EY, Winner 2016, Best for Flexible Recruitment Award

Key Features

• EY has a recruitment drive to double the size of the business in the next four years and flexible working is being used to attract and retain the best talent.
• A communications campaign called ‘The Future is Flexible’ has seen applications to EY increase by 27 per cent.
• Partners and hiring managers have been trained in how to discuss flexible working opportunities.
• 72 per cent of staff take advantage of informal flexible working in a culture that focuses on outputs and outcomes rather than ‘presenteeism’.

EY has ambitious targets to double the size of the business by 2020. This means they need to increase recruitment to create more high performing teams. EY’s flexible working strategy has become part of the strategy to attract and retain the best talent from diverse backgrounds and they know this can only be achieved by really demonstrating a flexible working mindset. All jobs advertised internally and externally at EY are advertised as available for flexible working, unless there is a business reason why this can’t happen.

In June 2015 EY launched a campaign entitled ‘The Future is Flexible’, which aimed for the company to become recognised, both internally and externally, for their genuine commitment to flexible working. The campaign reinforced the EY employer brand and promoted diverse hires and retaining diverse talent. At the heart of the campaign was the production of an e-guide and animation to give inspiration, insight and advice on the topic of flexible working. Three out of five case studies included were non-EY, allowing the guide to be authentic, and more relatable to the target audience.

EY used their partnership with Timewise to secure credible endorsement, greater visibility, more commentary opportunities and to help develop their position as a flexible employer. EY also used digital advertising in order to reach the biggest audience possible. A comprehensive social media calendar was created to schedule content to build commentary discussion via Twitter, LinkedIn and Google. The campaign generated: an estimated 1,869,000 social media impressions; over 20,000 microsite page views; 3,569 downloads of the e-Guide and 7,315,793 ad impressions and a 27 per cent increase in applications

The campaign was combined with a comprehensive training programme to educate partners and hiring managers on how to facilitate conversations around flexible working both within their teams and with candidates in the hiring process. The flexibility publicised in the recruitment campaign is truly reflected in operations on the ground.

Externally, EY continues to promote the outputs of the campaign through their digital and social media channels, during both the attraction and engagement stages of the recruitment process. This includes sharing content on Twitter and LinkedIn, and sending monthly e-newsletters to prospective candidates.

EY’s commitment to flexible working has seen a cultural shift from ‘presenteeism’ to one where people are measured on their outputs. This is being driven from the top, with their Chief Operating Officer Lynn Rattigan – a flexible worker herself – advocating the case for flexible working both internally and externally. The company has also invested in state of the art video and web conferencing facilities enabling staff to work remotely. As a result staff retention has improved by 15 per cent, 72 per cent of staff take advantage of informal flexible working arrangements; productivity has improved by 4 per cent and employee travel costs have reduced by 15 per cent.