“We operate in a people business – so being family inclusive is absolutely critical to what we do. We want to support our colleagues to prioritise what is most important to them in life – helping them enjoy work, and to fit it alongside their family life. Consulting can be an extremely flexible career, and we’d like to support our colleagues in achieving that. This makes sense for us – it helps our colleagues, helps our business, and helps us better understand and support our clients.”
At Oliver Wyman, our ambition is to create a sense of belonging for each of our people through our words and actions. We recognise that our people are at different phases of their lives and focus on supporting all stages through the context of family.
Here at Oliver Wyman, we pride ourselves on being focused on impact for our clients, whilst providing incredible flexibility for individuals to craft their own individual career path.
Our program “FlexOW” provides a wide selection of flexible options that suit each individual and their family’s needs, from a 9-day fortnight to 10/11-month year. The 10/11 Month Year program allows for periodic breaks planned in advance (e.g. an unpaid leave for up to two months a year). We offer “Reintegr8 Days” for parents which enables colleagues to work 4 days a week whilst being paid for 5, as they return from parental leave.
Colleagues tell us that they love how FlexOW enables them to find a solution that works for their own needs, whether that be taking a period off for something specific or ongoing flexibility alongside their role.
Our employees recognise that their choice to start and support their families is supported and welcomed at Oliver Wyman. Further, Oliver Wyman makes every effort to support our employees’ diverse interest and personal needs by providing a variety of options to help every situation.
We have seen primary carers returning to work on reduced hours to allow for a slow and steady reintroduction and we have seen secondary carers being able to work flexibly to allow for appointments, book fairs and other family commitments.
We have observed benefits in two areas:
• Our approach to family inclusivity has enabled us to hire and retain key colleagues as they transition through different stages of life. In a competitive industry, we find that colleagues appreciate the flexibility provided by our family policies and the support that they provide to enable them to be their best selves at work.
• Our clients also value the empathy in the work that we perform for them, based on a strong foundation of looking after our own colleagues.
David Howard-Jones, Partner, Finance & Risk Practice
“My family is my greatest joy, and having the flexibility at Oliver Wyman to make the commitment I want to my family when I need to is a terrific asset. I’ve taken a couple of periods to work part-time and am currently 90%. It is a fairly active and dynamic 90% with one day a week acting as a sink for me. I flex this day between absorbing work that didn’t get done on other days, to being a pool which I can make available for hard-to-schedule senior client meetings, while also being there for the children when I need to be.
The FlexOW model has worked well for my wife and me. Annaleise in her training period as a doctor was able to do the heavier lifting around family logistics when the children were younger. As she progressed and her hours became less flexible and more demanding, I went four days a week at two points of my career. This meant we could share the load between us rather than (as we saw it) outsource our parenting. As the children get older, I see myself returning again to 100% and, COVID-willing, a return to the working rhythm of a few years ago.”
“We operate in a people business – so being family inclusive is absolutely critical to what we do. We want to support our colleagues to prioritise what is most important to them in life – helping them enjoy work, and to fit it alongside their family life. Consulting can be an extremely flexible career, and we’d like to support our colleagues in achieving that. This makes sense for us – it helps our colleagues, helps our business, and helps us better understand and support our clients.”
Parents At Work acknowledge and pay respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
