Part-time talent pool proves successful for freshbaked

According to a recent survey employers are missing out on a huge pool of talent by failing to offer flexible working to those with families. With statistics suggesting that only 30% of women with children use flexible working in the UK, Kate Matthews, managing director of freshbaked Training, believes that companies need to encourage flexible working within their workforce to ensure that talented people are not overlooked.

Talking from experience busy mum Kate combines running her business freshbaked Training with caring for her two young daughters Isobel, two and a half and Rosie five months.

When freshbaked Training was established, it employed five staff from a home office in Newport. Four years on, it employs 22 staff – 80% of which are women.

Says Kate: “From experience I find that a lot of mums want to pursue careers, however many find it difficult to find the flexibility they need. At freshbaked we actively encourage our employees with families to use flexible working and opportunities of part-time employment. I manage to run my company and work part-time so I’d be hypocritical if I said that it couldn’t be done.”

Over 50% of staff at freshbaked Training are employed part-time and many have received career progression since joining the company including additional qualifications and even promotions.

“Several employees have started families since working for us and on a number of occasions we have recruited pregnant women. At freshbaked we have a very open culture where people don’t feel they have to hide their desire to start or expand their family."

“There are numerous benefits in employing a part-time workforce. Many mums have an impressive skill set that would otherwise not get used if they were unable to work part-time. I have also found that those who work part-time hours have excellent time management skills as they’re used to doing so effectively at home. In addition, we have found that we have reduced absenteeism and increased productivity due to a happy workforce”, continues Kate.

Current legislation means that employees with children under six can request flexible working and changes in the law will soon mean the same considerations must be extended to employees with children under sixteen, giving rise to a huge proportion of the UK workforce able to extend its flexible working options.

“Over 70% of our workforce has some form of flexible working in place. I have found that during busy periods at work, our employees become flexible to our needs, as we have been to them, often working full-time for short periods and then cutting back during quieter times or school holidays”, adds Kate.

Employing a part-time workforce can have its drawbacks such as additional costs for training and equipment but according to Kate the pros definitely outweigh the cons. She continues: “The pros of employing part-time staff certainly outweigh the cons. I am very aware that the success of freshbaked relies on talent and we have found that there are many talented people seeking part time work. Of course, our success is down to being open minded about flexible working and I know that it isn’t going to suit all types of businesses. I don’t mind if it’s our little secret….mum’s the word!”