Foreword

FOREWORD BY NAZ DOSSA

Professional service firms are facing a talent disaster if they don't take action on a silent danger that isn't being acknowledged. Welfare concerns for people working in the industry are far higher than anyone would expect. Concerns for safety when people work late, travel for business or work with clients affect +75% of people in this industry. This impacts the productivity of 25% of those people and makes 44% want to leave their job when there's been an incident in their company.

If HR, wellbeing and recruitment teams in this industry don't want to get caught out by a new generation that expects employers to have a vested interest in supporting them, then they need to sit up, take notice and act on these findings. Yoga and headspace apps have their place, but base fears for personal safety that affects 75% of the workforce when they travel for business are on a different level.

How can a young and hard-working team in largely city-based roles be left unsupported when the headlines on personal safety and research like this point out the clear issues that they face? They shouldn't, and more needs to be done before the talent walks into tech roles that don't pose the same concerns.

This research was done with more than 1,000 people working in firms such as accountancy and consultancy services, with more than half working for enterprise-level firms and having a confidence rating of +3%. Its findings should therefore be given the full consideration of people who make the decisions to support and nurture talent in this industry.

Take stock of the findings but,
more importantly, take action.