Why use a recruitment agency? The benefits

“Why do I need to use a recruitment agency when there are plenty of people looking for work?”

It’s a fair question and one that some employers are probably thinking. Even those who have done well throughout the pandemic might be thinking it’s now time to review their recruitment strategy.

It might be true that it’s easy right now to place an ad and get hundreds of applications within a few hours, but here’s why using a good recruitment agency can help you in this new world of continued restrictions and subsequent pressure on businesses.

What are the benefits of using a recruitment agency?

Save time (and possibly lower your blood pressure!)

Ok, so you might get hundreds of applications, but a huge proportion will be generic CV’s from people not right for the role you’ve advertised. It’s difficult enough in ‘normal’ times but the task is now an order of magnitude and hugely time-consuming. When you partner with a recruitment agency, they will make sure that you only have to deal with the candidates suitable for the role you’re looking to fill.

Get on with business

Recruiting the right people takes time and customers still want innovation and high service levels. Your time (rightly so) will be split in dealing with the pandemic and all the HR related issues surrounding this. Normal day to day business is hard enough without recruitment becoming a full-time job. An agency makes sure you only need to be involved in the decision making stage of the process.

Tap into your consultants’ network

Quite often the right person for the job isn’t actually looking for work right now. You might be surprised that agency’s still have daily contact with great people thinking of a career change but not actively applying for anything. Good consultants haven’t stopped networking and building their database. That means agencies can proactively recruit on an employers behalf, reducing the time and effort it takes to find the right candidates to interview – often within a few hours –  and reduce the chances of a bad hire.

Manage your employer brand

For even the best employers, the pressure of recruiting can sometimes mean the recruitment experience for candidates is less than satisfactory. Easy and frequent social media access means that, even for the best-intentioned, a bad experience can be shared and widely commented on.  Consultants recruit as a full-time job and make sure an employers reputation is protected and promoted.

Companies are still recruiting!  

Undoubtedly, it is a tough time for a lot of companies and a lot of people. Never the less, many organisations are still hiring.  Many companies are already planning ahead for better times and growth – and they haven’t stopped looking out for good talent.

When you partner with a good recruitment agency, you can not only gain access to the best people, but you can put yourself in pole position when it comes to hiring them, pandemic or no pandemic.

The team at First Base can help you recruit the right quality of people for your team and give you access to the right talent whilst at the same time helping reduce the stresses of these testing times.

If you’d like further info regarding placing a role with First Base click here.

Office management and support

Did you know that we place candidates into HR, Sales, IT, Finance, Marketing and Financial Services roles?

Our commercial team have continued to source, engage, shortlist and propose only the best candidates for any and all office-based roles during lockdown (1.0, 2.0 and 3.0).

Roles recruited to date this year include: Software Developers, HR Managers, Customer Service Administrators, Finance Managers, Mortgage Advisors, Service Desk Technicians, Events and Training Administrators and Marketing Executives, to name a few.

The team have built up a solid reputation in the market place and have a fantastic retention rate, whereby 90% of the candidates placed remain in post at their first years anniversary.  Their mission? To offer an exemplary experience to both candidates and employers, an experience that they enjoy from start to finish.

Don’t take our word for it – head on over to google and see what our clients have to say.

Lilly and her team are available on 01453 755330 or by emailing commercial@first-base.co.uk or by utilising our chat box at www.first-base.co.uk

 

 

 

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!

‘WORKING’ at home

It’s a difficult time for sure.  Remote working (sometimes with kids at home) is a new experience and a new challenge for many.  Some of us have lived through national crises before and it will pass.  In the mean-time we need to ensure our businesses survive during the current emergency and thrive once it passes.

For many of us working remotely or managing remote teams isn’t new.  For millions of managers, freelancers and staff, remote working is the usual mode of working.  It may worth reflecting on the fact that hundreds of thousands of mums have coped over many decades.  Some have gone on to write best-selling novels and build multi £m brands with kids around their feet.

If it’s new to you, here are some tips being put to use right now by organisations determined to keep their teams working productively.

Communication and structure

Firstly, remember it’s WORKING at home.  Not a holiday, a jolly or part time.  The work might be the same or different from the usual day to day but whatever the work is, it should be approached with discipline and be effective.

For the usually self-motivated, effective team members (you know who they are) checking in daily (not checking up – it’s different) will be enough.  They will be as productive, if not more productive than when they are office based.  You can depend on them but don’t forget them. My son runs a remote team and they have a virtual coffee break together twice a week – thanks for the idea James!

Others will need structure.  The risk is that their effectiveness will fall off the cliff if you fail to keep them accountable for performance.

If remote working is new to you, think about:

Video conferencing and cooperation tools

Clear, consistent communication is key for remote work success.  This doesn’t mean you need to be talking to your colleagues all day long, but knowing that everyone has a common tool to brainstorm, ask questions and post notes is crucial.

Being present and seeing each other is an important part of keeping connected.  Don’t hide away or do other work during on line meetings.

Agreeing working hours

There is a risk that work will expand to fill the hours available and motivated members of the team end up overworking.  We need to keep up effectiveness and productivity over the long term so agree working hours and establish start and finish times.  Keep work communications to working hours, everyone has enough to think about right now.

Being disciplined and setting up a routine

Get up and follow a weekday routine, not a weekend routine.  Be at your ‘desk’ at the agreed start time.  Plan breaks and don’t be use the excuse of the many distractions around the house that might cause you to lose focus.

Dress for work

Another one from my sons list of tips – it is very helpful to prepare yourself for the working day switching from ‘home mode’ to ‘work mode’, even when you are working from home.  Don’t be a pyjama sloth. Get out of your PJ’s. Put on other clothes!

Build in breaks

Start and finish the working day just like any office based day.  When you do take a break, tear yourself away from your workspace and clear your mind.  Don’t take lunch at your desk.  If the weather allows and you have one available, get out into your garden for a few minutes.  Don’t switch on the TV – you will never recover from the distraction!

Productive use of business social media

Stay away from personal social media distractions during work time (see schedule in socials), it’s a real productivity killer.  Using social media to share helpful, informative and useful information on business channels is different.  We can all do more to help build our personal and business brand, helping colleagues and customers at the same time, particularly if your normal workload has reduced because of the present circumstances.

Tidy desk, tidy….

Keep your workspace and computer and paper files tidy.  Make things easy to access and find help to keep us focused.

Stay positive

Take advantage of working at home to set your own mood and atmosphere.  Listen to the music and radio channel YOU like, have the heating set at your own comfort level, burn an incense stick if you like.

Eat, exercise, sleep. 

Physical health is intertwined with mental health, make sure you’re getting good rest, eating well, and find exercises you can do from home.

Schedule in socials

Put some time in the day where you’re catching up with others about non-work topics, just as you would as work.  Share a cup of tea with someone via a video call, or just pick up the phone, don’t rely upon only typing and texting.

Pick up the phone!

At a time of enforced social isolation remember that not everyone has access to or uses social media or technology.   An old fashioned phone call might be a different, kind and thoughtful thing to do.

Maybe even an old fashioned phone call to people you normally only communicate with on social media would be a kind and thoughtful thing to do as well.

You may very well find that your temporary ‘new’ way of working becomes the permanent new way of working.  Do it right and the productivity and wellbeing gains can be huge.

The First base team is adopting new ways of working to support colleagues, candidates and clients through these challenging times and beyond.  Call us, email us, tweet us if you need extra support, advice or help.

Get ahead of the curve and undertake interviews remotely

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.0.48″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”3.0.74″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”]The Coronavirus situation is evolving daily. Travel restrictions, changing guidelines and organisations’ policies are in flux, and because of these, there are three major influencers on recruitment decisions

• International travel.
• Domestic travel.
• Meetings of large groups of employees or candidates.

The impact on recruitment decisions are potentially far reaching. Candidates may not be able to attend assessment days or in-person interviews. Internal applicants may not be able to attend development centres or training events. Even if these events are able to run, the management or recruitment team cannot guarantee resource accessibility or availability due to illness, self-isolation or travel restrictions.

The result could be a knee-jerk reaction to postpone everything recruitment, induction or training related.  However, it doesn’t have to be that way – there are alternatives.

Remote interviewing


Now is a great time to seriously consider video interviews. There has already been a huge increase in the use of video conferencing platforms such as Zoom, Skype and Google Hangouts in the last few weeks. Many organisations are already well ahead and even conducting full blown virtual assessment centres.

Communicate, communicate



With the fast pace of change it would be too easy to overlook the need for a thorough candidate communication plan. A poor candidate experience has consequence’s – from sharing stories with friends and family to negative comments left on employer review sites and on social media. This is the opportunity to demonstrate the strength of your employer brand values.

Our tips for effective virtual interviews

Video Technology

First, determine how you are going to carry out a virtual job interview. The big question you need to answer is whether you’ll incorporate video or simply use the phone. We highly recommend that you try to integrate video if possible, as it will allow you to best simulate a real, in-person interview.

There is no shortage of virtual options to utilize video conferencing for a virtual job interview. Skype, Zoom, UberConference, FaceTime, MS Teams and Google Hangout are just a few to consider.
Before your virtual job interview takes place, make sure you test out your video provider to ensure things run smoothly.

Things to check on include:

• That your account is up to date
• The latest software update has been installed
• Being familiar with features software features
• Connection speed

Set up

Just as you would if your interviewee was coming into the office, you want to make sure that you have set a professional scene for your virtual interview. While testing your technology, determine where in your remote location to have the conversation. Find a quiet room with good lighting (being near a window helps) and a blank, clean wall. You want to be the focal point of the interview so that your interviewee is focused on your questions and answers, not on the picture hanging behind you. Turn off any audio distractions such as a TV or radio that could be picked up by the video conference audio.
Also, tidy up your surroundings. You wouldn’t want to have an untidy office when interviewing a candidate in person.

Body Language

Before your virtual interview, spend some time checking your body language and posture by watching yourself using your video conferencing software`. The angle of your computer’s camera and the chair you’re sitting in can have a significant impact on how you present on your interviewee’s screen. You don’t want to spend the first few minutes of the interview shuffling around with your camera to find your best light and angle.

We’ve all taken photos where we’ve wished the photographer would have tried a different angle to allow ourselves to showcase our best selves. The same is true with video conference feed. Figure out a configuration that will enable you to interview with confidence.

Dress the Part

One of the perks of working remotely is that employees do not have to spend the time getting ready and dressed for their day. However, if you’re hosting a virtual job interview, you need to dress the part.
How would you dress if the interview was taking place at your office? That is exactly what you should wear for your virtual meeting. You don’t want the candidate to think that you’re not taking it seriously and that they’re not receiving the same experience that they would with an in-person experience.

Acknowledge the Unusual Circumstances

While your goal is to make this experience as similar to a regular interview as possible, you’ll want to acknowledge that this isn’t a normal circumstance. Thank your interviewee for agreeing to interview virtually and make a comment on how extraordinary this interview is— just like the dozens of other extraordinary things that are happening due to the Coronavirus.
This experience will probably just as new to the candidate as it is to you. By letting them know you’re in it together, you can accelerate the connection between the two of you, and allow them to be comfortable during the course of the interview.

Be Normal, Be Prepared

The most important thing about conducting this type of interview is that you and the candidate both feel like the virtual element of the conversation did not negatively affect the experience. That starts with being prepared.

Plan how you’d like the interview to unfold and prepare all of the questions you need to ask the interviewee. If you’re not as prepared as you usually are, the candidate might feel like they were cheated out of a true interview because of the virtual element. However, if you’re prepared and are able to control the flow of the interview, the candidate will feel comfortable and answer.

The new normal?

Many business owners believe we are experiencing the dawn of a new way of working. In every crisis there are opportunities and we all have an opportunity to really up our recruitment game by using technology to improve the recruitment process. 

More team members are working from home.  When you get it right, research shows that working virtually can drive productivity improvements of up to 43%.

Working virtually could drive really positive changes in your recruitment processes.

If you would like to know more about how the First Base team can support you during and after these unusual and challenging times, contact Tricia Hay on 01453 755330 or email tricia.hay@first-base.co.uk[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

Coronavirus – Employers Liability and Obligations

With thanks to Darren Sherbourne, Employment Solicitor at Sherbourne Solicitors –  current advice regarding employer’s liability and obligations relating to issues arising as a result of the spread of Coronavirus.

First of all, we should put this in perspective. The concern around Coronavirus is based on its ability to be passed on from person to person before symptoms show, not the severity of the virus itself. Mortality is so far estimated to be lower than 1%.

NHS medical advice currently remains the same as for ‘normal’ seasonal flu and colds – sneezing or coughing into a tissue and washing hands often.

THE LEGAL QUESTIONS

In the event that this outbreak becomes widespread in the UK, the following issues may be worth considering.

1.      Do we as employer have a duty of care to employees to protect them from this virus?

All employers have a duty of care, but it is to take such steps as are reasonable in all of the circumstances. Large employers may have disaster recovery protocols already set out which involve home working for those that do not need to be at work. Small employers may consider issuing advice to employees, such as about washing hands and avoid coughing into the air.

2.      Can the government force employers to close?

In extreme circumstances the answer is Yes, but there is absolutely no suggestion that this is envisaged.

3.      Can employers force staff to stay away?

Yes, but in many circumstances the employer would have to pay staff if it insisted they stay away from work when they are not ill.

4.      If I have two absent staff, one who is very good, and one who is not very good, can I pay one discretionary sick pay and not the other?

You can, but it’s a very risky thing to do and is not recommended.

5.      When do absent staff have to be paid?

The following scenarios normally result in the following obligations:

a)     The employee follows government advice because symptoms are present and stays off work. This seems to us to be sick leave. The employer may want to relax the need for a doctor’s certificate for the two week duration but SSP would be payable, and any contractual sick pay.

b)     The employee stays off work because they have travelled to Italy (for example) in the last week, but is not showing symptoms. The employer would be free to choose to pay sick pay, but it’s not really sick leave so there is no obligation. As government guidance stands, the employer could insist on the employee attending work, but we cannot see why an employer would want to do that.

c)      The employer sends an employee home when they are showing no symptoms, because they have travelled to an affected area, then full pay must be paid.

d)     The employer sends an employee home who is showing symptoms, and who has travelled to an affected area recently, then this would be sick leave and should be treated accordingly.

e)     The employer is unable to provide work to employees because parts have not arrived from China (for example), then this would be a situation where, if the employer had a “Lay off” clause in their contract, they could temporarily send the staff home. If there is no “Lay off” clause, then lay off might also be achieved by agreement with staff, or by having a rolling period during which a small number of staff must take some of their annual holiday. 20% of the workforce for a week at a time achieves a 20% reduction in the workforce for 5 weeks. It could also be a redundancy situation.

f)      There is a lack of work due to the public or customers staying at home. It’s the same as (e) above.

g)     You have an employee who is unable to return from holiday due to quarantine. This is strictly speaking the employee’s problem, and the employer is not under an obligation to pay for the period of absence.

h)     An employee cannot attend work due to childcare as a nursery or school has closed. Again this is the employee’s problem and not the employers. There is an obligation to allow a short period for parents or carers to find alternative care arrangements, but this is unpaid. Note however that continued absence for this reason might in normal circumstances justify dismissal, if a widespread outbreak occurs we suspect the tribunals would be hard on employers who chose to dismiss employees in these circumstances.

GENERAL ADVICE

I.           Provide hand sanitiser and remind staff of the importance of hygiene.

II.           Consider telling mildly symptomatic staff to stay at home. This is a double edged sword for employers and should be considered carefully. Many clients tell us that if they give such advice, they have staff who may see it as an opportunity for holiday.  This should be balanced with the risks to health in a widespread outbreak of staff struggling into work when unwell. If you have 100 staff, statistically, one may die if all contract the virus.

III.           Consider disaster recovery measures, such as providing staff with the ability to work from home if appropriate.

IV.           Consider risk assessing staff, particularly those with pre-existing medical conditions such as chronic asthma or heart disease for example.

V.           Consider increasing the frequency of work place cleaning.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS

·        The UK is not yet in the grip of an epidemic and may not ever be so.

·        The vast majority of those infected recover fully.

·        Employers should remember the message they give to staff as well as what they can avoid paying to                           those who are absent

·        Staff should be treated consistently.

·        Employers should remember that this may become an opportunity to show staff what a good employer                   you are. 

If you would like further legal advice you can contact Darren on 01242 250039 or for advice on how this might affect recruitment contact Tricia Hay on 01453 755330

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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

 

 

New UK points-based immigration scheme

Any business that has depended on recruiting from overseas should make sure that they familiarise themselves with the governments new immigration points-based system.

The Home Secretary has announced that a new scheme will take effect from January 2021 that will assign points for specific skills, qualifications, salaries or professions.  Visas will only be awarded for those who gain enough points. In the announcement the Home Secretary made clear the government’s intention to end the reliance on what she described as “cheap, low skilled labour coming in from overseas”.

The new single global system will treat EU and non-EU citizens equally. It will give top priority to those with the highest skills and the greatest talents, including scientists, engineers and academics.

The global talent scheme will also be opened up to EU citizens which will allow highly-skilled scientists and researchers to come to the UK without a job offer.

Minimum salary threshold

The points threshold will be carefully set to attract the talent the UK needs. Skilled workers will need to meet a number of relevant criteria, including specific skills and the ability to speak English, to be able to work in the UK. All applicants will be required to have a job offer and, in line with the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) recommendations, the minimum salary threshold will be set at £25,600.

Those looking to live and work in the UK will now need to be qualified up to A level or equivalent, rather than degree level under the current system.  There will be no specific route for low-skilled workers.  It is estimated 70% of the existing EU workforce would not meet the requirements of the skilled worker route, which will help to bring overall numbers down in future.

Student visa routes will also be points-based and be opened up to EU citizens, ensuring talent from around the globe has access to the UK’s world-class universities.  Those wishing to study in the UK will need to demonstrate that they have an offer from an approved educational institution, that they can support themselves financially and that they speak English.

In addition, the seasonal workers pilot will also be expanded in time for the 2020 harvest from 2,500 to 10,000 places, responding to the specific temporary requirements of the agricultural sector.

EU citizens and other non-visa nationals will not require a visa to enter the UK when visiting the UK for up to 6 months.  However, the use of national identity cards will be phased out for travel to the UK and the Home Office will set out our plans in due course.  Those EU citizens resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 can still apply to settle in the UK through the EU Settlement Scheme until June 2021.

If you would like to find out more about how the new points-based immigration scheme might affect your business and future recruitment needs, contract Tricia Hay at First Base 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.