The WFH January mandate: How bosses are retaining staff
Publisher Hachette aims to retain good staff with a range of initiatives, including a January work from home mandate.
Hachette Australia chief executive Louise Stark endorses the pioneering workplace initiatives on offer to employees at the publishing house by keenly taking part herself.
Every January she takes full advantage of a month-long work-from home mandate, enjoying summer swims before and after hours.
Last month, she signed up for a workplace-organised skin exam.
“For the first time we now do skin checks. It’s part of us thinking, ‘What we can do to make people’s lives a bit easier?’” Stark says.
“It is something offered at work that is just taking the mental load off, and I’ve had people coming up to me saying, ‘Thank you so much, it’s something that’s always on my to-do list that I never get to.’”
Hachette Australia, the local arm of global publishing house Hachette Livre, jumped five spots to place second in the Retail, Hospitality & Tourism and Entertainment category in this year’s AFR BOSS Best Places to Work list.
It was pipped by Inspiring Vacations, which took the gold for the second year running with its “Gift of the Fifth” four-day week initiative, which it says has further engaged its workforce and improved productivity, outcomes and overall wellbeing.
“It has supported our recruitment efforts during a rapid growth phase to hire outstanding talent, both locally and overseas. We have succeeded in retaining our existing staff in a competitive environment,” the Melbourne-based tour operator says.
In third place in the category this year was events firm TRIBE Group.
Hachette’s Stark says “Changing the Story” is a strategic pillar for the business and includes menopause benefits, salary banding for greater transparency, monthly Thursday drinks, mentoring, paid internships, a Safe Leave policy, volunteer leave days and “no meeting” zones.
“Any investment in retention is worthwhile,” says Stark. “Financially, trying to replace good people is really hard so investment in people more than pays for itself. The first thought is ‘Yes, let’s just make that happen.’ It comes up at almost every single interview that we have when we’re recruiting – it’s the culture and it’s the investment in people that they can see.
“We are excited for this recognition. It’s something for us to celebrate for all of the investment we do make. It’s a carrot.”
Contemporary leave policies
Hachette’s parental leave policy has been updated to better reflect contemporary relationships and includes IVF, birth support and miscarriage leave, and parental mentoring for new mothers and fathers. One employee was the birth support partner for her sister, helping her sibling for the first two weeks with a new baby without having to use her own annual leave.
The strategies are paying off and reflected in performance statistics. Hachette Australia’s turnover rate dropped 5 per cent last year, intention to stay 12 months increased by 4 per cent, and 88 per cent of its workforce say they are satisfied and happy.
Social cohesion at the firm is promoted with events such as a Pride cake parade and breaking of the Ramadan fast with Muslim colleagues – celebrations organised by Hachette’s Surprise and Delight committee, which ironically has the acronym SAD. (“It’s too late to change now, we love it.“)
The book publishing industry is dominated by women, and about 75 per cent of Hachette Australia’s 99 staff are female.
To retain a workforce of this nature you “have to make it flexible”, Stark says. “The female-dominated statistics of our industry really informs the way we think about what is a truly flexible and supportive workplace for all employees because ... if you’ve got shared parental leave available, it’s going to be better for society more broadly.”
Work-from-home January is particularly popular, allowing younger staff members based in Sydney to spend quality time with family in interstate or regional locations, for example.
“Why not work from anywhere in January? I personally love it,” says Stark. “It’s the only quiet time in our industry because the media is on holiday and we don’t tend to publish quite so many books at that time of year. So it’s only time that we can take a deep breath and get ready for the year ahead.”
Policies that promote diversity and inclusion are a “commercial imperative as well as being the right thing to do”, Stark says, as Hachette’s guiding principle is to publish books that allow all Australians to see themselves reflected.
“If our workforce doesn’t reflect the books that we publish then how can we service all of the readers of Australia?” says Stark. “If we want to be an employer of choice, we need to be ahead of changes ... pioneering new ways of working and pushing the boundaries when it comes to workplace policies and practices.
“Are we finished? No, and we never will be finished because society will change and we will need to keep updating what we do,” she says.
“It’s just about listening to make sure that we’re giving people those chances to connect and form friendships at work and make the working day as good as it can be. It’s such a big part of your life.”
Competition for workers
When an internal staff survey nominated work-life balance as the number one employee priority, Cliftons Event Solutions quickly introduced an initiative called “Reconnect with Family and Friends”.
The policy allows employees to extend leave breaks by working remotely for up to two weeks from interstate or overseas locations.
The innovation was instated as the event management firm tried to scale back up after COVID lockdowns, only to be faced with severe labour market shortages in Australia and New Zealand.
The “reconnect” idea was designed as a staff retention tool to help combat fierce competition for staff without adding extra strain to the salary budget.
“Coming out of COVID we needed to ramp up but didn’t have the financial means to be offering people huge salary increases or trying to attract people over the market in terms of salary,” head of people and culture Athena Chintis says.
“We listened to the staff and put together an offering that would enhance flexibility and work-life balance. It has been used to visit family overseas, care for elderly family members or join family celebrations.
“It strengthens personal connections across locations, and ensures employees feel supported. It’s a win-win – a flexible solution that helps staff balance work and personal life.”
In the 18 months since the policy was introduced, a dozen of its 60 permanent employees elected to access the benefit.
Feedback indicates it has had a positive impact on their lifestyles, and Chintis says the initiative offers Cliftons a unique edge and allows staff to connect with loved ones “without sacrificing their job”.
Cliftons placed fourth in the Retail, Hospitality & Tourism and Entertainment category with its All Roles Flex policy, and its FLIPIT values acronym – Fun, Leadership, Integrity, Passion, Innovation and Teamwork.
So far, no Cliftons staff have taken up an offer to “buy” leave via salary sacrifice, but a recent event where management pulled up their sleeves to allow staff to enjoy a team building lunch in Sydney proved popular.
“We do a lot of initiatives through the year to get people together ... but quite it’s hard because they are onsite working with clients. So our managing director said, ‘OK ... we’ll do the food service,’ and that’s what we did.”
Running business events can result in high-pressure environments with demanding schedules, risking burnout among employees from the demands of adaptability, unpredictable schedules and teams often operating across different locations and time zones.
Another wellbeing policy of Cliftons is to offer new employees a three-day paid break before starting, and after six months staff can access “me” days. Staff also have the opportunity to work in different parts of the organisation as an adjunct to their own role.
“It’s not like you’re stuck in this box; you do get exposure to a lot of different projects,” Chintis says. “So if you’re someone who puts their hand up and is very team-oriented, there’s a lot of opportunity.”
Read more of the Best Places to Work special report
- Why these companies are Australia’s best places to work A “confronting” leadership program underpinned the decision to award Seek the 2024 AFR BOSS Best Place to Work – Large Organisation.
- This company pays you for your commute with extra days off This fintech has taken a different approach to getting people back into the office.
- How this organisation prevented burnout for staff A surge in complaints to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority led to a rethink of policies, adding 500 new staff to cope with the workload.
- ‘Support and empower’: How coaching can bring out the best in staff Mindset Health provides coaching sessions that discuss ways to handle difficult situations or conflict.
- Autonomy the key to career paths at this consumer giant A shift in career planning and transparency in job ads have been central to keeping Unilever’s employees engaged.
- How a weekly Shark Tank challenge turned The Royals family around Suffering high turnover, creative agency The Royals decided to carve out a day each week dedicated to one pitch. It worked.
- How these firms retained staff by helping them grow Boutique management consultancy Grosvenor has won the professional services category of the AFR Best Places to Work list.
- Planning delays transformed into social housing solutions Developer Toga turns vacant apartments in projects awaiting planning approval into pop-up accommodation.
- Employee wellbeing is a winner in the war for tech talent In a competitive market where talent is the “most-prized commodity”, a tech workplace’s offering is crucial.
- How we picked the award winners The AFR BOSS Best Places to Work ranks the best workplaces in Australia and New Zealand across nine different industries.
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