Sabbaticals: A Strategic Tool for Improving Bottom Line Results

by Rita Foley

Corporations that offer sabbaticals don’t do it as a nicety. They do it because it’s good for employees, for the company, and for customers.

Laurent Hamels -- Fotolia.com

Most of us have worked since we were in our late teens or early 20s, so of course it’s natural to crave some time off. Here are six reasons more companies are implementing sabbatical programs:

Employees return rejuvenated: Close to 100 percent of sabbatical takers return to their companies with higher levels of engagement, loyalty, motivation and appreciation for their employers. Research shows a high percentage of promotion and improved performance levels among sabbatical takers. But companies that provided sabbaticals only by exception, rather than as policy, had more sabbatical takers who did not return to work or remain employed with the company.

Clients will allow it: Some companies, especially professional firms, say the intense one-on-one relationship with clients prohibits sabatticals. The reality is many such firms offer sabbaticals. One law firm partner told me that sabbaticals actually help neutralize the ego factor. “It’s not healthy for the firm if a client gets too dependent on just one person.”

It can be cost efficient: This is another one that is especially hard for lawyers or other firms who share profits. But if everyone takes a sabbatical, then, at one time or another, each will cover for another and the profit washes out. Some companies offer only partial pay for sabbatical takers, but even for those who offer full pay, a sabbatical program shouldn’t cost you. Maybe at a clerical level you might have to hire a temp, but with careful preparation and juggling, work can usually be covered by existing employees.

Implementation is essential: It’s all in the preparation. The companies I spoke to have a very simple and effective system. Upon approaching the sabbatical year, an employee writes a memo to their boss requesting the specific time off. They then meet and outline coverage.

Stagger sabbaticals: In a formal program, one of the main concerns is how to start the implementation with tenured employees who have passed the five- or seven-year mark -- some many times. Most companies simply stagger leaves over a three-year period.

The bottom line: Our nation will lose its innovation and creativity if we don’t invest in our most important asset: our employees. We tune up our PCs, our cars, and our home heaters. Why not encourage people to give their minds and spirits a tune-up? Time and time again, sabbatical takers return as more interested and engaged employees, more loyal and more creative. Sabbaticals broaden a company by bringing in new ideas.

Loyalty alone should justify implementing a program. The cost of hiring and training a new employee can be 1.5 times a departing worker’s salary. Sharon Allen, Deloitte’s chairwoman, said her firm’s sabbaticals and flexibility policies had saved more than $45 million a year by reducing turnover.

A sabbatical program is a wonderful tool for checking an organization’s depth and breadth. Managers must proactively focus on developing their staff, complete succession planning, and provide training and exposure to teams. Sabbaticals promote teamwork and better decision-making.


Twenty per cent of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For offer fully paid sabbaticals. If you want to be a workplace of choice while still adding to the bottom line and the company’s future, consider implementing a sabbatical program.

Rita Foley is an adviser with Crenshaw Associates and is a co-author of Reboot Your Life: Energize Your Career and Life by Taking a Break.

Do you have expert advice to share? E-mail Kristen.

One way to mitigate the health insurance coverage crisis

The census bureau says 15.4 percent of people living in the U.S. lack health insurance.

One of the primary obstacles self-employed people and small business owners face in getting health insurance is the high cost. Chamber President Mark Goldstein announced at our December 1 luncheon that our members can now get supplemental health insurance at group rates through Transamerica and Aflac.

We’ll have an informational meeting December 11, 9 a.m., at Belhaven College -- 2301 Maitland Center Parkway, Bldg. 200 Suite 165 -- in Maitland. Representatives from both companies will present program benefit options and answer your questions.

To attend this meeting, please make a reservation by by calling the chamber office at (407) 814-1124. Or send an e-mail from the chamber Web site.

If you are not currently a chamber member, now might be a great time to join. You can find membership information on the Web site. Chamber representatives will be at the December 11 meeting if you wish to join at that time.

Flu needn't leave us wallowing in misery

News that a colleague contracted the flu -- yes, that flu -- led me to write. As increasing numbers of the clunkily named H1N1 flu are reported, it’s easy -- dare I say tempting -- to give in to fear and dismay.

Let’s not. That will not help our employees, our clients, or our community.

There are several important things to remember about H1N1:

It’s no worse than the normal seasonal flu. In fact, some cases are milder. So far this year, 593 deaths nationwide have been attributed to H1N1. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that seasonal flu and its complications kill an average of 36,000 people a year.

“Pandemic” isn’t as scary as it sounds. It just means the disease has been found on more than one continent. While this was unusual 100 years ago, air travel has made intercontinental transmission much easier.

Young people are more at risk. Usually, the elderly are at an increased risk for flu, but with H1N1, people over 64 are more likely to have resistance due to exposure to a related strain earlier in their lives. Younger people lack this immunity.

It's not swine flu. The virus was misidentified early on because of its similarity to swine flu. An inappropriate amount of media coverage followed, spurred by memories of the swine flu epidemic of the 1970s.

The CDC advises these precautions for all cold and flu viruses:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Then throw away the tissue.


• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs spread this way.


• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough, sneeze or touch your eyes, nose, or mouth (because we all will, especially when we're trying not to). Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are also effective.


• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.


• If you have a flu-like illness, stay home until your fever has been gone (without the aid of fever-reducing medicines) at least 24 hours.

What employers can do:

• Offer your employees paid sick leave. One of the primary reasons people work while sick is that they cannot afford to lose pay.


• Make sure no one in your company is “indispensable.” Cross-training will ensure that staff members do not work while sick just because no one else is able to do what they do. Every person in your company -- including the owner -- should have a backup.


• Sponsor flu shots for your staff. Reimburse employees for all or part of the cost of a flu shot. in addition to the seasonal flu vaccine, an H1N1 vaccine will be available this fall.


• Keep a clean workplace. Flu viruses can survive on surfaces like door knobs for up to 8 hours. Clean regularly with disinfectant.


• Educate yourself. General information about influenza is available at the easy-to-remember flu.gov, while information specific to business owners is available here.