Working round Clock helps strike a perfect balance
Tuesday 2 May 2006
A company boss who was tired of working 12 hours a day has won an award for her flexible working scheme.
Ramsbottom-based PR group Clock Creative has been named flexible working employer of the year by the Greater Manchester Employer Coalition.
Before setting up Clock Creative in 1999, Ann Rimmer spent a long time working for agencies where 12-hour days were the norm. It made her determined to be a flexible employer.
"I quickly came to realise the impact that a 12-hour day can have on someone's home life and well-being," said Ann.
"This in turn has an effect on how people perform at work. If they are tired or concerned about issues at home, they are simply unable to give 100 per cent. I believe it is an employer's responsibility to ensure that staff are happy and fulfilled at work and so I introduced a flexible working policy."
The policy allows people to work flexible hours, allocated laptops to people who want to work from home and provides vouchers to make childcare affordable.
Ann has even embraced "duvet days", which offer a lie in for parents of young babies after sleepless nights so they can do the work at a later date. She said: "The benefits this has had to the business have been immense. Clock's sick days are just 1.8, our working hours per week are only 32, yet our billable hours have increased by 34 per cent.
"Our staff retention rates are up by 80 per cent, which is a huge plus to the business and our clients."
The Employer Coalition said it chose Clock for its "unwavering determination to be a flexible employer and its extension of these benefits to all employees."
Article reproduced with kind permission from Manchester Evening News and www.manchesteronline.co.uk
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