Love your Staff

What does the word ‘sustainability’ mean to you?

Of course, sustainability has become a buzzword over recent years in the sense that various government bodies are trying to reduce problems, as they see them, of pollution, the ‘greenhouse effect’ of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, depletion of natural resources, population growth, water etc. Governments at all levels are bringing in more and more measures to reduce the perceived risks and increase the sustainability of the planet, industry, and our way of life.

But, surely, the word ‘sustainability’ means more than this. How about sustaining one of our most important assets - the workforce itself. It’s getting harder and harder to find quality skilled workers at all levels in an expanding market from an ageing population. Having found the workers that do a good job, why not do something to help these workers to remain healthy and happy in their roles?

Various studies around the world have shown a strong link between high levels of demand in the workplace and both mental and physical stress, often with a severe impact on family relationships. Employers also suffer, as they will see a reduction in performance, lower output, an increase in poor or hasty decision-making and an increase in absenteeism. Indeed, Dr Paul Lanthois of the Work Life Balance Foundation, based in Queensland, says that the cost to Australian business is around $100 billion per annum.

At Skye Recruitment, we give a lot of thought to the environment within which our staff operate and have identified a number of areas which, we feel, help our staff to feel happy and secure and able to maximise their efforts for their own and our benefit. Whilst the list is by no means exhaustive, we would offer the following points for consideration:

• Try to recognise that every person is an individual, with their own problems and needs, and try to be flexible in accommodating these. For instance, a parent may need time to collect a child from school, or flexible working might allow a person to enjoy a better family life with a partner. Some religions may require certain observances which occur during the working week in which case, again, some flexibility over hours could be helpful.

• Try to identify safe and unsafe working practices, both in the office and outside, and formalise these in a procedural manual of which the relevant parts must be read, on a regular basis, by employees and contractors. This helps staff to know what is expected of them, and can help the employer if an accident or injury results in litigation or a compensation claim.

• Consider offering some form of pastoral care, so that a worker can feel free to speak to someone ‘independent’ about any problem without the fear of reprisal from management or co-workers.

• Consider having a suggestion scheme, so that workers can suggest various ways to improve processes or administration, and offer a tangible reward to those whose ideas are of interest. This will encourage a feeling of ‘oneness’ with the company and of being wanted and recognised.

• Most workers will have some sort of performance target or measure assigned to them. How about, perhaps on a unit or departmental basis, having ‘mini targets’ for individual workers who, if they achieve or succeed, are given a non-cash reward? These could be (for example) vouchers for a restaurant or cinema, or an extra day or two’s holiday, or a mini-break.

Businesses will, we think, have to consider employee sustainability to a much greater extent in the future, especially as increasing demand for skilled workers further outstrips supply. The sustainability of a company's workforce may mean the difference between the ability to deliver a project and missing significant deadlines at great financial cost. It is also the case that workers who are happy and feel valued are less likely to demand high wage rises, and are more likely to stay with the companies that care for them.

Everybody wins!