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What is Integrity?

A recent national news item outlined the story of a senior manager who received a suspended jail sentence because he lied on his CV.  He falsely claimed to have a University Degree (which as it happened was not even required for the post) and the Judge in summing up said that this action brought into question the individuals integrity.  The managers actions certainly brought into question his honesty, but did he really lack integrity?

Integrity is a word that frequently crops up on LinkedIn profiles and on company websites.  In an effort to stand out from the crowd, brands and individuals sometimes feel it necessary to highlight their ‘integrity’.  However it is a word often misunderstood – and sometimes overused by those who lack it.  It is usually associated with being of good character, being honest and being ethical – but it is really more about being consistent.

I experienced a perfect example of integrity at a supermarket checkout.

A young man came back to the store in order to return a small over payment of change from a transaction that had taken place a few minutes earlier.  A customer services manager was called over and she thanked the young man for his ‘unusual’ honesty.  ‘Normally’ she said ‘as a big company our business is seen as fair game and if we make a mistake in the customer’s favour we tend to lose out’.

As he left the store, I managed to speak with the young man and asked him why he returned such a small amount of change – ‘after all’ I said ‘no one would have known if you’d just driven off’.  There was a short pause then he looked me in the eyes and said ‘I would have known’.  He went on to tell me it was about doing the right thing – one of the values he learned as an officer in the Royal Marines. Having spent time studying leadership at the Royal Marine Commando Training Centre at Lympstone in Devon – I knew instantly what he meant.

Not always positive 

The young Royal Marine wasn’t demonstrating integrity because he was being honest.  ‘Integrity’ doesn’t necessarily mean positive characteristics like honesty and trust.  That definition is only relevant in the context of what we might think of as ethical or moral behaviour.

The Latin root of the word integrity is ‘integer’ – to be whole or complete.

Having integrity is about consistency – consistency of values, principles – and more importantly acting in accordance with those values and principles.  The young Royal Marine acted in accordance with his values and principles – even when only he knew he was doing it.

Even street gangs and criminals can have integrity. In terms of ethics it’s just that their values and principles are different from most people in business.  Have no doubt that they do have a ‘code’ – principles and values that they adhere to – and the penalty for lacking integrity can be severe!

“In looking for people to hire, look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy.  If they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you.” – Warren Buffet, CEO Berkshire Hathaway

If any relationship is to thrive, whether internal or external (or personal for that matter) there has to be congruence between the words that set the expectation of certain values and the actions someone demonstrates.  When you actions match you intentions, when others EXPERIENCE that you live your values and stick to your principles, whatever the circumstance, it builds trust and relationships blossom.  Customers, clients, colleagues, suppliers, people who you report to and people who report to you want to know that they can trust you.  People leave an organisation when they don’t trust their manager, employees are fired when trust is lost and customers stop buying from suppliers that fail to deliver on promises.

Integrity in business, based on sound values and principles; trust, honesty, ethics, doing the right thing – builds loyalty, engagement and high performance from individuals and teams. It builds long term profitable relationships with clients and customers that buy and re-buy.

Integrity = Influence

If you want real influence, if you want to lead others or win business; integrity has to be a key characteristic of who you are. You can’t fake integrity (well not for long) and we all know people who don’t live up to the expectations they set – particularly those who push their apparent integrity as a marketing tool.  Successful individuals base the decisions they make on principles. They consistently do the right thing rather than the convenient, easy or popular thing to do. Because they base their actions on values and principles they are trusted to consistently deliver as promised.

“There is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity”. Tom Peters

Human beings excel when allowed to act in accordance with their personal values. Ultimately people leave organisations where their own values and the values of the organisation differ (or worse – they stay and disengage).  Whilst having integrity doesn’t necessarily mean an individual is a ‘good’ person, it does mean they can be depended on to act in accordance with the values they claim to live by.

Organisations need more people that can be depended on to act in accordance with the values they claim to live by.

David Tovey

Employing staff for the first time – your checklist

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You’ve come to the conclusion that you can’t manage the growth of your business without some help. You’ve been putting off the question of how to hire your first employee and have been trying to juggle all the demands of a small business on your own for too long.  Maybe you need to bring in specialist skills or you’ve discovered that simply putting in more hours produces diminishing returns and you don’t have the human capacity to service new customers or maybe even risk a reduced service to existing clients.

Even if you have managed and recruited people in a previous life with a larger organisation, you may find that how you employ someone in a small business has different challenges.  Hiring your first employee is an exciting time but how you find staff for your business requires serious thought and often means acquiring new knowledge and skills. In our experience, there are no ‘born’ or naturally good recruiters. It takes both an investment of money and time if you are going to find the right staff for your business.

Get recruitment right and the dreams for the future growth of your business can be realised.  Getting it wrong can be a nightmare for you and your employees.  Sadly, too often we see more effort put into selecting a new piece of plant or machinery than employing someone for the first time.

1. Where do I start?

Start with the financials.  This might seem obvious but your new member of staff will be relying on you to pay their salary, on time and in full every month.  Do you have the forecast cash flow to be able to meet all your financial commitments as an employer?  Financial factors to take into consideration include:

• Basic pay
• Commission or bonus
• National Insurance
• Pension contributions
• Training

2. Creating a job description

You might be surprised how often we get feedback from people that the job they thought they were applying for was very different from the requirements made of them once they had started. This mismatch between the expectation of the job and the reality is often why new recruits leave after a few week or months.  It’s an expensive lesson to learn and so easily avoided.

Make sure you are absolutely clear about the job you want your first employee to do,  what type of person you want to hire and what skills are required – but don’t only consider skills.  Think about what type of culture you are trying to develop. What type of behaviours do you want from your first employee?  Getting this right with your first member of staff will make it so much easier to achieve the culture you want when you grow your team.

Right now, we have a high employment economy and many skills are in high demand.  Consider whether recruiting someone with the right attitude and transferable skills will work or whether someone who is fast to learn new skills could be the right fit for your business.

Finally, consider whether the role is full time, part-time or whether a temporary member of staff would work  better for you.

3. Who will do the recruiting?

Do you have the time and experience to carry out all the elements involved in successfully hiring your first member of staff?  Things you need to consider include:

• producing a job description
• creating a person profile
• advertising the role (using on and offline tools)
• communicating with potential candidates
• answering questions about the job and your business
• screening CV’s
• interviewing
• following up
• communicating with unsuccessful candidates

As someone seeking to employ staff for the first time, you may not have an established employer ‘brand’ and good candidates will want to know what it’s like to work for you as an employee.  As you won’t have an existing reputation as an employer it is even more important to get the recruitment stage right.  It’s the only measure that a candidate can use to judge whether you are the right fit for them.  Remember that hiring is a two-way street, a candidate is assessing you, just as much as you are assessing them.

If you don’t have the time or skills to do all of this. It might be more effective to consider outsourcing this to someone you know or to partner with a professional recruitment consultancy.

4. The legal stuff

• Register with HMRC as an employer and set up PAYE
• Take out employer’s liability insurance
• Comply with equal opportunities legislation
• Check employees right to work in the UK
• Is a DBS (criminal background) check needed and do you have an ex-offender’s policy?
• Will the workplace pension scheme be applicable?
• What Health and safety legislation, policy and requirements are applicable?

5. Screening and Interviewing

Once you’ve received some applications, you’ll need to start shortlisting candidates that you’d like to interview.

Out of the initial pool of applicants that you feel have potential, you might want to consider holding telephone interviews before committing to inviting them to a face-to-face interview.

Use this as an opportunity to find out a little more about their experience and why they’re interested in the role.

Next, hold face-to-face interviews with the most promising applicants using a competency-based interviewing style and any appropriate skills testing. Use a broad set of the same questions for all candidates so that it’s easier to compare them against each other.  It will also ensure that your recruitment process is fair and non- discriminatory.

6. Make an offer

Once you have made a decision BE DECISIVE! Good people have options and won’t wait around if you dither about making an offer.  Whether the offer is made face-to-face or over the phone, you will need to confirm details in writing.

Don’t forget to communicate with those candidates that haven’t been successful. Better that they are telling their network of contacts that they were impressed by you and your business than they are glad they weren’t offered a job!

Recruiting good people is key to the future success of any business.  Happy employees lead to happy customers and a healthy growing business. Never be caught in the trap of hiring the best of a bad bunch – take your time and plan to find the best possible fit.

If you would like to know more about how the First Base team can help you to recruit staff for your business call Tricia Hay on 01453 755330 or email tricia.hay@first-base.co.uk

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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:

During induction, managers can ask:

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

As part of their career development:

Finally, at the “exit” phase:

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

Experience isn’t the best predictor of a new recruits’ success

Harvard Business Review recently revealed a review of 81 studies that investigated the link between an employee’s prior work experience and their performance in a new organisation.  The HBR study found no significant correlation. Even when people had completed tasks, held roles, or worked in functions or industries relevant to their current ones, it did not translate into better performance inside a new organisation.

Their conclusion doesn’t surprise us – we know that experience isn’t a great predictor of a new recruits’ success.

It seems counterintuitive

It might seem intuitive that applicants who have general work experience or have already done the job that they’re applying for would be at an advantage.  But when HBR looked at the 81 studies, they discovered a very weak relationship between pre-hire experience and performance, both in training and on the job.  They also found zero correlation between work experience with earlier employers and retention, or the likelihood that a person would stick with their new organization.

Yet job related experience remains one of the top requirements of many employers when recruiting for a role.  Take a look at any job board and you will see that the majority of roles ask for experience even in non-skilled and entry level jobs.  Intuition might say that experience is important – but the evidence (and our experience as recruiters) doesn’t support the idea that candidates with more experience make for better employees.

Why not ‘experience’?

OK, so we haven’t conducted any formal studies – but anecdotal evidence over 22 years and thousands of positions filled suggests that the reason is that many employers measure ‘experience’ using the wrong metrics.  They sift CV’s based on how long an applicant was in a similar role or how many jobs someone has had. Often sifting out those with less or no direct experience.

The problem is that basic metrics like these say nothing about the quality or the significance of any experience gained, things that have more bearing on future performance.  Applicants with ‘experience’ can often impress with the use of industry jargon and what seem like industry related insight that gives the impression that that they will hit the ground running.  But it’s often not the case. Whilst past behaviour is a great predictor of future behaviour – basic metrics based on experience do not measure behaviours.  The applicant might have failed or stagnated in previous role – the key interview skill is to delve into what a candidate has learned from previous experience and how they actually performed.

Employers should also be considering what sort of organisational culture experience was gained in.  Bringing behaviours from an organisation that doesn’t operate in the same way you do can have a seriously negative effect of team dynamics and business performance.

Sadly, when individuals have been screened out because they lack traditional work experience, we lose the opportunity meet candidates who might impress with their answers and we miss the chance to explore behaviours that might be exactly those we want right for the role

What factors should we focus on?

Employers often assume that candidates with experience have gained appropriate knowledge and skills.  They can also think that certain types of previous roles – for instance sales – attract people with particular and much desired personality traits.  Our advice is to focus on knowledge, skills and traits during interview rather than relying on previous experience or even education.

We can understand why so many organisations ask for experience. Experience seems easy to assess. Have they worked in project management for at least five years? Have they managed people before? Have they got sale experience?  The answer is a binary yes or a no.  Past performance and existing knowledge and skills are more difficult to figure out, especially if all you have is an application form or a CV.

The reality is that at this time of high employment and when the best candidates have choices; companies simply can’t afford to select out candidates who would do really well but don’t have the experience that someone decided to put in the job description.  We live in a time when organisations need to expand the pool of people being considered.

If you would like to know more about how the First Base team can help you find the right people for your organisations please call Tricia Hay on 01453 755330 or email tricia.hay@first-base.co.uk.

 

 

 

The Power of Diversity and Inclusion

It hadn’t occurred to me that Diversity and Inclusion could be a sensitive subject until I read a recent report suggesting that many organisations still haven’t got their heads around the obvious benefits. Although we may not have called it D&I 20 years ago, having a genuinely inclusive environment is a natural and normal way for us to operate as a business.

For sure there is legislation that places responsibility on employers in areas such as age, disability, gender, race, religion, belief and sexual orientation. But to slavishly stick to the minimum requirements of the legislation is to miss the real opportunities of an inclusive workplace.  On a personal level it has been a pleasure and massive privilege to work and interact with a diverse range of people. Even when I might not have agreed with them, I’ve always learned something. Different views, experiences and perspectives in the teams I have worked with have made a major contribution to generating new and often innovative ideas.

From a recruitment perspective, don’t underestimate the importance an enlightened D&I environment. Many of the best candidates we see are keen to know about an organisations approach to D&I and it definitely features as part of their decision making.

Defining D&I

There’s the legal definition of course but to reap the full benefits you need to go beyond simple compliance. Fundamentally D&I is about the broad mix of people in your team and inclusion is how you involve them so that everyone is given the opportunity to make a positive contribution.

To be genuinely inclusive means recognising and then setting aside conscious and unconscious bias.  Avoiding assumptions based on differences starts with the example set by management- and starts from the moment a job role is being defined in the recruitment process. Assumptions can lead to discrimination – bad news legally but even worse for individuals and for the business.

The benefits

Taking positive steps to avoid any type of discrimination can lead to real benefits.

Diversity in the workplace can provide:

•  Increased retention and lower employee turnover.
•  Reducing recruitment costs.
•  Greater innovation.
•  Greater employee engagement leading to higher discretionary effort from employees.
•  Increased staff loyalty.
•  Higher staff morale.

Valuing differences

Inclusion is about ensuring everyone feels valued, respected and supported.  It’s about focusing on the needs of every individual and ensuring the right conditions are in place for each person to achieve their full potential.

When we talk about a culture of inclusion, we think about an environment that allows people with multiple backgrounds, mind-sets and ways of thinking to work effectively together and perform to their highest potential in order to achieve organizational objectives. In that type of environment, different voices are respected and heard, diverse viewpoints, perspectives and approaches are valued and everyone is encouraged to make a unique and meaningful contribution.

It starts at the top

The culture of a business is heavily influenced by the support from senior management.  Senior managers should lead from the front to support diversity and inclusion best practices. Workplace diversity initiatives need to receive proactive encouragement from the top, and they should support the ongoing commitment from other people within the workplace.

First Base – Giving Something Back

“Giving something back” might seem a trite phrase in the hard headed world of business, but at First Base we believe it’s our social duty as well as making sound business sense.

Since founding First Base in 1997, MD Tricia Hay, has supported the aims of ‘Business In The Community” and is a firm believer that the prosperity of business and the local community is inextricably linked.  When a business strives to be the best it can be as a responsible business, there is a positive multiplier effect that benefits society, the economy, the environment and business.

Being a Responsible Business requires purposeful leaders to drive leadership at every level across the business in order to:

As a recruitment business working with hundreds of local companies and thousands of job seekers, we feel particularly well placed to be a positive influence. 

What we do

All of the First Base team gets involved in how our business can act as a force for good by helping to create a skilled, inclusive, diverse workforce and how we contribute to building a thriving local community. 

It starts with a team who love what they do.  Helping employers find the right people and individuals to find their dream job is extremely satisfying work!

First Base Education

We’ve learned a lot over the years about recruiting and retaining the best people as well as how to help job seekers with their career progression.  We freely share that knowledge and other useful  information through our blogs, videos, social media and ‘Insight’ papers.  From job fairs to graduate recruitment events, from mock student interviews to seminars for business owners and active support for National Star College – every week our team is doing something to “give back”. 

Straight Talking Seminars

We’re passionate about building a responsible business and equally passionate about helping other businesses to understand how to build a successful enterprise.

Our Straight Talking Seminar programme goes beyond our core expertise in recruitment to providing world class, no-nonsence and practical seminars on a range of business topics from employee engagement, well-being at work and leadership to marketing and sales. Working with both the Gloucester and Cirencester Growth Hubs we are currently delivering a programme of interactive workshops on social selling – influencing local businesses to grow sales based on a trust based, ethical approach to winning business. 

What do we get out of it?

Fundamentally we commit to playing our part as a responsible business because we believe it is the right thing to do. We sleep well at night and gain enormous personal satisfaction. 

On the other hand we couldn’t invest time, energy and money if we were not a successful business.  A bi-product of that investment is the amazing reciprocity from our own team, individual job seekers, employers and our suppliers. It is their support for First Base that has helps us to continue to grow and play our part in the community.

If you’d like to know more about how giving back can be powerful for the community and your business or how at First Base can help you with your recruitment and job seeking, call 01453 755330 or email tricia.hay@first-base.co.uk

 

22 Tips To Help Attract The Best Talent For Your Company

After placing 14,000 people with 350 top organisations, we have learned a thing or two about how employers attract the best people – and why some companies struggle to recruit and retain good people. These days we find that the best candidates have a clear idea about the type of organisations they will and won’t work for – here are our 22 top tips to help you attract the right people.

1. Identify the requirement.

It sounds basic stuff but sadly too many organisations don’t accurately identify and share the requirements of the position they seek to fill. Everyone involved in the recruitment or interview process needs to be fully familiar with the needs and wants of the company.

Identify the qualities that the organisation seeks for in the candidate for a particular position and write it down. If there is no proper identification of requirements, then there’s a chance that candidates you select do not possess the required skills and aptitude.

2. Write a compelling and accurate job description.

There is an increased need to properly and accurately describe the actual role you are recruiting for to candidates. Outline the role as it really is today or you risk losing a new recruit in the first few months. Don’t just highlight the best parts of the job or how it might look in the future – and don’t hire for part-time when what you really have is a full-time job. A new recruit hired part-time being pressured to work extra hours isn’t a great motivator.

3. Have a reputation for being a great place to work.

Just as a company has a ‘brand’ designed to reflect what customers can expect of its products or services; a company has an employer brand that reflects what employees can expect of its employment practices. The best and most profitable customers are attracted by a brand that can be trusted to deliver on its marketing promises and the best talent is attracted by an employer that can be trusted to fulfill the promises made in a recruitment campaign or at interview.

Put simply, the businesses with the best employer brands attract more applications from the best candidates. Companies that appear in The Times Top 100 Best Companies for instance, enter the competition because they know that being recognized as a good employer has a direct effect on recruitment and ultimately bottom-line results.

4. Talent and skills over experience.

There are highly talented people out there who may be just perfect for the job you have within your company because of their set of skills, but who lack the years of experience you say you require in the job advert.

The fact that someone does not have previous experience in a particular position does not mean that they won’t be able to succeed. In fact, the contrary is proven every single day. Most people love challenges and are more than willing to work hard and strive to prove that they can be trusted to do a great job if you as an employer, give credit to their skills and strengths.

5. Big up your culture

If you are an SME, don’t worry about losing out on talent to bigger corporate firms. The entrepreneurial culture of a smaller business is a big selling point for attracting talent. Make sure this comes across in any job adverts you create.

6. Rewards and benefits

Make a good proposition for your candidates and let them know what you stand for as a company. How do you reward them and what’s their work-life balance like? Be clear about what your brand represents: this isn’t just what you tell your customers, but what you tell your staff. Benefits are about a lot more than the pay packet.

7. Network nous

The more of your people that network, the more your business’s reputation will be enhanced across your industry. Managers who are searching for new staff should always be making new connections and attending events. Offer referral incentives so that all your employees are encouraged to network.

8. Meet the team.

Try to avoid conducting all of the interview processes in a one-to-one meeting in private rooms. After all, your employment brand and culture should be a big selling point. Show candidates around the office and introduce them to potential team members – this way they’ll get a real feel for the business.

9. Be decisive.

Some businesses have a 30-day window for applications and then invite all the appropriate applicants in for interviews. The risk in this approach is that the best job seekers who applied very early on may have found somewhere else by that time. As soon as you see someone you like, get them in for a meeting.

10. Recruit first, job second.

If you are introduced to someone who is a ‘good fit’ for your company, create a role for them.   Don’t get stuck in a routine and hire only when you have a vacancy. Keep the business fresh by doing things the other way around. The best businesses recruit people, rather than aiming to fill a specific post, create a position for talented potential employees whenever practical.

11. Offer the right rate for the job.

It’s a job seekers market right now and failing to offer at least the market rate is unlikely to attract the best candidates.

12. Provide personal development opportunities.

Every good candidate wants to know what opportunities there are for development. Failing to provide a personal development and progression plan is a big switch off for many good people.

13. Make time for recruitment.

At First Base we can help and support organisations to save time and money. Never the less, there remains a requirement for the right amount of time and attention to be allocated internally to ensure interviews are effective and that candidates get the best impression.

14. Don’t procrastinate

Being decisive is becoming really important. Some organisations simply take too long to make a recruitment decision and then lose the candidate to a more switched on company.

15. Health and wellbeing.

It’s would be difficult to miss how big this is right now. Organisations need to be serious about wellbeing at work, not just because it is expected but because it is the right thing to do. The more an organisation shows it really cares, the more attractive it is an employer.

16. Know what’s great about you as an organisation to work for.

Every job and every company has things that are great about them.  In order to stand out from other potential employer’s, an organisation needs to know who they are trying to attract and what will motivate them to want to work with them.

17. Company values.

There is a whole new generation of talent who want to be paid well for a job well done AND to know that their personal values are aligned with those of their employer. Social issues and community awareness are high on their agenda.

18. Explain the recruitment process to every candidate.

Candidates selected for interview should know exactly what to expect; when they will be interviewed, where they will be interviewed and who will be involved in the interview. Make sure there are no surprises, no bad practices, no uncertainties and no confusion.

If you don’t portray your organisation as a great employer from the very start, the best candidate may decide your company is not the right fit for them.

19. Prepare for the interview.

Too many managers glance at a CV a couple of minutes prior to the interview. Leaving to the last minute means being unlikely to be able to ask insightful and intelligent questions or hold a meaningful two-way conversation.

Use the candidate’s CV to prepare probing questions about accomplishments, work ethic and attitudes.

Do a quick LinkedIn and social media check to explore outside interests and who they network with.

20. Have a conversation, don’t interrogate.

You can’t have a conversation unless you do some preparation. You simply won’t know enough to do anything other than ask questions. When an interview is conversational (and you listen effectively) candidates relax, speak more freely and provide more detail. Have a grown-up, respectful conversation and don’t use tricks or techniques to put the candidate under pressure.

21. Outline the next steps.

At the end of the interview always describe the rest of the recruitment process. Explain what you will do and when you plan to do it. Don’t force the candidate to ask. Tell them and if there are any changes following the interview communicate with them.

22. Follow up – with everyone.

It’s a fundamental business courtesy that says lots about you as an employer. Failing to follow up is incredibly rude, will be remembered and broadcast widely by those who invested time in your recruitment process but received little courtesy in return.

The team at First Base can help you to recruit and retain great people. If you would like to know more about why candidates and employers tell us that First Base is their first choice call 01453 755330 or email tricia.hay@first-base.co.uk

Supporting staff through the menopause

Acknowledging the menopause and understanding how to support colleagues is a critical management issue for organisations big and small.

Women aged 45 and over are one of the fastest growing groups of employees in the British economy. It also happens to be a time in their lives when women are reaching menopause and can experience a wide range of potentially debilitating symptoms. The menopause has health and wellbeing consequences for individuals and can impact their effectiveness at work.

My wife fortunately works for one of the more enlightened organisation where male and female managers attend training on menopause awareness. Being supported through the roller coaster of physical and emotional effects of menopause made a huge difference to her personal well-being, home life and effectiveness at work.

Understanding the menopause

The symptoms which accompany transition to menopause sometimes continue post-menopause and can continue for several years. They can be debilitating – for around a quarter of women, they are seriously debilitating. Symptoms can include hot flushes and night sweats, heavy and erratic periods, difficulties with focus and memory, irritability, mood swings and depression.

How an organisation deals with women’s transition through menopause impacts its reputation as an employer and ability to attract and retain the best people.

So what do managers need to know?

1. The experience of menopause varies considerably from woman to woman, and there’s a long list of potential symptoms. Accordingly, it is important for workplaces to provide a variety of reasonable adjustments so that mid-life female workers can request the right options for them. Many of these such as providing desktop fans, cold drinking water and easy access sanitary protection, are cheap and easy to introduce. A flexible working pattern can also help women to manage their symptoms – if they have had a bad night’s sleep, for example and is already something all employees in the UK have the right to request. Other initiatives, like training for managers and HR an are excellent investment.

2. Sadly, some women report feeling as if their colleagues and managers treat them differently and unfairly due to the assumptions and stereotypes about the menopause. Unfortunately, in some organisations, there remains evidence of bullying, harassment and micro performance management because of a failure to properly understand the menopause. Compared with attitudes, policies and processes around pregnancy and maternity at work, the difference can become very obvious.

3. Organisations increasingly recognise the importance of social responsibility. The social responsibility case for employers to provide appropriate support for female staff experiencing menopause in the workplace is undeniable. There is ample evidence that work offers much more than just pay for older women. It is also a vital source of social support and self-esteem. Equally, it is clear that too many women do not feel able to speak up about any menopausal symptoms at work because they fear being judged, harassed or bullied.

The result is that they women manage their symptoms without any understanding or support which has negative connotations for both the individual and their employer.

4. Whilst providing support and understanding is simply the right thing to do for the individual and the business, there are also potential legal risks and financial costs associated with treating menopausal women unfairly.

5. There are other clear business reasons for making provision for women in menopause. The average cost of replacing an employee, for example, one who leaves because her symptoms make it too difficult to continue in her job without some reasonable adjustments, is £30,000. This includes the cost of lost output as well as the cost of recruiting. Less tangible costs, but just as important, include the loss of the departing individual’s expertise and experience.

Just like my wife’s enlightened organisation has found, introducing menopause in the workplace policies and other best practice is straightforward, makes business sense and is something all responsible companies should implement.

If you’d like to know more about how the team at First Base can help you with ideas about recruitment and retention of great people, call 01453 755330 or email tricia.hay@first-base.co.uk

By David Tovey

Motivating staff after the summer holidays

We all know that it’s important for people to take holidays. Breaks allow people to recharge physically and emotionally, disconnecting from day-to-day concerns and return to work rested, refreshed and enthused.

However, keeping employees focused on work before and after their holiday can be a challenge. The key is to plan ahead. These tips can help ensure your employees not only feel comfortable taking time off from work, but that they are productive right up to the date they leave and are able to hit the ground running as soon as they return.

Be prepared

Motivating employees on their return from holiday starts before they leave. Have a plan in place so that projects and day to day activities run smoothly while they are away. Make sure you are aware of the busy periods in your department to determine the best and worst times for employees to take holidays. You might be surprised how many managers approve holiday requests only to find their department seriously understaffed at peak times.

Ask your team to organise their holiday schedules well in advance to avoid workload peaks, explain that everyone’s assistance is needed during those periods to ensure business objectives are met. Failing to plan for holidays often leaves a manager resenting the time their staff take off. Unless a manager is a trained actor, that resentment will show – not a great way to motivate any individual or team!

Above all don’t ask or expect people to take work with them on holiday. Encourage a culture where staff don’t feel that they should be checking or dealing with emails and work related issues when they are on holiday.

Identify potential issues

Some people will wait until the last minute to consider the projects or tasks that must be moved forward while they are away. It can be difficult to think weeks in advance, but putting off the task can cause important activities to be forgotten. This is one area where staff might need your help.

Meet with team members who have upcoming holidays well in advance of their holiday dates. Discuss tasks that will need to be accomplished while they are away and identify colleagues who can help out. Make sure everyone involved starts communicating immediately, don’t leave things until the last moment.

Make sure you stay in the loop so that you are aware of the tasks that the person going on leave is working on and who will cover for that person. This will allow you to help address any challenges that arise while your team member is away.

Take it slow

Don’t expect someone returning from a week or two’s break to launch in at full speed on their first day or back. As much as possible, give some leeway to allow the person to settle back into work. Don’t plan an important meeting the day they return or have a large project or task waiting for them that might overwhelm them on day one. In some circumstance, it may even be wise to organise a one day buffer to continue having the person’s backup provide support until the person returning from holiday can get back up to speed.

Touch base right away

Getting back to work on day one can feel like the same old routine. After the ecstasy of an amazing holiday, the first day back can feel like a real downer when it’s straight in at the deep end.

Organise an informal meeting, maybe over a coffee, to touch base with the employee soon after their return to work. Show genuine interest in their holiday. You might be surprised to find they come back brimming with positive and useful new ideas – don’t kill their enthusiasm with a negative atmosphere. Try not to hit them with everything that might have gone wrong whilst they were away, find something positive to say before mentioning any challenges.

If appropriate, invite the people who covered for them so that they can provide updates on tasks and projects they dealt with while the person was away. Help them to refocus and prioritise their efforts so that the most important or pressing tasks are completed first.

With the proper planning, you can ensure your staff not only feel comfortable taking time off but are also able to return to work fully recharged and ready to go!

If you’d like to know more about how the team at First Base can help you with ideas about how to motivate your team, call 01453 755330 or email tricia.hay@first-base.co.uk

Let your best people know you appreciate them

Which members of your team do you spend most of your time with?

For many managers, the natural thing to do is to delegate tasks to the best people and let them get on with the job.  The perceived wisdom is that this frees up time to spend more time with the poorer performers who need the most help and support. This might seem to be the obvious approach, but it can also be the wrong thing to do.

Often the only time a manger realises there is something wrong is when one of their best people comes in with their resignation and says that they have accepted a senior role with another company. We get to hear many reasons from employees about why they want to resign from their current job. Most often they tell us that they liked working at their present company but never felt appreciated or involved. They will say that they were left to get on with their job, seldom told they were valued and never asked their opinions about decisions being made about their department.

Encourage people doing the right things

Some managers think their job is to be on the lookout for employees making mistakes. In reality, business performance improves when you catch people doing the right things and praise them for it.

It’s no secret that genuine praise makes people feel good. Pride, pleasure and increased feelings of self-esteem are all common reactions to being paid a compliment or receiving positive feedback. This is because being praised triggers the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that helps control the reward and pleasure centres of the brain. As well as making us feel good, dopamine can also contribute to innovative thinking and creative problem-solving at work.

These positive effects, however, are relatively short-lived, and for praise to have an enduring impact on employee engagement, it needs to be offered regularly.

Freedom and involvement

Top performers do want the freedom to get on with their job and definitely don’t want to be micro-managed; but that doesn’t mean they should be taken for granted or ignored.

Do delegate responsibility to your best people and give them the freedom to accomplish their tasks, but don’t ignore them.  Meet them one to one regularly to discuss progress, their ideas, their issues and their plans, and help them to overcome any difficulties that get in the way of them from achieving even more.  Share some of the bigger business or departmental challenges with them and ask their opinions.

Deal with under performers effectively

You do have to spend time with the junior members and weaker performers in your team.  They need coaching and support, but don’t let this get out of balance.  Devote time and support to a poor performer, agree on an improvement plan with them, and monitor their progress.  Discuss the plan and their performance with your line manager and / or HR manager, and if they fail to improve or consistently under perform, then they should go.  No manager can afford to have consistent under performers draining their time and pulling down the team’s performance.

Aim for a balanced approach.  Spend time with every member of the team, get to know their interests, frustrations, ambitions and job-related issues.  A good manager understands their team both as a group and as individuals.  Every employee has different motivations, likes, dislikes, hopes and fears, and as a manager, you should know what motivates every person in your office.  Why do they come to work?  Every individual wants to be listened to and appreciated.

Praise and encouragement are great for weaker staff when they make improvements, but they are also important for the top performers who can often say they feel taken for granted and unappreciated.  Make sure that your best people know how much you value them.

The team at First Base can help you to recruit and retain great people. If you would like to know more about why candidates and employers tell us that First Base is their first choice call 01453 755330 or email tricia.hay@first-base.co.uk