The Mystery of the Workplace Revolution

Cover Story

by Mary Welch

February 27, 2008

At Grant Thornton, if an employee needs a vacation planned, she simply calls the accounting firm’s concierge. At Alston & Bird, a single mother who needs to spend a month out of town trying a case can have all sorts of assistance available to her to take care of her children and house while she is away working. And, at Best Buy, if an employee doesn’t want to show up for work, well, that’s just fine. This isn’t your father’s workplace. And, if such corporate largesse isn’t part of your professional experience, it will be for your daughter’s. Yes, the workforce revolution is starting. Companies, in order to stay competitive and attract and retain top talent, will have to solve the mystery of the workforce revolution and dramatically change how they recruit, treat, motivate and evaluate the performance of their employees.

In fact, the workforce revolution ultimately will change how the world does business. Over the past few decades, as more women entered the workforce and climbed the corporate ladder, accommodations– to various degrees – were made for women. But increasingly, women – and the incoming Gen Yers (also known as the Millennials) – aren’t finding that sufficient. Women want a company that will allow them to integrate family with work – or they will leave. Gen Yers are technologically savvy, extremely independent and feel empowered. They are questioning workplace regulations and know that if they aren’t satisfied, they can work elsewhere, according to NAS Insights. Companies that recognize it and act get rewarded in loyalty and heightened productivity. “ It’s time for the workplace revolution,” says Jody Thompson, one of the two women who instituted a results-only work environment for Best Buy. “And it’s taking off. So many key elements are happening to businesses in terms of demographics and attrition.”

“It’s a complicated issue, but there is research that is showing that women, and especially Gen Yers, in general, are less willing to sacrifice quality of life for a paycheck,” says Kay J. Bunch, Ph.D, an instructor at Georgia State University. “There is some evidence that women are more likely to leave the workforce when the demands of the office become too much. When women are asked what is the most important or satisfying part of a job, they will talk about the benefits; compensation is fourth. Compensation is first with the men. Women want work/life balance, and they will take less money to get what they need. The problem is that a lot of companies talk about it, but few are actually doing it. We’re working longer hours than we did a generation ago. Real change won’t come until companies are forced to do it.”
 
Thompson believes companies will make the necessary changes because they need Gen Yers to get involved in corporate America. “They are used to a certain life of luxury and have a picture of how life will be. It’s all about technology. They have relationships all over the world; they talk and do business 24-7 when they want to do it. Companies are going to be in a world of hurt in eight years as the Boomers leave. There won’t be enough of them to fill the slots, and companies better figure out and give the Gen Yers what they need.”  When San-Francisco-based Jacqueline Akerblom, national marketing partner, Women’s Initiatives and Programs with Grant Thornton, entered the accounting world 25 years ago it was a different world. “We dressed like men in our suits, and we tried to hide our femininity. I do see this as a revolution. Our women partners and associates really believe they can have it all without sacrificing. I don’t remember that feeling. I remember thinking that I’d have to quit when I had kids.” Pushing the revolution at Grant Thornton (besides having a CEO with three daughters) was Sarbanes-Oxley, a national regulation that had a huge impact on public companies and their accounting fi rms. Accounting firms went into overdrive to ensure their clients were in compliance. “There actually was a shortage of accountants and a high demand for them. “We started losing accountants – particularly those in the late 20s and early 30s, which is traditionally the childbearing ages – and it became apparent that we needed to look at retention and do something about it,” she says.

Akerblom says it was difficult to explain the need to make the fi rm more family-friendly, especially to the senior male accountants. “But we convinced them that the future of their  pension and the growth of the firm were tied into this. We said we needed to do something different for our female accountants and that if we did that, it would ensure the health of their pensions. That was a real awakening to some of the senior leadership.” The Women at Grant Thornton was started in 2004, and the women partners, with a few men, “crystallized what we wanted and needed to do,” she says. “And, how we were going to make it work. We partnered with human resources, did exit interviews and lots of research.” Basically, it came down to “fl exibility. We embraced telecommuting. It is the computer revolution after all. The ability to work where you want is fabulous. Overtime in our business, during certain times, is just a reality. So we also encourage our employees that when there is a downturn in business to go out and relax.” Akerblom said “The ability to leave the offi ce so I can have dinner with my family and then work from home at night was huge. Not being tied to our desks was an incredible benefit.” Working away from the office isn’t a new trend, but it is being embraced more. According to a 2006 Business Week article, more than 40 percent of IBM’s workforce has no office; at AT&T, it’s about 30 percent of all managers. Sun Microsystems Inc. reports it has saved more than $400 million over six years in real estate costs by having almost half of its employees not come to an office. In fact, according to a survey by the Boston Consulting Group, nearly 85 percent of executives expect a large increase over the next five years in the number of unleashed workers.
Alston & Bird recognized the needs of its female attorneys early in the game. The firm was the first in Atlanta with a dedicated day care center and maternity benefits. But law firms, as with accounting firms, have strict partnership paths based on billable hours (lots of them) and long hours. Anyone not willing to put in the hours was quickly moved out.

“We realized that was a problem for our female – and to a lesser extent – our male associates and partners,” Mary Gill, partner. “People wanted more flexibility but also wanted to still be on the partnership track. There had to be ways so that it works for everyone – the firm, the individual, the client. We just had to look at options.”

The firm created the Alternative Career Path, a more adaptable partnership plan that does not lock an associate into a specific time period. “It’s a collaborative effort,” says Gill. “We  help them look at the economics and frame a career path that meets the needs of everyone. More often it’s the women who have taken advantage of this path.”

Liz Price, partner, believes younger lawyers increasingly will take advantage of this path. “ The new generation wants more flexibility and personal adaptation of work. They see money as what it is. They want opportunities to live a great life.” Grant Thornton has a similar alternative partnership track. “We’re trying not to be so linear both in how we approach partnership issues, but also afterwards. I off-ramped for 18 months and stayed home with my children. I felt the need to stay at home, and then I came back. My career progression wasn’t affected. The firm makes sure that you still feel connected. You’re invited to social events; you retain your e-mail, that sort of thing. Again, it gives people options to handle their lives, and we don’t lose good employees.” Merrill Lynch, another traditional male bastion, realized the power of its women. It established a Women’s Advisory Council of 12 women in the local business, philanthropic and political communities whose goal is to increase the number of women working at Merrill Lynch and in the financial services industry as a whole. The council also includes three financial advisers. “Of course, a strong part of our recruitment and retention efforts emphasize flexibility and opportunities for women,” says Mary Ellen Garrett, vice president-investments. “We let people know that you can work wherever you have to and when, but we also have internal backup systems available so that if something happens – say, you have a sick kid – that the workload goes on without a beat.”

The firm takes seriously its role in helping its women balance. “We’re always looking for ways to become more flexible, which helps us attract and retain our people. It makes people more efficient but also more tied into the company as well. We’re tied to the company, not our desks.”
Beyond flexibility, companies are recognizing the needs of their women employees and helping them balance their lives. Grant Thornton has a concierge who can do anything from find day care centers to plan a business meeting. “Again, it’s making people productive,” Akerblom says. “People need to do personal business during work hours. That’s a fact, and it’s mostly the women who are charged with those personal duties. So, if we have a concierge take that off her plate, it’s better. It’s pays for itself on time spent doing work. It’s proven to be a home run.” Alston & Bird has benefi ts such as a lactation room and dedicated parking spots for pregnant women and career counseling. “Fifteen years ago, a woman had to navigate those treacherous waters herself. Not so today,” says Gill.

“I really do see that the workforce is more demanding on what they need from a company,” Price says. “They want us to be pro-active instead of responsive. And the Gen Yers do have a different perception of work/life. They want to know what’s expected of them, and then they want to make the choices to do it. It’s a whole different way.” Perhaps the most radical change seen in a company is in Best Buy, the Minneapolis-based electronics giant. The company adapted a results-only work environment. ROWE’s whole point is that physical presence does not mean productivity. The goal is to judge performance on output instead of hours. Two women started ROWE, and by the time upper management heard about it, about 40 percent of the headquarters was operating under ROWE. By the time the entire headquarters embraced it, productivity had increased by 35 percent. “It’s all about control – taking control of your life,” Thompson says. “Flex schedules don’t work because there is always someone keeping tabs on your hours to make sure that you work as much as you’re ‘supposed’ to. Flextime is an oxymoron. Work should not be a place to go; it should be what you do.” Conceding that the implementation of ROWE was a huge corporate and cultural change, Kali Ressler, the other Best Buy creator of the program, says some found it to work without rules and guidelines. “One key difference when operating under ROWE is that you have to be very clear about what is expected of you because you are managing yourself and are responsible for the results.” Today Thompson and Ressler are independent consultants to other companies interested in ROWE and have a book coming out in May, Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It. They have defined 13 steps that must happen for a company to transition successfully into a ROWE environment. They say the navigation takes from six to nine months. Among these steps are an end to counting hours, no more mandatory attendance at meetings and allowing people to work where they wish. Another step is tougher. It’s called sludge, which is what they call people who judge others’ decisions. “You’ve got to stop those people from thinking that someone is not working just because they’re not at the office,” Ressler says. Whether it is by instituting a concierge program or in adopting a ROWE environment, clearly change is under way in how businesses operate internally. “Our firm benefits tremendously from what we offer our employees in terms of work/life balance,” says Alston & Bird’s Price. “It helps us in retention and recruiting. There is no downside.”