Blog: Time to think about the place we work… work in progress...

I know this is populist stuff but it’s something that immersive. and our clients have on their radar on what feels like a daily basis.

immersive. was born in the pandemic.  

A conversation followed by a plan and a desire to do something different in the recruitment sector, to bring together people looking for variety and the opportunity to see the outcome of the work they do.

It’s a cliche but we knew then that in a services business by default it is a people business at heart.  The pandemic didn’t change that and even as we emerge from a full lockdown it’s clear that we  need to think about the kind of business we have become and will become in the future.

Lockdown has altered forever the way we work. 

We love the flexibility that Remote working has given us but crave the office chat we used to have whilst making a coffee.  immersive. is committed to working remotely and whilst we will be physically together less, we know we need to communicate and collaborate more, and reliance on technology has never been greater.  We also know that many organisations have focused on where they are going to work, rather than the work that has to be done and we don’t want to be like that.

From our experience, remote working provides flexibility, productivity and innovation.   Our clients value the experience we bring and they are at the heart of our business model, constantly thinking “What can we do to delight our customers and keep them working with us?”

Our people will continue to lead with that question when deciding how and where to work. Working patterns will differ for each team or individual and there’ll be individual variations based on role, personal circumstances and career stage.  What we all agree is that above all happy, autonomous teams, with a clear brief and an inspiring work culture, can deliver outstanding customer outcomes and great results for our business too.

Removing an office, removing that sense of location of a company’s culture is forcing us and our clients to think differently and think about how to build the right culture, values and customer focus wherever we may be sat in the world.  I think there has always been an assumption that if we are in an office together we are thinking the same, or it is at least easy to share a message because we are physically together.  But surely the pandemic has shown it’s not how often we meet and whether that is physical or not but what we do when we do meet.

Whilst in its infancy, the immersive. plan isn’t just about productivity.  We hope by offering balance, some flexibility and above all autonomy in the work that we do, we’ll attract people to join us from a wider talent pool, adding to an amazing team already operating from multiple locations and countries.

I know that we don’t have to be in touch every day.  But we do need to get better at being creative together, building on our ideas but know there is someone remotely sitting with you to respond to your ideas and move our business forward.  We need to move to an organisation that focuses on the excellence of the work produced rather than the volume but as we all know in recruitment that is tough.  We get paid to hire absolute numbers.

So we haven’t got the answers yet, I see it very much as work in progress but I’m optimistic it’s a conversation others will want to have.  Over the next few weeks and months we are going to talk more to clients but most of all it is an intrinsic part of our hiring conversation as we seek out new team members to join the business.

I would love to hear what you think about the future of work, location versus purpose, outcomes versus attendance, get in touch in the comments below or email me here.

About
Martin Dangerfield, immersive. CEO is a seasoned recruiter, talent acquisition leader and strategist (with a small 's').

With a straight talking, results focused approach he has recruited on a Global, Regional and Local level, creating and leading teams of recruiters, brand specialists and HR professionals in multiple locations.

To schedule a call with Martin click here