Cartus well-being initiatives support acquisition

Citation

Butterly, R. (2013), "Cartus well-being initiatives support acquisition", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 12 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/shr.2013.37212baa.008

Cartus well-being initiatives support acquisition

Article Type: HR at work From: Strategic HR Review, Volume 12, Issue 2

Short case studies and research papers that demonstrate best practice in HR

Rosemary ButterlyBased at Cartus

In January 2010, Cartus announced it was acquiring Primacy Relocation, one of the most highly respected relocation firms in the industry. The acquisition brought additional strengths to Cartus, including an expanded global footprint and direct delivery of international services from more company-owned facilities worldwide, in turn further reinforcing Cartus as the global industry leader.

Key to the acquisition plan, Cartus senior executives wanted the expansion to serve as an opportunity to re-imagine the company with a newly refined company culture, reflective of both legacy organizations. The cultural integration of the two companies was of utmost importance for the following reasons:

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  The company’s growing base of employees and locations worldwide had been exponentially increased.

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  Cartus was renewing its commitment to implement a finely honed employee well-being plan, which, in turn, would help ensure the highest level of client retention and client service.

Cartus executives knew there were more than a few challenges that go along with any acquisition, let alone one of this magnitude. Key initiatives for Cartus included:

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  Employees’ well-being.

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  The continuation of initiatives to ensure work-life balance for each and every one of its nearly 3,000 employees worldwide.

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  Staying focused on the business at hand to ensure all employees were laser-beam focused on continuing to provide the industry’s highest level of service.

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  Ensuring optimal client retention.

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  Negating the perception that as a result of the acquisition, the company was too big to care about clients.

Retaining well-being focus at heart of growth plan

To date, the company has been widely heralded for its various successes. In both 2010 and in 2012, Cartus’ Singapore office received the Work-Life Achiever Award at the biennial Work-Life Excellence Award (WLEA), organized by the Tripartite Committee on Work-Life Strategy (TriCom). Additionally, the company’s work-life initiatives have earned awards from the Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI), Singapore Health Promotion Board, Society for Human Resources Management, Alliance for Work/Life Progress, HR Magazine, and Workforce Magazine.

This case study takes a top-level look at some of the more formidable items addressed in Cartus Corporation’s highly detailed corporate plan for employee well-being and work-life initiatives as the two companies combined and integrated resources worldwide. Following are some of the components of the Cartus’ strategy:

1. Importance of work-life strategy

Cartus has an active goal of making the company a place where people enjoy working and where others want to work. Fundamental to this goal is focusing on people, skills and ideas, which are vital to the company’s ability to grow and succeed.

2. Management’s commitment to work-life strategy

Cartus has an exceptionally stable, strong, experienced and committed leadership team that sets the pace and direction of the company and plans the work-life initiatives to create a culture that values our people and enables them to reach their potential.

The senior leadership team leads by example and participates in all work-life activities and companywide events. Every year, Cartus actively supports a variety of local charitable initiatives.

At Cartus, all employees are encouraged to share any concerns and contribute any ideas for making the company an even better place to work. Monthly company huddles provide an opportunity for employees and leaders to come together to discuss business updates and work-life initiatives.

3. Workplace diversity vision

Managing diversity is a business imperative at Cartus. The company recognizes that building an inclusive workplace not only enriches employees’ lives but enhances performance and ultimate business results through understanding and utilizing the many differences that exist throughout the organization. Cartus’ senior leaders understand that diversity goes beyond race and gender and involves creating a culture of inclusion, where employees can fully participate and contribute to the company’s success.

4. Employee diversity

As a global relocation services provider, being culturally diverse is of utmost importance. This, combined with hiring employees who have themselves relocated, helps create a workforce that understands the issues and stress that are common in relocation. This understanding in turn helps to create a corporate culture of empathy, understanding and customer-oriented service to relocating employees. Cartus also tracks diversity statistics as a key part of its overall HR metrics and 100 percent of our employees have completed mandatory diversity training. Reflecting its global diversity, Cartus’ employees worldwide speak 64 languages and have lived and worked in 100 countries.

Work-life programs implemented

As part of its commitment to its overall work-life program, the following are a sampling of programs Cartus has implemented:

Compressed work schedule/flex-time and flex-place employees

Employees work the same number of hours, but over a shorter period than normal. Flex-time and flex-place employees get to choose their start and end times daily, within management-set limits. In addition, many employees work part-time and from home (i.e. telecommute).

Employee support programs

Cartus has implemented a variety of employee support programs, including the following:

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  Childcare/elder-care arrangements/subsidies.

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  Counseling services.

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  Concierge services.

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  Personal work-life effectiveness programs.

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  Health and wellness services.

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  Medical and insurance coverage for family members (as applicable; varies by country).

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  Tuition reimbursement.

In short, Cartus believes that a singular focus on employee well-being and a commitment to work-life initiatives overall has a positive impact on its employee base, clients and customers, and their business. These initiatives not only provided a strong foundation for the successful integration of the two companies, but also paved the way for future success. A recent employee engagement survey at Cartus’ APAC offices indicated that 99.4 percent of employees who participated in the survey rated Cartus work/life programs favorably. And our HR personnel are also finding that, globally, job applicants are citing Cartus’ culture and work/life programs as reasons why they are seeking employment with Cartus over other potential employers.

About the author

Rosemary Butterly joined Cartus in 1994 as Manager of HR. She was promoted to director of HR in 1998 and to vice president of HR in 2004. Prior to joining Cartus, she worked for ten years as HR manager for a manufacturing company. As a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), she has published articles in HR magazines and presented at the Alliance for Work-Life Progress conference. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor in HRM at Western Connecticut State University (WCSU) in Danbury. She has received numerous awards, including an Innovation Award, an OPTIMAS Award, and Connecticut Quality Improvement Awards for nine consecutive years, 2002-2012. She earned a BA degree from LadyCliff College and holds an MS in HR from WCSU. Rosemary Butterly can be contacted at: rosemary.butterly@cartus.com