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How do I find more time to interview candidates?

We’re seeing more and more businesses report that they just don’t have the time to interview whilst they juggle the myriad of demands of running the organisation.

There’s so much going on that they lose sight of the importance of bringing on the right team to support the plans put together for 2023 and find themselves firefighting (doing the work of three people whilst they try to keep all the balls in the air).

It’s important to remember that an engaged and empowered workforce is critical in achieving growth AND adding to that team successfully, is just as key.

Candidates continue to be in short supply and are moving fast hence it’s so important to have a robust network of people that you can call on when business needs dictate it.

If you don’t have time to interview potential candidates there are a few things you can do: 

1. Consider using pre-interview assessments to help you quickly identify the most qualified candidates. These can be a great way to quickly highlight candidates with the right skills and experience, without having to spend as much time interviewing.
2. Ask current employees or industry contacts if they know of anyone who would be a good fit for the role. Personal referrals can be a great way to quickly identify qualified candidates.
3. Conduct virtual* interviews using video conferencing software. This allows you to interview candidates remotely, without having to meet in person. 
4. Consider hiring a candidate on a trial period or as a temp to start**, to determine if they are a good fit for the role and the company culture. This can be a good way to get to know the candidate without needing to conduct a long interview process.
5. Outsource the interview process to a consultant, HR professional, or a member of your team who is not involved in the day-to-day operations of the company. This would allow you to focus on your business while someone else conducts the interview process on your behalf.
6. A recruitment agency can handle the entire recruitment process*** for you, including advertising the job, screening cv’s, conducting interviews, and providing a shortlist of qualified candidates.

* Remember that virtual interviews should not replace the face-to-face interview, but act as a first step in identifying those you’d like to meet.  Meeting people, and allowing them to see and feel the culture of your business, is key.

**In today’s market, we are seeing a heightened need for stability hence a temp-to-perm arrangement or a permanent role from the get-go is far more attractive to job seekers

***A good recruitment agency will look after your reputation in the marketplace whilst you’re able to concentrate on all the other aspects of your job role. Look for great communication and a commitment to understanding the business. Invest in building a strong relationship in order to get the best out of your recruitment partner.

5 Tips to Improve Your Recruitment Process

You’ve come to the conclusion that you need to review your recruitment process. You’re engaging candidates but they don’t go the full distance – some drop out prior to the interview whilst others interview but don’t accept the job you’re offering.

5. It doesn’t stop there

Communication & Well-Being for Furloughed staff

This time last year I certainly did not envisage 2020 playing out the way it did for thousands of companies and for many, the full extent of the pandemic came as a complete (and prolonged) shock. Our first concern was, of course, the spread of the virus and looking after our people’s health. For many of us, this has now settled down as we know our teams are safe, staying inside and are successfully adapting to remote working life. Now that we are in 2021, our understanding of the virus has somewhat changed and the vaccine provides hope that we will return to some form of normality.

Most organisations we have spoken have had to make decisions over the last year which they could not have foreseen. Many have utilised this time to review their forecasts, look at streamlining where possible and putting plans in place to grow, as we begin to return to some form of normality.

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be posting some helpful tips to continue to help you through this challenging time.

Communication & Well-Being for Furloughed staff

To help business through the pandemic the Government created the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme which allows employers to Furlough their staff in return for 80% of peoples wages*, up to a maximum of £2,500 and was further extended until the end of April 2021.

If you currently have staff on Furlough, one of the best ways to retain your employees is to continue to communicate and check in on them from a well bring perspective. Check-in and remind them that you are available for support and advice if they ever require it. You could provide them with well-being tips such as healthy eating, exercising regularly and the importance of keeping in touch with friends and family. You could also direct employees to external sources of support such as Charity Mind, the Mental Health UK Website Headspace and Future Learn. 

We also have some great blogs on our website that may help around identifying and managing stress.

Communicating with your staff during Furlough will help you identify any issues that they may be facing and help them through this difficult time. A good communication strategy will also minimise the risk of losing members of your team due to any perceived lack of engagement.  Surprisingly, we have continued to see a high degree of movement in the market as people continue to look for alternative employment.

David Thomason, Hospitality Business Manager

*Now excluding NI and AE contributions.

How to Stop Candidates Dropping out of the Hiring Process

Have you ever had someone back out of a job offer? 

Often, you may not discover that your new recruit has dropped out of the hiring process until a couple of weeks before their start date or worse, on their first day, when they just don’t turn up! This can cause all sorts of issues including the time and resources spent on the interview process, discussions with teams surrounding a plan for onboarding and the purchase of tech or a vehicle.

Most candidates will have a notice period and therefore may have a gap of a month or more, between accepting a job offer and their first day in the role. For more senior roles, a realistic notice period could be up to three months.

Keeping in touch with your new recruit is key to ensuing your candidate doesn’t drop out of the recruitment process. Regular communication between making an offer and their start date is often overlooked, but this key strategy can prevent any disappointing news in the future and beginning the process again. We call this maintaining the motivation to move – this can quickly diminish if comms are stopped altogether.

A lot can happen in a month. Think about how quickly things moved in 2020! 

People change their minds and sometimes they are just too nervous to let you know. As a recruitment agency we are now finding an increasing trend in candidates declining offers, that they had previously accepted. Applicants may be at risk of redundancy and therefore panicking about both their financial situation. This is resulting in job seekers making quick decisions to accept an offer that may not actually be the right fit for them. An increasing number are being counter offered by their current employer as a result of changes happening fast, or backing out of a role if they accept a better offer.

Working with a good recruitment agency can help prevent candidates dropping out between the offer and start date as, ultimately, good recruiters want to find you the right candidate from the get go – they don’t want to be looking for a replacement a few weeks down the line. 

Your recruiter will qualify applicants in a series of communications over time.  I recently had an experience where, having spoken to a candidate several times, alarm bells started to ring.  I’ve been doing this a long time and my gut instinct is spot on. I spoke to my client to raise my concerns and together, we decided on a course of action which included agreeing on a timescale and keeping other candidates close by should we need them. As it turned out the candidate, as predicted, dropped out and took another job role where, perhaps, no such diligence was applied. We dodged a bullet.

By maintaining contact you really can ascertain any problems early on and protect your business from being on the back foot.

I suggest keeping in touch at least once a week; this could be a courtesy email to check they have received their contract and see if they have any questions, or a video call to explain what their first day will be like. Let’s face it, their first day probably isn’t going to be the same as it would have been this time last year and this will open up a conversation to cover off any concerns or questions. If you don’t receive a response don’t worry initially, however, make sure you follow up and have a plan B just in case. 

Once your job offer is accepted don’t just sit back and wait. From my experience, communication with your new recruit, right up to their first day is hugely important.

Lilly Chappell, recruiting into the office environment at all levels.

Adapting to the recruitment processes of 2020

The world has changed in 2020 and there has been a big impact on when, how and if employers recruit.  On the upside, many employers are recruiting and some sectors and businesses are thriving, on the downside, some industries have been hit so hard they may take years to recover.  The world of work is changing and there is no going back to the old normal.

Employers are having to adapt and change, to innovate and find new markets just to survive. They need good candidates who understand that they too need to respond to today’s reality.

Our recent experience of recruiting for clients and for a new role here at First Base has highlighted the simple truth that many people who say they are looking for work are not demonstrating to potential employers that they are the best people for the job.  Just like employers are having to learn fast how to adapt, job seekers are going to have to learn fast too. We are way past the time when you can simply send out dozens of CVs and expect a reply, let alone an interview, face to face or Zoom.

Over the coming weeks, the First Base team will be sharing a series of blogs to help you to prepare for your job search, how to stand out, what you can do when between jobs, how to interview and how to stay positive.

If you have any questions or need help to find a job now or in the near future, contact us on 01453 755330 or get in touch through our FaceBook, Twitter or Instagram accounts. The First Base team is ready and eager to help.

Making those on line meetings effective!

New ways of working are being forced on many of us, but they can lead to a more motivated and inspired team and a better business.

No matter what industry you’re in, or the size of your business, leading effective meetings is often a difficult tasks in the best of times.  Survey after survey report that most people think meetings are a waste of time.  The challenge is even more significant for virtual meetings, and people know it.  So much that it often leads to the all-too-common question: “Do we really need to meet?”

Organisations that benefit from on line meetings say that they can inspire spontaneous creativity and bring the best ideas to life.  Many global companies do this amazingly well across different countries, diverse cultures and with language differences.  It should be a piece of cake for most of us managing smaller businesses and teams.

Remote working might have been forced on your business and it might be a new way of working, but there are millions around the world who have worked this way for many years.  The advice for managers new to running meeting remotely is:

Proper advance planning
Whether you’re meeting virtually or in person, take the opportunity to set expectations for the meeting in advance and lay out details and logistics.  Who will lead it?  What is the end goal?  Share ‘broadcast’ information and general updates in advance so that you can get straight to the crux of what the meeting is about.

Build ritual and ice breakers into meetings.
One of my best managers always started her weekly team meeting with everyone sharing a personal or professional failure or success story and what they learned.  It helped to build comfort with what is working, openness and taking risks.  When you have the team in the right frame of mind, they are more likely to come up with innovative ideas.

A video conferencing first approach.
Voice only conference calls limit the level of collaboration and team dynamics.  Not being able to read people’s body language makes it more likely for misunderstandings to arise, which can throw an entire meeting off and impact the success of the meeting.  With video, attendees can interpret the facial expressions and social cues, which allows everyone to “read the room” and react accordingly.  By bringing these other interpersonal interactions to a virtual meeting, you can inspire the type of productivity that should happen with everyone in the same room.

Video may seem awkward at first, but as with any new process, you soon adapt and then wonder how you ever got anything done without it.  You’ll also discover that video can be a great way to bring your team together, such as an impromptu online get together for coffee and a chat or to celebrate a success story.

Making meetings interactive and keeping everyone engaged.
It’s easy to let distractions take attention away from what’s happening on a video conference call.   You have to avoid team members doing other work that interferes with their full participation.  A great way to avoid distractions is to make the meeting more interactive.  For instance, working with a live shared document allows everyone to contribute in real time.  You can also have participants take turns presenting to the group with screen sharing to maintain engagement. By introducing interactive components to a meeting, you encourage a more fruitful conversation while keeping attendees’ attention.

Actively encourage every team ember to participate.
My personal experience is that people enjoy meetings when they have a role in the discussion and can participate. When meeting virtually, it can be more difficult for everyone to speak up, leading to people feeling left out and increasing the temptation to check out, mentally if not physically.  One way to make a meeting more effective is to ask participants directly for input.  This practice helps everyone feel engaged in the discussion and avoids any one person sucking the energy out of the (virtual) room, which is especially important if the goal of the meeting is to generate ideas.

Share success.
Because virtual meetings don’t have the same level of visibility as face-to-face meetings, be sure to share back the productive conversations and ideas that occurred during the meeting.  This can come in the form of a meeting recap, next steps, or even giving a shout out to a team member where you recognise outstanding contributions to the meeting.

It takes some time and effort, but when you revamp your practices, you can create an environment where great idea come to life, collaboration and creativity is increased and your team actually look forward to their virtual meetings.

The First Base team are here with support, help and advice – call us, email us, tweet us!

Sticks and Stones – Mental Health and the Power of Words

The sad story that hit the headlines regarding Caroline Flack once again put mental health in the spotlight as more celebrities, sports people and business leaders open up about their own challenges.  Mental health issues of course don’t just affect those people we read about in the news.  They often affect the people you employ, the person sitting next to you, your boss, suppliers, customers, friends and family.

You don’t need to be an expert to help

Most of us are not experts at dealing with issues around mental health.  Awareness and enough knowledge to signpost where expert support can be found are useful, but one area we can all help with is how we communicate with other people.  Specifically, the words we speak and the words we write.

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words…can change someone’s direction for an hour, a day or a lifetime”   –  David Tovey

Words cannot change reality, but they can change how people perceive reality.  Words create filters through which people view the world around them.  They are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity.  We can choose to use the powerful force of words constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words that hurt or cause despair.  Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble.

Words can change how people behave.  They become a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Convince someone that they can’t do something and they won’t try.  Convince them that they have the ability to succeed and they will give it their best shot.  Convince them that they are worthy human beings and they thrive, convince them they are worthless and they can spiral into a terminal decline.

Consequences 

We all have a choice about the words we use.  Everyone, but particularly those in authority, should think through the potential consequences of the words they are about to use.  We know of course that there is a body of people out there who delight in using words destructively, they intend to hurt and to humiliate.  They don’t care or think about the consequences of what they might describe as ‘just words’.  Some people feel compelled to give voice to any passing feeling, thought or impression they have.  They randomly dump the contents of their mind without regard to the significance of what they are saying.

Though it might not seem like it with all the negativity we hear that surrounds the use (misuse?) of social media, most people don’t actually intend to do harm. Never-the-less, thoughtless use of words can have the same effect.  When we speak we should speak with mindfulness, in ways that inspire and builds not that hurt or destroy.

As my grandma used to say “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything”.

Be kind!

 “Be kind to all and speak words that are beacons of inspiration, enthusiasm and encouragement”

Kindness isn’t a soft business strategy, it is intelligent, mature, moral and improves business performance.  It is not about avoiding critical feedback, difficult conversations or pointing out where improvement is needed, it’s about the best and most effective way to communicate.  It’s not only our words that matter, the tone which we use has a huge impact.  There are certain rules that should guide all our communications with others.

Always speak the truth, avoid exaggerations, be consistent in what you are saying, don’t use double standards in addressing people, don’t use your words to manipulate others, and most importantly do not use words to insult or belittle anyone.

 THINK!

I did some voluntary work providing presentation skills at school for students with learning difficulties a couple of years ago.  On the wall in the room we use there was a hand written A1 size poster produced by the students. It had a simple yet really effective message.

Before You Speak

T   – is it true?

H –  is it helpful?

I  –   is it inspiring?

N –   is it necessary?

K –   is it kind?

THINK before we speak and we can make where we work (and the rest of the world) a little better for everybody – including those challenged by mental health issues.

Contact Tricia Hay on 01453 755330 or tricia.hay@first-base.co.uk if you would like to learn more about how the First Base team could help you or your organisations with any of the issues raised by this article.

UK unemployment remains low – flexibility needed

The UK’s unemployment rate has remained at 3.8% – its joint lowest level since early 1975, according to official figures.  New figures, released by the Office for National Statistics, reveal UK unemployment fell by 16,000 to 1.29m in the three months to December and the number of people in work rose from 180,000 to 32.93m over the quarter.

Total vacancies rose to 810,000, the highest since the quarter to September 2019, with total earnings growth including rising by 2.9%.

The new figures suggest that we have a UK job market that is growing in confidence, that remains buoyant and is placing record numbers of people in work.   Those organisations that took a more cautious approach during the recent years of political and economic uncertainty, are now putting into action ambitious recruiting plans.

A candidate’s market?

Whilst the employment figures tell a good story, 41% of business leaders remain concerned about their ability to attract and retain the best people.  Talented candidates are often juggling multiple job offers at a time.

Employers really do need to think differently about how they attract the right people.  The best organisations are reviewing remuneration packages, benefits and working environment in order to make sure they attract good candidates.  Flexible working, regular high quality training, good working conditions and employee wellbeing benefits are actively being sought by candidate’s keen to bring a more balanced approach to their working lives.

They say there is nothing as constant as change and UK businesses are certainly operating in a new dynamic environment where there is not much certainty around.  A more flexible approach around the working environment and employment conditions is fast becoming a vital strategy for UK business.

Speak to the team at First Base if you would like to know more how we can support your recruitment plans and help you attract the right people. Contact Tricia Hay on 01453 755330 or tricia.hay@first-base.co.uk

Optimism : How to maintain the drive to succeed and flourish

I’ve asked over 600 groups of managers from all around the world about their personal experience of good management.  In these groups activities I always made it clear I wasn’t looking for ‘text book’ responses about leadership and that I wanted real personal experiences of good management that really made a difference.

Optimism has always featured on the ‘best managers’ list of characteristics and in our experience, the best candidates like to work for great managers.

Optimism lies at the heart of a managers ability to inspire others, particularly in time of change.  Management and leadership is about relationships and the ability to help others remain positive, is key if you want a dynamic culture and want your team to deliver outstanding performance.  It is too easy for a team to default to a pessimistic outlook, particularly in challenging times.   Of course it’s easy to be optimistic on good days.  Managers with the ability to remain optimistic and instill optimism in others on the not so good days are worth their weight in gold.

How do you recognise an optimistic manager?

In my experience they tend to exhibit the following attitudes:

They focus on solutions

Optimistic managers use optimistic language.  Faced with the ‘why does this happen to us’ of pessimism, the optimistic manager always prefers to seek out options or new opportunities that might arise from a particular difficult situation, they are more likely to say ‘how can we find a solution?’.

Optimist managers don’t tend to over analyse or apportion blame for a problem before they get on with finding a way forward.

They seek out quick wins and small victories

Positive mangers keep and eye on the big picture and the organisations ultimate goal – but they never miss a chance to celebrate quick wins and small victories.  They actively seek opportunities to recognise their teams efforts, marking an obstacle overcome, an customer issue resolved, a technical advance or a new client won with praise and celebration.

They seek out what their team does well and they recognise even modest success.

They focus on strengths not weaknesses

Optimistic managers cultivate and strengthen everyone’s strong points, seeking to minimise any weaknesses by using their strengths in order to find ways to improve and progress.

They encourage perseverance and risk

Positive managers understand that failures are part of life and that setbacks can be an opportunity to learn.  They prepare for setbacks and know what they will do if things go wrong – they don’t give up and they don’t give in.  Optimism creates the right environment for perseverance – a dogged determination to succeed.

The mangers in those 600 groups who shared their experience of good managers with me often said about optimistic leaders ‘when the chips were down and we couldn’t see a way forward, they got us to believe in ourselves again’

If you would like to learn more about what makes a great manager and what attracts the best candidates for your job roles, call Tricia Hay on 01453 755330 or email tricia.hay@first-base.co.uk.

Management Guide to Employee Experience

Do we have another HR buzzword? Is Employee Experience just another phrase for Employee Engagement? If not, what exactly is it?

Employee Engagement has been on the agenda of forward looking organisations for a number of years. Managers across all sectors and sizes of business appreciate the benefits to the bottom line and their people of an engaged workforce.  So where does Employee Experience play its part?

Inputs and Outputs

We like to think of Employee Engagement as the output that follows the experience employees are exposed to, from recruitment right through to their exit from the organisation.   A bit like customer experience, it includes all the touch points an employee has with their employer; its culture, people and systems.  These touch points can be a positive experience (leading to greater engagement) or a negative experience (leading to reduced engagement).

Starting from their time as applicants and candidates, employees look at everything that happens at work as an integrated experience that impacts daily life in and outside the workplace.  Employee experience includes overall physical, emotional, professional, and financial well-being.  Candidates assess future employers from the very start of the recruitment experience and make quick judgments about what life will be like for them in the organization, based on how they interact with the company throughout the recruitment process

In other words, employee experience is an employee-centric way of thinking about the organisation.  When decisions are made with employee experience in mind, managers and business leaders ask “how will our people perceive this?” and “What impression are we giving our people if we act this way?”  Employee experience takes into consideration how employees see, hear, believe and feel about all aspects of their employment.  These aspects stretch from the recruitment process, through to their last day at your company.

Employee experience encompasses the physical, technological and cultural environment of a business.

For example, during recruitment, managers should be considering:

• Do all candidates feel treated fairly and equally?
• Have their contacts from within the organisation “lived” the stated company values?
• Have they had a positive experience of the meeting places, technology and tools used through the process?

During induction, managers can ask:

• Does the employee know how to use the various technologies and tools the company relies on?
• Has the new employee been made to feel part of the team?
• Does the new employee know where they can get the support and resources they need?
• Does your new person know exactly what you expect of them?

Through the early stages of employment managers will want to know:

• Does the employee feel they are getting enough feedback?
• How often is the employee meeting for a one-to-one with their line manager?
• Does the employee feel supported and encouraged by those around them?
• Does the employee feel they are part of a well-functioning team?

As part of their career development:

• Does the colleague feel they have fair and equal access to development opportunities?
• During periods of stretch and learning, is their physical and mental wellbeing supported?
• Do they have access to the technology and tools they need to develop?

Finally, at the “exit” phase:

• Does the employee feel valued for the work they have done for your business?
• Does the employee feel that sufficient measures were put in place to ensure they had a good experience at your company?
• Did the employee feel fairly treated throughout their employee journey?

Customers will notice

There are many reasons for an increased focus on employee experience.  Companies are looking to combat the shortage of talent in a high employment economy and want to retain good people.  Another important point to consider is social media’s role when it comes to employer brand, recruitment and retention.  Your reputation as an employer, good or bad, can reach thousands of potential future employees (and customers) in seconds.  Employee experience won’t remain a secret for long as job applicants, staff and ex-employees share their interactions with the organisation.  Poor employee reviews spread quickly and affect whether good people will even apply for a job.  Glowing reviews on the other hand help recruiters like First Base to attract the very best people.

Another vital reason is that employees tend to treat customers as they themselves are treated.  Loyal, engaged staff inevitably results in loyal engaged customers.

Have you taken a look recently at your organisations employee experience?  If you would like to know more about how we can help you create a positive Employee Experience during your recruitment process call Tricia Hay on 01453 755330 or email tricia.hay@first-base.co.uk