Banking on a smooth transition


Even when you create the perfect office environment for those you seek to attract and retain, you have to maintain that position because there will always be someone doing it better. A good case in point is bankers Lehman Brothers. They moved into their new London headquarters at Canary Wharf from their old building in Liverpool Street in the City in late 2003. Not one employee failed to make the transition. The reason was that the firm had spent a great deal of time planning the move and making sure that it took people's needs (including their lifestyle needs) into account. It also meant changing for good some of the old habits. ˜We used to have a ritual of the Monday morning meeting,' said managing director and head of HR for Europe, Tony Fogel. He continued , ˜Now we still have the meeting, but you don't have to be there, you can just dial in and take part on-line.' More than that, the travel time is little affected for most employees and there are adequate car park facilities. Also Lehman Brothers have already invested heavily in secure technology so employees can work from home, and that includes full-time working mothers who spend all or part of their time working from home. Other innovations and practical ideas that have kept turnover at the firm low are an emergency childcare unit (which Lehman shares with two other firms), so if a nanny goes sick or there is another personal crisis, full-time help is available. Additionally, employees can sign on with the company-appointed doctor who works on site and there is another for alternative homeopathic medicine as well. The company also has the, by now virtually obligatory , employee gym and in-house noodle and sushi bars. External to the Lehman Brothers' tower the entire shopping mall complex and transportation links of Canary Wharf are accessible without going outside into the open air - a boon in bad weather.

Essentially the success of Lehman Brothers' transition has been based entirely on knowing the lifestyle choices that their people have made and tailoring the employee proposition to make it work. It is a perfect example of how to become, and remain , a magnet for talent.




The New Rules of Engagement(c) Life-Work Balance and Employee Commitment
Performance Tuning for Linux(R) Servers
ISBN: N/A
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 131

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