Compensation Surveys

FAMILY FRIENDLY WORKING POLICIES

Although many consulting firms are able to demonstrate considerable success at recruiting exceptionally talented females for their entry level positions -in some cases up to 40% of staff - this success does not appear to be repeated when examining the retention rates of female staff at the most senior levels, where representation of female partners may be below 10%.

To determine the influence and impact of Family Friendly Working Policies on retention Vencon Research International now undertakes a regular study of the nature and success of such policies across not just consulting firms, but other professional service industries such as legal and banking. The study also includes a sample of major international corporations, to serve as an independent benchmark.

The study presents a comprehensive analysis and comparison of legal obligations, standard practice amongst participating firms and best practice across nearly 30 parameters, based on data input from over 200 individual participants across 9 countries.

REPORT CONTENT

The study identifies nearly 30 areas under which the participants’ Family Friendly Working Policies are assessed and evaluated. For example:

During Pregnancy:
- Availability of flexible/reduced hours
- Provision for reduced travel
- Transfer to non-client facing roles etc.

During Parental (maternity/paternity) leave:
- Duration of maternity/paternity leave
- Provision of supplementary maternity/paternity pay
- Retention of fringe benefits etc

During re-integration on return to work:
- Availability of part-time/flexible working
- Financial assistance toward child-care
- Provision of on-site or subsidized crèche facilities etc

Data are collected under each category from up to 30 representative employers per country across four sectors: Management Consulting firms, International Law firms, Investment Banking firms and major international corporations.

REPORTS DESIGNED FOR AND BY MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS

Whilst each country report can exist as a stand-alone survey of current practice, the overall study is intended to enable assessment and evaluation on an international basis. To this end the overall findings are consolidated within the Executive Summary.
This provides:

Quantified evaluation of the legal and statutory benefits across all categories, on a cross-country basis.
Quantified evaluation of the voluntary additional benefits across all categories, on a cross-country basis.
Overall cross-country comparison of the extent of Family Friendly Policies
Detail of both standard and best practices, per benefit category, on an international basis
Recommendations for action in creating a successful, cost-effective best practice policy within a consulting environment.

Each country report then presents the findings under four major categories:

A summary of the Legislated or Statutory requirements in respect of parental rights for the country in question.
The additional benefits normally provided by the majority of firms, under each of the benefit categories identified above.
The ‘Best Practice’ additional benefit offered by any firm, again within each of the benefit categories. Where overall Best Practice is not offered by a Consulting firm, the consulting Best Practice is also identified.
A narrative, by benefit category, of perceived trends and experience in implementing the benefit programme. This includes participants’ observations on whether initiatives have been particularly successful, or unsuccessful.

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COUNTRIES SURVEYED

The most recent release of Vencon’s Family Friendly Working Policies study evaluated and compared activity across the following countries:

North America - USA
Western Europe - France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, UK
Asia/Pacific - Australia, China

Additional countries can be included if required by the client.

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