Placing People Over Process in the Work-Life Blueprint

Business Case

ROHEI’s work-life efforts began when the organisation was first established in 2007. The pioneering team quickly recognised that work-life initiatives such as flexible work arrangements (FWAs) made business sense, enabling them to be responsive to clients while still managing family responsibilities effectively.

This core principle has remained consistent even as its work-life strategy has evolved to better meet organisational work-life challenges.

Featured Work-Life Programmes

ROHEI’s work-life programmes have evolved to offer the following flexible work arrangements, leave schemes and employee support schemes. 

Flexible Work Arrangements

• Compressed work schedule
• Staggered time
• Telecommuting

Leave Schemes

• Bereavement leave
• Birthday leave
• Emergency leave
• Family care leave
• Marriage leave
• Sabbatical leave
• Study/Exam leave

Employee Support Schemes

• CSR initiatives
• Company activities (e.g. cooking together)
• Medical and insurance coverage
• Team/Company celebrations

Implementation

ROHEI adopts a measured approach to work-life, with the intention of building a culture of trust and teamwork amongst employees. Though it offers a suite of work-life programmes, its management recognises that employees may need to be physically present at times to brainstorm and work quickly as a team to meet client needs.

Thus, for each request, supervisors are expected to carefully consider the degree of flexibility that will be offered, how team and individual goals will be met, and the supporting resources that will be required, such as additional manpower. Other success factors include a shared culture of feedback, strong leadership buy-in and robust IT infrastructural support.

“Though it offers a suite of work-life programmes, its management recognises that employees may need to be physically present at times to brainstorm and work quickly as a team to meet client needs.”

Shared Culture of Feedback

ROHEI’s management intentionally cultivates a culture of giving and receiving purposeful and intentional feedback. This collaborative feedback process is integrated into every aspect of the organisation. Wherever there is a deliverable, there is a channel for feedback built into the process.

For example, detailed post-workshop debrief are often held to acknowledge what was done well, and areas for improvement. Employees also visit clients in pairs, so that they can provide immediate feedback to each other on what the client’s needs are, and how they can be addressed.

This culture of feedback creates a healthy work environment where employees can comfortably surface work-life challenges, and work with supervisors to find mutually beneficial solutions.

Strong Leadership Buy-In

One of ROHEI’s strengths is its management’s ability to tailor work-life solutions to meet the specific needs of each employee. For example, speedy re-deployment of manpower may be required as part of the solution. Such arrangements are possible due to the Heads of Departments fully believing in the importance of work-life harmony and being open to cross-departmental transfers of staff.

Thus, ROHEI attributes its work-life success to its leadership having a shared vision of work-life harmony and working together as a team to meet organisational goals.

Robust IT Infrastructural Support

ROHEI’s flexible work culture is also supported by its investment in IT infrastructure. Employees use a common online calendar to schedule and change appointments, and engage in resource-planning. A common online calendar is useful as it records client projects and resources requirements through staff movements.

Employees are also provided with laptops, remote access to an internal server to share and retrieve files, and a group video conferencing facility to support online collaboration. On a daily basis, every employee uses Google Hangouts to keep in constant contact with their team members.

Outcomes

ROHEI has seen visible results from creating a work-life friendly workplace. Notably, FWAs serve as an effective hiring and retention strategy, enabling the organisation to attract and retain high-performing employees who require flexible work options for various reasons (e.g. childcare).

Employee trust and morale is also high within ROHEI’s workforce. In 2015, ROHEI placed 4th in the Great Place to Work Institute’s list of Best Companies to Work For in Singapore, and was the only local Singapore SME to make the list. They were also recognised as one of Asia’s Top 20 best Small & Medium Workplaces 2016 by the Great Place to Work Institute, Asia.

This case study was first published in 2017, and has been adapted from TAFEP's Work-Life Resource Portal.