You donít need to be your own boss to have a good boss!

Be Your Own Boss Week (April 18 ñ 22) teaches many people the undoubted benefits of leaving the corporate world, one company has pointed out that if you donít want to work for yourself itís important to find a company that will give you a good work/life balance.

Leading recruitment company Consensus takes a holistic approach to its own employees, because managing director Martin Tyrrell believes that such an attitude pays dividends in terms of staff health and wellbeing as well as in their loyalty.

As experts in the field of employment, Consensus prides itself on placing its candidates with companies that treat their employees as vital components of the business, and make them feel valued. Itís an approach that Tyrrell takes to the extent that Consensus employees are all signed up, as part of their company medical insurance, to an online health and wellbeing service. They also have a ëchill-outí zone in the offices for de-stressing, access to free massages every month (thanks to a prize from the health and wellbeing service!), and various other benefits that only the best organised (or self-indulgent!) self-employed people would benefit from.

But the key difference is in the continuing professional development that Consensus has made an intrinsic part of its employeesí package. Consensus aims to attract, develop and retain the best people and has its own CPD programme that is unique - in fact at Consensus, CPD now stands for Consensus People Development.

All Consensus team members are required to spend 60 hours of company time each year on CPD (more time can be spent but not on paid time unless agreed by a director). Every member of the team decides, in agreement with their manager, how they intend to invest their CPD hours over the coming year ñ and this can include voluntary work with charitable organisations as much as professional training.

ëBeing your own boss ñ while perfect for some ñ is not what many people want,í said Tyrrell. ëIt certainly means you can at least try to design your perfect job, but in reality that rarely happens. What we believe is that employers can work with their staff to create a working environment that they donít want to leave ñ that way, everyone wins.í