I made the decision to start my HR consulting and recruitment business four years ago. I sought to create an environment that allowed me the freedom to work when and wherever I wanted.
The vision was to create a team with a wealth of experience and expertise – that could turn work around fast – and weren’t constrained by a 9-5 environment and mentality. It’s been no easy feat but I’ve achieved that now with an established HR consulting and recruitment office in Auckland, New Zealand. I don’t need to be office-bound all the time and also have the privilege of visiting clients throughout Auckland and around New Zealand.
Our work environment also allows our team the same flexibility. A few of our HR consultants and other team members live on the North Shore. So, rather than crawling to work in the Auckland traffic – which can be frustrating and unproductive – they can come in later, leave early or work from home. I openly discuss how we operate in our recruitment process so people know the type of environment they are stepping into. We also have part-timers in our business which is particularly beneficial for those with young children. It’s all about getting the right balance.
Knowledge base of experience and expertise
As my HR consulting business has grown, so have my responsibilities and I found myself needing to be across everything and everywhere, which was impossible. So, I made a list of the tasks I wanted to focus on and found people to help with the rest. The majority of these tasks are now with our part-time team members.
They do an outstanding job – whether working from home or at the office – they get the job done.
Ability to turn around work faster
We now have a HR consulting and recruitment team who are engaged, self-motivated and experts at what they do. As a result, we’re able to turn work around fast and meet deadlines while still enjoying we do.
The role technology plays
You’re probably wondering what’s enabled us to do this. In all honesty, it took a bit of trial and error. Error on my part for trying to do everything including things that weren’t within my realm of expertise. It was simply about finding the right people who shared my vision that I could trust and wanted the freedom and flexibility to work wherever they wanted. We use a lot of cloud technology in our HR consulting business which allows us to be connected and work productively. All we need is a laptop and a mobile phone and we can work anywhere.
If you’re a growing business and struggling to find the right people for the job, break down the tasks, work out how much time it’s consuming and look at outsourcing or using part-timers. Free up your time and start enjoying coming to work, whether that’s at home or the office.
By Will Allan