Impact report story about the purpose and values of the organisation, and how it supports sta wellbeing and development. Opinium is one agency that appears to have cracked the candidate-attracting formula Christensen describes, growing successfully during the pandemic and subsequently. While associate director Kate Whien admits the talent pool has shrunk and negotiations for the best people have been notably tougher, she credits a progressive and inclusive culture with enabling the business to find and keep the people needed to support its growth. Culture can be defined in many ways, but for us its about people, having that sense of belonging, trust, friendly environment and buzz, she says. Weve worked really hard to keep this positive culture while transitioning from a small company to a much larger medium-sized agency. When it comes to the recruitment process, Whien notes that candidates appreciate good communications and quick decision-making, as well as a focus on inclusion. Opinium takes part in the 10,000 Black Interns initiative, a paid internship programme Whien encourages every agency to sign up to. It is also setting up an internship programme with the youth democratic engagement charity My Life My Say, helping 18-24 year-olds into work. Another small but powerful part of candidate attraction is bringing final-round interviewees into the oce for their last interview, says Whien. Its not just a meeting room, but giving them a tour of the building so they can see the team in action and feel the inclusive collegiate culture, she adds. Creative flexibility While Opinium embraces hybrid working, this in-person interviewing approach (and encouraging enough people into the oce on certain days to create that vibe) is an example of what Hays Ely describes as a return to pre-pandemic habits for many organisations, in terms of face-to-face interviews and more time spent in the oce during the first few months of a role. But flexibility remains a core part of what attracts people to a job, and crucially keeps them there; some 62% of employees would be tempted to change jobs if they could choose how often they were in the workplace, Ely says. Its certainly something that Patrick Alcantara, strategic customer insight lead at AxA, has observed as he builds his team. Flexible working arrangements are increasingly part of the conversation when it comes to hiring, he says, adding that AxAs smart-working policy was part of what attracted him to the business: It empowered me to create remote arrangements to work around my commitments, while maintaining purposeful, regular face-to-face interactions. He is based in the North West, his boss in the South East, with other team members in Yorkshire and the West Country. We maximise hybrid working arrangements to get work done while still getting the facetime crucial to team building, Alcantara says. Some colleagues choose to come into the oce three or four times a week, while others have job sharing arrangements. While Alcantara has found the flexibility he desires, a lack of it on the agency side in particular is driving some people, most notably those with caring responsibilities, out of the industry entirely, says Christensen. While the pandemic has forced most organisations to oer a degree of home-working, there remains a need for businesses to think more creatively and strategically around the true meaning of flexibility, she says, whether 22 Impact ISSUE 42 2023_pp20-27_Report.indd 22 16/06/2023 17:04