Island Businesses Can Help Parents
Take 30 for the Family
Pictured: Blake and his children, having an important luncheon.
Octavian Group
Blake and his wife Kathryn are working professionals and know the challenges of taking time for family, they Take 30 by scheduling important family lunches. As a small business owner with two sets of twins and a busy schedule, he takes time out to spend with his family.
Supportive Management
"As a small business owner we don't have any formal ‘HR family policies’, however we do recognize the importance of taking time for family and try to be flexible in accommodating family or personal activities for our staff."
It’s a tough labour market out there. Employers of choice on Prince Edward Island know that family friendly working conditions are the price of entry when it comes to recruiting and retaining experienced people to build their businesses. They know that their reputation depends on it.
Here you will find out more about employers that make Prince Edward Island Canada's Family Friendly Province.
Qualitative Business Research
In developing branding and social marketing concepts for the Take 30 for the Family program, the Province of Prince Edward Island conducted focus groups with parents and employers. Our business focus group included representatives from Prince Edward Island businesses operating at national and local levels. We wanted to understand the attitudes and behaviour of business owners/managers with regard to family friendly workplace policies and to probe their opinions on the benefits of such policies and the challenges involved in managing them.
Business owner/managers agreed that talk of the "family friendly" workplace was common place and most felt it was the right thing to do. Albeit, they said clearly stated “policies have to focus on results for the business.” Others felt that it was the price of being competitive. They also commented that family friendly policies were particularly relevant in recruiting mature and experienced staff.
Business focus group participants noted that lifestyle was a huge factor in attracting potential employees from out of province and in this regard, the idea of Prince Edward Island as "Canada's Family Friendly Place to Live and Work" had credible appeal that they used regularly.
Recognizing PEI’s Best
In 2007, the Premier’s Council on Healthy Child Development developed the Champion for Children Business Award. This annual award recognizes Prince Edward Island businesses that promote work and family balance, offer a family friendly work environment and support community programs for young children. The inaugural business award was presented to Danny and Martie Murphy.
A call for nominations for the 2008 business award is expected in Fall 2008.
Pictured: Cory with Connor, Braydon, Carson and Faith.
Vogue Optical
Family Friendly Culture
At Vogue Optical all their employees consider themselves part of the "Vogue Family." Even though their policy has a set amount of sick days and days off, allowances are made for special circumstances, because that's what families do.
They also have policies in place to offer:
• An Employee Assistance Program through Life Works.
• Time off to donate blood through the Partners for Life program.
• Encourage staff and their families to volunteer in community events.
Graphic Communications
Flexibility
Graphic Communications encourages their staff to Take 30 for the family by allowing staff flexibility in their hours to attend their children's events. It costs nothing in time but it is worth everything to their children to have mom or dad watching them.
University of Prince Edward Island
Recognition of Child and Elder Care Issues
UPEI recognizes the value of having your children close and how important it is to parents of young children to balance work and family life. UPEI has a privately run, on-site daycare for their employees and students. This not only gives parents more time in their day, since both parent and child start their day at the same location, but it gives parents the opportunity to see their child during breaks and lunches.
Ceridian Canada Centre for Professional Development
Alternative Work Arrangements
Understanding that every employee is different Ceridian offers a virtual work environment to approximately 21% of their employees, allowing them to work from home 100% of the time. For others Ceridian provides the means for them to work from home when their child is sick.
PEI’s Family-Friendly Workplace: What Does it Mean?
Please take a few minutes to evaluate your current practice as an employer. Employers have found this to be a useful exercise to evaluate and improve their own performance as a "Family-Friendly Workplace".
Based on research in North America and Europe, as well as practice in other Canadian provinces, five key factors emerge in defining the best employers in terms of family friendly practice. These factors are:
Self Evaluation
Strongly Agree
3
Agree
2
Mixed
1
Disagree
-2
Strongly Disagree
-3
No
Opinion
1.
Flexibility
Family leave is offered and supported, so that employees can adapt their workday to respond to family issues such as a child illness, school visits or the special needs of older family members.
2.
Supportive Management
It’s obvious that supervisors value staff and make an effort to help employees achieve a good balance between work and family.
3.
Family Friendly Culture
Just the way it feels: an employee, and often the greater community, can tell by the attitudes, beliefs, values and ways of working of management and staff, that this employer or workplace respects work/family issues as legitimate workplace concerns.
4.
Alternative Work Arrangements
Policies and practice provide options to all employees, such as flex-time, job-sharing,
reduced hours, compressed work week, family leave, telecommuting, other leave arrangements and sabbaticals. It’s all just part of the workplace works.
5.
Recognition of Child and Elder Care Issues
This might include some form of support for child care, referrals for child or senior care, on-site child care, facilities to accommodate breastfeeding, cooperative programs with other employers to provide emergency child care/elder care respite.
(Adapted from “Characteristics of a Family-Friendly Workplace”, Work and Family Unit Saskatchewan Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Labour.)
Prince Edward Island’s Family Friendly Employers - Coming Fall 2008!
We want to recognize employers who have developed family friendly workplace policies and practices. We need your help to build our case that Prince Edward Island is Canada’s Family Friendly Province.
Please indicate the size of your company based on the following categories:
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