Welcome to our new Quarterly Newsletter
At The Work Shop we have seen our business growth surge in the last few months, particularly since the end of the furlough scheme which saw greater numbers of candidates available and looking for work. Like many others, we have realised that we can be flexible with our working hours and office attendance ratios and we have started to offer our clients some initiative new support including our Free monthly HR Forum covering a wide range of information relating to recruitment and HR including Menopause advice and On-boarding.
We have adopted a new on-line registration process to make it easier for our candidates to start the registration process and whilst we are still offering on-line interviews, we have also enjoyed welcoming our candidates back into the office for face-to-face career support. We have also seen the re-launch of our Poole branch who have moved back into the heart of Poole and are supporting a huge range of clients in both the commercial and engineering sectors.
We have included in our newsletter details of a couple of key topics that we hope will be of interest along with details of a few candidates that are currently looking for work and available for interview with 24 hrs notice. We have included some really interesting articles within the newsletter and we would welcome any feedback on any other areas you would be interested in us researching on your behalf. The articles include a link to the Labour Market and Skills Research in both Dorset and the Solent, details on ensuring you maintain engagement with candidates/future employees and a critical recruitment trend through 2022 regarding hybrid working, along with some updates regarding minimum wage and digital work checks.
Labour Market and Skills Research | Dorset LEP
Above is our link to the Dorset LEP site, this will give up-to-date information regarding the labour market in the local area, and in particular includes and interesting High Level SWOT analysis highlighting the threats to the counties including:
A projected lack of growth in the working-age population, despite an overall population growth to 10.7% over the next 10 years to 2033. Housing delivery is unlikely to deliver enough dwellings to accommodate projected population increase and our strong concentration of employment in the public sector, which is vulnerable to future funding cuts, a really interesting insight into the County and it’s future. The Solent LEP offers similar information and a link is here: Business Support Hub – Solent LEP
FREE Recruitment Process Audit
As part of our on-going support and advice hub, we are keen to discuss with client or prospective clients their Recruitment Process and how we believe it can be enhanced, that doesn’t mean you providing us with the role to work on, just enable us to talk through with you how you approach your recruitment process and allow us to advise and support you and your business, for more information contact us on 01425 489393.
HR Forum
We welcome all our clients to join our free HR Forum, our monthly forum via Zoom tackles a wide range of subjects relating to employment law, contracts, on-boarding and many other areas and is supported by Chris Dobbs, a Employment Legal Advisor from Frettons and Pem Paddick, a HR Advisor from Treenhill Consultancy
The Frustration of losing a Candidate at the Final Hurdle
Finding suitable candidates is hard enough right now, but losing them at the final stages of your recruitment process is a real blow to your efforts and investment made in a person.
This insight looks at why candidates pull out and what you can do to limit drop-off and make improvements.
The candidate experience
Candidates may drop off at any point in the recruitment process. For various reasons, a long, complex recruitment process, lack of communication, overpromising on the role/the package, a rigid process that doesn’t allow for flexibility – maybe a better offer or an offer from another employer who communicated with them in a better way. All of these reasons can contribute to candidates dropping off through the process – all equally as frustrating.
Candidate experience should focus heavily on building trust and conveying company culture throughout the recruitment process. A key lesson is to ensure recruitment technology is adopted carefully and complements an organisation’s brand and values, delivered with the end-user experience in mind. Whether it be career websites or Recruitment CRM, everything from how a candidate can manage their application and how you communicate with them, needs smart implementation.
The onboarding stage can play a big part in engaging with new hires and can help to increase the offer acceptance rate. Ok, there is no way to eliminate drop-offs, but with a well-organised recruitment process and customised onboarding controlled online, you will be on to a winner.
We have a wealth of help and advice available if you would like to know more about how we believe you can decrease the candidate drop off and secure the best candidates, just contact us on shelley@thework-shop.co.uk for more information.
Recruitment trends in 2022
The biggest trend we are recognizing going forward into 2022 is perfecting the Hybrid working model, more and more companies are recognizing the benefits of working partly from home and partly in the office and excitingly it has been recognized that better access via remote working could open up opportunities for nearly 4 million people currently locked out of the workplace including parents, careers, disabled ….and almost half of the part-time workers would increase their hours if their employers would allow them to work remotely or within a hybrid model also, investing in the technology we need to enable hybrid working and more digital innovation could add £236 million to the economy by 2040. It is clear that the challenges will be that companies need more clarity of purpose, clarity of direction, more effective leadership and help in finding the sweet spot of how we can manage and lead hybrid organisations moving away from the standard Monday to Friday, 9 to 5.30 office based model, really interesting times ahead, watch this space…..
Our of a recent poll, the following results highlighted that retention and recruitment were the greater concern for most companies.
17% = Hybrid/Flexible working
34% = Employee wellbeing and absence
39% = Retention and Recruitment
4% = Pay and Reward
7% = Diversity and Equality
Updates…
Here are all the announcements and changes you need to know:
Changes to national minimum pay rates
- National Living Wage increase
Increasing the support for getting workers into well-paid jobs, the Chancellor announced that the National Living Wage will rise by 6.6% from the £8.91 per hour announced in April 2021 to a new rate of £9.50, beginning in April 2022.
Equating to an extra £1,000 a year for full-time workers, this new National Living Wage will apply to all workers aged 23 and above..
Pay for workers under the age of 23 will be increasing, too, with the following age groups seeing a National Minimum wage rise of 50p or more per hour from April 2022 onwards:
21 to 22-year-olds: rising from £8.36 to £9.18 per hour
18 to 20-year-olds: rising from £6.56 to £6.83 per hour
Under-18s: rising from £4.62 to £4.81 per hour
The National Minimum Wage for apprentices will also be increased from 2022, with the hourly rate for apprenticeship placements moving from £4.30 to £4.81 per hour, an increase of nearly 12%.
- Social Care Levy Increase in Employers and Employees NI
- Extra Bank Holiday for Queens Jubilee 2nd June 2022
- Digital Right to Work Checks will continue beyond April 2022
And finally …
Please find details below of a range of candidates currently looking for work with excellent skills and experience.
Candidate 27805 – A passionate and very likable Project Manager with lots of sales coordination experience. Excellent IT skills, strong, reliable individual with excellent communication skills, based in Poole – £26k min
Candidate 101378 – A highly motivated and resourceful individual who thrives on new challenges. Well developed communication and interpersonal skills at all levels experienced within Purchasing, MRP, SAP, Admin. Has been working in an engineering environment and based in Poole: Available immediately. £25k
Candidate 98700 – Warehouse Manager, solid, reliable background used to working retail environment, a strong communication with excellent team building skills, based in Southampton looking for £30k plus
Candidate 57368 – Administrator/Customer Services Specialist, excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and a great team player, based in Southampton looking for £21k plus.
Candidate 101399 – Administration Manager/PA/Recruiter, excellent communication and organisational skills, and excellent IT experience – based in Fordingbridge, salary £27k plus.
Candidate 18288 – PA, solid PA/Secretarial/Office Manager background with the ability to meet challenging deadlines and support operational business goals in any environment, based in Verwood looking for £26k.
