Flexibility to Meet Diverse Needs and Boost Retention

Business Case

NAFA firmly believes that progressive practices, such as flexible work arrangements (FWAs) are essential to help employees balance work responsibilities alongside their personal lives. When employees feel fulfilled in their personal lives, they are likely to have higher morale and productivity at work, translating into greater student satisfaction. 

Recognising the diverse work-life needs of its workforce, NAFA has tailored its FWA plan to accommodate these unique requirements effectively.

Featured Flexible Work Arrangements

• Hybrid work arrangements: Eligible employees whose job scopes allow for remote work may opt to work from home for up to two days a week. 
• Fractional workload (Part-time work): Employees can apply for a reduced workload for various reasons such as family or healthcare needs.
• Staggered work hours (Staggered time): Employees can choose a start time within a stipulated two-hour window (8.00am to 10am) and end their day correspondingly between 5pm to 7pm. 

Implementation

Applying FWAs fairly across the organisation

Information and guidelines for use of FWAs is clearly stated in NAFA’s employee handbook which is easily accessible on the intranet by all employees. This helps the organisation to maintain transparency on eligibility and guidelines for use of FWAs. It also enables employees to self-assess their suitability for specific types of FWAs, prior to making a request. 

NAFA also implements initiatives that provide all employees with a level of autonomy and flexibility over their work, such as ‘Focus Fridays’ which are white space days where no internal meetings are held. This allows them to have dedicated and protected time to complete work tasks or even take leave. 

Taking a tailored approach to FWAs 

NAFA has carefully reviewed the different types of FWAs available (i.e., flexi-place, flexi-time and flexi-load) and customised their approach to suit the needs of their diverse workforce.  In addition to implementing FWAs, the management allows for these to be adapted to support individual work-life needs. 

As part of this effort, HR may also undertake job redesign to ensure a good FWA fit for the employee and ensure continued work productivity and efficiency. One example of this, is the implementation of a fractional workload scheme (flexi-load), which can be tailored to meet specific employee needs. Currently, there are an estimated 5 employees utilising this FWA. 

These are some examples of how the Fractional workload option has been implemented: 

An employee in the administrative team requested to work part-time with a 50% workload, to serve as the primary caregiver for her newborn. In addition to allowing the part-time work arrangement, the organisation further customised this arrangement by: 

• Allowing the employee to work on a hybrid schedule, so she could work from home on stipulated days each week.
• Redesigning the original job role to be more flexible for the employee (e.g., assigning tasks that can be done remotely). 

An employee with health issues requested a part-time work arrangement with a 60% workload during an extended recovery period. The organisation tailored this arrangement by: 

• Allowing for more online and planning tasks, while reviewing and reducing administrative tasks that would impede recovery.
• Recruiting a return-to-work caregiver to carry out the remaining 40% of the job role, in a job-sharing arrangement. 

An employee had a child who was entering Primary 1 and requested to work a 50% workload to attend to care giving needs. The organisation tailored this arrangement by: 

• Redesigning the original job role.
• Managing the re-deployment of manpower resources. 

Adopting this approach has required NAFA to work creatively to address logistical and manpower planning challenges. Nevertheless, the management believes that the effort has been worthwhile, contributing significantly to their talent acquisition and retention strategy. 

“People have always been at the centre of NAFA. We recognise that the quality of working life is an important aspect, and we want to create an environment which allows employees to enjoy and enhance their motivation and engagement with the academy,” 
Ms Carol Tan, Vice President of Corporate Services and Work-Life Ambassador. 

Walking the Talk 

To demonstrate buy-in from top management, a senior management employee (Vice President, Corporate Services Division) is appointed as a ‘Work-life Ambassador’ to advocate for progressive practices that support work-life harmony at NAFA as well as drive an organisational culture where employees feel supported and are engaged to do their best at work. Management also demonstrates their commitment through budgetary support for FWA arrangements. 

Outcomes

The organisation’s work-life policies, including the implementation of FWAs, serve as a powerful retention tool in the competitive private education sector. NAFA has experienced the following tangible outcomes: 

• Low employee attrition
  The average tenure of employment is 10 years at NAFA
• High levels of employee engagement
  Organisational climate survey results are consistently high and above the national average for employee well-being. 

• Positive employer branding 
  Recognised by Education Services Union and NTUC for positive people-centric policies and practices; these include the ESU Pink Heart Award 2015, May Day Award 2019, voted one of the Best Companies for Mums 
  Received the Tripartite Alliance Award (Work-Life Excellence) 2023 
  Recognised as one of Singapore’s Top 200 Best Companies from 2020-2024 in a poll by research firm Statista and The Straits Times

At NAFA, it is evident that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to FWAs that can adequately meet the needs of their workforce. By investing in a tailored strategy, they ensure flexibility and responsiveness to the evolving work-life needs of their employees. This commitment not only fosters a thriving environment for employees but also enhances the overall experience for students, setting a gold standard in the education sector.