Are you ignoring 14.1m potentially great job seekers?

Advertising ‘flexible working opportunties’ can increase your Candidate pool.

With unemployment in the UK falling to 5.1% (the lowest since 2006) and Skills Shortages faced by many sectors, the Candidate market continues to tighten. With 83% of businesses planning to hire staff in the next 3 months*, organisations need to use a range of attraction techniques to find the best Candidates.

Do you advertise Flexible working opportunities in your vacancies?

46% of the working population want job flexibility. Flexible working shouldn’t just be considered for low paid, low skilled positions. The talent pool for people seeking flexible roles is huge – 5.4 million people work in flexible roles and 8.7 million are working full time and want flexibility.

Employers underestimate how much flexibility is a benefit to potential hires. 43% of applicants fear asking for flexibility in job interviews will dampen their chances of getting the job. Most companies are comfortable offering flexible working, often utilised to fit around family commitments. However, only 6.2% of vacancies over £20k+ advertise flexible working. Many people find themselves taking positions below their skill and salary level to secure flexibility, or get stuck in their current flexible position with no appropriate jobs to go to. Resulting in employers missing out on talented staff.

Timewise recently compiled the first ever nationwide report into the flexible recruitment market, focusing on ‘quality’ roles with an annual salary of £20,000+ and their recommendation is:

“Employers simply have to ask themselves: ‘For the best Candidate, will I consider flexible working for this role?’ Then if the answer is ‘yes’, say so in their recruitment advertising. This doesn’t commit an employer to making the role flexible, it just means being open to discussion for the right Candidate.”

More of the UK workforce wants flexibility and this is not reflected in the current hiring market. To tap into this underutilised talent pool, why not consider mentioning flexible opportunities in your next vacancy. Or, if you would like advice on attracting talent and increasing the quality of your applicants, please get in touch.

Sources:
*https://www.rec.uk.com/news-and-policy/press-releases/businesses-need-thoughtful-approach-to-hiring-as-labour-market-tightens-rec

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/january-2016/statistical-bulletin.html

http://timewise.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Timewise_Flexible_Jobs_Index.pdf