Staff at this specialist recruitment company now have FlexAppeal, thanks to the new ways of working opened up by lockdown.

Being part of a sales business, the Austin Fraser and Austin Vita teams have historically thrived on spending time in a busy, dynamic office environment. Having tackled concerns such as wellbeing after lockdown began, the senior leadership team ran a survey asking how staff felt about flexible working.

The result is the FlexAppeal policy, which allows employees to work from wherever they are most productive. Also, core hours have been jettisoned. This means staff can have a mix of home and office working and factor other things, such as family responsibilities and exercise, into their working days.

Austin Fraser and Austin Vita started life in 2007 with the two founders working in a converted garage. Today the business, which specialises in tech and life sciences recruitment, has more than 200 employees in nine cities in Europe and America.

During the pandemic, the company became the first to pilot use of FormScore, an app designed to help people track their mental health and alert friends and colleagues to possible problems. Users mark themselves from 1 to 10, depending on how low or well they are feeling, and their scores can be seen by people they are connected with.

Other team initiatives include a Share the Love wall on Fridays, where staff can nominate people who have made them feel good, for whatever reason, during the week.