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3 wishesElevating HR in
Professional Services
0845 345 3300 [email protected] www.theaccessgroup.com @AccessGroupHR
A research report by Access Group
Background
A recent survey commissioned by Access sought to address three primary areas
of concern for HR directors in Professional Services. Those of environmental
factors such as the introductions of fl exible working legislation and issues
around the on-boarding and talent management of the increasingly benefi t-savvy
Generation Y’s. Finally, how HR teams are perceived within professional services
organisations, how those perceptions manifest themselves and what changes,
if any, are required to progress the statute of HR directors as true leaders within
these types of businesses.
Flexibility
1. Seamless fl exible workingSimply put, fl exible working is a way
of working that suits an employee’s
needs, for example, having fl exible
start and fi nish times, job-sharing,
term-time working or working from
home. Starting in June of 2014, all
employees who have worked for their
employer for 26 continuous weeks are
able to request more fl exible working
patterns. Previously this opportunity
was only open to parents of children,
and carers. Its impact on businesses is
yet to be fully determined.
The right to request fl exible working
has not always been welcomed by
employers, in particular by small and
medium sized organisations where
staff numbers are usually small
and who fear that large numbers
of requests by their workforce for
fl exible working would jeopardise
their ability to operate profi tably.
Whilst the employer has a legal
duty to accept requests and act
upon them within a reasonable
amount of time, they do not have an
obligation to grant those requests,
although they must give good
business reasons for any refusal
such as an additional fi nancial
burden to the company in failure
to meet client service agreements,
or in the hiring of additional staff
to cover outstanding hours. ACAS
provides best-practice guides and
the statutory code, the latter of which
is taken into account by employment
tribunals considering complaints
brought about by employees.
As expected, larger or less specialised
companies have led the way in off ering
fl exible working, however, there are
a growing number of SME’s who are
fi nding the new fl exible way of working
is of benefi t to them too. This has
been demonstrated clearly during
the recent economic downturn when
many employers have worked with
their employees to create more fl exible
working environments, which have
enabled producers to down-scale their
production in line with reduce demand
whilst retaining all of their workforce
–albeit on shorter contracts or diff erent
shift patterns. This willingness to fi nd
alternatives to redundancies has
limited the damage to the UK economy
and is arguably aiding recovery. The
new style of working has also led to a
widening of skill-sets within companies
and the better management of
overheads, whilst also producing
happy employees who have a better
work-life balance (whom we all know
are likely to be more productive than
their unhappy counterparts).
Recent research by Stephen Menko,
UK director of Ortus of HR professionals
found that nine in ten UK professionals
think that fl exible working will become
the dominant employment model in
the near future. HR professionals are
even stronger in this belief as 96%
said it will become the main model,
although they consider the uptake will
be due to business driven gains rather
than for the benefi t of the
employee.
With so many companies re-
thinking the way in which they
work with their employees,
what has been the take-up
and impact of the legislative
changes in Professional
Services companies?
Measuring the impact of extension of fl exible working rights on organisationsAccess’ recent survey found that
when thinking about the impact of
the extension of fl exible
Elevating HR in Professional ServicesIt is no secret that the role of HR is changing. What does this mean for the
Professional Services industry, and what do HR Directors need in order to fulfi l
their new destiny? Our research shed new light on the areas of focus for the
industry when it comes to their people management, how HR Directors are
responding to issues and trends, and what they aspire to for future success.
The trend towards fl exible working patterns is clearly visible within the Professional Services industry.
working rights on their organisations,
the vast majority of HR Manager
respondents (93%) found that there
had been little or no impact on their
businesses to-date from the changes
in legislation. Many Professional
Services companies purported
to already have fl exible working
facilities in place for their staff ,
although a number did mention that
as a result of the legislative changes,
they did need to update their
policies and application forms.
The trend towards fl exible working
patterns is clearly visible within the
Professional Services industry. Over
80% of respondents said they have
seen an increase in fl exible working
patterns within their organisations
over recent years. Clearly the
increase has not been as a result
of the legislative changes, but
moreover because it is quickly being
acknowledged as a more sensible
and benefi cial way of planning the
workforce.
“We have always been pretty fl exible
about working hours within certain
boundaries. We have always said
that if their “team” is okay with the
hours, we (in HR) are as well”.
On the whole, fl exible working
policies were viewed by HR teams
as a positive. “It gives employees
the ability to schedule around family
needs, which in turn makes for
better productivity for the business
as employees are appreciative and
want to the get the work done for
the employer. Employers benefi t
because the more people know
about their fl exibility the larger
potential labour pool they will have
to choose from and the employer
is gaining a better reputation in the
employee work-world as a good
place to work”.
However, a small minority of
organisations (2%) viewed fl exible
working as operationally diffi cult to
implement.
“Where fl exible working is
operationally practical it works
well” however, it appears for these
organisations success is dependent
upon the job functions “for lawyers it is
eff ective, for staff (such as secretaries
or diary clerks) it is disruptive”.
In terms of the overall eff ect on the HR
department of the recent changes, the
vast majority of people felt that there
were no major changes to their way
of working or how their part of the
business operates. Sixteen percent
of people, however, were anticipating
a future rise in their HR workload,
whilst circa 5% acknowledged that
they still have work to do in order to
assess the longer-term impact on their
department.
Employers benefi t because the more
people know about their fl exibility the
larger potential labour pool they will have
to choose from and the employer is gaining
a better reputation in the employee work-
world as a good place to work
More work to be done4.94% (4)
No major changes79.01% (64)
Anticipating a rise in workloads in the future
16.05% (13)
What has been the overall eff ect on the HR department?
Talentmanagement
However, when questioned as to the
longer-term impact of the fl exible
working changes on the business,
respondents were, on the whole, a
little more uncertain with circa 56%
of respondents feeling that there
may be possible disruption ahead
and 5% unsure of what the changes
might bring. 17% of respondents
felt that there would defi nitely be
an impact on their businesses in the
future, whilst 22% didn’t envisage
any impact.
As a result of the fl exible working
changes for employees it could
be assumed that an increase in
contractors, who are not governed
by the same legislative requirements,
might be seen. At present this
appears not to be the case for
Professional Services companies
with only 20% of respondents having
seen a signifi cant increase in the
use of contractors. The majority of
businesses had seen no signifi cant
increase and 23% still didn’t use
contractors within their businesses
anyway. Of those using contractors,
28% felt that the recent raft of
government legislation regarding
the management of contractors had
actually made it more diffi cult for
them to administer the appropriate
paperwork.
Thus it may actually be more
benefi cial for Professional Services
providers to actively engage their
workforces in fl exible working
patterns as a means to increasing
their productivity and ensuring a
more balanced work-life experience
for their employees.
2. Rejuvenating markets and increasingly discerning talentAs the global economy begins to
rejuvenate and gain momentum we
are starting to see the emergence
of new and innovative methods for
organisations to attract top talent
into their businesses, alongside a
recognition by them that they must
also look outside of their traditional
skills sets for more creative
and fl exible talent.
This more fl exible talent
can take the form of
freelancers, contractors and
third-party skilled people as
well as the more traditionally
sourced options. However,
this new type of talent
may not be so enamoured
with traditional infl exible
working methodologies and so
organisations need to appreciate
and accept that the candidates
themselves have more control over
how, when and where they work.
They must therefore adapt the
methods of attracting, on-boarding
and retaining talent in order to be
successful.
Professional Services businesses
in particular are facing challenges
in identifying what their value
propositions are as well as how
to communicate them to an
increasingly global and tech-savvy
population.
According to Professional Services
giants Deloitte, managing talent used
to involve at least a few certainties.
You knew what roles you needed
to fi ll and where you could fi nd the
talent to fi ll them. When people
worked for you, they came to your
building in the morning and left at the
end of the day. You could see and
interact with them. And they could
see you. Today things are diff erent.
Today’s workforces are a mixture
of full-time, part-time, fl exible-
working employees, contractors
and freelancers. Furthermore, in a
world where the economic downturn
has taught us that nothing in life
is certain, people are much more
discerning in who they work for, why
they work for them and the benefi ts
they want to receive. No longer is
it a case of how a candidate can
impress a potential employer, but
instead there is much more of an
equal balance of what the candidate
can do and also what the employer
can provide in terms of benefi ts and
fl exibility.
Yes17.28% (14)
No22.22% (18)
Possibly55.56% (45)
Don’t know4.94% (4)
Do you think that it will have more long-term impact for the business in the future?
In an ever-increasing global
economy businesses expect to be
agile, have the ability to upscale
or downsize in accordance with
market conditions and have the right
skills available to meet with market
demand. These demands mean
that recruitment and retention needs
to be collaborative, transparent,
technology-driven and rapid if those
businesses are to be successful.
So what are the implications
for those managing the HR
businesses of these rapidly-evolving
Professional Services organisations?
As Deloitte rightly identify, HR
leaders need to challenge their core
assumptions about how people
enter the workforce, how they work
together and how they develop
their potential to the benefi t of the
organisation and the individual. It also
means developing new operational
ways of working, from the methods
and channels of recruitment used
through technologically-advanced
on-boarding and talent management
techniques, to helping staff to forward
their careers, in some cases outside
of the organisation. All of this needs
to be done in conjunction with
the evolving market needs of the
organisation and industry sectors!
Attracting and retaining talentThe survey highlighted that as with
everything else in the world, there
appears to be a move away from
‘traditional’ methods of recruiting
using established agencies towards
more ‘tech-savvy’ methods. Whether
this trend was initiated primarily as
a cost-effi ciency exercise or has
its roots in other benefi ts such as
raising brand awareness or nurturing
future talent is to be fully determined.
However, it is clear that the move
is taking place. In excess of 70% of
respondents had seen an increase
in e-recruitment methods over the
course of last year, whilst over 60%
of respondents said that over the
last 12 months they have seen a
move away from using traditional
recruitment agencies in favour of
building their own ‘talent pools’,
which they view as essential for
benefi tting the company with the
exact type of employee they require.
Professional Services companies
are also utilising the power of
social media to fulfi l positions
and to capture information on
potential candidates. Over 80%
of respondents has used social
media channels such as LinkedIn to
advertise vacant positions in their
companies during the last 12 months.
However, it is by no means all bad
news for the recruitment agencies,
which are still ranked as the number
one channel choice of HR partners
looking to recruit new talent into
Professional Services companies. Of
those businesses actively recruiting,
social media was the next most
widely used channel followed by the
use of existing staff and fi nally the
traditional printed advert medium.
However, advertising the positions
via social media may be all well and
good, but easily capturing candidate
information for future company
use was determined to be a great
deal more diffi cult, with 56% of
respondents struggling to import
the candidate data into their existing
talent management systems.
Trends in on-boardingCapturing the candidate experience
was an area of much debate
among the survey participants. The
Professional Services companies
responding used a variety of
methods to capture the candidate
experience of their recruitment
process. There was no overall
consistent approach taken by the
Professional Services businesses
when evaluating the success of their
on-boarding processes. Those fi rms
that did look to evaluate the process
tended to do so via a mixture of
informal interview and more formal
surveys with the candidates and any
recruitment consultants used.
“We get feedback from new
starters and recruitment
agencies”
Rank the recruitment channels in order of most use over the last 12 months,
where 1 is most used.
Channel 1 2 3 4 N/A
Social Media 29.09% 27.27% 16.36% 9.09% 18.18%
Recruitment agencies 34.55% 23.64% 20.00% 12.73% 9.09%
Direct recruitment via printed media 14.55% 20.00% 14.55% 32.73% 18.18%
Existing staff 14.55% 21.82% 34.55% 20.00% 9.09%
HR leaders need to challenge their
core assumptions about how people
enter the workforce, how they work
together and how they develop
their potential to the benefi t of the
organisation and the individual
“We survey applicants, both
successful and unsuccessful
and track satisfaction ratings.”
Many felt their processes were
improving, however, they were far
from ideal. 14% of businesses either
did not evaluate the on-boarding
experience or had no formal method
of capturing the information.
“There is nothing in place
to evaluate. As a Manager
I evaluate it through the
Induction / Probation period -
ad-hoc approach no consistent
approach across business.”
The fi rms that were experienced in
the on-boarding process not only
captured the relevant information
in a formal manner for successful
candidates, but also for the
unsuccessful candidates thus giving
them a picture of their business from
an ‘outside’ perspective.
“Every eff ort is made to engage
the candidate during the
recruitment process, giving
them multiple touch-points and
insight into the work and culture
of the company. As a result, we
know each other very well by
the time an off er is made”.
“It is important that all
candidates form a positive
view of our fi rm, whether or
not successful. We ask for
feedback from successful
candidates at their six week
review”.
“Feedback from line manager
during probation period,
monitoring new staff during
probation period, analysis of
reasons from staff who leave
within six months-one year
provided in exit interviews”
For those Professional Services
companies that did conduct
monitoring of their on-boarding
process, most looked to ascertain
feedback on the recruitment
process particularly in relation to
how the process was received by
the candidate in terms of speed
from application through interview
to hiring and the accuracy of job
description compared to the actual
role. The candidates were asked
what, if anything, the company could
do to improve the process for others.
The more advanced Professional
Services fi rms looked to gain more
comprehensive feedback such as the
quality of the induction process, clarity
of direction given to candidates,
accuracy of the advertised role,
leadership of management and the
overall culture / social integration of
the organisation.
“Induction, leadership, clarity
of direction and information,
culture”
“The right tools to complete
the job for which they have
been employed and the right
direction in where they need
to be headed, focusing and
working towards”
“We would be particularly
keen to ensure the person
had integrated into the
company and understood the
requirements of their role”.
Many of the companies used the
on-boarding process to get to know
the candidate and vice versa, both
through the formal assessment parts
of the process but also through
connecting them with future peers
and inviting them to company
social events. It was important for
these businesses to ensure that the
on-boarding process enabled the
candidate to feel at ease with their
new employer as this would speed
up their integration and ultimately
their contribution to the organisation.
“I review communication with
the individual, has the on-
boarding experience enabled
them to feel at ease with
the organisation and start
performing etc.”
Given the importance of on-boarding
for these types or organisation it
would be reasonable to expect a
high degree of automation and the
use of portals to manage the process.
However, this was not borne-out
in the results of the survey with
only seven percent of respondents
making use of this type of facility.
Making use of on-boarding portalsIn some instances, for certain
employees there can be a long period
of time between off er acceptance
and the employee start date. Whilst
throughout the recruitment process
there will generally have been a high
level of interaction with the candidate,
this can decrease rapidly once an
off er has been accepted causing a
degree of post-signing dissonance
and generally creating employee
anxiety.
In addition there can be high degree
of manual-based administration to be
completed by the member of staff ,
much of which is undertaken only
once the employee has started.
Given the need for Professional
Services companies to be
increasingly fl exible and
technologically advanced, they
need to harness the power on-
boarding technology provides so as
to eliminate post-signing dissonance
and speed up the integration of the
new employee into the organisation.
On-boarding portals do this by
providing easy access to information
and social opportunities for new
starters to enable them to interact
with the organisation, engage with
new team members as well as
complete the many administrative
tasks required of them. The result is
that they feel engaged and ready to
contribute eff ectively from day one.
The survey highlighted that
maintaining contact with new starters
is critical for avoiding any last minute
changes of heart, which given the cost
of recruitment could be disastrous
to an organisation, as well
as improving the speed
of induction of the
individual.
Frequent emails along with providing
company literature and invitations to
induction events were among the
most popular methods of company-
candidate contact amongst Professional
Services companies. Other methods
of maintaining contact included adding
new-starters to the company newsletters,
invitations to social events and team
meetings. All of the approaches were
designed to make the candidate feel at
ease with the organisation whilst fulfi lling
the many compliance requirements of
the business.
The average time cited by 65% of respondents for an employee in professional services to become fully productive was 3-6 months, more than 6 months in 23% of businesses and 10% thought one month was suffi cient.
The compliance
and administrative
processes varied
slightly from business to
business. As expected over
90% of respondents cited the
provision of starter administration
such as bank account details
and next of kin forms as crucial to
the induction process alongside
induction training. Compliance
activities such as statutory health
and safety were considered essential
by over 80% or respondents, whilst
only 65% of respondents felt that an
introduction to the company culture and
participation in employee programmes
was essential for new starters.
Product and services training was
only rated as crucial for productivity
in 62% of Professional Services
organisations and only 42% of
businesses felt that new starters
should establish a personal
development plan at the start of their
careers. Other activities considered
to be advantageous methods of
getting new starters fully up-to-
speed and productive included
site tours, introductions to clients,
establishment of mentors, more
structured training programmes and
social ‘welcomes’.
When looking at improving
their induction processes, many
Professional Services fi rms felt that
the ability to provide information in an
easily accessible and yet organised
and consistent manner was crucial.
Company information provided in
an easily digestible, modular format
was a popular suggestion along with
the use of video and social media
tools. Including more information
on the benefi ts of being with the
organisation as well as invitations
to events and social activites
were also popular ideas aimed at
increasing the productivity of new
starters. Some of the Professional
Services fi rms surveyed concluded
that this is an area that they are
yet to fully embrace and that they
needed more evaluation regarding
staff requirements and available
technologies such as on-boarding
portals capable of providing
information and progressing the on-
boarding and compliance processes
automatically.
In terms of time taken for a
Professional Services employee to
become fully productive it varied
from role to role within organisations.
The average time cited by 65% of
respondents was 3-6 months, more
than 6 months was the average
in 23% of businesses and 10%
thought one month was suffi cient
to be productive. The remaining
respondents felt that it was
impossible to give an average based
on the wide variety of roles within
the businesses and the dependency
of some roles on the personnel of
other departments.
Measuring productivityAs expected of Professional Services
businesses, productivity is primarily
measured in terms of fee-earning
and billable hours but is dependent
upon the role within the business,
for example the measurement could
equally be based on completed
dictations with a 95% accuracy
level. However, much emphasis
was placed, by the respondents, on
more in-depth performance analysis,
measurements against defi ned
professional development targets
and peer, management and in some
cases client reviews.
“We solicit and monitor peer
and supervisor feedback and
meet on a regular basis, more
so if any issues arise”.
“Completion of objectives and
work, feedback from clients
and peers”.
Depending on the type of Professional
Services fi rm performance was either
measured against completed projects
and revenue generation, or stated
key performance indicators (KPI’s)
agreed with the new starter at time of
induction.
“Agreeing and reviewing KPIs
through probationary period
and the period following
successful completion of the
probationary period”
Overall many of the Professional
Services organisations used a
mixture of methods to measure the
performance of the individual, some
even setting mini-objectives during
the probationary period and fi rst six
months of training.
Technology plays a part here too with
some fi rms using automated systems
to trigger monthly reviews with the
new starter and also their manager.
Others used technology to monitor
the number of clients a new starter
was working with as well as billable
postings and available spare time.
However, the Professional Services
fi rms were not so enamoured with
their technology capabilities when
discussing the capability of capturing
employee aspirations with their HR
systems for future use, for example the
capturing of someone’s aspirations to
work abroad or learn new languages.
Only 21% of respondents felt that their
IT systems would easily allow them to
capture and more importantly use the
information in the future. 40% felt that
the capability was some way there, but
it required them to manually search
for the information and 39% felt that
this capability was beyond what their
systems could eff ectively deliver.
Taking the employee experience
full circle, Professional Services
businesses were mixed in their
responses to people wishing to
leave their organisations. 49% of
businesses off ered an ‘open door’
to people should they want to
return. 29% endeavoured to keep
in contact with leavers so that they
could easily return if they wished
and should there be a relevant
vacancy available. 16% did nothing
to engage with the leavers whilst
5% took an active role in helping
them to achieve their aspirations by
off ering to write recommendations.
The remaining respondents utilised
exit interviews so that they could
evaluate the reasons for leaving and
then take the appropriate action.
3. A seat at the tableThere is a growing need for HR
Directors to think like strategic
leaders and economists. A
global economy and instant
communications are just two of
the many factors driving business
evolution. Markets are more
competitive, and as a result
businesses need to be more
forwarding-thinking in identifying
opportunities and then putting
into place the relevant resources
required to achieve success.
Traditionally it was large
organisations that often faced
major strategic turning points, such
as entering new markets, siting
new facilities, locating offi ces or
making expansion moves. Now,
however, we are seeing that small
and medium sized companies are
increasingly facing these challenges
too.
In order to face these challenges,
businesses and their leaders
must be furnished with the correct
information to make informed and
timely decisions including what the
skills criteria for new markets are,
how readily available those skills
are and how they can be quickly
obtained, managed and released
again. What is the economic
impact to the business of achieving,
partially achieving or failing in any or
all of the skill criteria?
In Professional Services companies,
where people and their skills are
the centre of the business, failure
to accurately predict the economic
impact of potential future strategies
can leave a business on the brink of
the abyss.
In short, businesses need HR
to step-up to the challenge and
provide them with commercially
accurate information to aid their
strategic thinking. However, just
how capable of fulfi lling these
challenges are many of the HR
personnel in place and furthermore
how are they able to infl uence
strategic thinking when quite often
they are denied a seat at the very
table where strategic direction is
decided?
An integral part of the businessWhen quizzed about the role of the
HR department within Professional
Services organisations, only half of
the respondents felt that they were
considered to be an integral part
of the business whilst 46% thought
they were only recognised as such
depending on the issues of the
day. This view was borne-out by the
HR Directors only having a seat on
the executive board in 40% of the
responding companies.
Regarding their input into the future
direction of their organisations,
only 30% felt that they were always
included in the strategic discussions
whilst 59% were included in
discussions depending on the issues
being raised.
So how do HR professionals
truly become part of the leading
management team? Many of the
respondents who tackled this point
understood that they as HR needed
to be more commercially aware of
how their business was operating
and how it was performing within
the wider marketplace. They saw
the need to provide value for the
business not just in terms of cost-
effi ciency but also in terms of
forward-planning.
“By understanding our staff ,
departments, development
areas and potential we can
help with the direction and
requirements of the company.
This can be key to the
succession planning and talent
management”.
Diffi culties were experienced in the
larger organisations where quite
often decisions were handed down
by executives based elsewhere.
A seat atthe table
“We will improve our position
by being commercial. Every
action and decision is about
commercialism and not HR
process (for the sake of it)”
Many of the Professional Services
teams viewed themselves
as “business partners” to the
organisations and looked more
towards an advisory role with the
senior management team. However,
by positioning themselves as
separate ‘consultants’ is it then
logical that the businesses also view
them as separate entities and thus
exclude them from the strategic
decision making? In a way, by
trying to appear more independent
and professional it has to be
considered if they have actually
alienated themselves from the larger
organisation.
Direction, decision and riskWhen businesses were looking
to make signifi cant changes, HR
professionals came into their
own and were able to advise
them accordingly. Such is the
risk associated with employment
legislation it was essential for
organisations to consult with the HR
professionals.
“Direction & decision making
needs to be done within
the current legislation and
HR always lead on this
front. Additionally HR have
traditionally been involved
in numerous restructures
and strategic moves, so they
have the experience and
knowledge to contribute to
such situations”.
However, the over-riding sentiment
was that HR teams could do much
more than they were currently
permitted regarding advising
companies about their culture,
current skill sets and anticipated
requirements aligned to future
aspirations of the organisations.
By becoming more involved in the
business development strategy of
the organisation they would be able
to forward plan talent management
and resourcing. This proactive
approach in itself would contribute
to the success of the business and
will prevent HR being perceived as
reactive.
The outlook for HR teams within
Professional Services businesses
is certainly brighter than it once
was with 36% of respondents
commenting that barriers that
had previously obstructed their
progression were no longer an
issue. Others however, were not so
fortunate fi nding that their exclusion
from the senior management teams
meant that they were unable to
contribute their opinions and thus
were unable to aid the progression
of the business or indeed
demonstrate their worth. “The HR
role is very much based around
soft skills such as negotiation,
assessment of risks, coaching and
mediation all of which are not easy
to measure or determine the true
impact on the business”. Many
respondents were also battling the
‘reputation’ of the HR department
and the legacy of previous managers
who were not so proactive or
positive in their approach and who
were often viewed as “blockers” to
progression.
Time was also a factor for many.
HR departments are often small
and underfunded so the time spent
on the day-to-day activities of the
company means that they have
little time to be able to dedicate
themselves to understanding the
commercial issues faced by the
organisation. This catch-22 situation
was compounded by the perception
that many senior management
executives viewed HR as “an admin
function of the fi nance department!”
or “as a tool to fi x issues, rather than
a strategic partner to prevent issues
and help the business”.
SummaryIn an ever-increasing global economy
Professional Services businesses expect
to be agile, have the ability to upscale
or downsize in accordance with market
conditions and have the right skills
available to meet with market demand.
These demands mean that recruitment
and retention of staff needs to be
collaborative, transparent, technology-
driven and rapid if those businesses are
to be successful.
As the global economy begins to
rejuvenate and gain momentum we are
starting to see the emergence of new
and innovative methods for organisations
to attract top talent into their businesses,
alongside a recognition by them that they
must also look outside of their traditional
skills sets for more creative and fl exible
talent. Professional Services providers
are increasingly building their own talent
pools and are likely to actively engage
their workforces in fl exible working
patterns as a means to increasing
their productivity and ensuring a more
balanced work-life experience for their
employees.
They must therefore adapt their methods
of attracting, on-boarding and retaining
talent in order to be successful, including
embracing e-recruitment and self-service
processes.
As well as running the day-to-day
operations, HR professionals are also
facing increasing pressure to contribute
to strategic direction by providing
information that is both timely and
accurate on which the company can
base its decisions. The need to be
commercially aware and able to provide
talent predictions as well as current
position is crucial for HR professionals
to become integral contributors at the
highest level.
Please direct any questions or
correspondence relating to this document to:
Catherine Bailey
Bar Marketing Limited
07714 345072
About AccessWe are a leading author of fully integrated business management software. One of the UK’s top fi ve fastest-growing software
developers (Sunday Times Buyout Track 100), over 10,000 businesses and not-for-profi t organisations use Access to unlock
their potential. Off ering solutions for ERP, fi nance, HR, payroll, warehousing, business intelligence, PSA and manufacturing, our
vertical expertise and template solutions allow for rapid and easy deployment, whatever your industry or sector.
0845 345 3300 [email protected] www.theaccessgroup.com @AccessGroupHR
0845 345 3300 [email protected] www.theaccessgroup.com @AccessGroupHR
