A Western Sydney mega-project delivered by John Holland, is acting as the training ground for new flexible working arrangements that are positively transforming employee wellbeing, retention and engagement.

For organisations with a mix of frontline and in-office workers, a common conundrum when developing flexible and hybrid working policies is ensuring a fair and equitable process for all employees.

Infrastructure company John Holland faced this very challenge against the backdrop of an industry known for its long hours, significant physical and psychosocial safety hazards, and elevated rates of mental health issues.

To combat these challenges, it designed an enhanced and sustainable approach to flexible work and employee wellbeing across one of its major projects. While the end goal is to benefit John Holland’s almost 6000-strong workforce and other infrastructure projects spread across Australia and New Zealand, it followed best-practice by beginning with a pilot group.

The M7-M12 Integration project, which is being delivered by John Holland for the NSW Government and WSO Co (consisting of Transurban and its investment partners), was the perfect site to do things differently. From the beginning of the project, John Holland – as the sole contractor – had an opportunity to help address some of the systemic wellbeing issues inherent in construction.

Recognising the challenges faced by the construction industry in promoting a holistic approach to health and wellbeing, the project’s senior leaders set about creating a culture that actively embraces wellbeing practices. 

To demonstrate their commitment, they provided a framework for the Wellbeing Committee (WC). A diverse ten-team group of volunteers from across the business came together to form the WC, charged with creating and rolling out a flexible work program. This included redesigning work patterns, ensuring adequate coverage of all business areas, and shifting ingrained values around wellbeing and productivity.

So far, its efforts have garnered impressive results, leading the organisation to be nominated for Best Health and Wellbeing Strategy at this year’s AHRI Awards and Scholarship celebration event, hosted in Sydney in early December.

“For too long we talked about wellbeing and losing an infrastructure worker every second day to suicide, but our response was a barbecue once a year and a couple of R U OK? Day posters.” – Brad Mecozzi, Safety Manager, the M7-M12 Integration project

“We have this amazing opportunity to do things a little bit differently, and make quite a large impact, with the scale and platform we have on such a large project,” says Stefanie Nutt, People and Culture Director on the M7-M12 Integration project.

A key focus of the WC was taking a holistic approach to employee wellbeing, she says. The project encompasses three main aspects of employee wellbeing: physical wellbeing, mental health and work-life balance.

“Our flexibility initiatives have demonstrated agility in being more responsive to what we’re hearing and seeing in the industry.”

Brad Mecozzi, Safety Manager at the M7-M12 Integration project, says this commitment to disrupting traditional industry norms underpins his involvement as a member and ‘ambassador’ of the WC.

“For too long we talked about wellbeing and losing an infrastructure worker every second day to suicide, but our response was a barbecue once a year and a couple of R U OK? Day posters. 

“From my discussions with the senior leaders at the start of the project there was a genuine want to deliver tangible initiatives around wellbeing.”

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Making flexibility for on-site workers possible

One of the WC’s most innovative flexibility initiatives is a ‘Flex from the Start’ pilot program funded by the NSW Government’s Women in Construction Industry Innovation Program, which aims to trial diverse approaches to working to contribute towards gender equality in the male-dominated industry. 

This includes the Late-Start initiative which gives participants the option to start work at 8:45am, rather than the usual 6:45am start time.

“Some people are leaving for work at 5:30 in the morning to be here, [so this is] opening up opportunities for people to have more of a work-life balance by having other work options available to them,” says Nutt.

Importantly, the M7-M12 Integration project has been able to roll out these flexible arrangements without compromising on productivity levels or strategic targets. 

Nutt says the key to achieving this has been integrating these functional changes into a broader cultural change, to not only ensure operational requirements are met, but to also boost engagement on the ground and normalise healthy cultures of flexibility.

“If there’s business continuity, there’s really no concern in relation to how the work gets done. So, how do we, as individuals and teams, make that coverage work? But then, how are we also visible about it, and leading by example?”

The answer devised by the People team was ‘Flex Boards’ positioned around the site, which invite employees to show how they are exercising flexibility.

“Each team has a Flex Board and what that does is demonstrate our support for flexibility. Walking through our office, you can also see that people have their names written down and what their flex arrangements are, whether it be leaving early to pick up the kids, or coming in late so [they] can do that morning gym class. It also allows for coverage to be managed within teams,” says Nutt.

Overcoming resistance to achieve strong results

Embracing an adaptive approach to flexibility hasn’t come without pushback from some stakeholders. A key success factor of this program has been laying the groundwork to overcome entrenched and implicit biases. 

As part of the implementation strategy, emphasis was placed on ensuring the buy-in of the project’s frontline leaders. For example, prior to the commencement of the Late-Start program, senior and frontline leaders undertook flexibility training and set the wheels in motion for demonstrating their own workplace flex practices. By using the Flex Boards, leaders were “loud and proud” about the days they left the office early, and encouraged others to do the same. 

Additionally, throughout the program’s delivery, extensive workforce consultation was undertaken. 

It was made clear to leaders that they should feel comfortable voicing any concerns they had about the initiatives. In regard to the Late-Start program, which attracted a high proportion of women with no prior experience in construction, training was provided on appropriate workplace behaviour, how to deliver constructive feedback and building an inclusive culture. 

Formal biannual check-ins were conducted with both managers or supervisors and the participants, to discover which elements of the program were working well, which weren’t and to determine if any additional training was required. 

Nutt added that balancing the timing of initiatives and linking them with business outcomes has helped to change perspectives. 

“Having those different work rosters allowed for the business to not see it as a negative impact, which then shifts mindsets for leaders.” 

The response to the WC’s flexibility initiatives has been overwhelmingly positive, with 83 per cent of respondents in a February Pulse survey saying they felt supported when requesting flexible arrangements.

“Something that’s [fairly uncommon] in construction is changing the rosters available to our people who are working in field-based, blue-collar positions,” says Nutt.

“We’re soon going to have 20 or so employees continuing that Late-Start roster. What’s more, the Late-Start is now being put into our tenders for future projects. Not only does it remove barriers of entry for female workers, it also normalises flexibility in construction and is becoming a standard way of working at John Holland for all genders.” 

“Our flexibility initiatives have demonstrated agility in being more responsive to what we’re hearing and seeing in the industry.” – Stefanie Nutt, People and Culture Director, M7-M12 Integration project

An employee-centric approach

From its inception, the WC has been led by employees and supported by leaders; a structure central to the success of its engagement and outcomes, say Mecozzi and Nutt. 

For one, the ten WC ambassadors have been instrumental in sharing communications, boosting engagement on the ground and being the ‘face’ of health and wellbeing initiatives.

“When you have passionate ambassadors who are willing to go that extra mile to make sure the place they work in is engaging, you’re going to get so much greater engagement and retention of your people,” says Nutt. 

“The voices within the team build culture. The leaders just set the strategy for enabling that to happen.”

One initiative driven by employees has been the addition of a ‘Mental Health Check In’ to field employees’ start cards.

“We have a QR code scattered around the site where people can log ideas on how our workplace can be improved. One of our subcontractors put in a suggestion to include an element of ‘what’s your mental health like today’ in our pre-start meetings,” says Mecozzi. 

While this type of assessment may not work for all workplaces without first building a foundation of psychological safety, the employee-suggested initiative was tested in a trial and has received a positive reception across the M7-M12 Integration project.

“[In the WC] we workshopped [the suggestion] and got a model together. We received good feedback from trials and have rolled that out now, with people undertaking [the assessment] daily. It was really good to see that it came from an idea from the workforce.”

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Charting pathways for career development

The M7-M12 Integration project’s commitment to promoting employee wellbeing has helped contribute to an impressive turnover rate of just four per cent, in comparison to the construction industry’s average of 9.2 per cent. 

A recent John Holland engagement survey also revealed wellbeing scored the highest for employees, far outpacing other factors.

As well as enhancing employee experiences, the WC initiatives have also helped foster a workplace culture where team members actively contribute to creating their desired work environment and have boosted career progression, training and education, resulting in 39 employee promotions since the project’s commencement in 2023.

While reaping the benefits of the WC’s efforts is reward enough, being nominated for an AHRI award for this work is the cherry on top, says Nutt.

“To have an industry body of HR professionals recognise that we are doing something innovative in our field and industry makes me really proud.”

For Mecozzi, AHRI’s award nomination is a celebration of their tireless efforts to prioritise wellbeing in a challenging environment. 

“This is all on top of our day jobs. We don’t do it to be recognised, but it is a motivator to keep pushing the boundaries to come up with new ideas.”