Last week saw the return of the ever popular ‘The Apprentice’, but as Lord Sugar so easily ‘fires’ each candidate, it’s important to remember that in the real world employers need to get it right to avoid facing expensive tribunal costs for unfair dismissal.

As they say, prevention is cheaper than the cure and how true that is when you’re recruiting for your business.  It can be near impossible to find that right candidate, a complete package comprising of not only the right qualifications and experience but also the right personality to fit into your team.

We at Key Appointments have put together some pointers to consider whilst recruiting, to help you find the right candidate first time round, and to hopefully avoid any potential contract terminations down the line.

Job Description

Take time to write a thorough job description – candidates need to know what’s expected. Make it clear what the job entails from day one, this will avoid any confusion as the employment progresses. Don’t reduce your candidate pool by being too restrictive in terms of specific skills – you can develop skills but you can’t change attitude.

Salary

Be sure to set a competitive salary to attract the calibre of candidates you require. It’ll be far more expensive in the long term if employ the wrong, cheaper candidate.  Don’t insult a potential employee with a salary offer much lower than requested – it may damage your credibility.

Be Honest

Be honest with potential employees – if the applicant is looking for progression can you really offer this? If the job turns out to be different from that expected the employee may look for a new employment opportunity, which would leave you back at square one.

Interview

It is so important to thoroughly prepare for your interviews. Plan interview questions and ask the same questions to every candidate. This will enable you to compare and make the right decision. We would always recommend carrying out two interviews to ensure the candidate’s right for your organisation. Try not to make an emotional decision in a first interview.  A proven track record should be determined first

If you would like an informal chat about your recruitment needs, and to understand the benefits of using a recruiter, please contact Key Appointments on 0844 5044 666

Many employers feel that the education system is failing to equip students with the skills their business needs, creating a shortfall in the employment market and high levels of youth un-employment to-boot. Could Higher Apprenticeships be the answer?

While research suggests that many people still believe apprenticeships are more appropriate for blue-collar roles, Gaenor Bagley of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ argues that service-focused apprenticeships could be the boost the economy needs.

National Apprenticeship Week in March yielded mixed news for employers. On the one hand, research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research suggested that between now and 2022, almost four million people will complete an apprenticeship and boost the economy by £3.4 billion. On the other, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) highlighted how apprenticeships still suffer from the misconception they are more appropriate for manual or blue-collar roles, and that only one-fifth of parents felt an apprenticeship had the “same status” as a university education.

More recently however, there was more positive news for apprenticeships; a report published by ICM research found that higher apprentices are more employable than university graduates.

Bagley as head of people at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), has been heavily involved in building and promoting the company’s Higher Apprenticeship programmes in professional services. Their programmes deliver training and qualifications in areas including business recovery, tax and consulting. They have been working with more than 40 other employers in the sector, including many small and medium-sized enterprises, to promote this route as a viable alternative to university for school leavers.

Higher Apprenticeships

PwC was one of the first major graduate recruiters to extend its recruitment pool to school leavers, having provided an A-level entry scheme for more than 10 years. When £1.5 million in funding to support new Higher Apprenticeships in the professional services sector was announced 2011, this seemed like a perfect opportunity to formalise that programme.

Given that a Higher Apprenticeship offered an equivalent to the early stages of a university degree just as universities were announcing their new fee structures, this provided an added incentive to offer candidates an alternative route into a career.

Bagley explained: “We had started to recruit school leavers almost as an experiment. We weren’t very clear what we wanted them to do – should we transfer them onto our graduate track, for example? There are some areas of the business that really benefit from having school leavers on board ,and having the Higher Apprenticeship makes the programme distinctive and gives it a clear career profile.”

Just to get onto the apprenticeship, applicants need to gain a similar level of UCAS points that would grant them access to a university course.

“If you look at the calibre of the candidates, it’s astonishing,” says Bagley. “These are people that could go to university but decide not to. We’re not saying we don’t still want graduates - it’s the same talent, they’re just coming to us via a different route.”

There’s no denying PwC’s school-leaver schemes are popular. The company has experienced a rise of 318% in applications for both the Higher Apprenticeship and school-leaver programmes since the financial crisis began in 2008. Last year, the company created 30 new apprenticeship positions across its teams in London, and during 2013 will take on a further 50 higher apprentices in tax and consulting.

If you are serious about developing your own talent, look no further than the model of the Higher Apprenticeship scheme.

Health Care

Whether it’s discounted gym memberships, the company’s healthcare and pension policy or replacing the snack box with a fruit bowl Health and well being are at the top of employees’ lists as this time of year. So remind them of what you’re company are offering that sets you apart.

Focus on growth

Our work environment isn’t just a place to make an income — it’s the perfect environment for learning that is beneficial to you and your employees.

Seek out new ways to provide your employees with an atmosphere focused on improvement in terms of their skills and experiences. Look at training, personal and professional goal setting opportunities, benchmarks, and celebrate and reward accomplishments. Without a strong focus on employee-based growth opportunities, your’ staff are likely to lose motivation.

Move it around

It’s surprising what changing your office setup can do for your work environment. Conduct an employee survey to gain feedback on both the small and large improvements you could make to the workplace. Some of the smaller things to consider could be raising the temperature a few degrees and reorganising the layout of communal use areas. Bigger changes might include shuffling desks about to avoid the glare of the sun or to improve communication. Small changes can make a big impact without any cost implications.

Rethink communication

How does your company communicate its wins and losses? If you’re lacking a specific process, this is your chance to solidify something beneficial to your entire company. Improve the way you handle employer-to-employee communication by increasing feedback, and looking for innovative programs and platforms to open and maintain strong two-way channels of communication.

Cutback on time-wasting activities

Streamlining laborious processes, cutting back on the red-tape or keeping meetings within their allocated time slots helps your staff to meet deadlines and minimises stress. So whether you re-look at your meeting formats or change your agenda list developing new approaches for hustling through mandatory, but often time-consuming tasks can have big implications.

Try making a few small changes to your work environment and reap the benefits in the year to come.

]]> http://www.key-appointments.co.uk/blog/spring-clean-the-office/feed/ 0 http://www.key-appointments.co.uk/blog/monitoring-or-spying/ http://www.key-appointments.co.uk/blog/monitoring-or-spying/#comments Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:00:19 +0000 keyappointments http://www.key-appointments.co.uk/blog/?p=1851 Is checking up on your employees a necessary evil or is it a way of safeguarding your business?]]> Is checking up on your employees a necessary evil or is it a way of safeguarding your business?

The past decade has seen some major overhauls in how we do business. Social media, video conferencing and the internet have now all become fundamental in some way or another to the running of our companies as well as infiltrating our personal lives.

The implication for business owners has been one of duality. Whilst we all recognise the benefits of these tools they can be easily misused.

As an employer you need to know that your staff are capable, professional and will represent your business in its best light in any situation. On this premise using technology to monitor your employees is a natural progression to safeguarding your business but this act; whichever way you view it exists in a moral grey area.

Sometimes monitoring your employees is necessary, for example if they are not meeting deadlines or are having frequent unexplained absences from work. So at what point does monitoring turn into spying and does it even matter?

On its most fundamental level the employer – employee relationship is one of mutual respect and trust.

You need to be confident that your employees are engaged and can be relied upon to act in your business best interests. Your employee wants to know that they make a positive contribution and can be trusted with responsibilities.

Whilst you may feel that monitoring your employees covertly is entirely justified, doing such in excess will be viewed as a lack of trust and a vote of no-confidence by your staff.

Even with the best laid plans to ensure that no-one knows, information out of context can be misconstrued, every comment view can be traced or you wouldn’t be doing it in the first place. If you have niggling suspicions about an employee you should seriously weigh up whether or not covert monitoring is your best option. Airing your concerns in a conversation may offer a more productive outcome.

1. Finding the right candidate can be difficult – get it right from the start with a thorough job specification
2. Don’t reduce your candidate pool by being too restrictive in terms of specific skills – you can develop skills but you can’t change attitude.
3. Are you setting a competitive salary to attract the calibre of candidates you are requiring?
4. As an employer, consider what really makes you stand out from the crowd
5. Simple things such as free fruit in your office can show a potential employee you care about their wellbeing
6. Consider your working hours – flexible working hours can increase your pool of candidates
7. Don’t forget to factor in the cost of your time when looking at recruitment methods
8. Build relationships with a recruiter – they will have a wide market to of candidates they can reach for you
9. Set clear goals for when you would like a potential employee to start to keep your search focused and targeted
10. Keep applicants informed with a simple reply – i.e. If they are successful you will contact in 5 working days
11. Consider whether you want to employ someone who could just do the job, or someone who will be a top performer
12. Be honest with potential employees – if the applicant is looking for progression can you really offer this?
13. Thoroughly preparing for your interview will make it easier for both you and the candidate
14. Plan interview questions and ask the same questions to every candidate, enabling you to compare and make the right decision
15. Try not to make an emotional decision in a first interview. A proven track record should be determined first
16. We would always recommend carrying out 2 interviews to ensure the candidate’s right for your organisation
17. Inform the candidate or recruiter if the answer is a no – be prepared to give constructive, honest feedback
18. Don’t make your interview/recruitment process too long to ensure you don’t miss out on top quality candidates
19. Don’t insult a potential employee with a salary offer much lower than requested – it may damage your credibility
20. Make sure that an offer is put in writing for clarity and a contract of employment is provided asap

Should you have any questions or need any advice about recruuiting a new member of staff, please contact us on 0844 5044666 or email your questions to info@key-appointments.co.uk

Whilst the number of those in employment has risen to a new record by 154,000 to 29.7 million. An increase of 580,000 more people in employment since the same time last year.

This has impacted upon the number of those claiming Jobseekers Allowance falling in January by 12,500 to 1.54 million.

Overall, the ONS figures showed that there were 29.73 million people in the UK in employment, of which 73% were working full-time and 27% were working part-time.

Whilst the economy may have contracted in the final quarter of last year, the jobs market has continued expanding.

Total employment figures were up 154,000 over the three months and was all accounted for by full-time posts.

In line with this ruling ministers will exempt those claiming they were axed because of their political beliefs from rules which require workers in the UK to have been in a job for two years before they can claim unfair dismissal.

The change in law, which is unlikely to be opposed, will be debated in the House of Lords on 26 February when the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill reaches its report stage.

Naeema Choudry, partner at global law firm Eversheds, said: “The change will mean that all employees will be able to challenge politically motivated dismissals, regardless of their length of service.

“This does not mean that it will never be appropriate to dismiss somebody because they are a member of a political party; it simply means that employees will be able to have a tribunal look into the decision to dismiss and decide whether it was reasonable.

“Whether a dismissal is reasonable or not will, to a large extent, depend on the nature of the individual’s job and, in some cases, the area in which they work.

“An employer will be on firmer ground if membership of certain organisations is incompatible with the individual’s job and there is a clear policy spelling this out.

“It is possible too that an organisation with an ethos that is demonstrably based on strong ideological views on social or political issues might be able to justify dismissal of someone whose political affiliations run contrary to that ethos.”

She added: “However, a mere desire to avoid any adverse publicity or embarrassment that may result if an employee’s political leanings are made public is less likely to stand up to scrutiny.”

A recent BBC poll found that 54% of workers are now dining ‘al-desco’ continuing to work through their lunch breaks without being paid for their efforts.

Whilst it may seem that were getting more work done, it is worth realising that failing to eat lunch regularly or at the very least taking a break from the glare of a computer screen can have a severely detrimental effect.

The majority (78%) of workers say that they do not feel under direct pressure to work through their break but that it is a cultural issue for most workplaces.

The concept of a lunch break is not simply to get some food into your system it’s a key part of remaining focussed and energised for your day. That 30 minute break allows you the time to refocus and let off steam whether it’s having coffee with a colleague or going for a quick walk.

Failing to take a time out can lead to resentment towards your employer, your colleagues, can contribute to stress related illness and cause a rift in your personal life.

We all need that little bit of head space even if were eating a sandwich whilst doing it. Make time to take a short break, it may not seem like the most efficient option but you’re not a machine and it will pay dividends in the long run.

Security software firm AVG have revealed in their latest of the digital diaries reports that more than half (53%) of employees’ feel that their workplace privacy is being infiltrated by the increased use of social media.

’1 in 10 discover secret discussions’

The survey of more than 4,000 workers showed that 1 in 10 discovered colleagues’ using social media to initiate secret discussions about them online. Whilst 11% have found embarrassing photos or video taken at work uploaded onto social media sites.

The report also suggests that as the use of social media increases both personally and professionally, the privacy many workers value and expect is being eradicated through employee misuse and cyber-bullying.

As a result many adults are turning away from social media altogether in an attempt to prevent their personal information from being circulated in the workplace.

Jenny Ungless, an independent HR consultant and life coach, said: “While you can’t completely control what people say about you online, you can control the ‘ammunition’ they have against you.

“Being more careful about your posts on social networks or ensuring your privacy settings protect your personal information are just a few steps you can take.

“The research shows adults are now finding themselves in unchartered territory when it comes to social media in the workplace.

“Having to ward off colleagues’ romantic advances online, suffer the embarrassment of unwanted personal photos seen by colleagues or have personal details from social networks used against you, are all things that adults haven’t typically had to deal with.”

Tony Anscombe, AVG’s senior security, said: “This study highlights the need for a combination of greater education around social media alongside increased attention and care by both employees and employers to their social media etiquette at work.

“We’re not just talking about employees remaining responsible for what they post online on social networks and ensuring it is not bringing themselves or their company into disrepute or harming their colleagues, employers can trip themselves up just as easily when managing the company’s own social media presence.

“Until everyone is clear about exactly what is and isn’t acceptable online behaviour, trying to enforce policies will just fail, leaving the door open to cyber-bullying and invasion of privacy.”

For more information on this report or to read the full report please follow the AVG link.

With 37,000 fewer people out of work in the period from September to November, bringing the total down to 2.49 million and reducing the UK’s unemployment rate to 7.7 per cent.

The Office for National Statistics said there were 29.68 million people aged 16 to 64 in employment, up 90,000 on the previous quarter and up 552,000 on a year earlier.

Whilst the Association of Graduate Recruiters have also indicated positive movements predicting an increase in employed graduates from an average of 98 in 2012 to 109 this year, in their latest bi-annual survey of 200 companies.

Carl Gilleard, chief executive of the AGR commented “With the graduate job market inextricably linked to business confidence, it is reassuring to see that employers are committed to investing in graduate talent despite the backdrop of continuing global economic uncertainty.

The unemployment figures came as the government-backed Workplace Employment Relations Survey revealed that levels of job satisfaction have actually risen over the past decade in the UK, despite the recession.