EDS (Employer)

Remote working solution for technology services company

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EDS New Zealand is a subsidiary of the Texas-based EDS Corporation. It is the largest IT outsourcing services company in New Zealand with more than 2400 employees in five main locations, ranging from IT professionals to call centre agents and data entry operators.

The company offers a range of flexible working options with a particular emphasis on enabling people to work from home for all or part of their working week on an ad hoc basis, or as part of a formal arrangement. EDS New Zealand provides a workstation assessment for anyone working from home, and for those working from home for five days a week, EDS New Zealand assists in setting up a home office and pays any ongoing technology costs.

People mainly choose to work from home to help with caring responsibilities or to avoid long commutes. Some of the arrangements have arisen because offices have been relocated - for example, from central Auckland to the North Shore - and people have asked to work from home to avoid long trips to work. Some employees also work from home for finite periods so that they can better manage a short-term work-life balance issue.

Flexible starting and finishing times are “par for the course” at EDS New Zealand, except when the constraints of a position prevent it. Part-time work, a compressed working week, job-sharing and a range of flexible leave options are also available.

EDS New Zealand has formalised its work-life initiatives in the past two to three years to help ensure consistency and clarity. Its managers are thoroughly briefed on the process of approving and managing flexible working arrangements and can make their own decisions about the suitability of arrangements for their team. The HR team is available to provide advice or clarification when needed. When a manager agrees that a team member can work from home, an agreement is drawn up, with regular review dates to assess how the arrangement is working.

Information about flexible working arrangements is available from the EDS New Zealand intranet site. Word of mouth is also a powerful tool for communicating the options.

EDS New Zealand’s HR team is extremely positive about the flexible working arrangements and says difficulties only arise when an employee expects that their request to work from home will be automatically approved without reference to the needs of the team or the business. “There can be an expectation that working from home is an entitlement rather than appreciating that every circumstance needs to be considered on its own merits,’’ says EDS New Zealand HR Manager Diane Christensen.

She says that EDS New Zealand’s relationship with the global EDS network has given it access to ideas and technology to help with devising flexible solutions for employees.

EDS New Zealand has not measured the business benefits of its flexible working arrangements but is confident that they improve staff retention and productivity, as well as reducing absenteeism. “There is a high level of appreciation of the flexibility that EDS provides.”