Work from Home Diaries: Michael McCauley
We had a chat to Michael, Director at Archway Recruitment on his approach to working flexibility.
In one sentence what is your job?
As a Director at Archway I balance my time between managing clients, candidates and team members as well as taking responsibility for our systems and managing the Auckland office.
How long does it normally take you to commute when you work in the office?
This is Auckland, so anything from 20 minutes to 45 minutes each day depending on when I leave and traffic. If I decide to cycle along Tamaki Drive, then closer to an hour.
How do you utilise the flexible working environment at Archway to better your work/life balance?
Having worked for a corporate throughout my career prior to Archway, flexibility was never an option – that was the experience of all of us as Directors and, as parents, we wanted a different work experience. I have a busy house; 4 boys, 4 cats, a released guide dog and a wife who works full time. So being able to drop the kids at school, take them to swimming at times and not to feel under pressure to rush to ‘be present’ at a desk is huge. Our roles are largely about communication and with a mobile phone we can always be in touch with our clients and colleagues wherever we are.
What do you love about working from home?
I save over an hour in travel time for a start. I tend to use the time at home to focus on the business, plan and source candidates. I leave meetings for those days when I’m in the office.
I have a clear plan for those days that I work from home. At about 4pm the kids return from School and rather than trying to work, we walk the dog or head off to the BMX park.
What do you miss from the office when you are working from home?
Recruitment is a people business and meeting with people is what I enjoy the most about the work. We have successes and failures and being in the office is the best way to learn from this as a team. Personally, I learn from those around me and I strongly believe the day you stop learning is the day you need to make a change!
How do you think Covid19 has changed the way people are working? Both with the Archway team and your clients.
Technology, communication and trust and not necessarily in that order! At Archway we’ve always been open and trusting of our staff and we never mandated what time our team members needed to be ‘present’ in the office so in that regard nothing for us has materially changed. But we are using Teams a lot more now to communicate and when we were in lockdown we found that invaluable. For our clients we have seen that interviews via Zoom and Teams common place. The quality of the connection and ability to share screens to discuss a project, design and calculations have been very important when a company is making a decision.
As a Director at Archway, what is your view on a flexible working culture?
Recruitment isn’t about working in an office from 8am until 5pm. It’s about people and relationships. People can be productive in various environments and ‘one size does not fit all.’ Our staff are accountable for targets and deadlines and we offer support and training to make sure Archway and the consultant are successful.
COVID19 has fast tracked the future of work and the way we work!
