Oregon Bennis Organisational Wellness Survey 2012 Findings: Executive Summary Oregon Bennis is one of Perths top tier

law firms with consistent growth between 1991-2011. As a commitment to continuous improvement the firm has conducted quantitative and qualitative analyse to explore attitudes of staff about working at Oregon Bennis, to investigate relationships between those attitudes and identify improvement opportunities. Intention to Resign Anecdotally, young lawyers were reported to be exiting the firm. A multiple regression analysis (Appendix) revealed that employment level was significantly associated with intentions to resign, however, age and gender were not significantly related. This suggests that employment level is significant, with higher reports of intention to resign across administrative staff, articled clerks, restricted practitioners and lawyers. Significantly lower reports of intentions to resign were seen in Senior Associates and Partners. The firms overall turnover rate was 26% in 2011, reflecting consistency with the legal industry average of around 20-30%. Whilst this turnover rate is consistent with the industry average, it represents significant loss of talent and a high cost to the organisation. To replace one employee, it costs around 50-200% of the annual salary for the role, when you consider costs associated with recruitment, training and development (Ignite Global, 2012). Job Outlook Australia (2012) reports that solicitors earn $93,973 per annum. At a turnover rate of 26%, representing loss of 75 staff per annum for Oregon Bennis, this is a minimum cost of $3.52million per annum. Firms such as Lander and Rogers (2012) are experiencing very low attrition rates of 4.6%, showing a significant cost saving due to retention of employees, corporate knowledge and talent. Appendix A provides an overall picture of the findings of quantitative, qualitative and industry data. Strengths Employees across all ages and employment levels consistently reported high trust in supervisors. This demonstrates positive attitudes to the workplace climate and an important foundation for improving over time. Contrary to qualitative findings, Workload did not appear to be a challenge for Oregon Bennis in the survey results, with staff reporting a heavy perceived workload to some extent. Given the industry and comparison to other occupations, this was not deemed as a negative finding. Partners and Senior Associates consistently reported positively across the survey domains. This is a positive finding, suggesting that there is a positive work culture in the senior management team. Results suggest that values are aligned, satisfaction is high, workload is not too demanding, and the team are able to freely participate and make suggestions without fear of reprisal. Challenges The key themes emerging out of the Qualitative data included dissatisfaction with Leadership and Supervision, Organisational Culture and Values, with related sub-dimensions. Upon further consideration of the Quantitative data, the leadership and supervision was seen as a challenge for the organisation, in providing adequate feedback to staff, role ambiguity, participation safety and

support innovation. Work/life flexibility was suggested as a reason for leaving (particularly for women) in the qualitative data, and is consistent to the industry attrition themes (Charlesworth & Campbell, 2010). It is of interest that s Low wellbeing was observed within the quantitative data, which is consistent with the legal industry in general. Lawyers are significantly more likely to have depression, contemplate suicide (ANU, 20120) and have higher reports substance abuse than the general population (QLD Law Society, 2012). Given the nature of the industry this is a key consideration for Oregon Bennis in retaining staff and maintaining positive wellbeing for its employees. Preliminary Recommendations As a result of these findings, it is recommended that a focus on people and processes is employed. People Leadership development is sought for Senior Associates and Partners in the areas of feedback and fostering open communication in the workplace. Culture and Branding would improve the employee attitudes to the firm by emphasising an Employee Values Proposition. This will lead to greater person-environment fit and ____. Employee Wellbeing Program-There are a range of approaches to improving staff wellbeing, including training and development, fitness subsidy, and Processes Review of position descriptions- the current position descriptions for articled clerks, restricted practitioners and lawyers are the same, with differences between roles observed under the main duties for the positions. Facilitate opportunities to delegate and develop staff through review and flexibility of the position descriptions and through performance appraisal and development. Opportunities for staff to take on responsibility in a supportive environment will increase career development opportunities, improve skills. Organisations that provide these opportunities are highly valued by Generation Y individuals who will make up 50% of the workforce by 2020. This will support retention of staff and skill acquisition, resulting in a strong internal talent pool (Meister & Willyerd, 2010). Evaluating Return on Investment- in order to measure progress over time, a data collection methodology should be identified and employed. A selection of primary (e.g. turnover rates, absenteeism) and secondary (e.g. Organisational Wellness Survey, Exit Surveys) data capture methods should be selected to regularly provide an organisational health check, monitor progress and emerging trends.

References

Appendix B Multiple Regression Analysis of Intention to Resign by demographic variables

Multiple Regression Analysis found that employment level was significantly associated with intentions to resign, T(226) = -2.26, < 0.05. Age and Gender were not significantly related, with T (226) = -.669, > 0.05 and T (226) = -.090, > 0.05 respectively.
Variables Entered/Removed Model Variables Entered 1 emplevl, age, gender
b a

Variables Removed

Method

. Enter

a. Dependent Variable: IntentResign b. All requested variables entered.

Model Summary Model R R Square Adjusted R Square 1 .212

a

Std. Error of the Estimate

.045

.032

1.85450

a. Predictors: (Constant), emplevl, age, gender

ANOVA Model Regression 1 Residual Total Sum of Squares 36.457 777.248 813.705 df

Mean Square 3 226 229 12.152 3.439

F 3.534

Sig. .016
b

a. Dependent Variable: IntentResign b. Predictors: (Constant), emplevl, age, gender

Coefficients Model Unstandardized Coefficients

Standardized Coefficients

Sig.

B (Constant) gender 1 age emplevl -.123 -.236 5.823 -.029

Std. Error .937 .318 .184 .104

Beta 6.215 -.007 -.049 -.191 -.090 -.669 -2.260 .000 .929 .504 .025

a. Dependent Variable: IntentResign

Appendix