Firmin Recruit: Helping Your Business With Its Resourcing Needs

As lockdown gradually eases and businesses are adapting to a new kind of ‘normal’, Firmin Recruit is here to help with your immediate staffing needs as well as your longer-term workforce management.

We understand that striking the right balance in terms of staffing can be incredibly tricky, particularly as we all learn to adapt to the rapidly changing landscape. We recognise that now more than ever,  businesses need the flexibility to remain agile, whilst ensuring they have the right skills in place to prosper in this new era of life and work.

Firmin Recruit can provide as little or as much support as you need. We take pride in really getting to know your business so we can find suitable people who can hit the ground running, either in permanent roles or on a more temporary or ad-hoc basis.

If you need any support with your resourcing management, please do get in touch with the Firmin Recruit team to find out how our business can help yours.

01795 606100  |  firminrecruit.com  |  info@firminrecruit.com

Is your business ‘resource-ready’ to leap into spring?

With springtime just around the corner, the Firmin Recruit team are ready to help you find suitable permanent or temporary hires who can really hit the ground running and ensure your business stays on track.

The upcoming bank holidays and the change in season can affect businesses in many different ways such as seasonal upturns in sales, orders or enquiries or perhaps an increase in staff taking annual leave, as the evenings get lighter and temperatures start to rise. At Firmin Recruit, we recognise that as the seasons change, so do recruitment and hiring needs.

Wherever possible plan ahead for surges in resourcing demands and book early. Be sure to give your business sufficient time to find the people that you need; train them up and ensure you have the right skills ready for when you really need them. Firmin Recruit can provide as little or as much support as you require, whether this is to manage peaks in demand; respond to growth or to access key skills.

If you need any recruitment help or advice to make sure your business has an ‘egg-cellent’ Easter and is resource-ready for Spring, contact the Firmin Recruit team on info@firminrecruit.com or 01795 606100. Emma, Grace, Mandy & Wendy would love to hear from you.

Let our business help yours.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

It may only be October and whilst it may seem a little early to be mentioning the ‘C’ word…

the elves at Firmin Recruit are already busy planning ahead for the festive season. In this issue of Dashboard, we share with you our top tips to help you stay ahead of the game this Christmas…

Write your list and check it twice. Consider how Christmas affects your business and look back at previous trends and experiences. Do you normally experience an upturn in sales, orders or enquiries? Do you have more staff taking annual leave? As the days get darker and the temperatures fall, do levels of sickness absence tend to rise?

Christmas comes early. Seasonal workers can make or break one of the busiest and most profitable times of the year for a business. Wherever possible plan ahead for surges in resourcing demands and book early. Be sure to give your business sufficient time to find the people that you need; train them up and ensure you have the right skills ready for when you really need them.

Let our business help yours. Firmin Recruit can provide as little or as much support as you need. We take pride in really getting to know your business so we can find suitable people who can hit the ground running. Additionally, our payroll services mean that we take care of processing the wages for your temporary and seasonal staff, alleviating some of the administrative burden and allowing you to focus on other tasks.

If you need any recruitment help or advice to make sure your business has a holly jolly Christmas, contact the Firmin Recruit team on info@firminrecruit.com or 01795 606100.

3 things your candidate is doing wrong

They name drop without thinking

If your candidate mentions in an interview that a current employee is a former colleague, they should be careful. One Telegraph HR adviser recalls the reaction of a current employee who knew the interviewee: “The reaction was along the lines of ‘oh him, he was dreadful…’.”

They’re not personal

Being personal in the job interview can earn your candidate brownie points, and using names is one way to build rapport. A simple “it was great to meet you, Sarah” ends an interview on a nice note. The Telegraph HR advisers believe that this rule should be applied to whoever meets and greet the candidate at each stage of the process.

They’re not respectful to everyone

An arrogant or rude personality is a total turn off to 84.9% of recruiters, according to research by CV-Library. First impressions count, and your candidate should not assume that the receptionist is less important than the person who is interviewing you.

3 things your candidate is doing wrong

Some employers and recruiters have little tolerance for mistakes. Especially, if they’ve been inundated with applicants: why would they make excuses for interviewees who can’t conduct themselves professionally? The Telegraph, enlisting the help of their own HR department, have identified and listed a number of ways that candidates can mess up.

1. They fail to dress appropriately

If your candidate turns up dressed either too smart or too shabby, this is an indicator that they’ve not read up about the company culture. In fact, three-quarters of recruiters are less likely to hire someone that turned up to an interview inappropriately dressed, according to research by workwear provider Simon Jersey.

Whilst it’s not wise to dictate how a candidate should style themselves – as exemplified by the case of one candidate that had her job offer revoked for wearing braids – the best advice a recruiter can give is to dress professionally and relevant to the industry they are interviewing for (and something they feel comfortable and confident in) and perhaps don’t go overboard with any extras.

2. They don’t ask questions

CNBC’s Managing Editor, Jenna Goudreau believes that how the candidate uses the time left at the end of the interview is an important indicator about them – it also shows that if they do ask questions, they’re interested and care about the job.

Not being curious signals they haven’t done their homework. She suggests that if a candidate is really thrown off, they should have a standby question like “What does success look like in this role?” or “What’s the culture like here?”

3. They don’t read the room

If your candidate has been working through a list of questions for 20 minutes, following a one-hour interview, they should be able to read the room and know when it’s time to bring it to an end.

5 illegal job interview questions

1. ‘Are you married/pregnant?’

Recruiters are legally required not to consider that a woman is pregnant, or might become pregnant, when making a hiring decision.

In the UK, the Equality Act 2010 states that unlawful pregnancy and maternity discrimination occurs when anyone who is pregnant, breastfeeding or recently giving birth is treated unfavourably.

2. ‘Do you have any children? How old are they?’

Whilst this may seem like innocent rapport building, the question could indicate a more sinister motive. For example, an applicant may be favoured on the knowledge that they don’t have children and the employer won’t have to accommodate any flexible working needs.

3. ‘Do you have any religious holidays to celebrate?’

Under the Equality Act 2010, it is imperative that recruiters work to eliminate discrimination from every part of the hiring process, avoiding questions about ‘protected characteristics’. One of these characteristics includes religion.

4. ‘Do you have any disabilities/what are they?’

This depends on the role. CNBC reports that job applications that ask things like “Do you have the ability to stand/squat/lift up to 30 lbs?” are appropriate. They help assess a candidate’s ability to fulfil the exact physical requirements of the job.

However, if you ask a candidate if their disability will prevent them from doing these jobs within the interview, it could give rise to discriminatory claims. Most employers offer ‘reasonable adjustments’ for those with disabilities, and if they’ve already stated what they can and can’t do in the application – why are you asking again?

5. ‘Where were your parents born?’

Whilst it’s often asked of the candidate to specify whether they can work in a certain country on the job application, this question serves no relevance to right to work. If the candidate is unsuccessful, they may believe that it was because of racial discrimination because you asked – it’s common sense really.

LinkedIn VP reveals why recruiters are REALLY missing out on talent

A LinkedIn VP has claimed that recruiters, and their clients, are missing out on top hires because they’re not advertising their values, mission and purpose clearly enough.

Last summer, the professional networking site found that almost 65% of professionals would turn down a job if they were unsure of a potential employer’s philosophy or purpose.

Out of those surveyed by LinkedIn, more than half (52%) said when they look for work it’s at a company with values that match their own.

However, Wade Burgess, VP of Talent Solutions at LinkedIn, believes that companies and recruiters could do more to show off their company culture to candidates.

Writing in Business Insider, Burgess explained: “Only a small number of hiring professionals reported that the company’s mission and values make it into their job ads or can be found on their website. Furthermore, more than half of recruiters (55.3%) don’t even mention values and mission during interviews.”

With the internet and various company review sites making it easier for jobseekers to compile information on any potential employer, the VP of Talent understands it to be imperative to highlight the company focus aligns with that of employees.

Burgess adds: “Purpose-driven employees outperform their peers, including how long they stay, how well they lead, how they advocate for themselves and how they work with senior leadership.”

Candidates reveal frustrating aspects of job-hunting

Searching for a new job can be a tedious process for candidates; they often don’t get told why they didn’t make the cut or they struggle to find a role that suits.

That’s according to research from CV-Library, who found that nearly two-thirds (62.7%) of UK workers dislike looking for a new job, with this figure rising to 69.9% amongst 18-24 year olds.

The study asked the opinions of 1,200 British candidates about their biggest frustrations when it comes to looking for work. They found that the top bugbear for 56.9% of respondents was a lack of response from recruiters.

‘Just marry the boss’: The SHOCKING career advice offered to candidates

Advising candidates to make the right choice, when it comes to employment, is an aspect of everyday life for a good recruiter. Putting aside targets and commissions, helping an applicant get their dream role can be payment in itself.

However, according to a recent survey, there is some disturbing and worrying advice being offered to young applicants.

The report from Bright Network, the careers network for graduates and recruiters, found that some careers advisors are putting off candidates from entering certain fields of work. The survey, of 2,500 of the UK’s brightest students, asked them about the worst careers advice they had been given, and found they are being dissuaded from going into certain sectors due to their ethnicity or gender.

How much does happiness pay? Candidates’ top 10 dream jobs revealed…

Candidates often dream of their ideal role, of securing that perfect, dream job whereby they actually get paid for doing something they love.

And whilst that’s just not possible for every jobseeker, recruiters should bear in mind that losing a client because they’ve found their dream job is a victory in itself – even if it means, monetarily, you lose out.

A recent survey, from Indeed, highlighted the most commonly cited dream jobs for candidates, and revealed what the roles pay. The careers that often draw applications from excitable candidates offer a healthy work-life balance, the ability to work flexibly, working outdoors and interacting with people on a daily basis.

Bill Richards, UK Managing Director at Indeed, commented: “Jobs that make us happy tend to be those that give us a sense of purpose and fit who we are. Employees who are engaged at work and passionate about their careers are more productive, more innovative and inspire those around them to do their best.

“The jobs on our list are popular hobbies and passions turned into careers. Finding the harmony between the demands of a role and the responsibilities of daily life is hard, but it becomes easier when we do what we love for a living.

Where is work-life balance BEST for recruiters?

With spiralling commuter costs and industrial action impacting rail services, a Sussex-based recruiter claims that London may no-longer be the recruitment El Dorado it once was.

In fact, Jack Emmingham, Principal Consultant at technology recruiter MRL Group, argues that, having made the move South, he now has more disposable income and less commuter stress.

Emmingham claims this has improved his work-life balance.

He said: “There’s a common misconception that, in order to have a career and earn significant money, you need to be in the Capital.  That’s simply not the case – particularly when you add the astronomical cost of commuting into London. It just doesn’t add up.”

David Stone, CEO at MRL Group, explained that for recruiters who want to enjoy a positive work-life balance, London may not be the place to work out from.

Are you affected by IR35?

UK.gov gears up for IR35 private sector crackdown – say industry folk

The UK government is gearing up for a massive tax clampdown on private sector contractors, in an extension of its IR35 regime to hundreds of thousands of freelancers outside the public sector.

This according to multiple contractor recruitment heads, with one claiming those plans have already started and will be introduced next year.

“[We’ve] found out a contractor working at HMRC is working on a project to bring these new stricter IR35 regs to the private sector in 12 months,” Harrison said.

However, the government denied it has any “current plans,” in a noncommittal parliamentary response earlier this month on when the plans would be extended to the private sector.

By extending the rules to the private sector, not only would the government raise some much-needed cash, but it could also stem the exodus of contractors to the private sector. In the medium-to-long term, at least.

3 things your candidates should NEVER do in a job interview

1. Call their parents

55% of young candidates admit that they have had their parents help them with a job application, according to a new report. The study, from CV-Library, found that 57% of jobseekers between 18- and 34-years-old have had their parents help them craft a CV. 45.7% of under-18s have had their parents help them with a job application, with 6.5% admitting that they have taken their parents to a job interview with them.

2. Bad mouth former employers

A peeve of recruiters, Andrew Wainwright, Business Director at Hays Liverpool, told the Liverpool Echo that badmouthing old bosses was one of the worst things applicants can do.

“No one wants to employ someone who’s negative straight off the bat,” he said.

3. Not asking questions

Candidates who ask questions during the interview process look as if they are genuinely interested in the role on offer – rather than thinking about running for the exit.

Tougher penalties begin for drivers using mobile phones

From 1^st March 2017, all drivers, including HGV drivers, will be subject to a £200 fine and six points on their licence if caught using their mobile phone behind the wheel, up from the previous three points and £100 fine. Drivers of goods vehicles could get a maximum fine of £2,500 and could be suspended from driving if caught breaking the law.

Drivers caught using their handheld device twice, or who have accrued 12 points on their licence, will be called to a hearing at a magistrates’ court and could face a fine of up to £1,000 or disqualification. Drivers caught using their mobile phone within two years of passing their test could have their licence revoked.

Professional drivers may also have to attend a conduct hearing before a Traffic Commissioner who will review their suitability to continue to hold a vocational licence.

After an HGV driver commits their first endorsable offence, the DVLA will send them a warning letter informing them that they could be required to attend a hearing before a Traffic Commissioner (TC) to consider their fitness to hold a vocational licence.

Drivers committing a second or third offence will be automatically referred to the TC for a driver conduct hearing where they may have their vocational licence suspended or be disqualified from driving HGVs. Operators could also be called in front of the TC should their driver commit a mobile phone offence.

Police forces across the UK took part in a week’s enforcement from 1 to 7 March to raise awareness of the change in law. A coordinated national enforcement week in January saw about 3,600 drivers handed penalties.

National UK living wage to rise to £7.50 in April

The National Living Wage is to rise to £7.50 an hour from April this year, in line with Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Autumn Statement and Spring Budget announcement.

The minimum wage for 25-year-olds will rise 4% from £7.20 to £7.50 an hour, in new plans set to go live on 6 April that will leave earners up to £500 better off.

Chancellor Philip Hammond said he hopes to give a big boost to the so-called ‘National Living Wage’, launched under his predecessor George Osborne’s vision, in a bid to get it to £9 by 2020.