The benefits of hiring temporary employees

Posted by Monique Holtman
temporary recruitment

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While the UK continues to face uncertainly about what’s going to happen with regards to Brexit, many companies are unsure about whether or not this is a good time to hire permanent staff.

On one hand, you may need more people on board to help cope with growing workloads but on the other, what impact is leaving the EU going to have on the economy and UK businesses?

If this is something that concerns you, why not consider hiring temporary employees? As well as providing a far more flexible approach to recruitment, below are just a few of the other benefits of hiring temps.

You’re not locked into a long-term contract

If you’re worried about the impact that Brexit is going to have on your business or you tend to go through periods of being busy and then quiet, temporary employees provide a fantastic solution.

You get the extra help you need to get through busy times and then don’t have to pay someone to sit there doing nothing until the next rush. Contract workers can help you for a week, a month, a couple months or even years depending on how long you think you’ll need them.

They can help to cover absences

Whether someone is off with a long-term illness, is going on maternity leave, taking a sabbatical or the summer months are hard to get through with everyone going off on their holidays, temporary workers can be brought in at very short notice to cover these absences.

You can hire temp to perm

Companies who have previously struggled to find the right people often prefer to hire on a temp to permanent basis. This enables you to assess whether someone is the right fit for the role and the company without making a long-term commitment.

Less responsibility

When you hire temporary staff through a recruitment agency, they are technically classed as the agency’s employee. This means that the agency is responsible for recruiting, screening, testing and hiring employees. Another huge benefit of this is that the agency will then take on the burden of payroll expenses, paperwork, taxes and any benefits they wish to provide. This can prove to be hugely cost and time-effective.

Leads to long-term relationships with recruitment agencies

There are plenty of companies out there who recruit on a regular basis – whether this is for permanent or temporary staff. Once they have built up a great relationship with a recruitment agency they know they can rely on, recruiting temporary staff becomes an incredibly easy process. Your agency will know exactly the kind of person you are looking for and who would and wouldn’t work well in your business. This can save valuable time and money when recruiting and most importantly, you can ensure that any urgent roles are filled promptly.

If you would like more information about the benefits of hiring temporary employees or need help with any aspect of your recruitment process, please don’t hesitate to contact us and we will be more than happy to help.

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The bad habits your colleagues want you to break

Posted by Monique Holtman
bad habits

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Most of us want to be liked by our work colleagues and will therefore avoid all the most obvious office annoyances. Singing out loud, constantly talking while people are trying to work, eating smelly foods at our desk and not pulling our weight are just a few of the things we might try to avoid in a bid to stay popular.

Despite your best efforts however, there may be some more subtle habits you’re doing, blissfully unaware that it’s annoying the rest of your team.

Innocent yet hugely distracting habits

When we’re deep in thought, it’s not uncommon to absent-mindedly click our pens, tap our foot on the floor, hum to ourselves, mutter out loud or tap our nails on the desk. Although you probably don’t even realise you’re doing it and no harm is meant by it, this can be very distracting and irritating to those around you.

If you know you’re guilty of this, have something less distracting on your desk such as a stress ball or a pad you can doodle on when you notice you’re getting fidgety. Even better, step away from your desk for five minutes and go for a walk to get rid of some of that pent-up energy.

Coming into work ill

A study carried out last year found that 60% of us still go to work when we have a cold. You may feel like a cold is a poor excuse to call in sick but ill colleagues regularly top the list of the most annoying things people do at work.

Sickness policies can vary hugely from company to company so it’s advisable to check with your manager what the procedure is. Nobody wants to hear you sniffing and sneezing all day though and they definitely don’t want to be exposed to any germs that might make them ill. Suggest to your manager that you work from home so jobs still get done and you don’t risk making everyone else in the office ill.

Being late

We all have days when we get stuck in traffic, the kids play up or we simply oversleep. Everyone understands this happens but employees who regularly turn up late annoy their colleagues and come across as though they don’t care to their managers.

If you’re always late because you don’t give yourself enough time to get ready, set your alarm to go off earlier and be strict with yourself about getting up. If you regularly get stuck in traffic, leave a bit earlier or think about getting public transport. If you wake up with plenty of time to get ready and don’t have to face traffic but are still late, work out what is distracting you (television, checking social media, cleaning the house) and eliminate it from your morning routine.

Not helping with the housekeeping

We’ve all been guilty of using the last teabag or sheet of paper in the printer and hurrying back to our desk so we don’t have to replenish the stock. Doing this kind of thing on a regular basis however annoys colleagues and will gain you a reputation of being lazy. Even if you’re rushed off your feet, remember it only takes a minute to fix or replace something and people will appreciate that you’re not afraid to pull your weight.

What are your biggest bugbears in the office? Feel free to share your thoughts with us below.

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The reasons why top talent leave their jobs

Posted by Monique Holtman
quit job

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Staff retention is something that a lot of companies struggle with. While it’s perfectly natural for people to want to move on after some time, if you find yourself being given that dreaded resignation letter time and time again, there’s a strong possibility that your employees simply aren’t getting what they want or need from their role.

Below we have listed some of the most common reasons why top talent leave their jobs. This offers a valuable insight into the mind of candidates and can play a vital role when it comes to keeping staff happy, motivated and loyal.

They don’t like their boss

One of the most common reasons why people leave their job is because of their boss. Some of the most popular grievances include management being less aware of the industry than the rest of the team, lack of recognition, not being trusted by their boss, being expected to work during non-work hours, being blamed for mistakes and having an unreasonable manager.

Research also indicates that the single most important factor to drive employee engagement and retention is the relationship they have with their immediate manager. If you’re a manager, ask yourself the following questions:

  • Do I trust my employees? If staff feel you don’t, it’s likely to sour your relationship
  • Do you micromanage your employees? Again, this can make them feel like you don’t think they’re capable of doing their job
  • Are you aware of whether or not your staff are coping with their workload?
  • Are you providing opportunities for learning and development?
  • Do you provide your team with regular feedback and give praise when it’s deserved?

Office politics

We all want to work in a happy and relaxed environment but unfortunately, office politics often gets in the way which results in employees going elsewhere.

A huge factor which influences engagement and retention rates is the quality of the relationships that staff have with colleagues, line managers, the organisation as a whole and even people working outside the company such as suppliers.

Recognition

Employee engagement surveys regularly show that staff would rather be presented with the option to grow and develop their skills than a big pay cheque. If you want to keep your team motivated and engaged, ask yourself if you’re providing opportunities for promotion, advancement and learning opportunities.

The most common reason people leave their job is because they have been offered another opportunity elsewhere which is a promotion or career advancement. Lack of recognition is another top reason why people leave followed by co-workers being promoted faster than them and receiving average or no benefits.

The company

 If your company is facing difficulties, chances are that you’re going to experience an increase in resignations. If the company is going under or is currently under huge financial strain, employees will feel the strain and worry their job is at risk. Nobody wants to be left unemployed so if your company is going through hard times but you’re not planning on making redundancies, do everything you can to reassure employees that their jobs are safe.

If you would like help finding your next great employee, please feel free to contact Choralis Consulting and we will be more than happy to help.

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Five things recruiters don’t want to see on your CV

Posted by Monique Holtman
cv writing

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If you’re currently on the search for a new job but don’t seem to be having much luck, there could be something on your CV which is putting potential employers off inviting you in for an interview.

So much time is focussed on the things we should be putting on our resume that we often forget to think about the things that might not be entirely appropriate. Below we have listed five things that recruiters don’t want to see on your CV.

Personal information

While recruiters are not allowed to judge candidates based on personal information, it’s human nature to do so and people often end up doing it without even realising. Refrain from adding details such as date of birth, sexual orientation, religion, political affiliation and photos and you completely eliminate the risk of being discriminated against.

Bad spelling and grammar

The only thing a recruiter can judge you on is your CV so it’s absolutely essential that you take the time to check for any spelling or grammatical errors. If there are lots of mistakes, a potential employer will worry that this will reflect the quality of your work and is therefore unlikely to invite you in for an interview.

Irrelevant work experience

Naturally, we want recruiters to know about all of our experience and we’ve all been guilty of adding our first jobs to our CV even though they have absolutely nothing to do with what we’re doing now.

Employers only have minutes, sometimes even seconds to glance through CVs so it’s crucial that you get to the point and capture their attention as quickly as possible. Your CV should show people that you match their requirements for the role and anything irrelevant to this should be cut out.

Negativity

Negativity is bad news for any CV because recruiters simply don’t want to see it. Resist the urge to bad-mouth previous employers and think about the language you’re using because research has shown that there are phrases which shouldn’t be used, even in a positive context. Try to avoid words such as awful, bad, fault, hate, mistake, nothing and problem.

92% of recruiters say that they would also reject a candidate who makes negative comments on social media so be aware of what you’re posting even on your personal pages.

Lies

It can be tempting to exaggerate certain aspects of your CV but avoid the temptation to go overboard because chances are that you will get found out if you get the job. According to the Society for Human Resources Management, a whopping 96% of companies conduct some form of background check on their employees so unless you want to find yourself unexpectedly out of a job, it simply isn’t worth taking the risk.

If you would like help with your CV or finding your next finance job, please feel free to contact Choralis Consulting and we will be more than happy to help. Alternatively, head over to our vacancies page and you can apply to our roles directly.

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What candidates really want to see on your job adverts

Posted by Monique Holtman

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A recent survey has revealed what really motivates candidates to apply for one job over another.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, pay has come out on top as the most important factor. With 90% of respondents saying that salary is their top priority, it’s clear that without indicating a clear pay bracket, your job adverts are going to struggle to attract great people.

While it’s not going to come as a huge surprise that people want a decent pay packet, what else are candidates looking for in a job advert when they’re job hunting?

Business reputation

The reputation of a company matters to 74% of candidates. So much so that they will research a company before applying to the role, look at their website, search for articles about them, ask friends and look on the company’s social media pages.

Recommendations

We all know that recommendations are powerful in any area of business and it would appear as though this applies to recruitment as well. Over 70% of people questioned said that they would apply for a job if it was recommended by a friend and 29% would consider it if recommended by another source.

Clear descriptions

Half of candidates said that they would be attracted to a role that offers the opportunity to progress and almost half said that they would like to see a clear job description which outlines this. By showing candidates a clear career route and highlighting which tasks they will be responsible for, it helps them to envisage exactly what it would be like to work for you.

Location

Data collected from the survey reveals that 33% of candidates are willing to travel more than 20 miles for work and 35% would even relocate for the right role. Interestingly, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that the average commuting distance increased by more than 60% between 1976 and 2001.

It appears as though people are willing to commute further if it’s a short-term commitment. 44% of contractors said that they would travel over 20 miles for a role compared to 27% of permanent staff.

While this figure is likely to be affected by the increasing number of cars on the road, with 3.7 million UK workers travelling an average of two hours per day, it’s thought that stagnant wages and soaring house prices are also playing a part.

What candidates are less worried about seeing on job adverts:

Coming out on the bottom of the list of things candidates expect to see on job postings include:

  • Pensions
  • Bonus schemes
  • Free gym memberships
  • Voucher schemes
  • Company car

If you would like help writing your next job advert or need assistance with any aspect of your recruitment process, please feel free to contact Choralis Consulting and we will be more than happy to help.

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UK unemployment falls to record low

Posted by Monique Holtman

New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed that UK unemployment has fallen to its lowest rate since records began.

In the first quarter of 2017, the number of people not in employment fell by another 64,000 – taking it down to 1.49 million people which is just 4.5% of the population. Naturally, this means that the UK’s employment rate is also at a record high of 74.9%.

These statistics have been a warm welcome at a time when the country has been faced with a lot of uncertainty following Brexit and the General Election. HR Director of Total Jobs, David Clift said that these figures highlight how despite recent political events, the UK job market is particularly strong at the moment. He commented:

“The figures are particularly impressive given that the ONS data covers March-May, a time when General Election campaigning and the sense of instability it caused was nearing its peak.”

The founder and managing director of CV-Library also commented:

“It’s positive to see that the unemployment rate is continuing to drop and it’s clear that businesses across the UK are working hard to strengthen their workforce and keep more people in work.”

Speaking about the website’s own findings, he continued:

“Our own job market data for the second quarter of 2017 has found that advertised job vacancies were up by 1.6% on the first quarter of the year and 14.9% when comparing the data from the same period last year.”

Youth unemployment has also decreased with 12.5% of 16 to 24-year-olds currently without a job compared to 13.5% this time last year. This is a huge improvement compared to late 2011 when youth unemployment was at its highest rate of 22.5%.

One area that remains a concern, particularly for employees, is the fact that wage growth is struggling to keep up with inflation. Excluding bonuses, earnings are currently increasing by 2% year-on-year. In May however, inflation hit an almost four-year high of 2.9%.

Taking this into consideration, it’s hoped that Bank of England officials will think twice about raising interest rates. UK economist at Capital Economics, Paul Hollingsworth commented:

“The continued weakness of wage growth provides some ammunition to the more dovish members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that now is not the time to raise interest rates. Given that some members of the MPC want to see a clear firming in wage growth before they join others in voting to hike interest rates, we still think it’s more likely than not that the MPC will hold off for a while longer, rather than raise interest rates imminently.”

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Six tips to improve the quality of your hires

Posted by Monique Holtman
recruitment

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With less than a quarter of UK businesses saying they’re confident about measuring the quality of their hires, finding and retaining the right people is more important than ever.

How exactly do you achieve this however? Below we have listed six top tips for improving the quality of your hires.

Don’t rely on the interview alone

One in five hiring managers admit to making a decision about candidates within just one minute of meeting them. Making an impromptu and uninformed decision about someone can spell disaster however.

If you disregard someone because you don’t think they’re the kind of person you’d enjoy going for a drink with after work, you could be missing out on top quality talent. On the other hand, hiring someone because you got on well with them while disregarding all the evidence that this could be a problematic or short lived recruit, will obviously affect the quality of your hires.

It is of course important that candidates fit in with the culture of the company but it’s equally crucial that their credentials match up.

Use assessment tools

The use of assessment tools can drastically improve the quality of your hires. Anything from video interviewing and situational judgement tests to psychometric assessments can help you to determine how people will perform once they’re in the role.

Conduct exit interviews

Very few companies carry out exit interviews but they can be an incredibly valuable tool when it comes to finding out what you’re like to work for. This process provides you with an insight into your candidate experience from your employee’s point of view and enables you to adjust your hiring process to reflect the data gathered so that you can improve the quality of your hires.

Modify the job to fit the person

Attracting good quality talent is difficult because chances are they’re already in a job and have plenty of other recruiters trying to attract their attention. If you’re found an exceptional candidate, be flexible with the role on offer.

Build profiles based on your top performers

It would be great if there was a sure-fire way of knowing whether or not somebody is going to be a successful long-term hire before you made them an offer. While there is no guaranteed way of doing this, you can improve the likelihood of it happening by building a profile of the attributes of all the top performers in your organisation. You can then use this to identify similar characteristics when interviewing candidates.

Use a recruiter

Enlisting the help of a recruitment agency can help to improve the quality of your hires for a number of reasons:

  • A professional recruiter can dedicate more time to the process.
  • They have a lot of experience and are therefore in a better position to establish whether or not someone would make a good hire.
  • They often work with candidates in the long-term so they have first-hand experience of how this person performs in a role.

If you would like help finding your next top hire, please feel free to contact Choralis Consulting and we will be more than happy to help.

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The most in-demand workers in the UK

Posted by Monique Holtman
finance jobs

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As many companies are increasing their recruitment intake, the nation’s job prospects are well and truly improving. While nearly half of all workers admit to keeping an eye out for new opportunities, it’s evident that we’re feeling more confident about changing careers or finding better roles elsewhere.

If you’re one of many people across the UK looking to kick-start your career, which sector should you be looking at? Below experts have revealed some of the most in-demand workers across the country.

Information Technology

Technology is always changing and improving so naturally, there’s always demand for IT workers. Very few people were online a decade ago which means that companies are still trying to perfect their digital efforts so those working in the IT sector don’t have to worry about demand for their profession dwindling anytime soon.

Healthcare, medical and nursing

Nurses are always in high demand in the UK, especially those working in operating theatres and neonatal intensive care units.

Engineering

For a long time now, the UK has been facing a chronic skills shortage in this sector and engineers have therefore been in very high demand. Speaking about the shortage, Philip Greenish, Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering commented:

“There are a range of factors that contribute to the skills shortage, including poor perceptions and lack of interest in engineering jobs; low attainment and progression in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects at school – which is exacerbated further at the FE and HE stages.”

He continued:

“Not enough young people are making engineering their career choice as it is a victim of its own transferrable skill and engineering talent is being lost to other professions.”

Accountancy and Finance

Being a qualified accountant is one of the most useful skills when it comes to long-term career planning. The good news for anyone planning a career in finance is that there’s growing demand for accountants and as a result, an increasing number of employers are looking to hire graduates into part-qualified positions to cover the current shortage.

One of the greatest benefits of training to become an accountant is that even if you change your mind about the profession, your skills can be transferred across a wide range of industries and businesses, including law and advertising.

Construction and Property

While the construction industry was hit hard during the recession, building activity has steadily risen over the last couple years. What’s more, salaries for construction professionals are rising, with quantity surveyors and estimators receiving the highest increases.

Human Resources

 As unemployment levels continue to fall in the UK, naturally, there has been growing demand for HR and recruitment professionals. As this happens, salaries in these sectors are increasing as well.

If you would like help finding your next role in finance and accounting, please feel free to contact Choralis Consulting and we will be more than happy to help. Alternatively, you can apply to our current vacancies via our jobs page.

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Recruitment Market Analysis (Infographic)

Posted by Monique Holtman

The latest recruitment market analysis reveals that when it comes to permanent vacancies, the automotive, sport & leisure and banking sectors have witnessed the biggest increase over the last quarter.

When it comes to temporary vacancies, agriculture, fishing & forestry, senior appointments and telecommunications are experiencing the biggest increases.

Recruitment market analysis

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Recruitment Market Analysis (Infographic)

Posted by Monique Holtman

The latest recruitment market analysis has revealed that there has been an increase in permanent and temporary roles both on a month-on-month and year-on-year basis.

There’s more great news for jobseekers as average advertised salaries have increased by 0.36% on a three month rolling basis.

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