When home is where the work is

By VICKI JAYNE

When Philippa Youngman farewells her children to head off to the office, she does not travel far.

It takes her just half a minute to switch from being "Mum" to her other role as human resources manager for WestpacTrust.

And while the 20-strong team she manages is probably still ploughing through dense commuter traffic in Wellington, she is already at the desk of her purpose-built home office - in Christchurch.

That this rather geographically challenged arrangement has lasted for eight years is testament to its workability.

It is certainly an option more companies are exploring as they pursue the sort of family-friendly policies that help keep skilled staff loyal.

When it is a case of losing a good employee or being flexible enough to adapt to their changed needs, the teleworking option can kick in as a useful solution - either temporary or permanent.

Auckland law firm Hesketh Henry has just set up a home office for an employee needing recuperation time from an operation. Another is making a gradual return from maternity leave and sharing a shortened working week between home and central office.

The company has a formal policy for teleworking which includes assessment criteria it can apply to both the position and person involved to see if the option is viable in the person's specific case.

"There's a range of needs to be analysed in terms of who they work with, how often they need to be in contact with other people, as well as the role itself," says HR manager Mark O'Connell.

Those who meet the criteria are given home working conditions equivalent to those at the office in terms of workstation, computer gear and even ergonomic standards.

A staff member in IT ensures that home workstations meet all the relevant OSH safety conditions, says Mr O'Connell.

The telework option is part and parcel of a family-friendly policy that recently earned the company an EEO Trust annual work/life balance award.

Benefits are both tangible - better staff retention, reduced recruitment costs and, in the case of teleworking, reduced pressure on office space - and intangible.

"Employees are happier because they are under less stress, which means they are more effective and productive in their work," says Mr O'Connell.

In terms of productivity, Philippa Youngman sees teleworking as a positive option.

"I'm much more productive here. I can really churn through stuff and have good thinking time, which people in an office don't always have."

She also tends to work longer hours - although time away from family is probably about the same given the short "commute."

However, with the office so close, it can be tempting to pop back in the evening to finish a particular project.

Limited face-to-face interaction with her Wellington-based HR solutions team is not a problem as its members are very self-managing.

"They are all specialists in their own right so as far as their technical competence goes, there's not a great deal I need to coach them on."

A data circuit system means that her office is permanently on-line to Wellington and she has the same access to information on the head office computer network as if she was working on-site.

"It also means we don't have to dial up the internet to send an e-mail."

That technology makes life easier but it wasn't necessary to the teleworking arrangement she has, which initially relied on fax communications - first from Dunedin, then from Nelson before she moved to Christchurch.

The telework arrangement started when she had to leave her head office position with WestpacTrust because her husband's work took him to Dunedin and she was expecting their first child.

"Luckily for me, they had a bit of trouble finding someone else and after three months, I wanted to come back."

Although it had no formal teleworking policy, the bank decided to set Philippa Youngman up with her own office and that has set a precedent others can explore, she says.

"I often find myself giving advice to managers who are considering it for one of their employees and want to talk through the pitfalls."

There haven't been too many.

She has a fulltime nanny who looks after the 2-year-old and functions as home manager, so there is no domestic pressure.

The possibility of suffering from solo-worker cabin fever is no longer an issue since another member of her HR team at WestpacTrust started working from the same office a couple of years ago.

Not having an IT department on hand hasn't been a problem. Philippa Youngman says she has learned a lot, and the bank's nationwide network means there are local people to call on.

"I think [teleworking] is a great idea, although you need to be a certain sort of person. If you need others around you all day, it's probably not your cup of tea."

And if you spot that the garden needs weeding during work hours, you have to be able to resist its call.

"You have to be able to clearly separate home and work."

That is one reason she always farewells the children (there are now three) before going to her office.

It helps them also to draw a line between "mum" and "manager."

"They know when I'm in the office that it's my work time."

* vjayne@iconz.co.nz