Invest Blue sets ‘high standard’ for work/life balance

National advice firm Invest Blue has been recognised as an innovative workplace for its nine-day fortnight initiative.

The 2024 Great Place to Work Australia Insights Report, surveying over 144,000 employees across various industries, explored how businesses are focusing on employee wellbeing and innovative strategies to stay competitive in a tight labour market.

Within the financial advice sector, the paper featured national advice firm Invest Blue as a key example of how practices are driving employee retention.

The report explained: “Invest Blue has set a high standard for work/life balance with their nine-day fortnight, giving employees an extra day off every two weeks. Their ‘Big Book of Benefits’ encompasses six key categories: flexibility, wealth, health, celebration, giving and learning.

“Employees enjoy perks such as free financial planning, wellness budgets, study leave and professional development funding. This comprehensive approach to benefits ensures that employees are supported across all aspects of their lives, from personal growth to financial security.”

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Overall, the report noted that while Australian workplaces face significant challenges, organisations that prioritise trust, purpose and employee wellbeing are fostering strong cultures.

Kasey Patterson, Invest Blue’s head of people and culture, remarked: “I believe we were chosen as we truly care about our people. We want all our people to love what they do and love where they work.

“We believe that when people are happy at work and happy at home, they will bring the best of themselves to work and home. We create the conditions to empower our people to live their best possible life.”

Money Management spoke with Patterson in July to reflect on the success of their nine-day fortnight initiative since they first took the “leap of faith” one-and-a-half years ago.

The structure gave half of the business every second Friday off, with the other half working in the office and vice versa the following week. Staff retained their current working hours on existing days and salaries stayed the same, ultimately giving full-time employees an extra 26 days off per year.

The notable benefits have included strong financial results, increased client meetings per adviser, record-high engagement rates and spiked interest levels from job applicants, Patterson observed.

“We set key measures of success that we wanted to monitor over the trial period, all of which trended in a positive direction, which was an outcome that we were looking for,” she said.

“After the six-month period, we implemented it as an ongoing people benefit. After 12 months, all the metrics were looking the right way which included quantitative metrics as well as a survey we did asking our staff about morale, motivation and work/life balance.”

She continued: “It’s been really successful; I don’t see it going away. I’m proud to be a part of a business that is traditional in nature, but has taken on board the research across the world that people value flexibility. By giving staff some time off, it really does improve their health and wellbeing which then improves their productivity at work.”

Moreover, Invest Blue managing director David Stephen recently revealed how outsourcing has helped the advice business achieve its growth aspirations, through Vital Business Partner.

With one-third of its workforce operating in the Philippines and looking after back-end administrative responsibilities, this has enabled its Australian advisers to focus on more high-value tasks and service a greater number of clients.