feature
“I felt guilty when I might not have time to help Tanya with her
homework or read to her after making dinner, bathing her and
handling all the other things that needed to be done at home.”
Mary finally decided to leave the company to start her own
business doing exactly the kind of work she was doing for XYZ
Company. Now she works from home every day, except when she
has an in-person client meeting. She has more flexibility, and feels
like she has more balance in her life.
“The situation could have been so much different,” she said.
“There need to be standards and expectations for flexible work arrangements.
I was not the only employee at XYZ Company that
needed flexibility.”
In the end, XYZ Company lost a high performing, 11-year veteran,
along with all of her institutional knowledge and relationships.
THRIVING IN A SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT
Spreadbury works with the Global Mobility Services Group at
KPMG in Canada. He’s also the father of two boys with autism,
and at KPMG he found a very supportive environment.
The company has a number of innovative programs and policies
in place that can provide support to parents of special needs children.
For example, Personal Care Time: 50 hours of paid time off
annually, over and above vacation and sick time, to use for personal,
family or community commitments.
KPMG also has several flexible work options that are available
to all employees.
“The most commonly used is our Flexible Work Arrangements
program, typically used for working from home or telecommuting,”
said Elizabeth Reynolds, manager, Diversity and Inclusion at
KPMG in Canada. “We also have other options like reduced work
week or condensed work week.”
Additionally, KPMG has developed a number of guidelines and
resources to help employees and their performance managers to
successfully choose the appropriate flexible work arrangement.
“The performance manager’s role is to be an active partner,”
said Reynolds. “With the guidelines and toolkits we have available,
the majority of these arrangements are worked out between
the employee and their manager. If either the employee or their
performance manager need support, they can contact KPMG’s
Employee Relations Service Team to help them choose the appropriate
flexible work arrangement.”
In addition to Flexible Work Arrangements, KPMG has two
innovative approaches that specifically support working parents of
children with special needs. First, in 2009, they added questions
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ FEBRUARY 2015 ❚ 29