nexthire declares Monday 14 May Working Mother’s Day

(May 2012) – Recruitment shortlister, nexthire, says working mothers should wear that term as a badge of honour, even going so far as to include it on their CV. Working mothers regularly put in 12 to 14 hour days with little reward. To celebrate their commitment and achievements, and to highlight the inequalities that still exist in the workforce, nexthire has declared Monday May 14 to be Working Mother’s Day.

On Monday 14 May – the day after traditional Mother’s Day – nexthire encourages employers to examine the contributions made by working mothers in their organisations, to review their ‘family-friendly’ workplace policies and to become a part of a movement towards creating a new workplace culture that rewards performance and productivity above simply being present in the office for long hours.

As the traditional Mother’s Day approaches, many young women believe that their mothers blazed a trail, created equal opportunities for women and showed that you can have it all – kids, career and a fulfilling personal life. And these young women would be right, but only up to a point, according to nexthire CEO Jason Snell.

“Employers may be missing out on a large group of extremely productive and valuable workers by emphasising the importance of long hours in the actual office,” said Jason.

“Mothers should be highly sought after employees because they are great at multi-tasking, meeting impossible deadlines, resolving conflict and managing people. They can delegate and are usually highly organised. What's more, they tend to work harder when they're at work because they have other responsibilities when they get home. This makes them more productive and, arguably, more attractive as employees,” he said.

So why is it that many organisations are still so inflexible with their employment of working mothers and accommodating their needs? Women represent 50 per cent of the workforce with an estimated two thirds of them being mothers.

Jason believes organisations need to start addressing the issue head-on and stop losing out on the talent and expertise that mothers have to offer the workplace.

“Most workplaces talk the talk, using phrases like ‘work/life balance’ and ‘family-friendly policies’, but what that really means in practice is that they provide a laptop and a smartphone so employees can remain tethered to the office at all times,” he said. “Despite anecdotal evidence that workers who are given more flexibility repay their employers with increased productivity and loyalty, women – usually mothers – looking for flexible workplace conditions rarely rise to the top.”

The answer isn’t simple, but small changes can make a difference, according to Jason.

”We need men and women alike to not only thank their mothers on Mother’s Day, but to pick up the baton and run with it, demanding a change in workplace culture so that all workers, regardless of gender or parental status, can be rewarded for the merit of their work rather than the quantity of their hours in the office.”

nexthire, formerly known as final5, uses the latest in recruitment technology and techniques to deliver quality, screened shortlists within 10 days for a flat fee. It does not charge placement fees. nexthire delivers targeted and well executed advertising campaigns to attract the right candidates, specialised candidate briefing to meet your brief, and a qualified shortlist of candidates ready for interview.

Jason has been at nexthire since it was founded as final5 in 2004. At the helm for most of the company’s eight-year history, Jason has seen nexthire go from strength to strength as the leader in recruitment shortlisting.

With a BComm (International Business & Marketing) from Deakin University, Jason firmly believes that there is a better way to recruit excellent candidates without devoting endless hours in-house to the process or paying high placement fees. By challenging the way businesses approach recruitment, Jason is demonstrating that there is a better way to recruit.