Up until a few years ago, salary was the number one priority for candidates. Whether that was retaining current employees or hiring new talent, salary was the ultimate factor. However, we are finding that this is no longer the top priority given the benefits that have become apparent in flexible working and rising childcare costs.
These days, there are a number of factors at play that are driving employee engagement and retention with 89% of employees championing a hybrid or fully remote working environment, flexibility and a work-life balance.
There is currently a huge pressure on parents balancing financial priorities with ever-increasing childcare fees. Coupled with childcare staffing shortages is resulting in families questioning which companies to work for and prioritising those with flexible working arrangements in place to help alleviate some of the financial pressure and time constraints around family life.
Anna Whitehouse, author and founder of Flex Appeal comments: “It’s time for employers to let their employees flex around their childcare challenges. Just like we did in the pandemic, only now the shoe is on the other foot. We can’t let talent fall out of the workplace, we need to support parents with flexible hours, locations, and yes even [let their] kids [appear] on Zoom.”
EDGE 1 has embraced a flexible approach to working offering a remote/hybrid approach to staff and embracing a family first culture, and our team of Talent Acquisition Managers are keen to advise other companies on the benefits that this can produce in terms of staff retention, employee wellbeing and ultimately productivity.
Richard Drew, a Talent Acquisition Manager at EDGE 1 has provided his own thoughts on this:
Becoming a single parent was not part of the overall life plan so when it happens, trying to abate the commercial anxiety and how it may affect working life becomes ever more prevalent.
As we now adjust to post covid life, I feel that one of the major positive changes to evolve out of the 2 years of chaos has been switching to a hybrid working model.
In my early recruitment years post 2000 and all the way up to 2018, you could not even ask for time off for a Dr’s appointment without some sneering remark from management about “KPI’s being light” or “it sets the wrong example to the new hires”. To ask for the opportunity to work from home 1 day per week would have no-doubt resulted in a written warning for insubordination.
Thankfully, this age of micro-management is in decline and the companies that still follow this principle are in the minority. But Recruitment companies can still be slightly archaic when it comes to this.
The article via Forbes gives some interesting statistics around this with the main data statistics showing the figures:
Increased productivity
- 65% of workers said they would be more productive in a home office than a normal office.
- 75% of workers say they will be more productive due to reduced distractions.
- 83% of employees feel they do not need an office to be productive.
- Two-thirds of employers’ report increased productivity for remote workers compared to in-office workers.
Remote Work Study Shows The Possibility Of A New Corporate Two-Class System (forbes.com)
Having a flexible working policy in place, and a family first ethos that helps to support working families is absolutely crucial.
I felt that I could easily manage my workload daily but just needed some flexibility around when I could get into the office. As human-beings, it’s amazing how resilient we can be if surrounded by a business that values you as an employee and empowers you to take control of your work life in a way that suits you.
I was selected to lead the Data Engineering recruitment and help support the wider team in sourcing Project Managers, Business Analysts, Software Engineering, and SRE’s for a major UK retailer was a huge boost to my confidence in terms of ability in juggling childcare with working effectively!
My company recognised the importance of setting the right working charter for me but all the time reassuring me I had the right skills to provide the right customer experience.
Here is what we worked to on a daily basis:
| 7.00am – 8.45am | Getting ready and school run |
| 9.00am – 9.30am | Administration and priority setting |
| 9.30am – 10.00am | Team stand-up to discuss real-time progress on vacancies |
| 10.00am – 12.30pm | MS Teams: Multi Applicant Screening |
| 12.30pm – 1.00pm | Stand up with clients and stakeholders |
| 1.00pm – 2.00pm | Lunch |
| 2.00pm – 3.15pm | Candidate screening |
| 3.15pm – 3.45pm | School run |
| 4.00pm – 6.00pm | LinkedIn projects, individual stakeholder catch-ups and set up for next day |
Weekly charter:
- Worked out childcare arrangement to allow full day of on-site work in London West End on Thursday and some Wednesday’s.
- 15 minute 1-2-1’s with individual hiring managers across the following workstreams:
This structure would sometimes change as life goes on around you, however it was essential to have this working plan as a platform to build from.
The result after 10 enjoyable months of client and recruiter relationships was twenty-five roles filled across Data Engineering, Data Warehousing, Data Science, Business Intelligence and Product Data Analytics.
Working within a hybrid working model at a stressful time in my private life has made me feel empowered, trusted, valued, creative and above all confident in my abilities as a recruiter to provide a world-class customer experience for clients & candidates.
Thanks, team, for helping me bounce-back, it’s very much appreciated 😊
Is it goodbye to the traditional 9-5?
Is the norm of working 9-5 fading away? If you’re looking to attract, engage and retain the top talent, flexibility is the key. By providing employees the freedom to work in a hybrid or fully remote model and feel at ease with a positive work-life balance it will undoubtedly improve their engagement and productivity levels.
It’s now more important than ever to get the correct strategy in place for EVP, DE&I and creating the best culture for the workforce. Want to find out more? Contact us to arrange a quick chat about how we can help you embed culture fit hiring into your company.
