I’ve been saying for a few years now that we’re in the midst of a workplace revolution – and these last twelve months I think proves that it’s well underway!
Flexible working has continued to make headlines, and even made the manifestos of the major political parties. The message is getting through - a flexible workforce is more productive, has fewer sick days, greater staff retention and ultimately leads to a happier more engaged business.
9-2-3 has continued to grow this year – and we’ve taken on half a dozen more staff, and now have a team of 14 – who are all committed and passionate about the benefits of flexible working. Of course, here at 9-2-3, we all work flexibly – with a variety of working hours and patterns. Plus we introduced a new staff benefit, and now offer unlimited annual leave to anyone in the team who has been with us for longer than 2 years.
And what a team we have! Between us this year we have completed two triathlons, a half marathon, 2 marathon walks, a 103km bike ride and a cheeky 5km – all for some very worthy charities. Working flexibly enables us to fit training in for these events, and helps us keep healthy minds as well as healthy bodies.
We’ve settled into our new office – which isn’t so new to us any more. We had a lot of fun decorating our Christmas tree (aided by mugs of Rachel O’s extra special hot chocolate!).
2019 has also been the year we won our first award! We’re so proud to have been named Small Business of the Year by Cherwell Business Awards. Plus we were short-listed and finalists in the national Working Families Best Practice award, as well as the IoD Director of the Year awards!
Another exciting move for us this year has been the development of our website – with improved images and content. We’re really proud of it – and hope you like it too!
One additional page has a selection of testimonials on it – from both clients and candidates. We always love hearing from the fabulous people we work with – and have enjoyed meeting lots more dynamic businesses and flexible candidates this year!
I’ve been lucky enough to speak at a number of events – where I have been able to shout about Flex! Plus we have started offering a consultancy service to organisations wanting to embrace and embed flex into their culture.
So thank you for your support this year - it’s been a brilliant busy year for us, and we’re so excited by what 2020 holds.
Happy Christmas and here’s to a flexible 2020 for everyone!
Helen