As more workers are made redundant due to the unfolding COVID-19 situation, Canberra-based recruitment agency Elliott Gray is stepping up to lend a helping hand.
The business has just implemented a cost-neutral fee-based service to support workers find temporary employment.
“My business partner (Alex Elliott) and I have always felt a strong sense of social responsibility, so as we have seen the events unfold and the situation of those being made unemployed due to this unprecedented situation, we felt wrong to make a profit out of these people. Instead, we wanted to use our company and networks to help in any way we could,” said Elliott Gray director Elsa Gray-Murphy.
Fellow director Alex Elliott added, “I think that many other businesses are still trying to figure out how they operate in this new environment – being small and agile we have been fortunate enough to adapt quickly, I have no doubt we will start to see more and more of this level of innovation and giving back.”
The duo hope the initiative will motivate those businesses and employers out there who have been fighting to keep up with an increased workload to reach out for help.
According to Ms Gray-Murphy, pockets of the Canberra market, such as cyber, health, government and community-focused not-for-profits, have increased their need for temporary staffing.
“We also hope to encourage employers to think about how they can utilise a temporary workforce where they can.”
For candidates, Ms Gray-Murphy said the company will work as quickly as possible to register them and identify what kind of work they are willing and able to do in the short term.
“We will flag this in a specially created list ready to share with employers looking for a contractor,” she said. “For employers, we will share the candidates on this list and match them as best we can to current vacancies. We will provide this service, as well as the payroll service, at a cost-neutral fee. So we are providing temporary staffing solutions to employers without making profit.”
And it’s not just Elliott Gray that is working to give back to the community.
“I have seen many socially responsible organisations all trying to help in any way they can,” Ms Gray-Murphy said.
“Certainly we have had many of our clients reach out to offer a hand to us as a small business. As an example, Yellow Edge, a training provider, has reached out to us to offer in partnership with Elliott Gray a free ‘digital on-boarding and management’ course to employers. We are currently in talks with them to prepare the materials.”
Andrew Simon, Managing Director Yellow Edge, said businesses are stronger when “we act as a community”.
“We work and operate in a business ecosystem and when the ecosystem is under threat all businesses suffer. Businesses must therefore come together to explore creative ways of working together to stay in the game. It’s not about profit; it’s about being able to continue to do meaningful work and to bring value to our clients, our staff and the people that depend on us.”
For more stories like this:
