Research tells us that flexible working works, and at Telstra we see the evidence every day. Since we launched “All Roles Flex” we’ve seen very positive increases in engagement and employee retention.

We know that flexibility and choice in where, how and when our people perform their roles is better for them, and for our business. When we first trialled All Roles Flex in one business area, the results after three months were impressive – representation among female candidates increased, and 30% of those surveyed told us they had applied for the role because of our openness about flexibility. A similar number reported they were working flexibly in their new role.

All Roles Flex was adopted company-wide in March 2014. We promote the benefits of working flexibly where possible, and offer the best tools and services to connect our people anywhere, any time.

We’ve adopted a very broad definition of “flexibility”, recognising it will mean different things for different people and different work types. Flexible working at Telstra always depends on the needs of employees, customers and the business. It might be part-time work, working outside normal 9-5 business hours or working from different locations. Flexibility in a scheduled work environment, such as a Telstra store, could mean the ability to express a preference for certain scheduled shifts. Flexibility in a non-scheduled work environment could mean non-traditional working hours (for example, later starts or earlier finishes), working at other locations (e.g. from home or another Telstra office), being open to hiring candidates in different locations, job-sharing or working part-time hours.

We encourage our people leaders to proactively and regularly talk to their teams, to understand their flexibility needs and help make them happen.

Telstra does not accept unlawful discriminatory behaviour or anyone unreasonably refusing requests for flexible work. We urge our people to trial new ways of flexible working and to take a guilt-free attitude to flexibility, because it improves productivity, engagement and results for customers.