When you think about recruitment what comes to mind? Typically people conjure an image of a ‘boy’s club’ - an office not too dissimilar to the one Jordan Belfort commanded in Wolf of Wall Street - with very few women. Well, in many cases you may not be too far away from the truth. In fact, only 26% of those surveyed by Women in Recruitment worked in an office with more female staff than male and almost a third (30%) of recruitment firms have less than 5% female leaders at board level. Pretty shocking right?

Well, we pride ourselves on being an education recruitment company with a difference and one of those differences is that not only do we have a female strong team but 2 out of our 3 directors are women, including our MD, Katy. And, while we don’t like to toot our own horn too much there have been numerous studies that have shown that companies with a larger proportion of female directors see better business outcomes! 

So, how does Smile Education attract and more importantly retain their female staff? Katy and Emma (and Mark - don’t worry International Men’s Day is around the corner….) have done extensive work in order to create a working environment that doesn’t just focus on results. Instead, they have created a values-driven business which asks it’s employees to be committed, to do quality work and to work together.

On making this business model work, Katy said: 

“I learnt very early on that it was so important to have a team with shared values, they shape everything we do as a business and ensure we work in synergy with each other and our clients. As a business we are determined to support all our employees to be the best that they can be and are proud to have so many inspirational and hardworking ladies in the team.”

Women know how other women tick, what motivates them, what inspires them. Of course, something we all want is for our achievements to be recognised. A whopping 56% of the women surveyed by Cranberry Panda said that they would continue working in recruitment if their contributions were acknowledged. Celebrating success is a big part of working at Smile. We run a special achievement incentive each month that asks our team to nominate their colleagues for their support or hard work. Just one of the many reasons that we’ve been able to retain so many of our female staff members! 

Our team is made up of over 20 smart, intelligent women who work in various roles throughout the business from marketing and admin to recruitment consultant and resourcer. Each of them bring something new and different to the table making the company what is it. When asked what difference it made to working in a female-lead environment Nicola said:

“Working within an office primarily run by women gives me a sense of achievement and something to strive for. On a daily basis I feel empowered to always go the extra mile as I’m supported all the way and never told I cannot do something! The understanding and team spirit is something I have never experienced at any other work setting.”

As mentioned above, it’s not just those on our board who are women. Many of our team leaders and associate directors are also women. Recruitment businesses like ours have actually seen real benefits from having women in leadership position with most seeing an average of 15% increase profit! When asked why she felt female leadership was important in recruitment, Priya, who joined us upon graduating university, said:

“Female Leadership is vital in recruitment as it inspires younger women and shows what is possible with hard work. Being a recent female graduate, entering recruitment can be intimidating at first, but seeing strong women on a daily basis in powerful positions through merit and dedication is endlessly inspiring and motivating.  Female leadership in recruitment provides accessible role models to me who I can relate to and one day work my way towards being.”

So, you are a strong, independent woman (or man) who is interested in joining our team and make your mark in the world of recruitment, then we would love to hear from you. For more information on all of the other benefits that we offer, visit our ‘work for us’ page or get straight down to it and submit your CV.