Ceta St James
Background
CETA St James works in the Derby community with a number of different voluntary organisations, to assist them in achieving their aims by offering support, access to funding and training. They have a variety of community partners. All partners share a common aim of offering service and support to different groups within the community.
Issues
The Project Co-ordinator was aware that staff working for the voluntary organisations face challenges in terms of completing projects to deadline and with limited resources. The profile of project staff and volunteers is that of dedicated individuals who tend to work in excess of standard hours because of their commitment to the values of the organisations they serve. Therefore, in addition to the pressures of deadlines and scarce resources, individuals tend to add the pressure of their own professionalism to get the job done.
The partnering organisations largely work hours that suit their customer population. This means that some staff are already working outside standard working hours, as they often need to make themselves available in the evenings and at weekends. For those with a more regular working pattern, flexitime is offered in some of the partnering organisations, though not necessarily as a formal policy.
The Project Co-ordinator expressed concern that it might become more difficult to recruit staff and volunteers given the relative lack of job security (project funding varies in length), and felt that a commitment to work-life balance and flexibility on the part of the voluntary organisations would help to attract suitable applicants.
The project was conducted in a low absenteeism and good retention environment but staff were keen to be involved, and new ways or working were adopted.
Aim of the Project
The aim of the project was to inform the partnering organisations about work-life balance, and to help teams of staff and volunteers work together to explore ways in which they could achieve more flexibility in their working patterns.
While many of the project workers have a degree of autonomy in deciding how they will work, others (e.g. YMCA, reception staff in CVS) are constrained by the service they offer. A key aim of the project was to work with these groups to help them find ways of influencing their working patterns.
In addition, part of the project aimed to introduce Boards of Management and Boards of Trustees to the principles of work-life balance, with a description of how this can work in voluntary organisations. On the request of the participating organisations, work-life balance policies were produced for each individual organisation.
Overall Impressions
The voluntary groups who have worked with the project have all grown in their understanding of WLB issues and of the potential for more imaginative ways of working.
The effect of this is already beginning to be spread by word of mouth to other voluntary groups in the City.