Recruiting mums is good for employers

National recruitment group HR GO plc, with over fifty years of experience in finding work for mums, says employers should take advantage of this pool of talent.

HR GO plc has highlighted the benefits of offering flexible working and the special skills that mums can bring to the workplace, following a finding by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation that 78% of recruiters had been asked by employers not to put forward women of child-bearing age, and a survey of 1,100 mothers published by the website WorkingMums.co.uk that found 73% felt that a lack of suitable flexible jobs made it difficult for them to return to work.

ï Mums are good time managers, have lots of patience, are good at negotiation and getting agreement in work situations.

ï Mums have good morale and perform well, especially if they can work flexible hours to fit in with their family commitments to give them a valuable work and life balance.

ï Mums often have the ability to work flexibly, perhaps as a temporary worker, to help cover seasonal peaks and even maternity leave.

ï By returning after maternity leave, mums enable the employer to retain their knowledge and talent.

Commenting on the surveys, Jack Parkinson, Chairman of HR GO plc, said: ìFirstly recruitment should always be about finding the right person for the job and businesses could be losing out on sourcing the best talent by not even considering women of child-bearing age. Secondly, there are many advantages to employers of taking on mums that could give them a competitive edge.

ìAlthough arranging flexible working patterns can look like an administrative problem, the advantages in doing this are enormous. Mums respond positively to the employerís trust that they will keep their side of the arrangement, which for instance, may include an element of working from home in some cases, and become highly motivated workers, performing above and beyond expectations.

ìBy tapping into this pool of talent, employers can become smarter.î

HR GO plc is one of the top 50 recruitment companies in the UK. The business turns over circa 90 million and employs approximately 500 permanent staff nationally. For further information on HR GO plc please visit www.hrgogroup.co.uk.