Introduction

Work-Life initiatives and Partnership are two subjects that have become topical of late. This case study shows how the partnership approach has been applied in a practical way at Andersen Ireland Limited to achieve mutually beneficial changes via an extensive Work-Life Initiative.

Context 

Andersen Ireland Limited is an Austrian owned manufacturer of high quality fashion and solid silver jewellery. Operations have been established in Ireland for a quarter of a century. The company currently employs in excess of 250 people, with 72% of the workforce female. A significant proportion of the workforce would have long service, with many having been with the company for over twenty years. Trade union representation and negotiating rights are vested in S.I.P.T.U. The company has a good history of industrial relations. Both management and union have attempted down through the years to adopt a non-confrontational and reasonable approach to conflict resolution, which is based in large measure on trying to understand the merits of each sides position. An informal attitude to dress, etiquette and relationships has also been the norm for many years as has an open door policy by all members of management. A company union communication forum has been in existence for some time. Taking all of this into consideration it would be fair to say that both the company and the workforce would have been well disposed to the concept of partnership, but with a healthy dose of scepticism thrown in! Within the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness and the National Development Plan aspirations to partnership were expressed and this provided the catalyst to structure and develop what had been to some extent an informal but undernourished culture

Partnership

In keeping with the spirit of recent national agreements, where the partnership ideal has been espoused, the company and the union decided that they should try to develop partnership from a philosophy into a working practice. It is important at this stage to emphasise that partnership is not a management tool, or an employee wish list, or some new technique or the latest American buzz word !!! Therefore everyone, management, workforce and trade unions, must be clear about what partnership is going to mean to them and be unequivocal in their commitment. Partnership works both ways.

It was agreed that a more inter-active forum was needed which could oversee the development of partnership and consequently a Partnership Steering Committee was formed comprising of six people, three representing management and three representing the workforce. The three management representatives are at the most senior level, as the committee needs to be able to reach conclusions and make decisions without referring back continually for approval. Similarly the Chairperson of the Shop Stewards Committee is on the committee together with two other representatives of the workforce who have extensive trade union experience and also have a strong personal interest in the partnership ideal. The committee was established with quite an open brief and with very few, but quite fundamental guidelines, on how it should operate:

• Informal but Structured. The committee did appoint a chairperson and secretary, but neither was either the chief executive or the chairperson of the shop stewards committee. Meetings take place in a relaxed and casual setting. The committee meet regularly, but at intervals deemed appropriate to themselves, and not to a fixed calendar.
  
• Non-Conflicting. The committee would not, of itself, address matters more appropriately dealt with through other channels such as normal company-union matters, (e.g. wage negotiations, disciplinary matters etc.)
  
• Non-Confrontational. In addressing any subject or issue then decisions should be by consensus if at all possible.
  
• Mutual Interest. The committee decide their own agenda without outside influence, concentrating on areas which are of mutual interest.
  
• Openness.Communicate developments. The committee is not a secret society and should not be seen as such. Use all existing communication methods to let people know what?s going on.

Work-Life Initiatives

A number of "Work-Life Initiatives" have been established at this stage, and the approach adopted involved the following nine steps:

• Identify people's ideals
• Identify the company's ideals
• Select arrangements to develop
• Research best practice
• Generate a set of proposals
• Offer to people
• Introduce on a pilot basis or trial period
• Monitor and refine
• Review
  

Identify people's ideals 

Once established, the first task for the partnership committee was to identify arrangements which were of genuine interest, both to the company, but more importantly to the workforce as a whole. This may seem a bit obvious, but failure to do so can result in a lot of time and effort going into devising schemes that are of little practical interest. It can be very misleading sometimes to work exclusively from anecdotal evidence, or from the views of a small number of more vocal lobbyists. The wishes of the workforce were solicited by means of an extensive questionnaire. A series of briefing sessions were held to support the questionnaire to avoid the twin risks of apathy and the natural aversion to form filling.

These briefing sessions also served a useful purpose in gauging the reactions of people to the project. While in general the response and mood of the people was enthusiastic and supportive it should be noted that a number of very real basic concerns raised their heads, which were addressed in the questionnaire and subsequent schemes.

The questionnaire was distributed to everyone in the organisation and as well as presenting a wide range of possible options for consideration across a range of working time issues provision was also made for people to put forward their own suggestions and to highlight any areas of concern which they might have. The questionnaire also made provision for people to indicate arrangements which might be of interest in the future as well and people were asked to prioritise their preferences.

Identify company's ideals

• The company wished to achieve as high a degree of flexibility as possible in responding to the market demands. This is important due to the seasonality of the business.
• The company also identified the need to retain trained and contented workers in a tightening labour market.
• That any schemes developed should be cost neutral.
• That any schemes developed need to be realistic in terms of running the business.
• That it be accepted that there may be practical limits to what can be implemented.
• The company recognised the groundswell of interest in alternative working arrangements and made a commitment that every realistic effort would be made to accommodate the desires of the people within the confines of running the business successfully.

Selecting arrangements to develop

The responses to the questionnaire were then summarised into a results table. Analysis of the results showed strong levels of interest in certain areas and these were selected for further development.

Research best practice

In order to avoid "re-inventing the wheel" attempts were made to identify other manufacturing industries to benchmark against. This proved to be difficult because the concept of "Work Life Balance" was not widely developed in manufacturing industries.

Generate a set of proposals

A set of proposals were then generated in each case to meet as closely as possible the aspirations of as many people as possible, within the confines of practicality. In this regard it was also necessary to consider the impact of these new working arrangements on other aspects of employment such as annual leave, pension contributions, sick pay scheme, fixed deductions (e.g. VHI, Union dues etc.), lunch and tea breaks, overtime, etc. Practical operational decisions then had to be made including the setting of a trial periods, pilot schemes and providing for notice periods for either the company or an individual to terminate an arrangement once entered into. Careful consideration had to be given in drafting these proposals to ensure that no inequalities were created, either directly or indirectly, with regard to people working on standard arrangements. The administrative impact of any new arrangements was a factor which had to be continually assessed in order that something was not created which was so complex that it became unmanageable.

Offer to people

Once the set of proposals was agreed a formal offer document was prepared and offered to people.

Introduce scheme

Each scheme was introduced on a trial basis initially and some on a pilot basis also. It was felt prudent to introduce the schemes cautiously and for this reason not everyone or indeed all sections started at the same time. The schemes were expanded on a progressive basis allowing time for each section to absorb the changes.

Monitor and refine

During the trial periods each scheme was continually monitored to identify any areas which needed refinement. The trial periods were long enough to ensure that most situations were covered, in particular shut down and holiday arrangements. This allowed the opportunity to highlight any quirks in the scheme across a range of situations. Many small unforeseen operational queries arose during the trial period and the schemes were fine-tuned as a result.

Review

At the end of each trial period each scheme was reviewed. Based on the views of the participants and the company it has been agreed to continue with all of the schemes to date. Provision has been made on all schemes for periodic reviews.

Work-life Initiatives to date

The following work-life initiatives have been successfully developed and implemented at Andersen Ireland Limited:

• Flexi-time
• Shorter week, (4 days @ 34 hours)
• Condensed week, (39 hours in 4 days)
• Shorter days, (7 options ranging from 24 to 36 hours per week)
• Job sharing
• "Banking" time off
• Optional day off at own expense
• Optional week off at own expense
• Optional block of time off, (1 to 3 months), payment can be averaged
  

Uptake

The stated level of interest for all schemes has been higher than the actual uptake figure in each case, but for many people the financial implications outweigh the social benefits of changed working arrangements. Other stated impediments are the interdependence of people who get lifts to work or who car-pool and personal arrangements. The current level of uptake across all schemes is 25 %.

Conclusion

A partnership approach has proved beneficial in developing "Work-Life Initiatives" as it was free from many of the old failings of traditional negotiations, such as the bartering approach and inherent mistrust. That is not to suggest for one moment that partnership is the great panacea for all ills, but it is fair to say that where a partnership approach is adopted honestly by all concerned it should yield positive results.