Jan 22, 2016 | IT
Gov.uk were recently left red-faced when an embarrassing spelling blunder- tweeted out to over 1 million followers- highlighted to everyone not only the importance of attention to detail, but that unfortunately this can happen to the largest of organisations. This got us talking about how attention to detail can create great success, or prompt dangerous pitfalls that will cause your business to suffer.
Attention to detail is a prime characteristic of high-performing organisations. Careful management in detail is sure to improve accuracy in performance, and will contribute to overall efficiency and success. Creating positive impressions and proving your corporate competence is key.
It doesn’t stop at spelling and grammar. Historically, the most successful people have an extraordinary ability to notice the most minute of details. Apple is the perfect example of how a fierce attention to detail can bring the greatest amount of success. They will spend days discussing pixel position- details that other companies may overlook as unimportant. They have a desire to create computers that look beautiful on the inside- even though they don’t get seen. This just shows that paying attention pays!
According to Michael Levine- author and media expert, ignoring the smallest of details causes the biggest problems in business. Gov.uk certainly are not the first company to have been subject to an embarrassing, or indeed detrimental blunder that could have been avoided. In 1999 a simple school-level math error caused a Mars orbiter, designed by Lockheed Martin for NASA, to be lost in space when Engineers at Lockheed used English measurements while the NASA team used metric ones. This costed NASA $125million. This could have been easily avoided and it was reported that there were numerous opportunities for this error to be caught before it was too late. Don’t let simple attention to detail cause you the most destructive results.
We can help you recruit someone- bringing a fresh pair of eyes to the business. If you are struggling with staff who lack an attention to detail, we will help you hire a IT or HR specialist, sure to maintain a high level of professionalism and diligence. Call us on 0207 788 6600 to speak with one of our expert consultants today.
Jan 20, 2016 | IT
Traditionally the art of trading online successfully very much rested upon the placement of talented developers, designers and online marketing specialists; however, with the explosion that has been seen within the world of social media, the ways in which consumers shop, review products and even interact with the companies they purchase from, has been irrevocably transformed. Here we take a look at just what this means for the modern business that seeks to secure a future of boosted e-commerce trade, empowered by social media.
The power of peer to peer advocacy
Word of mouth has arguably always been the most powerful form of marketing there is, and with the unstoppable growth of social media this medium has been digitally supercharged. In fact, so powerful is it that consumer-to-consumer word of mouth has been found to generate twice as much business as compared to paid advertising (BRANDERATI 2013); its little wonder then, that this social media age has often even referred to as the Age of Advocacy and Influence.
E-Commerce becomes one with social media
As of August 2015 Salesforce.com announced the ability for their users to embed a Buy Now button within their social media communities; this, coupled with SAP’s October expansion into e-commerce alongside Jam Communities for SAP hybrids Commerce, has truly realised the ability of sophisticated embedding of e-commerce capabilities upon social media platforms.
As with many things within the social media realm, it seems to be the blue-chip giant of Facebook that is leading the way. For years Facebook has featured the business page ‘Shop Tab’ ability through the good old fashioned, yet pretty mobile unfriendly iframe. Today however, as with all things that this social media giant does, things are altogether rather different, as well as a whole lot more advanced, allowing for the actual upload of products directly onto the platform, and the integrating of payment systems to seamlessly manage the entire process.
Content, community building and solid sales funnels
Adding value to your offering, and to your target market, has always lay at the core of content marketing. Online social communicates can drive business growth, acting as an essential tool for the robust management of your sales funnel. However, whilst many advocates of merging e-commerce and social media have heralded the moves towards a singular online social/shopping destination, others disagree. These particular industry experts argue that such a move is clouding the essential information gathering that is so vital within a community (and where an image of relative impartiality is beneficial).
Beyond social eCommerce onto social customer service
As social media has become increasingly ingrained within the everyday lives of the consumer many have come to expect customer services to be naturally forthcoming upon the platforms they use day in, day out. And where complaints, and perhaps more importantly – the way such complaints are handled – can be placed upon the world’s stage the issue of solid social customer service becomes ever more important. When harnessed in the right way it can lead to companies that are considered to have outstanding service levels, as well as delivering vital savings upon traditional support mediums.
However, it seems that few are embracing social media in this way, with recent research showing that less than 30% of companies on Twitter responded to questions (Social Bakers 2015).
Social media is not only transforming the expertise required within the modern business’s IT departments, but is extending to effect customer services as well as marketing. For the company truly seeking a holistic approach to e-commerce it seems that these three once separate realms within the average business are looking set only to have more and more in common.
Jan 18, 2016 | IT
The IT industry is furiously fast paced – accounting for an ever more significant driving force behind many a business’s bottom line. For those companies that harness the right technology and employ the most talented of IT workers there exists a bright future propelled through innovation. Yet it seems that the UK is seriously suffering from the side effects of being dangerously understaffed when it comes to the IT industry. So here we take a look at just what this means for the jobs market for forward thinking businesses, as well as for the wider UK economy as a whole.
The all-together rather gloomy UK graduate jobs market
For graduates it seems that there is barely a day that goes by that doesn’t report ever more depressing figures. From the fact that more than 50% of graduates are working within non-graduate jobs (CIPD 2015) through to the fact that every graduate position has, on average, 39 applicants (High Fliers 2014).
Add to this the typical student debt bill, which has sky rocketed to £44,000 (The Independent 2014) and you’d be forgiven for thinking that UK Graduates have never had it so bad.
The IT Graduate: Seriously hot property for the trading landscape of tomorrow
For the IT graduate the outlook is positively glorious, and is far from reflective of the seriously saturated market that many other industries are suffering from.
Rather than there being 39 applicants for each IT position, there is instead 39% of UK companies struggling to fulfil their IT needs (BCS 2013) and with the current needs of UK businesses, as reported by E-Skills, requiring around 140,000 IT professionals each year, the current rate of 16,440 students enrolling upon computer science courses is woefully inadequate.
Of course this all contrasts against a backdrop of an ever more digitalised UK world, within which the IT industry is forecasted to expand five times over within the next ten years (CIO 2015). Companies today are then truly built upon solid social media strategies, ever evolving business apps and software that makes for the basis upon which businesses operate, market themselves and grow.
The outlook for the average UK business
As employers struggle to secure domestic IT workers, particularly within the software development realm, such businesses are turning to offshore positions within developing economies. Yet these companies are finding such an approach to be a seriously false economy where language, cultural and educational differences prove many a time to be insurmountable barriers.
A forecast for the UK economy
A little shining light for the UK IT jobs market comes in the form of recently announced plans by the Government to introduce core computing skills, such as coding, from Primary school age. However, for the time being, or rather the decade or so until these tiny, well trained coding digits enter the jobs market, it seems that UK employers may need to look to overseas graduates to fulfil their essential IT needs.
Langley James appreciate the challenges of today’s businesses in their quest to fulfil tomorrow’s IT positions today, going beyond the status quo to deliver superstar candidates for even the most demanding of IT job roles.
Jan 18, 2016 | IT
If you are not placing any importance on implementing career development programs in 2016, you are likely to regret it. According to research conducted by SHRM, career advancement opportunities are placed as high importance by employees, and by not investing as much into employee development as competitors are, you are at risk of losing your best talent.
Career Development Methods
There are various methods that you can utilise in order to implement employee development plans. Some companies choose to create mobility programs within the organisation, such as internal hiring, mentoring or leadership programs. Others choose to focus on professional development- providing the funding for employees to work towards certifications and degrees. Some more popular methods include company paid general training and tuition; and nurturing talents, skills and abilities in order to encourage employees to excel in tasks that they enjoy.
Why?
The Benefit to You
When creating a career development strategy, consider the benefit to both the employee, and the business. Implementing career development plans can be a great benefit to your company. In enhancing the knowledge and experience of staff, you can fill internal skill gaps, and in some cases, role gaps. An increase in knowledge about the job in hand will also highly increase engagement and productivity, and tasks will ultimately be completed to a higher standard. This contributes to instilling confidence in your employees, which in turn increases retention levels. The benefits are endless, implementing such a strategy is an investment to a business as opposed to a cost.
Retention
We are seeing a massive surge in people seeking new opportunities and moving on from their existing job role. With the current job market on the up, retention strategies are more invaluable to a business than ever. It may come as no surprise that a lack of career prospect will play a significant part in an employee wanting to move on to better things. Putting procedures, such as career development programs, in place to ensure higher levels employee satisfaction, will ultimately increase retention. Of course, it would be a task to attempt to cater to everyone’s needs and expectations, particularly when people have such different ideas about their career goals and ambitions. But discussing with your staff where they want to be and how they want to get there, gives you the opportunity to aid them in achieving their career development targets. Read more on employee retention.
Employer Branding
Developmental programs which enhance employee’s prospects, is a great way to promote your business and to show how great you are as a company. Implementing a career development program is something you should use to enhance your employer branding. The job market is becoming ever more stable, and people have far more faith in the current climate. There is a greater choice available to people now, and retention is a big issue that employers are currently facing. Clearly defined career paths will help you attract new hires. They will make you appear attractive to prospective employees, and will set you apart from competitors- so shout about it. Read more on employer branding.
When Implementing The Plan
Manage Expectations
The first thing to ensure when you begin to implement career development plans, is that all expectations meet the reality of the plan. Tackle any uncertainties the employee may have. You may find that some view these developmental plans as an added workload and a stress. Manage your employee’s expectations by maintaining that these types of programs are available to those who are willing to engage and that no pressure will be added to those who do not want to participate. Taking a gentle approach and highlighting how such a plan will be a benefit to them; and outlining exactly how the program will be undertaken will help in managing the employee’s expectations.
Create a Clear Message
Avoid ambiguity and set a clear, concise message from the outset by defining what the plan will include and how you can help your staff get to where they want to be. Be sure to affirm that what you can provide to them rests heavily on company growth, company priorities, economic circumstances and the career goals of the individual. You may also avoid getting into hot water by defining whether this program will provide internal job opportunities or career opportunities- there is quite a difference between the two.
Don’t Over Commit
When you begin to implement your career development procedure, you must ensure that you do not over commit your time or resources if you cannot follow through with your promises. Avoid uncertainty and specify exactly how you can help the employee with career development and the channels by which will help them achieve their goals. It may be that you will provide funding for a member of staff to complete a college course or degree, in which case it would be advisable to set in place any rules or regulations in regards to where and when the employee can complete their work. For example, all work must be undertaken out of working hours, or limited to 2-3 hours a week. Ensure that the boundaries are set and that the employee understands that you can steer them in the right direction and help them to explore their options, but you are not there to do the work for them.
If you are looking for someone to join your team who can help you implement career development opportunities, then call us today on 0207 788 6600 and our specialist consultants can help you find the perfect HR professional for the role.
Jan 12, 2016 | IT
We are kicking the year off to a great start following a tremendous 2015 full of new exciting projects, milestones, and many highs at Langley James. Here are just a few of the milestones and achievements we are most proud of:
Your satisfaction
2015 was a great year at Langley James for building and maintaining relationships with all of our clients and candidates. We placed many great candidates into roles with over 200 different companies repeatedly in the space of 12 months. We are proud to say that the majority of the clients that we recruited for, have become regular contacts, and have put their trust in our consultants to find them great candidates again and again. We are also pleased that a growing number of the people that we have placed into job roles, have kept in touch to give us updates on how they are getting on in their new role. We feel privileged that so many of you have built up such a great amount of trust in our consultants and continually show your support and confidence in our services.
Our services to you
In 2015, our efforts in quality client and candidate focus, management and continual improvement were highlighted when we began working towards our ISO accreditation under the British Assessment Bureau. This accreditation means that our process and approach to the way Langley James is managed adheres to the desired management, customer focus and quality processes; and demonstrates the quality in our services to you.
2015 was one of the biggest years for Langley James as we hit a record number of almost 5000 successful placements, with our team of consultants stronger than ever- most with over 15 years’ experience in recruitment. Our live internal database size also hit a record number this year, and we were thrilled to be able to help an unprecedented number of great candidates find the job they were looking for. The number and scale of great people who approached us to help them find the right role meant that we were able to give clients a great choice of people to interview. It also meant that clients could be very specific about any definitive attributes they were looking for in a potential employee and we could always find candidates who could fulfil these requirements.
HR Division
After 16 years in IT recruitment, it had been continually requested that we move into HR, and it felt fitting as we have been dealing with HR specialists and their recruitment processes. One of our top recruiters, Lucy has had a wealth of experience in management and human resources previous to joining the team 3 years ago. The division officially launched in July, and in the space of 6 months, has rocketed. We have already had the opportunity to work with many incredibly talented HR professionals and this is just the beginning of the division.
Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing Specialism
There has been a focus in the market for specialists within Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing and we are catering for the specific need by having Mark Holloway and David Barnes join us. Both seasoned recruiters with over 20 years’ experience, they will be utilising their traditional recruitment skills, including head-hunting to enable us to deliver the best candidates to our clients.
Thank you
We would like to take the opportunity to thank you for coming along on this journey with us, and without your support we couldn’t have experienced the great number of accomplishments that we did in 2015.
Jan 12, 2016 | IT
January is always full of predictions for the year ahead and it’s interesting to look back to see which of last year’s predicted trends really did make an impact. However, as technology continues to develop, candidates seize more control over their career opportunities and the workplace becomes ever more flexible, we thought we’d report on some of the possible workplace trends for 2016.
Boomerang Employees
Feel like you’ve seen that CV before somewhere? Well, this year you may just get a touch of deja vu as we’re expected to see more employees returning to businesses they onced worked for. And, according to Forbes, we’re more welcoming than we once were; 48% of organisations previously had a policy against hiring so called boomerang employees, but 76% now say they are more accepting when it comes to hiring a previous employee again. As technology has given us better access to more talent and switching jobs becomes more common, hiring a previous employee could mean less training and induction time as they’ll already be familiar with processes, systems and the company culture, they’re also likely to arrive back with a fresh, enthusiastic perspective.
Enter Generation Z
For the first time we’re noticeably going to see generation Z, the fresh wave of graduates born between 1994 and 2010, make their mark on the workplace. With the lessons of the previous generation and the recession in their minds, along with the responsibility of heavy student debts generation Z are likely to be savvy workers, seeking mentors to help them reach their goals of becoming managers within only a few years. However, although success is important, so is work-life balance, possibly more so than monetary reward.
Succession Planning High on the Agenda
With the likelihood of a five generation workforce in many organisations and a large amount of baby boomers about to retire, the dynamics in the workplace are likely to change significantly for some in 2016. Millennial workers will move into management and leadership roles but may lack the guidance and knowledge of those preparing to retire, making succession planning more important than ever. See our article on managing retirement here.
Flexibility Become Reality
There’s been so much talk over the last year about flexible working – but apparently 2016 is the year you’ll really be able to see the rise in co-working, flexitime and telecommuting. With younger generations valuing more of a work-life balance and workers feeling burned out as they struggle to keep up with longer working days and the need to be ever-contactable, flexible schedules have been shown to make people happier.
To have a chat with one of our experienced recruitment consultants about the needs for your business in 2016 just get in touch here.
Jan 12, 2016 | IT
This year brings into play new laws directly affecting HR, and changes to existing employment laws, as the Government update their policies. It’s important that employers, HR teams and all managers are aware of these changes and how they may impact staffing and workplace procedures. Here’s five of the most important changes to familiarise yourself with as we head into 2016.
The National Living Wage
From April this year employers will be required by law to pay the national living wage of £7.20 an hour to employees over the age of 25 (the current minimum wage is £6.70 an hour for those over 21). The Living Wage Foundation estimate the true living wage to currently be £8.25, however the Government’s decision to introduce this increase is part of their ambition to raise the national minimum wage to £9 an hour by 2020.
Gender Pay Reporting
By March it will be compulsory for organisations with more than 250 employees to report on and publish the difference between the pay of men and women within their organisation – and this includes the difference between bonuses. The average pay gap between men and women is currently just over 19% and companies currently only voluntarily offer over this pay gap data. Campaigners are keen to have this information available to employees and to trade unions, but the details of this legislation are still being finalised, so keep a look out for further updates.
Parental and sick pay frozen
Normally each year will see a rise in the weekly rate of statutory maternity pay, statutory paternity pay, statutory adoption pay and statutory shared parental pay, however in 2016 a fall in the consumer prices index means there will be no increase and pay rates are frozen from last year. Sick pay will also remain at the same level as 2015.
Trade Union Law Amended
2016 sees amendments to the Trade Union Bill, introducing more strict procedures with the aim of minimising unnecessary threats of industrial action. The measure includes increasing the voting threshold, setting a four-month time limit for industrial action and increasing the amount of notice to be given to an employer of strike action.
Updated Laws for Employing Foreign Workers
With the aim of tackling illegal working, the Immigration Bill has been updated and now makes illegal working an offence. Also any public-facing public-sector workers must speak fluent English and employers employing foreign workers may now be charged an immigration skills fee.
For more indepth details about changes to employment law this year and further ahead visit gov.uk and keep an eye out for updated news and articles from us here at Langley James.
Jan 11, 2016 | IT
It comes as no surprise that this is the time year that we see a surge in people deciding that enough is enough, that now is the time for a new start and go on to look for new job opportunities. Here we discuss some of the key factors that you should remain mindful of in order to retain your best employees in 2016.
Growth and progression
It is human nature that we want to better ourselves. The strive for growth is a very natural progression that an employee will go through during the course of their career. It would be unfair and unrealistic to expect an employee to not toy with the idea of moving on to a better position on the job ladder, whether it be within your company, or elsewhere, no matter how loyal the employee. Internal flexibility is a favourable attribute that if you have the means to implement, is likely to enhance employee retention. This is the idea of being open to moving employees around and letting them find their talents and discover what they are best at. You may find that an employee you originally placed in one role, finds their niche and performs to a higher standard in another role just by giving them some flexibility to try their hand at new projects. Obviously it is not always possible to offer that level of flexibility to employees, depending on the size and scale of the business. In this case, challenge your staff, and provide them with a higher level of responsibility. This will alleviate tedium and create a feeling of purpose and worth. Read more on employee retention here.
Work life balance
Although it may be frowned upon by employers, it should come as no surprise when people say they would prefer to work only standard or flexible hours so that they can spend more time focused on other commitments. It can be easy for employers to overlook the bigger picture, and a lack of work life balance will not only impact on the person in hand, but their spouse, family and many other aspects of their life. According to the Mental Health Foundation, over a quarter of employees in the UK feel depressed due to their work load, and a further 58% feel irritable because they struggle to maintain a healthy work life balance. Work load plays a significant part in employee satisfaction and ultimately can influence an employee’s decision on whether they stay or leave. Projects are often time oriented, do not assume that if an employee continues on with tasks beyond scheduled working hours that it is because they love their job and want to be there, which of course can be the case, but not in all instances. A feeling of pressure will profoundly impact upon an individual and force them into working beyond their contentment. If an employee is showing signs of stress and continually working beyond what is expected of them, then perhaps it is time to discuss with the individual ways to more effectively manage their time. Read our top tips in creating and implement a work life balance here.
Lack of Recognition
Measuring how appreciated an employee feels is one of the most difficult things to gauge, but one of the most important. According to a recruitment survey conducted in 2014, a simple “thank you” to your employees is worth £1,608 a year. Lack of recognition or appreciation can cause an employee to feel undervalued and unsure of how they are performing, which can ultimately lead to anxiety and stress. People perform to a much higher standard when they feel valued and a boost in confidence can have a staggering impact on the standard of work produced by your employees. If you are finding that employees are disengaged, yearly appraisals simply will not suffice. Higher engagement levels will greatly benefit both you and your employees. Making small alterations such as implementing an open door policy, and setting goals and targets for your staff to reach, will get conversation flowing, and feedback and recognition can be easily carried out. Read more on open communication here.
“The Job wasn’t what I expected”
This is the age old tale of someone who has taken a job role with certain expectations, and has been left feeling disappointed and misled when the role they undertook was not as it was expected to be. As a recruitment agency, when we ask why people are looking to move, a large number respond with “the job didn’t meet my expectations”. Often the problem is that the job description that was presented to the employee doesn’t match the role. Ambiguity of a role prior to an employee starting with your company can be far more critical than you would anticipate. People place a large amount of trust in the employer to provide them with the most accurate depiction of what they will be undertaking as part of their new role. Often it can simply be that the employee has misunderstood the job role, but can sometimes be that the employer has deliberately misled them into a job that was not for them. To prevent your new employee from making a move in the first few months of employment, take measures to ensure that the employee has a clear picture of what is expected of them. A trial day is a great way of demonstrating what the role will entail, and also the type of environment they will be working in. This is often a measure used as part of the interview process and will also give the you the chance to see if the candidate can perform to the standard that you expect of them, and fits in well within the environment.
Training and Development
If someone is feeling dissatisfied with their ability to complete their duties due to lack of knowledge, satisfaction levels will suffer and you are likely to lose them from your team. Providing training and development at work poses great benefits to both you and the employee. It is crucial in keeping your employees engaged and satisfied in their role. It is also a benefit to you, with duties and tasks being completed to a greater standard. Enhancing knowledge through the appropriate training will increase confidence, and ultimately help you to retain staff. It will give the employee the opportunity to address weaknesses and to improve on those weaknesses before they make the decision to leave on their own accord.
If you are looking for someone to join your team who can help you manage your employee satisfaction and retention, then call us today on 0207 788 6600 and we can help you find the right HR professional for the role.
Dec 21, 2015 | IT
2016 has been dubbed ‘the year of the candidate’ as the job seeker’s position strengthens and the job creator’s gets tougher. The Office of National Statistics found that 7.7 million of the UK’s workers plan to make looking for a new job in 2016 their new year’s resolution – that’s over half.
There seems to be two main reasons that this has been predicted, following activity over the last few years. To begin with, it seem that many employees are unhappy in their current role. Lack of job satisfaction and a feeling of being undervalued are often cited as the main reasons for unhappiness in the workplace, and there is often an aspect of ‘the grass is always greener’. However, candidates are also become savvy to the fact that they may be in the driving seat, or at least feel they are in a position to make positive steps to change their career for the better. Gaining a sense of empowerment to take control of your own employment opportunities may be down to the continued skills shortages which show no sign of slowing in 2016.
Candidates are increasingly realising that there is more opportunity for flexibility and that there may well be a more suited and satisfying job out there for them. It helps that moving from job-hopping (in moderation) isn’t as frowned upon and doesn’t hold quite the negative connotations it once did. With a new sense of power businesses may have to work even harder to secure the right candidates for their organisations and specific roles.
A new year, a new job, is a typical story and although over half of the UK’s workers plan to job hunt in the new year, the amount that do, and the amount the do so successfully will no doubt be significantly less. However organisations should not underestimate the strength job seekers will continue to enjoy. We’ve talked a number of times about the rise in flexible working and the desire for more of a work life balance and this plays a key role here. It seems candidates also have more flexibility with location as jobs are continually becoming more decentralised. Although London will still remain the country’s main job-hub in 2016, there is likely to be significant job growth in other major cities including Cardiff, Edinburgh, Manchester, Leeds and Bristol.
If you’re looking for the ideal candidate for your position, please get in touch and see how we can help. We have an ever growing database of candidates and great relationships with some fantastic professionals who are on the lookout for the right fit for them.
Dec 21, 2015 | IT
Due to growing competition in acquiring talent, professionals now have a far greater choice over where they work and who they work for. This shift in power now means that companies are having to sell themselves even more so than ever. General corporate marketing simply will not suffice anymore. Employer branding focuses on highlighting employee experience, promoting the appeal of working for their company, and outlining all the perks of working for that company and how it would benefit the employee. Before social media existed, employers had a degree of freedom to promote their internal processes in a good light regardless of the internal state of the company, and rarely wold people question it. However, employees have such a wide outlet to voice their opinions through social media that companies must ensure employees have a good perception of the brand they are working for and are happy in their working environment.
Create employee satisfaction
A strong employer brand is not achievable if you do not take care of your employees. First assess the position of your current brand identity internally. Conducting surveys and interviews are a great way of determining your employee’s satisfaction rates. Identify what you do well in ensuring your employees are taken care of and establish an account of the things you need to improve on in order to enhance satisfaction in your workplace. Your employees are an asset to your brand and have the ability to influence perceptions of your brand. Your employees are essentially recruiters for your brand and can have a huge impact on acquiring new talent depending on how they portray what its like to work for your company. Implement an employee satisfaction strategy. Build upon what you do well and focus on improving attributes that your employees deem important and attractive.
Determine brand perceptions
Perception has an influence on consumer behaviour, therefore having an impact on an individual’s drive and motivation to engage with a product or brand. There is clear evidence to suggest that perception is an internal stimulus that can be influenced by many external factors. These factors can be easily modified through the use of effective marketing. It can be detrimental to your brand If the correct use of marketing is not utilised in order to influence and enhance perceptions. It is important to maintain an awareness of brand perceptions of your organization. Invest in determining the factors that influence those perceptions.
Once an understanding of the influencing factors that could impact on brand engagement have been established, recommendations of the efforts that the business can make in order to modify their marketing strategy to adapt to these issues can be implemented.
Attract New Talent
At this point in the recruitment process, it is time to start building up your brand image in order to strengthen your employer proposition. Focus on highlighting why job seekers would want to work for you and how working for your organisation would benefit them. Promote the internal working environment of your organization. Ensure that you target your employer branding to the type of individual you wish to ultimately employ.
When marketing your brand to prospective employees:
- Promote the culture of your organisation
- Promote the ways by which employees are rewarded and celebrated for their performance and achievements.
- Advertise your awards and accolades. This is a great way of marketing your organisation and demonstrating your efforts and achievements.
- Promote the ways by which you encourage career development and outline the training you provide your employees and any progression prospects.
Measure and Evaluate
Now that you have invested in creating a strong employer brand, invest in measuring your efforts. Whether you have been successful in acquiring new talent or not, monitoring the effectiveness of your employer branding efforts both internally and externally is crucial in determining whether you are fulfilling your aims or not. Research from EBI 2011 found that employers use the following in order to measure return on investment of employer branding:
- Retention rate
- Employee engagement
- Quality of hire
- Cost per hire
- Number of applicants
If you are looking for someone to help you to improve your employer branding then please contact us on 0207 788 6600 and our expert consultants will help you find the right HR professional for the role.
Dec 14, 2015 | IT
Why Create a Strong Network?
We generally tend to measure our success and career prospects based on our income, skills, qualifications and experience. But we fail we understand the importance of not only having a strong network, but building on that network and maintaining relationships. Your ability to manage and maintain a large network is crucial in the current employment and social climate. Here, we discuss why and how you can build a strong network:
Plan your Networking Strategy
First of all, decide exactly what your goal is and why you are expanding your network. Your ultimate goal highly influences who you contact. If you are looking for a career change, it may be beneficial to determine the career you want and contact people who work in that field. You may use your network to job search, to mentor others in your field, or you may want to eventually become self-employed and simply want to ultimately build an awareness of your brand. Reach out to people accordingly if you feel their contact may be beneficial to you in the future. Identify yourself based on what your goal is. Highlight your interests, occupation and hobbies. Doing this ensures that those you connect with know that they have similar interests as you and leads to creating an element of trust.
Gone are the Days of ‘A Job for Life’
It is undoubtable that job security is far more unstable than ever before, with people having far more choice over where they work and who they work for; and with employees having a far greater choice of quality candidates. Companies are happy to make cuts where necessary and there is nothing we can do to avoid this, no matter what your position in the company. A job for life is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Building a network is like building yourself a safety net. Creating a network of like-minded individuals who share the same interests as you and maintaining relationships provides you with prospective contacts that may be able to help you in the future. In the instance that you have been made redundant or have had to leave your role, with a strong and healthy network, there is likely to be somebody who can help. Think “it’s who you know, not what you know”. There may be someone who is looking for someone like you to join their organisation.
Take Your Future Out of Your Employer’s Hands
Change your approach to how you envisage your future. Don’t assume that your employers will determine your prospects. Once you begin to network and maintain relationships, you then begin to take your future into your own hands. Communicate with your network, ask questions, promote your skills and experience and take in interest in others. You don’t know where your career will take you or in what job role you may eventually end up in. It is a sad fact that no matter how secure you are in your job role, there is always the chance that you may be forced into unemployment. In the instance that you decide to, or are forced to set up on your own , a large network will enable you to reach a large demographic and build a significant brand awareness in a short space of time.
The Movement in Recruitment and Referrals
An increasing number of professionals are looking to social media to seek out job roles. Employers are now encouraging their staff to seek out potential employees online. If you have a large online network, the chances are that there will be someone out there who admires your skills and experience and feels that you could be a great asset to their team. Share job vacancies to those who you feel may be suitable for the role, whether you are applying or not and encourage others to do the same. You may know of someone who would be perfect for a job role, so let them know and refer them! The chances are that people will start doing the same for you.
Related reading: Exploring New Ways to Grow
Dec 8, 2015 | IT
Covering Leave
It’s inevitable that employees will want to take leave this time of year. If it’s typically a quiet time of year for your business this shouldn’t be too much of an issue, but it’s all in the planning. Encouraging employees to book their leave in advance, possibly with a deadline for booking Christmas leave, is one way to make sure leave is fair and you have time to arrange cover if needed. If cover for certain roles is essential organising this as far in advance as possible is also sensible. Outside cover could be tricky to find at short notice, not to mention expensive. Drafting in current employees to cover extra tasks could be the best solution, but you’ll need to have arrangements and procedures in place in advance to make sure workload is fair and achievable. Christmas bonuses or prizes could be on offer to incentivise extra work over the Christmas period.
Office Party Issues
Christmas parties can be great fun, but create a melting pot of different personalities, built up workplace tensions and alcohol, leading to potential troubles! Choosing and deciding on the venue and the type of even is the first hurdle. Keeping everyone happy, especially when there is a mixture of ages isn’t always easy. Try a vote on a range of options or try a ‘two phase’ event, perhaps with a Christmas lunch for everyone followed by drinks and some dancing for anyone who want to keep the party going. Having your party offsite is the best idea so any potential problems don’t occur on your business property. If you’re hiring out a venue, hiring caterers or entertainers make sure these are booked in early and that you have everything confirmed in writing or a contract. If you feel it’s necessary you could always update your employee handbook and send out a copy of the general code of conduct prior to the event, to cover anyone who’s likely to be caught near a photocopier or under the mistletoe!
A Change of Pace
Unless your business is retail where the pace gets a lot quicker this time of year, the lead up to Christmas usually sees things winding down in the office. To avoid boredom or wasted time, use any spare time wisely. Have your employees clear out old files, organise databases and folders and get those jobs done that just keep falling off the to do list. These kind of tasks can be mundane, so add some festive spice to boring chores and offer rewards, hold Christmas raffles, quizzes or advent calendars to brighten things up and boost motivation.
Snow Days
Do you have a winter weather policy? If the weather is really bad, do your employees know what the correct protocol is? The procedures should be emailed around at this time of year so everyone is clear on what to do. If a cold spell is forecast consider a plan for phone lines going down, pipes freezing up and transport being disrupted.
Planning is the key to most issues you’ll face this winter, and anytime in fact. Trying to foresee any potential issues will help things run smoothly. If you’d like help or advice with you staffing over the Christmas period you can get in touch with us here.
Recent Comments