For Oklahoma, schedule options could cut turnover, costs
Agency will track program that has given employees more flexibility
BY JULIE BISBEE
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Published: January 27, 2009
Alternative work schedules may help state agencies cut down on employee turnover and absences.
That’s the initial finding from a 90-day pilot program at the
Office of Juvenile Affairs.
Gene Christian, executive director Oklahoma Juvenile Affairs, in Oklahoma City Thursday, August 17, 2006. By Josh Rabe
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AT A GLANCE
Three choices for workers
For the state Office of Juvenile Affairs, 420 out of 1,058 employees participated in a 90-day trial program that let them chose from three work schedules. Employees at juvenile detention facilities, where turnover is the highest, weren’t eligible to participate. The options and results:
• Four 10-hour days with every Friday off (chosen by 22 percent of participants).
• Nine-hour days with every other Friday off (chosen by about 18 percent of participants).
• A traditional eight-hour-day, five-day-week schedule (chosen by 60 percent of participants).
Source: Jeff Gifford, division director
for the support services division at the Office of Juvenile Affairs
It’s one of a handful of agencies that have given employees more control over their work schedule.
After the flexible-schedule program was put in place, employees who participated took less leave time compared to the previous 90-day period, said
Jeff Gifford, Juvenile Affairs division director of support services. During that same time, staff turnover was down by 1.5 percent, he said.
Cutting state staff turnover could save money. In 2007, turnover cost the state about $85 million, according to figures from the
Office of Personnel Management. At the Office of Juvenile Affairs, turnover costs about $3.6 million a year, said Gene Christian, Juvenile Affairs executive director.
While initial figures showed success, Gifford said the agency will continue to track the program.
"We don’t know if people took less time off because of the holidays, and they typically take more time in the spring,” he said. "We also have to look at how the economy plays into this. When the economy isn’t good, are people more likely to stay in their current jobs? Those are things we are still trying to figure out.”
When the Office of Juvenile Affairs looked into the program, the
Oklahoma Health Care Authority, Department of Environmental Quality,
Office of State Finance and Tax Commission also were using some form of alternative schedule programs, said
Cynthia Holler, Juvenile Affairs human resources administrator.
That was also at a time when fuel prices were high and alternative schedules were seen as a way to give employees a break on commuting costs, said
Scott Barger, deputy director of the
Oklahoma Public Employees Association.
"OJA was one of the first agencies to implement this, and I think those findings need to be publicized,” Barger said. "This is something agencies should think about when they are looking to recruit and retain employees.”
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