What is the recruitment industry’s attitude to WFH?

Are recruiters likely to practice what many are preaching?

One of the most talked and written about impacts of Covid on the economy is the widescale acceptance of working from home (WFH). Essentially, any business where employees could execute job tasks remotely participated in the stampede to roll out new technology, or made more extensive use of the tools they were already using.

But how times have changed. There used to be a time when ‘working from home today’ was code for nursing a hangover, or was used for extending the weekend by an extra day. (Or two!)

And some organisations, most notably Yahoo! in 2013, adopted policies that ended WFH as an optional practice, forcing home workers back to the office or prompting resignations. However, most now regard the option to WFH as part of the accepted employment mix.

Of course for recruiters, in a highly competitive jobs market where some skills are in short supply, WFH is an important element in attracting candidates. In consultation with clients, many are making sure advertised roles clearly indicate those where the benefit of remote working is included.

But what of the recruitment industry itself? Does it favour practicing what is being preached? In the words of the popular business idiom, does it want, in effect, to eat its own dogfood?

The appetite for WFH within the recruitment sector

The beneficial effects of WFH are widely documented, and for most, the advantages are truly compelling. Avoiding stressful commuting prevents starting the day on the wrong foot; fewer casual interruptions improve productivity; the ability to better balance home life and work. And if they are not quite enough for some, it also makes it easier for staff to step up in times of high demand, through making working late and overtime less of a bind.

There was much speculation during the summer that governments might legislate to make WFH a right. However, many, including hospitality business owners such as some in Australia, highlighted the downside risk in promoting a permanent wholesale cultural shift towards WFH.

Like many office-based roles, recruitment lends itself to WFH. Established communications and information technologies can be deployed to any remote location, in effect making any recruiter or other agency staff member’s home a satellite office. Interacting with clients, candidates, new business prospects or other 3rd parties can be easily and effectively carried out, as many have discovered, as a result of Covid.

Anecdotally, the appetite within the recruitment sector for WFH broadly reflects the bigger picture obtained through surveys from across the wider economy:

• Hybrid model – Around half of recruitment businesses are likely to opt for a permanent hybrid work model of part-home and part-office working.
• WFH model – Approximately a quarter see permanent WFH as an employment model, potentially slashing costs by enabling a no-bricks approach through eliminating the need for a geographic centre.
• Office model – Roughly one quarter are leaning towards going back to the office as fully as possible, although, probably without the blunt approach shown by Yahoo! in 2013!

Support for WFH, office-based and hybrid working models from ETZ

ETZ’s timesheet, invoicing and payment system is perfect for any agency, whatever model it uses to manage its internal resource. Whether you opt for WFH, office-based or a hybrid working model, ETZ uses industry standard web technologies. The platform allows your business to easily adopt any degree of remote working that you desire.

Agencies maximise the value from RecTech investment, and with security and compliance all buttoned down tight, ETZ provides peace of mind that your agency data is safe and your regulatory obligations are met in full. To find out more about how we simplify the complexity of RecTech for agencies like yours, call us on +61 (0) 405 458 821 or book a demo.