A MANCHESTER-BASED recruitment agency has unveiled its new wellbeing-focused employee benefits ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week.
Core Talent, based on Lloyd Street, is offering flexitime arrangements to encourage gym breaks and family time; access to a confidential 24/7 employee assistance support helpline; socials to promote inclusion; and holiday vouchers to encourage luxury rest breaks.
The ‘YourCore’ package was officially launched at the company’s AGM – held at Banyan in Spinningfields Manchester.
“People are not just units of productivity; they bring their whole self to work,”
said David Nesbitt, who founded the specialist engineering recruitment agency with Damian Diggles MCIPS in 2007.
“In wellbeing terms, ‘YourCore’ is a game-changer. You can go to the gym at lunch and do something for yourself or finish early and go home to your kids. You don’t have to compromise on anything; we give you the flexibility to do it all.”
‘YourCore’ is a result of an extensive employee engagement exercise supported by brand experts, Tribe. The entire workforce was invited to a kick-off workshop held at Manchester Chamber of Commerce in December last year, with findings presented back to the organisation in late January.
“The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development recommends that employers should examine what their existing and potential workers need and want from their benefits and how best they can meet these preferences,”
explained Damian.
“We have, therefore, empowered our managers to have local discussions about how we could turn the team’s suggestions into reality. The resulting benefits we’re offering are an investment in our people – not just perks. They include the freedom to start and finish at different times, extend your lunch and do more of the things you want.”
Core Talent, who are ‘Best Engineering Recruitment Agency’ finalists in the national Recruiter Awards for the second year running, have also recently invested in a new Head of Organisational Development, Melissa Venner.
“We have restructured our Personal Development Plan meetings so that the first question we ask is: “How are you?” before we get into how much consultants have billed,” explained Melissa, who is a certified Mental Health First Aider.
“If an individual is feeling overwhelmed, the direction of the conversation will be about how we can support them in every aspect. Because this is now a routine part of our company processes that apply to everyone from directors to trainees, no individual person ever needs to feel singled out.”
The NHS Top-Up Cash Plan benefit affords Core Talent employees access to a round-the-clock helpline where they can discuss personal matters from finance through to relationships in confidence.
“We’re on a mission to become a ‘Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For’ employer,” added David. “The launch of ‘YourCore’ marks a significant milestone towards achieving this goal.”
Hosted by the Mental Health Foundation, this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week will take place from Monday, 13 May to Sunday, 19 May.
For more information, visit www.mentalhealth.org.uk