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Recruitment and retention of talented employees is one of the toughest human resource challenges today and therefore a top executive priority according to Society of Human Resource management surveys. For working moms, particularly with young children, a non-traditional schedule can relieve stress and be the difference between continuing with work or deciding to remain at home after the baby is born. Several options are available including: a shortened workday, a shortened or compressed work-week, job sharing, flextime and telecommuting. To help determine which is best, experts encourage an examination of home life, finances and career goals. Companies also need to look at their goals and put accountability measures in place. Two companies in Columbus, one a large profitable employer and the other a relatively small non-profit, are among many using flexible work arrangements to keep moms happy and on the job. |
by Borden Black
Goodwill Southern Rivers
“A win-win situation”
is how Jodi
Vellotta describes her
working arrangement
at Goodwill. The
mother of two, a 6- and
4-year-old, works flexible
hours and telecommutes.
She makes her
kids breakfast, drops
them at school and
arrives in the office
about 9 a.m. She picks
the kids up from school
at 3 p.m. and is there
for homework and dinner.
Once they are in
bed, she is at the computer
finishing up her
work as a compliance specialist. “I am a 100-percent better employee and a
better mom,” she said.
Velotta began working with Goodwill Southern Rivers in 2007 on a parttime basis. Her job responsibilities expanded and so did her hours. While she loves the work, Velotta says being a mom comes first. With the work arrangement, she is there for her children, which is particularly important since her husband is deployed. Velotta says the work schedule reduces her stress level and she is more productive. “I can solve three or four problems at 10 at night,” she explained.
Co-worker Christina Martin not only has a 6-year-old at home, but she also goes to school part time. The accounts receivable specialist goes to class on her lunch break and in the evenings. The time she takes away from work, she makes up on the weekends or by staying late.
Martin says the key to success is communicating with her supervisor, who also worked flex hours when she was a young mother. They worked together to come up with a schedule and a back-up plan. Martin says she gets so much more done in the office when the stress of school and being able to see her son is relieved by the flexible hours.
Goodwill’s top executives are also working moms and have set the stage for their employees. Chief administrative officer Kim Cantrell started using flex time nine years ago before it was a commonly accepted practice.While her children were young, she spent 30 hours in the office every week and 10 hours telecommuting. President and CEO Jane Nichols currently uses a similar arrangement.When her son is in school, she comes in 6:30 in the morning. She leaves around 3:30 to be with him after school. She returns to her home computer later in the day to wrap up office work.
“Our goal is to retain the absolute most qualified people we can, whichmeans if your hopes, dreams and goals are to be a great parent or go to school—all those components that compete with a normal work day—we have to be flexible,”Nichols explained. At the same time she points out that they still have to get the work done, meet deadlines and run a business.
Communication and planning are crucial to Goodwill’s success with alternative work arrangements. “Leaders are responsible for creating a great place to work, and part of that is flexibility,” Nichols said. That means developing a relationship between the employee and leader so they can plan ahead and help the employee achieve a successful schedule. In some cases that may mean splitting a full time job into two part-time jobs or changing hours.
So far Goodwill, which has about 500 employees throughout 50 Georgia and Alabama counties, has been successful. They have found the programs work well for individuals with good performance records who work on initiatives where there are timelines, timeframes and benchmarks.
Aflac
With more than 4,200 employees, Aflac is on the other end of
the spectrum in size, but not in its goals.Women make up almost
70 percent of the company’s workforce and account formore than
50 percent of Aflac’s management. Fortune magazine has named
the insurance company to its list of the :100 Best Companies to
Work for in America” for 10 consecutive years, and it has made
Working Mother’s “100 Best Companies” list.
Amy Giglio, senior manager talent acquisition, says working moms are critical to the success of the company.
Of the several alternative work solutions offered, one of the most popular and advantageous is telecommuting, which the company calls telework. The employee works from home on a computer setup provided by Aflac. “It is an opportunity, especially for working moms, to work from their homes, be productive, but still have that work/life balance,” Giglio explained.
Tammy Sanders, a new mom, started teleworking while pregnant. An account specialist with Aflac since 2001, she is a big fan of the arrangement. “Family is number one in my book,” Sanders said, and she is able to meet her family goals with her job arrangement.
Sanders uses Aflac’s day care, Imagination Station, for her 6-month-old son, and her daughter goes to school so that she can work uninterrupted during the day. She points out that she sets her own hours and can arrange her work so that she can be available for the family, cook dinner and keep house without stress. “I get so much more done at home. It is quiet with no distractions. I am definitely more productive,” she reported.
Sanders believes that to be successful, teleworking takes a special person who is self-motivated and disciplined. There is oversight and she talks with the company daily.
Tarnesha Shaw, a claim specialist, also teleworks. She started working from home when she was pregnant with her now 2-yearold son. She is pregnant again and is grateful she can schedule her work around morning sickness and doctors’ appointments.
Shaw hasn’t missed out on office friendships either. “I am a socializing-type person,” she admitted, “but there are opportunities so we don’t feel like we are being left out.” Giglio explains that baby showers and other occasions are still celebrated with teleworkers and there is a newsletter to make sure they are connected.
While still participating in office life, Shaw has fewer distractions and turns out 30 percent more work.
Overall, Aflac has seen production increases with teleworking. Giglio says the concept works particularly well in a production driven environment, such as claims processing and new business. Technology allows them to monitor everything and see the number of files processed for instance.
Currently, 251 employees are teleworking and 30 more such positions are being added. In addition, the company is in the planning stages of a job-sharing program.
Giglio, herself, uses Aflac’s daycare and says it has helped her feel good about the balance between work and family. “It’s a great feeling to know the company is behind you as mom.”
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