GatenbySanderson Agile Working

The below article featured on The Recruiter online.

Most organisations are grappling with how to balance workforce home working and connectivity. While some people are happy to stay working from home indefinitely, others ache to be back amongst colleagues. So how do you find the right balance?

GS has offices nationally, but your choice of workplace is up to you; there is no expectation to be in the office unless you want to be. You may want to attend an office for one of our weekly/monthly socials, or to work, but the choice is yours.     

When we went into the first lockdown, GS had already been piloting agile working across the organisation, which meant we were very well placed to continue ‘business as usual’ across our business streams. Our management priorities quickly shifted to protecting our people first and protecting our business. Work continued at pace, despite the disruption of the pandemic, and our public service leadership focus meant we were often at the heart of rapid change. Our financial stability ensured we didn’t have to resort to any redundancies through that period and, in fact, continued to recruit. We listened and responded to the needs and concerns of our people, and continued to build on our open and collaborative culture.        

As we enter 2022, our thinking around what agile means at GS has again been informed by our people. Our recent survey identified that the ability to work from any workplace and be agile with regard to working hours is of upmost importance, for commercial and work-life balance reasons, and further cemented our strategy to continue with this approach, instead of mandating people back to offices. Here is what our people said:  

“I work hours that are more suitable for our clients and candidates.”   

“It means that my child doesn’t have to spend 10 hours a day at school and I can go for a walk or the gym at a time that suits me.”    

“Agile working means that I am able to meet my family and non-work commitments without compromising my ability to do a demanding full-time job at GS.”   

“I can go the gym in the morning and get home, shower and get ready for the day without waking at the crack of dawn. This allows me to wake up fully before work and focus better during work and is generally a lot better for my mental health.”   

“Agile allows me to work effectively around my mental health condition.”   

“I can be an active parent and be more present to family life, as well as having the opportunity to manage my wellbeing by integrating fitness and exercise. Time flexibility also makes life so much easier.”    

“I can work from other locations e.g. parents in Devon, now that they are both in their 80s and their health is deteriorating.”     

Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to our culture, and by offering this level of flexibility, we can meet the requirements or adjustments necessary for our people to balance their wellbeing and caring responsibilities with their commitment to work. We have always had the option to buy back additional holiday, but this year we will be going one step further and offering term-time only working hours if required. Courage is a core value at GS and we are proud to live up to this value with a bolder approach than most companies could, or are prepared to, consider.

So come and have a chat and see how working for GS can work for you. Due to growth, we have a variety of opportunities across Research, Project Co-ordination and Consulting roles on the horizon. Visit www.joinwww.gatenbysanderson.com to find out more.       

Share this article

Related Articles