Workplace flexibility pays off for businesses
Telstra’s human resources policies show how breaking out of traditional rigid work practices can pay dividends for companies and staff.
Australia’s largest telecom company Telstra knows the value of flexibility to its employees and its business.
With its 30,000 employees spread across 22 countries, Telstra has formulated a strong policy around flexibility, on the understanding that the term means something different to different people.
“Employees who join Telstra often say to me a difference between us and some other employers is that we do what we say when it comes to flexibility. Every employer has a flexible work policy, but we really live it,” says Telstra’s human resources executive Julian Clarke.
At Telstra, the idea of flexibility is based on four “flex” pillars:
1. When will you work (are you job sharing, working part-time or do you follow start and finish times differently)?
2. Where will you work (home, Telstra workspaces, or on the go)?
3. How will you take leave (will you use additional leave options or take a career break)?
4. What will you do at work (build your career using your strengths)?
Flexibility also works because people are equipped with the tech toolkits to work in their homes. The company is also location agnostic: staff can choose to work wherever there is an existing Telstra location.
“Because of the benefits of spending time together, we’re continuing to invest in our property layout,” the company says. “For example, we opened proof-of-concept floors in Sydney and Melbourne to test and learn about how our people collaborate, celebrate and socialise in the office. The design of these spaces has encouraged new ways of working through collaborative settings, and innovative technology elements.”
The staff have consistently favoured the work-life balance arrangement provided by the company, Telstra says. “They have told us that very few companies offer the flexibility we have here at Telstra – and ask us to never underestimate how valuable this is for culture and morale.
“We know our people are at their best when they have a choice,” says Clarke. “Flexibility and choice have long been core to how we work here at Telstra – and our people have told us how much they value it.
Flexibility and choice have long been core to how we work here at Telstra – and our people have told us how much they value it.
“Flexibility means different things depending on the role so we look at how we support different types of work,” he says. “For example, shift workers can choose to split their shifts, our contact centre people can work from home, and non-shift workers can agree with their leader to vary their time beyond the traditional 9 to 5. We will continue to experiment, learn and adapt our hybrid work model and our spaces to support our people to be engaged.”
Another vital part of Telstra’s staff engagement strategy is to enable them to learn at work.
The company says that many of their award-winning learning initiatives feed into the Future Ready program, which “recognises seven key capabilities we’ve identified as essential to our people’s success inside and outside of Telstra, both now and into the future”. The program provides staff with credentials that can be used as “credit towards over 60 higher education pathways with some of Australia’s leading higher education providers, including the University of Melbourne and RMIT University”, the company says.
Staff also value Telstra’s career building initiatives, which help employees achieve their personal and professional development goals.
“We set personal objectives quarterly, and our annual performance review program recognises and rewards what our people do, and how they do it through our short-term-incentive programs,” the company says. “We also foster a culture of everyday recognition, and encourage our teams to acknowledge their teams and colleagues through our Appreciate peer- recognition platform – which saw over 360,000 recognitions sent in FY23 – as well as our quarterly and annual Excellence Awards.”
Clarke says Telstra has developed industry-leading learning and development programs.
“We know that, globally, the opportunity to learn and grow is the number one driver of a desirable workplace culture (and that it’s increased from number nine in 2019),” he says. “Our people also consistently tell us that having a rewarding career, and growth and progression opportunities are important to them.
“Our people’s feedback is also helping us to improve our career and talent systems to help them discover the next step in their career, and the skills that will get them there. We will pilot this new program shortly, before rolling it out next year.”
Telstra has a systematic approach to monitoring a key indicator of engagement: happiness. Are the staff happy at work and doing their roles is a question that drives its special endeavour to learn more about staff happiness and engagement.
“Our programs are driven by what we know creates a great experience for our people,” Clarke says. “Every quarter, we ask our people how happy they are at work. We also ask a series of questions that we tailor each quarter, so we can understand what we are doing well and what we could do differently.
“Asking the question is one thing – our people need to believe they are being listened to, and see their feedback being acted on. When our people know we are taking action on their feedback, they are happier at work.”
So the very fact that the company cares about staff engagement and happiness increases the sum total of happiness.
Technology and banking sectors operate in different market environments but there is a common underlying equation binding both: staff engagement leads to staff happiness, which in turn leads to greater productivity and gains overall.
ANZ offers several programs designed to enhance employee experience, and to invest in a culture where all employees feel they belong
A novel program is at work from this year at ANZ Bank, which employs more than 28,000 people in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Europe, India and the rest of Asia and the US.
The bank’s Get 1% Better Every Day is a learning program designed to support staff in improving their personal effectiveness, skills and habits. Its modules are available to all staff. More than 15,000 have participated in the program, which has included masterclasses from James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, and seminars from experts such as Colin James and Janine Allis on building skills in constructive conversations, storytelling and influence.
“ANZ offers several programs designed to enhance employee experience, and to invest in a culture where all employees feel they belong and can be themselves,” says ANZ Head of Group Technology, Workforce, Carina Parisella.
“At ANZ, we encourage our people to bring their whole selves to work. We understand the evolving needs of our people and through flexible work options, mentorship and learning and development opportunities, aim to support every one of our people through each stage of their career.”
