Employees at an independent recruitment firm will soon be working four-day weeks with no reduction in salary – thanks to a bold trial.
Chippenham-based 24-7 Staffing is bringing in the six-month experiment as a way of boosting employee engagement and productivity as well as attracting new recruits.
Julian Thompson, managing director of 24-7 Staffing – which specialises in industrial, driving, commercial and healthcare and also has offices in Yate and Amesbury – said he was inspired by a recent pilot project which proved a major success for participating businesses.
Devised by the think tank Autonomy with academics from the University of Cambridge and Boston College, the project involved 61 companies employing nearly 3,000 people – with all but five of them saying they would carry on with the new system, giving it a 92% success rate.
Julian, pictured, said: “At 24-7 Staffing we pride ourselves on putting people at the heart of our businesses, whether that’s the people who work directly for us or the candidates we recruit for our clients.
“We had been thinking about trialling a four-day week and when we put it to the team they were completely behind the idea.
“Results from the Autonomy study show that far from reducing productivity, a four-day week actually boosts productivity because staff are more engaged and less stressed and tired.”
Julian said he believed the four-day week model would also help with recruitment to the company, which is looking to take on additional consultants.
Under the trial, which begins next month across its three offices, 24-7 Staffing staff will be divided into two teams, with each working an overlapping four-day week to ensure the business is fully open, with no reduction in – or interruption to – service to clients.
Julian added: “This new working model will give our employees more opportunities to work across different divisions and learn different skills, so it will be a great tool for their personal development. From our clients’ point of view, everything will be very much business as usual.”
