As an experienced recruitment professional, would you prefer the flexibility of a home based working policy but are concerned by the impact it might have on your productivity or working relationships ?
Here, Yasmine Shaban, who recently joined Harvey Thomas, talks about making the transition from office based environment to working from home.
When did you join Harvey Thomas in a home based recruitment role ?
I joined Harvey Thomas at the beginning of March 2018 and have been here 2 months now.
How long have you been in recruitment and what type of environment have you been used to working in ?
I have been in recruitment for 5 years ,since 2013 and , as with many recruitment businesses, I have been used to working in a busy sales and target driven environment.
Why did you decide to take on a home based role and what drove you to join Harvey Thomas ?
What attracted me to a home based role was the idea of almost being my own boss, organising my own time, being in an environment where I could be more productive, and with no distractions.
I joined Harvey Thomas as I really bought into the ethics and ideas of the home based working concept, it was really attractive to me to work for a company and a Director who trusted me 100% to be able to work at home and not under his eye every day.
I really liked the concept of finding quality recruiters who were good at their job, but not necessarily commutable to one office. This level of trust and understanding makes you want to work harder and allows you to have a balance in your life.
How easy was it transitioning from an office based role to a purely home based position ?
For me, I transitioned well and I wanted so much to be in a more automonous role. I set up a small home office area which is my hub for work, when I sit at my desk I am immediately in work mode and it doesn’t feel like I am at home.
As a senior level recruiter, my work, and the level of service I provide to my clients and candidates is really important to me, therefore I had no difficulty motivating myself to work the same hours as I did in my office, at home.
With regular meet ups with my Director, and client visits, and the freedom to work anywhere with WiFi, I don’t have a chance to miss the office scene.
How often do you communicate with the other members of the team and do you feel isolated at all?
The team and I communicate every day, we have calls to each other, we have a chat forum we use daily, we email, have video conferences at the end of the week, and meet up regularly.
I still 100% feel like I am part of a team, we help each other, give each other tips, and get on very well. I am able to get on with my work all day in the way that I feel works best for me, knowing that my Director and other team members are just a call away. I also have the freedom to work at my head office when I need/want to.
How often do you meet with the Management team ?
My Director meets me close to my home every other week or so and has made it clear I am able to meet with him whenever I need to.
We also all meet once a month in the office, as well as weekly video conferences which keeps us all up to date with everything.
What has been the best thing about being able to work for home ?
For me, the autonomy and the trust I feel from my Director has been the best thing about working from home so far.
I also feel a sense of freedom as I am not bound to the same desk every day from 8am-6pm. If I want to have my lunch at 11am, I can, if I want to have lunch at my desk and use 30 minutes to exercise in the middle of the day instead, I can.
I really am in charge of myself.
What do you have to be most mindful of when working from home and what advice would you give to anyone considering it ?
You definitely need to be disciplined, you need to wake up and work your usual hours and make sure you get your tasks done for the day.
This works both ways, you also need to be able to shut your laptop and rest your mind. My advice would be to make sure you have a ‘to do list’ either daily or weekly to make sure you organise your time wisely – it flies!
Harvey Thomas operates a fully flexible working policy, where all of the Consultants are fully employed on home based working contracts.
If you are an experienced recruiter and would like to find out more, why don’t you contact our Director, Jon Eyers on jon.eyers@harvey-thomas.com to have an informal discussion about opportunities within the business.
