Telford and Wrekin Borough Council (family focus)
Employer of the Year Family Friendly Award 2003
Date of Study: 2003
Size: large
Sector: public
Region: West Midlands
Type of Business: borough council
Summary:
The Borough has only recently become one of the new unitary authorities. This provided a good opportunity to launch them as a family friendly local authority. Their particular focus has been on children and young people. This ethos permeates the way they think about employment as well as service delivery.
Profile:
From the moment potential employees log onto the T&W application line site, they are told about local childcare, schools and family support. Interview times are fixed around family demands and the Borough pay for families of new employees to look around the area before moving there. As well as a wide range of flexible working arrangements including full-time home-working, term-time working, T&W offer childcare vouchers, local shop discounts etc.
T&W offer work experience for year 11 students, open days and events for children of staff and promote volunteering by staff to work with children. They offer around 320 work experience opportunities to school and college students each year, for which each person has a pre-placement induction and receives supportive feedback.
They are extending the service to ensure that young people in care get the same access as others ("Corporate Parenting" initiative). Young people can have "mock" interviews prior to seeking employment. Aiming to be the safest borough in the UK for young people to grow up and live in. They also have a "Youth Parliament" made up of young people and covering issues important to them, including employment & family life.
Family friendly practices include:
· Extensive range of flexible working and leave policies and options
· Up to 5 years Employment Break with support to return
· Training scheduled to suit part-time employees and school runs, and workbook learning for those who can't attend at all, supporting NVQ qualifications
· Work Life Balance integrated with HR processes, including assessing managers against work life balance competencies, including being "a living example".
· Actively seek returners to work, paying for update training and arranging temporary interim work for teachers, for example
Recruitment materials, induction course etc contains full work life balance policies and commitments. In house intranet site contains all policies and updates. They have produced "Family Matters", a booklet covering conditions for people with family responsibilities and are keen supporters of "Quids for Kids" tax credit promotion. They operate an information stand in reception to deal with employees' queries and promote take up. The Borough have a comprehensive set of communications documents.
T&W run an annual staff consultation survey including work life balance, and with prior consultation on the wording from employees. They also monitor performance indicators monthly (they are the 17th highest performing council in the UK). Employee liaison and TU feedback is all positive - quotes include:
"Telford & Wrekin allows me to combine childcare and a career within a supportive and caring framework. Since having my first child the Council has done everything in its power to ensure a good home-work balance"
"Due to being a single parent of a young family with childcare problems, I have recently gone from full time employment to part-time and home-working. T&W have helped me tremendously to help me gain a good balance between work and home life, something I was finding more and more difficult to achieve."
The Borough has a very low turnover (3.3%) and exceptionally loyal workforce. They have been able to increase opening hours through introducing more flexible conditions and are viewed as a model of good practice locally.
The judges were particularly impressed with how the authority is concerned to solve problems which staff raise. For example they have developed holiday clubs for older children, an often forgotten group. They have been open to suggestions for different types of flexibility from all levels of staff and work with employers in the area to promote the benefits of work-life balance and to develop childcare solutions.
