DC09-185 June 29, 2009
BT launched sustainable workforce assessment
BT today announced the UK launch of the Sustainable Workforce Assessment (SWA), a unique service that helps large corporates and public sector organisations improve staff morale and help reduce costs.
The Sustainable Workforce Assessment engages with organisations that have HR issues ranging from workforce costs, financial targets, skills enhancement and employee engagement to talent management and retention. Through this assessment, BT will help organisations reduce costs, if they are concerned about sustainability, or if they want to improve the welfare of their people, whilst creating a strong business benefit.
Dinah McLeod, head of sustainability practice, BT Global Services, said: “We have been credited for the successful outcomes of our HR practices around the world, including home working, increasing average productivity, stress and mental health to controlling absenteeism.
These credits put us in the right position to advice organisations on how to deal with people issues in tough economic times”.
BT employees have benefited from many flexible working options. For example we have more than 10,000 home-based workers and statistics show that on average productivity is 20 per cent higher than office-based colleagues. Seventy-five per cent of long-term absentees now return to work compared with a national average of 25 per cent. Absenteeism in BT contact centres is 35 per cent below average. It is also proven that 96 per cent of our new mothers return to work, twice the national average.
Such statistics itself prove that BT has improved its cost base with much innovation whilst creating world class practices.
As part of the assessment, a gap analysis highlights areas where performance and engagement need to be improved. For example, implementing flexible working practices across an organisation can lead to greater motivation, loyalty and commitment and over time build into an enhanced reputation. This together with other larger benefits can also lead to better talent retention.
The analysis is conducted across seven practice areas which are work-life balance, stress and mental health, disability, cultural background, age, parents and carers and dignity at work.
The end result of this assessment is an analysis of the company’s current performance against the seven practice areas, a set of recommendations to improve HR policy and management practice, a business case showing the benefits they can expect to achieve and some quick wins to start to generate cost savings.
This assessment encourages organisations to succeed using the benefits of technology such as unified communications which promotes flexible working and e-learning as concepts to enable better work-life balance and in reducing carbon emissions.
