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Meeting the Needs of the New Workforce
An effective solution to balancing work and
family creates a productive workplace, as
well as a rewarding family life. Today's
workplace must respond to a changing labour
force, the need for increased workplace
flexibility and the importance of a skilled
and engaged workforce.
In Singapore, turnover among practitioner
lawyers with three to seven years'
experience, particularly those who choose
to leave the profession altogether, is a
source of long-term concern.
Quality part-time work is one way of
attracting and retaining skilled
professionals who also have family
responsibilities or other interests outside
the law firm. Putting quality part-time
work firmly on the agenda of human resource
management is one step towards an effective
response to contemporary needs and demands.
Having quality part-time work available in
the workplace provides the opportunity to
retain the skills and knowledge of staff
who might otherwise leave, and avoids the
cost of recruiting and training replacement
staff.
That is why many law firms are now
integrating practical flexible work options
as part of employee benefits.
The information set out here is designed to
encourage organisations to consider quality
part-time work to assist staff in balancing
family, work and interests.
Providing quality part-time work can also
be a key short or long-term strategy for
firms to retain female lawyers,
particularly when they return from
maternity leave or have other family
requirements. Retaining staff during this
phase in their lives through flexible work
practices creates benefits for staff and
greater morale and loyalty to the firm that
has provided this support.
However, quality part-time work is not just
for people with family responsibilities. It
can assist staff in combining work with
further studies or other life pursuits, or
can be used to assist in graduated
retirement.
Quality part-time work is a good way to
optimise any employer's workforce.
S$10 Million WoW! Fund
To help firms kick-start
work-life programmes that can benefit both
their business and employees, the Ministry
of Manpower set up a special Work-Life
Works (WoW!) Fund that offers a subsidy of
up to S$30,000 per employer. So far, firms
such as Stamford Law Corporation,
Lee & Lee and Rajah & Tann have applied for
this subsidy under the WoW! Fund. Formore
information about the fund, visit
www.mom.gov.sg/work-life.
Since its
establishment, Stamford Law Corporation
has believed that in order to attract and
retain a core of talented and motivated
lawyers, the issue of 'burnout' needs to be
addressed. Their solution was to develop
policies and programmes to perpetuate a
culture that supported worklife harmony.
Stamford Law Corporation made use of the
WOW! Fund to purchase laptops and a server
to support and enable flexibility, as well
as to recruit a dedicated person to develop
and implement work-life initiatives for the
company. The initiatives reduced staff
turnover by 40% in 2005.
Mr Yap Wai Ming, Director,
Stamford Law Corporation, was jubilant
with the results. He said, 'The WoW! Fund
enabled the company to initiate worklife
programmes such as flexihours and tele-commuting.
The employees are now happy and motivated
to provide prompt and efficient service to
clients.'
In 2006, Stamford Law Corporation
was one of the winners of the WorkLife
Achiever Award, which commends
organisations for their efforts in
implementing worklife strategies and
encourages excellence towards promoting
work-life harmony within the organisation.
For further information on this topic
please contact
Wai Ming Yap at Stamford Law
Corporation by telephone (+65 6389 3000) or
by fax (+65 6389 3099) or by email (waiming.yap@stamfordlaw.com.sg).
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