HR and recruitment is best sector for flexibility

HR and Recruitment is the best sector for flexible and remote working, with eight in 10 employers offering remote-first or fully-remote jobs, according to flexible jobs platform Flexa.

Flexa ranked organisations based on their working locations, hours and flexible benefits, cross-referencing the flexibility advertised by companies against employee feedback. This gave the HR and recruitment sector a score of 88 out of 100.

It found that 60% of HR and recruitment firms are remote-first, where staff predominantly work from home but occasionally have team meet-ups, while 20% are fully-remote with no requirement to be in the office.

Eighty-four per cent of HR and recruitment companies offer enhanced parental leave, compared with 48% of employers across all sectors.

The top five most flexible organisations in the HR and recruitment industry identified by Flexa are:

1. JBM – a remote-first recruitment agency that offers enhanced parental leave and four-day weeks
2. People & Transformational HR – a fully remote HR transformation business where benefits include fertility treatment leave
3. Boldly – a staffing start-up that offers mental health support and enhanced parental leave
4. Collins Property Recruitment – a property recruitment firm where staff get unlimited annual leave and the option to “work from anywhere”
5. Austin International – a tech recruitment agency with an optional dog friendly office
6. Unleashed – a remote-first people and culture company that offers adoption leave and 4.5 day-weeks

Molly Johnson-Jones, co-founder and CEO of Flexa, said: “The HR and recruitment industry’s bread and butter is people, so it’s no surprise that the sector is leading the way when it comes to flexible working. HR professionals are most in tune with what workers want – and what they want is flexibility.

“Our data shows a sharp decline in the number of employers offering remote-first roles more widely, despite huge demand amongst job seekers. HR and recruitment firms – like JBM, Austin International and Unleashed – are bucking this trend. And by listening to and answering workers’ demand for remote work, they stand to gain and retain top talent.”

Hannah Urbanek, head of marketing and partnerships at JBM said: “Our people are our greatest asset, here at JBM. That’s why we offer flexible benefits including four-day work weeks, mental health days, and a work-from-anywhere scheme.

“All of these benefits enable our team to do their best work when and where it suits them – no matter whether that’s at our office in Bermondsey or from the beach.”

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