Will a 4-day week become the norm in the IT channel? 5 recruiters have their say…
Marc Sumner, Charlotte Hallam, Louise Wright, Zoe Chatley and Tim Davey weigh in on the debate that's polarising the industry
With the UK this week kicking off the world's biggest ever four-day week trial, the concept is polarising opinion in the channel.
While some resellers are already embracing a shortened week, other bosses in the sector (including Stone's Tim Westbrook, below) are convinced that cutting staff working hours by 20 per cent will lead to a commensurate fall in productivity.
So will the model cut it in our sector?
Who better to ask than five of the channel's leading recruitment bosses?
"I have reseller and vendor clients who are considering it"
Name: Zoe Chatley
Role: Managing director, The Channel Recruiter
The UK has just kicked off the world's biggest ever 4-day-week trial. Will the model catch on in the UK IT channel?
Yes, I think it already has, I have reseller and vendor clients who are considering it or already putting plans in place for either a four-day working week, or shorter hours and more flexibility.
Based on the conversations you're having with your vendor and partner clients, how many are seriously looking into a 4-day week, and how do the hiring bosses you talk to generally feel about it?
A lot are really open to it. There seems to be a shift in perspective, if they can get the same performance or more by shifting their working model to create a better work life for their employees it's a great benefit to them and their employees.
What are your personal views on the 4-day week model?
Having worked a four-day working week for the last five years (at my previous employer, before setting up my own business) I am a big advocate of this working model. It works. I became more productive, efficient and saw this reflected in my performance results. And I had colleagues achieve similar strong results. Now as a business leader, I have one colleague who works 3.5 days a week yet achieves the same as my full timer, if not more and I'm now considering shortening their week too.
Do you think the new workplace models that have emerged since Covid hit (for instance shorter hours and hybrid/more flexible working) will really stick in the long term?
100 per cent this will stick and is sticking. Bearing in mind we are two years since the pandemic hit, every single one of my clients still operates a hybrid working model. A lot of trust was earned over that two-year period. Employees proved that they didn't need to work in the office five days a week, and that actually they were far more effective working from home. A lot of people say there aren't as many distractions and they can get far more work done. Employers have immediately responded to this; it works and if it works do not change it. Going back to "the old way" will cause frustration. I have had candidates contact me who are looking to leave their current employer because they are making them go back to the office five days a week.
See following page for InfraView's Tim Davey's views on the four-day week
Will a 4-day week become the norm in the IT channel? 5 recruiters have their say…
Marc Sumner, Charlotte Hallam, Louise Wright, Zoe Chatley and Tim Davey weigh in on the debate that's polarising the industry
"I struggle to get everything done in the hours of a 5-day week"
Name: Tim Davey
Role: Founding director, InfraView
The UK has just kicked off the world's biggest ever 4-day-week trial. Will the model catch on in the UK IT channel?
I think it could but not in the short term - it will be interesting to see how these trials go. I think there's lots of flexibility afforded in the channel already and the majority of people have been well used to working remotely from home for many years. I'd hope in most permanent mid- to senior-level roles people have flexibility and are more outcome based already rather than being managed by clock watchers. The issue will be regarding project deadlines and for contractors who get paid by the day. However, if managed properly it might work.
Based on the conversations you're having with your vendor and partner clients, how many are seriously looking into a 4-day week, and how do the hiring bosses you talk to generally feel about it?
None of our clients have mentioned 4-day working weeks. All conversations are around hybrid and flexible working - getting in the office to collaborate... but only with a purpose - meeting, team building, new hires, etc not just to be a bum on seat. Of course most people on the tech side of the channel, whether that be presales solutions architecture, professional services consultants / engineers or project / programme managers, have been well used to working from home and remotely from way before Covid forced the rest of the world to. Now though companies are pushing hybrid working also for most other staff including now managed services teams who historically used to be office based - this has been the key change we have seen.
The 4-day week trial moots a ‘100:80:100 model' - 100% of pay for 80% of the time, but maintaining 100% productivity. Are those figures really achievable, or just wishful thinking?
I'm not sure it's achievable. It depends on the role and I don't believe a one-size-fits-all approach works. The channel is driven by project demand, therefore individuals and teams work to get the project/pipeline delivered. All we do is work with IT solution providers and it's about delivering projects within budget and on time. Most people are already well utilised so trying to get more capacity out of people in services is probably a little unrealistic.
What are your personal views on the 4-day week model?
I struggle to get everything done in the hours of a 5-day week so there's no way a 4-day week works for me personally. Certain things take time, whether that be sales of project delivery. Take your average sales or technical person if they work 20 per cent longer they will do 20 per cent more. Yes they can increase their productivity in those hours but whether they are exceptionally productive in those hours or not they will do 20 per cent more GP if they work 20 per cent longer. Again it's down to the individual. If you're hitting your delivery metrics you don't need micromanaging and I think this is what it's all about, train people well enough so they have the autonomy to choose their own outcomes and manage accordingly.
See next page to hear where Charlotte Hallam stands on the four-day week...
Will a 4-day week become the norm in the IT channel? 5 recruiters have their say…
Marc Sumner, Charlotte Hallam, Louise Wright, Zoe Chatley and Tim Davey weigh in on the debate that's polarising the industry
"Personally, I am all for any scheme that encourages wellbeing in the workplace"
Name: Charlotte Hallam
Role: Technology channel recruitment leader
Based on the conversations you're having with your vendor and partner clients, how many are seriously looking into a 4-day week?
Many clients across the channel I speak to on a weekly basis are positive about this model when asked, however it really will vary across the channel community depending on their size of business. A £3m VAR/MSP adopting a four-day week will have far fewer operational issues/loss of profit with their staff working across four days instead of five than say a Softcat or Computacenter!
My only concern with this suggested model is how will companies be able to implement such a drastic move to their working hours and days? This is certainly not a "one size fits all" approach!
What are your personal views on the 4-day week model?
Personally, I am all for any scheme and incentive that encourages and improves positive wellbeing in the workplace.
I also wholeheartedly believe that "outcome" is far more important than "output". Employers in the UK channel should be embracing the opportunity, if they can, to provide increased flexibility for their staff, as well as an increase of "trust" in the workplace and their employees - this culture will breed far greater "outcomes" than a workplace that is antiquated and living in the dark ages.
Do you think the new workplace models that have emerged since Covid hit (for instance shorter hours and hybrid/more flexible working) will really stick in the long term?
In short: yes, 100 per cent. I haven't heard of many companies in the channel suffering loss of earnings, or not reporting record months and QTRs as we have come out of the pandemic - have you?
See following page for MiGrowth's Louise Wright's take on whether a four-day week will cut it in the channel...
Will a 4-day week become the norm in the IT channel? 5 recruiters have their say…
Marc Sumner, Charlotte Hallam, Louise Wright, Zoe Chatley and Tim Davey weigh in on the debate that's polarising the industry
"Could you be losing top performers to competitors with a 4-day week?"
Name: Louise Wright
Role: Associate Director - UK & Europe Sales & Marketing IT , Audio Visual & UC Technology Recruitment , MiGrowth
What are your personal views on the 4-day week model?
I think the new 4-day week trial has to be put into perspective of the current job/workplace climate in the UK.
Never before have we gone from being low jobs/high candidates (peak of Covid) to high jobs/low candidates (current) so quickly.
Businesses are desperately looking for innovative ways to attract and retain talent and I have seen employee flexibility becoming a key part of a business's strategy.
A 4-day week sounds great but if it doesn't align with your customers' 4-day week, particularly when you are working on the more transactional side of technology, could you be missing out on potential opportunities? On the flip side, if your competitors are offering a 4-day week, could you be losing your top performers to them? The same with fully remote roles.
This is a new challenge in the world of work and the key for us depends very much on your business, the type of role you are hiring and the specific challenges you face.
Entry level positions, where there is a greater need for skill development, we have seen less flexibility in the offering as the benefits of closer work collaboration are far greater.
In summary, a 4-day week is yet another new "working model" that businesses now have, which they need to make a decision on, based on their own situation. Will it work commercially? Will it help with talent attraction and/or retention?
We have seen huge success with businesses that don't have a set policy but are able to offer bespoke flexibility for their staff and potential employees on a case by case basis. Businesses that don't have a "one size fits all" policy are becoming very attractive propositions as they are able to decide what is best for both the business and the individual.
Based on the conversations you're having with your vendor and partner clients, how many are seriously looking into a 4-day week, and how do the hiring bosses you talk to generally feel about it?
I have seen flexibility mean various things to several of my vendor partners. Part remote, fully remote and now a 4 day week are all now serious considerations when a candidate decides to join, or more importantly stay, at an employer. The golden question is "what is the best strategy?"
The 4-day week trial moots a ‘100:80:100 model' - 100% of pay for 80% of the time, but maintaining 100% productivity. Are those figures really achievable, or just wishful thinking?
If you have a mature approach anything is possible - a sales person will work at 100% to hit target even in four day week !!
See final page to read why some of Robertson Sumner CEO Marc Sumner's channel clients are worried about how a four-day week could impact customer experience...
Will a 4-day week become the norm in the IT channel? 5 recruiters have their say…
Marc Sumner, Charlotte Hallam, Louise Wright, Zoe Chatley and Tim Davey weigh in on the debate that's polarising the industry
"People are worried that the customer experience would be negatively impacted"
Name: Marc Sumner
Role: CEO, Robertson Sumner
The UK has just kicked off the world's biggest ever 4-day-week trial. Will the model catch on in the UK IT channel?
Potentially - if it is going to catch on, I think that it will be vendor led. With the shortage of talent in the UK channel it could be a very attractive selling point to help entice people to join the business when hiring. Due to the nature of their business models, I am not 100 per cent convinced that this will catch on within distribution or the reseller channels in the short term.
Based on the conversations you're having with your vendor and partner clients, how many are seriously looking into a 4-day week, and how do the hiring bosses you talk to generally feel about it?
Most businesses aren't in a situation where they can afford to leave a customer waiting until the right person is back working to resolve any of their issues
Currently nobody has proactively brought this up with me at all. Most are just getting used to getting back into the offices once again! People I have mentioned it to, aren't considering this as an option yet. They are worried that the customer experience would be negatively impacted. Customer requirements/demand doesn't necessarily fit neatly into a four-day window and most businesses aren't in a situation where they can afford to leave a customer waiting until the right person is back working to resolve any of their issues.
What are your personal views on the 4-day week model?
I think it sounds like a great idea if you are an employee, however I am not convinced it is great for your end user customers. The customer experience could potentially go down/response times will likely go up meaning the productivity could be affected elsewhere. I'm not sure how sustainable this will be.
Do you think the new workplace models that have emerged since Covid hit (for instance shorter hours and hybrid/more flexible working) will really stick in the long term?
There is no doubt that the pandemic has shown that there is scope for us to work as efficiently from home versus being in the office full-time. Given that the current conditions in the job market are dictated by the employee, companies are having to be creative/offer flexibility in order to compete in order to maintain and grow their workforce. I am not sure this will last forever. Fast forward to a time when there are fewer jobs available, hiring companies will in essence be able to dictate the terms under which they bring people into the business and most business leaders and hiring managers that I have spoken to still prefer having people back in the office.
Secondly, I think a lot of businesses have actually missed the benefit that comes from their employees collaborating face to face - it is harder to replicate this when you aren't in the same room.