The consultancy environment is categorised by a client’s needs for services to be available 24/7, 365 days a year, out-performing, out-competing, out-smarting, and out-working the competitors. The competition among competitors and among tech-companies for talent is high; not all (young) talents are willed to accept permanent availability. These talents often ask about remote and flexible working arrangements during the interview process – whether it be part-time, home-based, travel arrangements, adopted career plans, temporary work, on-call work, or contract employment solutions.
In Switzerland in the year 2017, 64% of students with a bachelor-degree are aged between 20 and 24 years and 73% of the master-degree holders are aged between 25 and 29 years. In the year 2013, 65% of women between 25 and 29 with a university degree want children. It is important to innovate hiring practices – and offer attractive employment - in order to convince young talent to join your team. Being able to hire and retain good people who need flexible working solutions – because they are parents or for other reasons – is crucial to win the war for talent.
Flexibility at ON-POINT
Since ON-POINTs founding, we have been living and breathing flexibility in many forms:
- One ON-POINT employee, a young man with a family of two children under 3 years, says that flexibility for him means a cost benefit analysis between his family’s financial security and time spent together. He retains complete control of his career decisions, whilst receiving support from ON-POINT in the form of payroll, networking and company events, courses, and transparency around the pricing model. Another male employee with two children under the age of 5 enjoys the flexibility of longer holidays and being able to take holidays with his children during school breaks.
- Our Human Resources expert has a contract with ON-POINT where she can work 20%, spaced across whichever days and at whatever times she wishes. With two children of school going age, she can use her flexible working hours to ensure she is there for her children when they need her. As a human resources expert, she is aware that one disadvantage of flexible working is discipline. ON-POINT’s managing style caters to a variance of personalities and with a combination of trust and structure.
Trust based, flexible relationships are the basis
Increasingly, we are seeing (young) talents dedicating more time to exciting hobbies and social engagements. As an employer, I do not see why this must be contradicting to the business interest. If my employees are seeking the type of lives they wish to live whilst still delivering for and satisfying client needs, I am totally fine with it. Once a trust based relationship is established, ouremployees enjoy and respect it. Our talents figure out their additional needs outside of working life and they are willing to fulfil these needs; in general, this approach leads to more satisfied employees.
The result counts
Companies benefit further from providing these arrangements by benefiting from a more diverse workplace. In addition, the customer of a consulting firm only asks for results. How these results are delivered is left to the consulting company. Thus, the company has enough manoeuvring range to offer flexibility for all talents it is able to attract – and therefore able to retain talent for longer.
Flexibility allows workers to both better define and adapt working times. Regardless of flexible working models, however, customers should be the centre of concern and therefore also our employees will sometimes have to be available during non-working hours for emergency situations. The need to be focused on essential items during work is advantageous for the talent and as well for the company. For the consulting firm and for the talent flexibility means the acceptance that working volume is reduced; this implies that the wage isn’t the one for 100% working hours and that both sides accept a longer career path. For colleagues and company, it is crucial to respect the part-time availability and to arrange meetings during the availability of other colleagues.
In our experience, and speaking to our partners, more employees are asking for flexible working models. Young employees, especially, value the possibility to take longer holidays after a project. Some employees are choosing to work 60-80% during the week. We are observing that there is an increased interest in seeing “working” as a possibility to finance their own start-ups. ON-POINT has had two social enterprises borne out of the flexible working arrangements employees have chosen to take up.
We at ON-POINT develop individual working models to meet the employee’s needs – with the aim to win the “war for talents”.
Interested? – Then contact us! – info@on-point.com
LIST OF CURRENT AVAILABLE ROLES
- Avaloq Junior Consultant
- Avaloq Senior Consultant
- Cut-Over / PMO Consultant
Sources:
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/001979390105500109