BMO Financial Group has long had a workplace flexibility policy on the books, but about 18 months ago, its human resources staff noticed something unsettling: Many women in its commercial bank were turning down roles once they reached the vice president or director level, or even leaving the bank entirely.
Afraid to be seen as less committed than their male counterparts, female employees were less likely to take advantage of the flexibility options and many ultimately left the company, rather than stay and try to balance work with their personal lives.
Simply having a policy on the books wasn’t enough, said Larissa Chaikowsky, the U.S. chief human resources officer of BMO Financial Group.
“Sometimes when you have a policy that is that broad, there’s not enough clarity about ‘what does that really mean for me?’ So what we decided to do was create a more formalized workplace flexibility program in our commercial bank,” she said.
BMO Financial and its Chicago subsidiary, BMO Harris Bank, then set about learning how to actually make those flexible working policies come to life for employees. The company started with its commercial bank because that’s where the gender disparity was the starkest.
First, BMO needed buy-in from the top. The company asked managers what was preventing them from making flexible working arrangements with their employees and brought in a partner from PwC to speak to its executive team. BMO used its findings from employee engagement surveys and focus groups when training managers about flexible working arrangements and, finally, hosted webcasts and lunch-and-learns for employees who wanted to know more.
BMO didn’t revamp the policy, but simply articulated what it meant in a real-life context. For one employee, it could mean working at a suburban branch a couple days a week, rather than commuting an hour or more into downtown Chicago. For another, it might mean having the flexibility to travel for softball tournaments.
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Chaikowsky knew the new guidance was working when she heard how one commercial banking group handled having five of its employees all taking maternity leave within a few months of each other. The manager sat down with each woman individually to come up with customized arrangements that worked for everyone. More than six months after returning from maternity leave, all five of those women are still with BMO.
“The No. 1 thing we’re trying to accomplish from a culture perspective is to create the most inclusive environment possible where our employees can bring their best selves to work,” she said. “Part of creating an inclusive environment is allowing people to do what they need to do in their whole life.”
Justine Fedak, head of social media and sponsorships, said she feels like BMO does this well. She described a sudden diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 2001, nine years into her career at BMO. Initially discouraged, she contemplated scaling back her career aspirations only to have then-Chief Executive Bill Downe challenge her on that.
Fedak, who’s now been with the company for 26 years, still remembers his words of encouragement. “While you may have a new road to travel, you are up for the challenge," Downe told her. "Stay on the same path and adapt to your new situation, but focus on what matters to you. You can have the same great career if you want it.”
Headquarters: Chicago
Assets at June 30: $113.2 billion
Return on equity: 5.91%
Return on assets: 0.82%
Female representation among corporate officers: 41%
Female representation on operating committee: 35%
The team: Leslie Anderson, Erica Benjamin, Carolyn Booth, Lily Capriotti, Larissa Chaikowsky, Justine Fedak, Dawn Feenstra, Sharon Howard-Laird, Sandra Henderson, Summer Hinton,
