By Madeline Paddock, Digital Marketing Executive at ITR Partners discusses how workplace wellbeing is prioritised in the recruitment business.
Recruitment is a terribly busy industry, with some people referring to it as a not-so-distant cousin of Sales.
Any recruiter will tell you that there are high highs in hiring– including making the perfect placement, changing the lives of candidates, and building long term relationships with clients.
However, with the high high’s come the low low’s that can take their toll on recruitment consultants of all levels.
This means that it is important to prioritise mental health and workplace wellbeing to protect staff from becoming overwhelmed, demotivated, and burned out. In this condensed candidate market, it is more important than ever to attract and retain top talent for your business. Going the extra mile with your wellbeing initiatives could do just that!
Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have seen an increase in flexibility across a number of industries as we were forced to change our working habits. We have welcomed flexible working, from working from home and remote working, to stand up desks and compressed hours – many of which we have introduced at ITR Partners.
Important workplace wellbeing initiatives
Although we have always been proud of our wellbeing and benefits package, we have also introduced some new ones over the recent years to further support our growing teams and go beyond the average offering of wellbeing benefits.
We make a habit of asking our consultants to disclose which benefits they value the most so that we can build a happier workforce in the long run.
4 ½ day working week
We have been offering a 4 ½ day working week for over a year now, and it has been possibly the most popular benefit we offer so far. If our team hits their weekly target, then everyone can take Friday afternoon off every week.
The 4-day working week has been a popular topic in the news recently, with over 70 firms, and 3,300 employees taking part in the nationwide six-month trial. Whilst this is a great idea to improve productivity and boost office morale, we chose to take a slightly different route to accommodate our unique team.
ITR Partners Director Greg Evans explained why we chose to introduce the 4 ½ day working week, over the 4-day working week:
“We love the idea of a 4-day week but tend to find that a lot of our processes close off on a Friday in recruitment. Additionally, Friday is a really popular day for people to be in the office and the team tend to like heading out for a team lunch or catch up.
We then build towards ‘pay day Friday off’ and a half day on Fridays for everyone if the office is on target. Where possible we like to reward individual performance of course but find celebrating as a team creates a more positive environment and cultivates a better team vibe.”
Mental health first aid
We recently introduced two mental health first aiders to the ITR team to better support and understand the entire team’s physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Our Senior Recruitment Consultant’s Agnes Hammer and Laura Preston undertook a QA Level 3 Award in Mental Health First Aid in the Workplace that will help them to actively promote positive mental health in the workplace and recognise when and if someone is struggling.
Giving back to our consultants
We like to give back to our consultants as much as possible, as many have shown incredible loyalty over the years. Our Principal Lead Consultant Jack Axton has just celebrated his 5-year anniversary with ITR Partners, which is something we are very proud of.
Every consultant receives time back during their working day to hit personal goals. Activities like meditation, going for a long walk, and heading to the gym are popular amongst our consultants, and the idea behind this is to encourage and inject more physical activity into a traditionally sedentary job. Mental health and physical health often go hand in hand, and many of our consultants may struggle to find the time to prioritise these activities outside of work without this initiative.
Has workplace wellbeing improved?
We often undertake employee engagement surveys, and when we asked our consultants “Why did you join the team?” one of our consultants kindly explained:
“The employee satisfaction at ITR Partners was the first thing that caught my attention. Company culture is very much one of trust and freedom, they are results orientated and not KPI orientated.”
Our open-minded, informal, and flexible culture has allowed us to build a team of genuinely happy people that want to go above and beyond to succeed, which has naturally developed from looking after them and taking their wellbeing seriously, both inside and outside of work.
Jesse Pitts has been with the Global Banking & Finance Review since 2016, serving in various capacities, including Graphic Designer, Content Publisher, and Editorial Assistant. As the sole graphic designer for the company, Jesse plays a crucial role in shaping the visual identity of Global Banking & Finance Review. Additionally, Jesse manages the publishing of content across multiple platforms, including Global Banking & Finance Review, Asset Digest, Biz Dispatch, Blockchain Tribune, Business Express, Brands Journal, Companies Digest, Economy Standard, Entrepreneur Tribune, Finance Digest, Fintech Herald, Global Islamic Finance Magazine, International Releases, Online World News, Luxury Adviser, Palmbay Herald, Startup Observer, Technology Dispatch, Trading Herald, and Wealth Tribune.