UK-based ëLifeWorklifeí enjoys rapid growth in the war for talent

An innovative UK-based online business service which matches employers and potential employees has experienced a ten fold increase in business since its beta launch just four months ago.

ëLifeWorklife.co.ukí is a web based tool that allows its membership to recruit and apply for interim, part-time, job-share and flexible assignments. This offers individuals the benefit of being able to set their own work styles, and companies the ability to recruit from a tried and tested pool of resources.

The website is different from existing job boards in that the people who become members keep a space on LifeWorklife rather like a social networking site - but with employment as its central aim.

Individuals can maintain a list of potential employers or customers, while organisations can grow their list of potential employees or people who work for them on short-term contracts. Also, they may use this space to keep in touch with their independent resources.

The site has already been named winner of the Mothers In Business Competition run by the website Mumsclick, a lively networking site where mothers can share business experiences and advice.

Kirsten Hemingway-Arnold, managing director, LifeWorklife says: ìThe take up has been staggering, particularly amongst companies and organisations - around 80% of our accounts are held by organisations.

ìThat indicates to us that this way of recruiting is becoming not just popular but necessary as companies recognise that there is a very talented workforce which does not necessarily want to be in an office nine to five but has a lot to offer employers on a flexible basis.î

ìMinimum legislative requirements have raised the bar in terms of minimum standards of flexibility, just as the minimum wage has raised the bar in terms of lower end salaries - flexible working is as important to employees as the value of their ë pay packageí.î Says Paul Sellars policy officer at the TUC ìif organisations want to be employers of choice they need to run a little harder.î

One organisation that uses the LifeWorklife.co.uk site to recruit is Bristol-based telephone systems specialists Alliance Communications who say they are now experiencing a happier workforce and increased productivity as a result.

More and more people want to work in a flexible but efficient way and many businesses are finding that people working from home are 20% more productive. In industry, one of the roles that can easily be adapted to home working is telesales

Miles Watson, Sales Director, Alliance Communications says: ëWorking within an office makes it difficult to keep telesales staff motivated - they are on the phone all day, five days a week. As a business we've decided to allow flexible working for this job role where staff can work remotely and within the hours that meet their personal requirements. By providing a VoIP phone to home workers as an extension of the office system, it enables us to monitor call traffic remotely and allows calls to be seamlessly transferred between sites. The results have been incredible - we thought that they would miss the buzz of the call centre but actually they have been more focussed on the customers and have made better calls as a result. Not only has it been better for business but our team are happier and feel more valued because we trust them. Using LifeWorklife.co.uk to recruit our team and to gather a bank of potential people has definitely saved us money.î

LifeWorklife Ltd is focussing on developing this excellent base. They are working with international partners to drive traffic to the site and have begun to collaborate with companies providing services that may be useful to their membership. This will allow them to add helpful applications and build value for their community. They are also constantly improving usability in preparation for a full launch later this year.