The best 7 business roles that allow for flexible working

It is becoming widely accepted that flexible working is for the many, not just for those juggling family responsibilities. Our customer research has shown that some roles are particularly well suited for hiring flexible workers. From this research and our placement records, we have listed the best 7 business roles for flexible working and explored the reasons why:

1. Chief Financial Officers
2. Finance Directors
3. Finance Managers/Controllers
4. Talent/Recruitment Director/Manager’s
5. HR Director/Manager’s
6. In-house Lawyers
7. PR Heads/Manager’s

Why does it make sense for companies to adopt flexible working for these roles? 1. That’s where the talent is (pull) and 2. It makes the most financial sense (push). We’ve categorised the themes explored in this piece below:

• Automation (pull and push)
• Disintermediation (push)
• Gender Diversity (pull)

Automation

Data collection and data processing have a potential for automation exceeding 60 percent according to a McKinsey study examining the future of work. Processing and data collection are not limited to lower level jobs, with the study showing people whose annual income exceed $200,000 still spend 31 percent of their time doing it. [data collection and data processing].

It is unsurprising therefore that the highest demand to hire flexible workers has come from the accountancy space which processes and collects vast amounts of data. A number of mature automated solutions now exist and professionals in this space are becoming more comfortable and familiar with short bursts of higher-quality work, and getting software doing the processing.

Disintermediation

Law, recruitment and PR are all necessary services that businesses engage with and traditionally third party providers have dominated, charging either retainers or one off fees for specific chunks of work. roles 4, 6 and 7 (talent, law and PR) are typically done by professional services firms, but businesses are now feeling the benefit of hiring an in-house resource on a flexible basis as a more cost effective solution

Supporting data from research firm SIP (Service Performance Insight) reported net profit in professional services firms declining for the second year running. (15.5% in 2015 to 14.2% in 2016) — their insight: “This could highlight that the pricing structures of larger firms are under pressure, as a result of increasing numbers of mid-tier competitors, or changing levels of client scrutiny on fees”.

Gender Diversity

Last year Bain published “The Power of Flexibility: A Key Enabler to Boost Gender Parity and Employee Engagement”. As businesses become more serious about hiring senior women, they turn to flexible workers to boost the pipeline of talent.

The roles on our list attract a high proportion of female professionals, consequently offering businesses a compelling reason to hire flexible workers. We have split the gender gap from the Juggle Jobs* platform below:

Less than 60% of female professionals

Chief Financial Officers

Finance Directors

Evenly split

Finance Managers/Controllers

Talent/Recruitment Director/Manager’s

More than 60% of female professionals

In-house Lawyers

PR Heads/Manager’s

HR Director/Manager’s

*July 2017 — Juggle Jobs platform

Conclusion

When Juggle was founded two years ago, it was widely assumed “flexible working” would apply only to those who wanted a more balanced lifestyle (and this continues to be the major theme); but the wider macro trends touched on here suggest a growing and more permanent change for traditionally “full time” roles. Watch this space!

Next week we’ll explore the types of flexible worker and how this can fit within your business.