Sustainability focus: how Quarsh delivers recruitment and retention

Posted by Web Master on 18/08/2022

Quarsh. The “go-to” recruitment and retention solution for companies with a focus on sustainability.

“So what’s your B Corp story?” This question has come up hundreds of times since we gained our certification. Without exception, spoken with genuine interest in the journey that brought us to where we are. To those who aren’t yet fully on the path to doing better business, sustainability can feel a little bit like the Emperor’s clothes, wrapped in a little suspicion about greenwashing. Completely understandable. Negative stories about huge companies make for much better news articles than the hundreds of businesses quietly doing their bit.

Our own microcosm is recruiting and retention, and we know that companies that have a strong sustainability message do better at both. Why? Recruiting and retention act like mirrors of each other. Good recruiting gives good retention; good retention makes for better recruiting. Chances are, if your company has a sustainability focus, you’ll find recruiting and retaining the people you need is easier than for others in your space, because this is what people are looking for: employers who care about them and about the planet. A fantastic competitive advantage in the current market.

If you’re one of those excellent companies, you’ll want to work with suppliers who share your values. Here’s our story.

Our co-founder, Lucy, has always been a bit weird about the environment. The bedroom wall poster she remembers with most clarity from her teenage years isn’t of a band, but of the Amazon rainforest destruction. When she taught SCUBA around the world, she carried a mesh bag on dives to pick up rubbish. She instigated Norman Broadbent’s becoming the world’s first carbon neutral search firm back in 2006, and joined the All Party Political Climate Change Group. When she first heard about B Corp certification, and looked into what it meant, it was a proper lightbulb moment. Why wouldn’t we want to use business as a force for good?

Sustainability, in a recruiting context, goes much deeper than going paperless, using public transport and opting for reusable bottles (all those things are fabulous!); to us, it’s about creating recruiting environment where everybody wins.

Recruit well, and keep improving how you recruit, and you will hire better people. They will stay for longer, and be more productive, and they’ll make better hiring decisions themselves. Sustainability is at the heart of this. As the business leader, you need to create an environment where people are making the right decisions, whether or not those decisions directly benefit them. This means hiring people who are given the right tools and authority to do their jobs well. In recruiting terms, this means working with your suppliers to find a way through challenging market conditions. In turn, this means trusting that your suppliers are on your side.

This is why we love working with companies for whom sustainability is part of their everyday. Trust, support, openness, a desire to do our best because it’s the right thing to do. This all has to be earned on both sides, of course; if we’re beginning with positivity, and a belief that we’re all here to achieve a common goal, whether it’s a short project or a long partnership, everyone smiles.

Our goal is to be the go-to recruitment and retention solution for companies who are focussed on sustainability. This is our charter.