ACCOUNTANCY BEYOND THE NUMBERS with Hayes Knight

To Mondayise Or To Not Mondayise?

Whatever your political, social or religious beliefs we all enjoy a good day off work. This year workers were particularly hard done by with Waitangi Day falling on a Sunday and ANZAC Day falling on Easter Monday which is of course already a public holiday. This lead to widespread calls for change to the rules around those particular statutory holidays, and significant media coverage with those in the know debating the pro’s and con’s of Mondayising.

You may have heard that at Hayes Knight we decided to give one of those days back to the team, and so the Hayes Knight day off happened on Valentines Day, Monday February 14.

We considered the debate over whether this diminishes the meaning of the days, but in the end decided that Waitangi Day and Anzac Day are very important days in the history of New Zealand and will still be commemorated on February 6 and April 25. Our day off was simply a gesture to our valued team members to reward them for their hard work and loyalty and to make up in part for two statutory days being missed this year.

So, should everyone be thinking about this? Well, I suggest that everyone thinks about this but definitely do not think that everyone should do it. You see, as with every business decision, it is all about conducting a cost benefit analysis and assessing the decision logically. For us, the goodwill created by giving a day back to our team (one that we as employers would not ordinarily have had anyway) far outweighed the cost of closing for a day. Every business has a different set of drivers and a different cost structure so every decision will be different but the thought process will be similar. Just like any standard investment decision.

If your desire to be a good employer is driving your decision to give a day off, then remember that you need a well thought out and consistent strategy. A random day off will be well received by your team, but quickly forgotten if the rest of your employment practices are below par. To be a good employer you need to provide a safe and healthy workplace, great training, a warm and inclusive environment, clear and consistent feedback and great leadership. I once heard a phrase that resonates strongly for me.

Your team only want three things from the organisation:

Someone to believe in (you as the leader)
Something to believe in (your organisation)
And someone to believe in them

So should we Mondayise these two holidays? I don’t know – let’s leave that for the politicians. What I do know is that if you are an employer, your team will always be one of the most critical aspects to your business and therefore you must have a clear strategic focus on attracting, retaining and developing the stars of tomorrow to ensure the long term sustainable success of your business and to maintain your sanity.

Matthew Bellingham is CEO of innovative chartered accountancy practice Hayes Knight
www.hayesknight.co.nz