"Boundaryless Work Arrangements at Ceridian Employer Services"
Carl Keil
Employment Relations Today, April 1999.
Available Online (subscription)
This article is written by the president of Ceridian Employer Services, which provides companies with HR services, such as management assistance, payroll and tax filing solutions. The article explains how to create flexible work arrangements. Ceridian shifted to flexible work arrangements to save on real estate costs and better manage growth in the company. Keil describes how to measure the value of flexible programs and make the business case. His research found that flexible arrangements decreased turnover by unheard of rates (0 turnover in 3 years with among a sales team of 32 employees), reduced real estate costs and improved productivity. Setting up a successful program requires the five steps of planning, technology investment, training, communication and measurement. Ceridian’s program included telecommuting, flexible work plans, virtual teams and temporary professionals. Ceridian studied other companies with flexible programs, like IBM and AT&T, and conducted research surveying 401 senior executives, HR managers, and boundary-less workers and their direct managers. The philosophy behind Ceridian’s shift to flexible arrangements was that it would provide improved customer service and employee satisfaction while meeting the community responsibility to promote a cleaner environment.