reached at psantonocito@yahoo.com.