Insights

Don’t worry. This is not a new recruitment buzzword invented by clever marketers! Flexa is a globally recognised accreditation for companies that prove they offer genuinely flexible working options for their people, and we are now an accredited member.

It’s a significant achievement for us. From day one, we set out to do things differently, and we have always recognised and understood the importance of not just where someone works but why and how they can work. We make sure this belief translates into our relationships with our team, clients, and candidates to enhance what we do and deliver.

Completing our application got us talking and thinking about flexible working and its place in business and recruitment.

Here are some of our thoughts…

It’s commercial thinking.

In giving an employee flexibility, you are helping them achieve work-life balance. No employer or recruiter can afford not to take it seriously. You can guarantee your competitors are, and therefore, more likely to secure the best talent. In a competitive world, flexibility makes business and recruitment sense.

It’s culture, not just reward.

It’s easy to see flexible working as a series of concessions, and many businesses do. Work at home, flexible hours, childcare… But this is becoming old-school thinking. Flexibility is now an attitude, a process of continual adaption and an increasingly important value for your employer brand’s future.

Flexibility is the new normal.

The pandemic changed lots of things. We were all forced into a world of remote working and had to adapt and innovate fast and now there’s no going back. Flexibility and different are here to stay. Hybrid models should be embraced and “you’re on mute” will continue to be one of the day’s most frequently heard phrases.

Flexible is a reputational issue.

Flexible working is a statement about your business and brand and therefore critical to the search for talent! For example, Elon Musk demanded that all workers return to the office or resign at the end of the pandemic restrictions, and Google used what it learned to enhance its hybrid model. We’ll leave you to discuss the respective wrongs, rights, and impacts!

What can you do to attract and retain talent in this ‘hybrid era’?

• Make the possibilities of flexible working an explicit part of the brief and job specification.
• Be in tune with different types of flexible working.
• Present flexibility as an authentic part of your business culture and employer brand.
• Demonstrate that flexible arrangements can be reviewed as circumstances change.
• Be transparent and compliant on current legislation and knowledgeable about what’s coming.
• Be prepared to listen openly to a candidate’s requests, even if they are unusual. 

Above all else, be flexible. It creates trust and belonging.