Recruiters - it's not just about the money

Cast your mind back 15 plus years if you can, when the recruitment industry was experiencing the highs, the lack of social media meant we had to actually "talk" to people to get anywhere and recruiters were working 12 hours plus per day.

Flexible working in recruitment as a concept was laughed at, considered only for those who had babies and wanted to return to work. The rest of us were expected to sit at our desks and get on and recruit....and to stop complaining about it.

Fast forward to 2018 and I would say without a doubt, flexible working is the biggest discussion that we have with clients and candidates on a weekly basis. Just this week we sat down with the director of a privately owned business who said that they were looking at introducing core hours and giving staff the freedom to choose their daily working pattern. Even better, he was trialling it for a month, monitoring performance to ensure that he could comfortably demonstrate to the owners of the business that giving people more of a work life balance would not have a negative impact upon the ability to achieve target. In fact, staff were being consulted throughout the trial and were openly asked for feedback and recommendations. Why? Because companies need to bend and shape in order to attract and ultimately retain the best talent in a highly candidate short market.

This is what we have found recruiters want when it comes to flexible working...

• The ability to start later a couple of times a week to drop children off /pick up from school and to show their face in the playground. Not only is it important for children to feel their parental presence, but relationships and bonds are formed over the 5 minute drop off at school with other parents.
• Trust from managers that they won't abuse the system. Most recruiters that we talk to feel that their day would have more structure.
• An early Friday finish. We all know that often we get to Friday and if it's been a busy week you can easily sit and clock watch. People want the option to be able to plan more time with family and friends at the weekend. Recruitment is tough and we all need down time
• The option to work from home once in a while and not just because the new oven is being delivered. Taking a break from working in the office can result in a far more productive day if you don't have Bob and Sue to chat to all day long.
• Choice. Plain and simple. Recruiters want to know that they have options in front of them allowing them to pursue hobbies or spend more time with family and friends.

A recent study conducted by powwownow found that 70% of millennials surveyed would choose flexible working over pay and in this highly candidate short recruitment market, these are the candidates that you will need to be attracting in order to grow your business.

The beauty of introducing flexible working is that it doesn't cost you anything financially. However, it does require you to invest your trust in your staff and often that is the main reason that most companies aren't willing to change.

However, in this highly competitive recruitment market that we work in on the South Coast I can tell you now that those clients growing and hiring successfully are those that are willing to break the mould.

We are always on hand to advise our clients on flexible working options and we can also offer our candidates a plethora of opportunities on the South Coast with recruitment businesses that are already ahead of the curve!