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19 11 2024

Week 2: Effective Recruitment Strategies | Consensus HR in Herts & Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, Disciplinary & Grievance, Employment Law, General, Handbook, Investigations @sg1businessclub, #consensus hr, #consensushr, #hrstrategy, #networkinbeds, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, Recruitment, Small Business, SME, SME's

Welcome to Our 12-Week HR Essentials Blog Series for Business Owners and Managers – Week 2:

At Consensus HR, we know that effective HR management is key to creating a productive, compliant, and supportive workplace. Over the next 12 weeks, we’re providing business owners and managers with practical insights into different aspects of HR—from recruitment and onboarding to performance management, mental health support, and legal compliance.

Each weekly blog offers actionable advice to help you strengthen your HR practices, minimise risks, and support your team’s growth and well-being. Join us on this journey as we explore how thoughtful HR can positively impact your business and create a thriving, engaged team.

Week Two of Twelve

Week 2: Effective Recruitment Strategies to Attract Top Talent:

Overview:

Recruiting the right talent is foundational to business success. Well-thought-out recruitment strategies attract candidates who are not only qualified but also a cultural fit for the business.

Key Points:

Crafting Job Descriptions: Write clear, precise job descriptions that outline responsibilities and the ideal candidate profile. Include essential skills and desirable attributes.
Sourcing Candidates: Utilise various platforms like job boards, social media, and employee referrals to widen the candidate pool.
Effective Interviewing: Develop structured interviews to assess both technical skills and cultural fit and consider including practical tasks for relevant roles.
Promoting Diversity: Strive for a diverse team by reducing biases in recruitment, ensuring all potential employees have an equal opportunity

Previous of our 12 week blogs:

Week 1: Understanding the Role of HR in Business Success

At Consensus HR, We’re Here to Help:

Managing HR can feel complex, but you don’t have to navigate it alone. If you have questions about this week’s topic or need tailored HR support for your business, our team is ready to help you create a productive, compliant, and supportive workplace. For more information, visit our website at www.consensushr.com or get in touch with us directly. Let’s work together to make HR a strong asset for your business.

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At Consensus HR, we are proud to offer a wide range of HR & Employment Law services to help our clients with all areas of best practice and Employment Law which can be found by clicking on the button:

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If your business always wishes that it works in all areas to the benefit of the team and company and as an employer of choice, give us a call or email now for a non-obligatory chat. Consensus HR | Your Outsourced Human Resources and Employment Law Department | “Helping companies take the pain out of managing people whilst Preventing People Problems.” 01438 576750

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18 03 2024

Salary inflation at the slowest recorded rate in nearly three years | Consensus HR | Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General, Performance Management, Recruitment, Training & Development #bedfordshirebusinesses, #hertfordshirebusinesses, #hrstrategy, #outsourcedemploymentlaw, #outsourcing, #salaryinflation, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, outsourcedHR, Recruitment, Small Business, SME's, stevenage

While February 2024 saw further increases in rates of starting pay for both permanent and temporary workers, as employers reacted to competition for highly-skilled candidates, the rate of salary inflation was the slowest recorded since 2021.

This is one of the key findings in the latest Report on Jobs published by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG.

Ongoing economic uncertainty and hesitancy to commit to new hires amid cost pressures led to a further marked fall in permanent placements, the report notes, while temp billings dropped at the steepest rate since mid-2020.

With uncertainty over the economic outlook leading employers to often delay or freeze hiring decisions, the number of people placed into permanent jobs across the UK continued to decline markedly midway through the first quarter (Q1) of 2024.

The availability of staff rose for the 12th straight month in February amid reports of redundancies and a slowdown in hiring activity.

REC Chief Executive, Neil Carberry, said: “The temporary labour market is the unsung hero of the economic uncertainty of recent years. It keeps the cogs of the economy turning amidst uncertainty and labour shortages — but it still needs nurturing. As we approach the General Election, businesses will be looking to politicians for commitment on this, and reforms of regulation that will support it from IR35, to regulating of the umbrella market and delivering flexibility to the Apprenticeship Levy.”

The retail and construction sectors led the downturn in demand for temporary workers. Of the 10 surveyed job categories, only blue-collar and engineering noted increases in demand for short-term staff during February.

HRInform

Our HR Comment / Advice:- Salary inflation at the slowest recorded rate in nearly three years | Consensus HR | Herts, Beds

Matthew Chilcott, FCIPD, ACEL, owner of Consensus HR comments: “These statistic from these reports demonstrate the current labour market and vas uncertainties of what to expect with the Election approaching and highlight why businesses need to ensure that their Recruitment Strategy is correct for their business. At Consensus HR, we understand that selecting the right candidates whilst attracting them to your business is never easy, whilst ensuring when you have successfully recruited that you retain them. This is why we always encourage our clients to look at the bigger picture and their companies HR Strategy in general for the success of the business and the member of the team. Getting your recruitment strategy right is the start but then ensuring that they remain motivated and an asset to the company is another chapter. Their Induction, development, performance reviews, Contracts of Employment, Employee Handbooks from day one of employment and the list goes on are all key parts of getting your HR strategy right and becoming an employer of choice. Believe me, this is not easy and maintaining it, is another challenge.

To view more about our range of HR & Employment Law Services

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Are you concerned about your companies HR Strategy?

If you wish to talk to us at Consensus HR about your current HR Strategy for your business and team and look at ways of getting the right candidates in the right places whilst ensuring your is a place where people like to come to work and the business succeeds, give us a call now. Consensus HR | Your Outsourced HR & Employment Law Department | “Helping companies take the pain out of managing people whilst Preventing People Problems” – 01438 576750

Your Outsourced Human Resources (HR) Department.

For further information on any of the HR subjects we provide, please click the heading below:

21 02 2023

Firms stick to four-day working week after trial ends

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General, Newsletter, Rewards & Benefits #4dayweek, #fourdayweek, #HR Herts, #HRblog, #HRHertford, #HRLetchworth, #HRStevenage, #hrstrategy, Business, Business Owners, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Consultants, HR Support, Small Business, SME, SME's

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, Owner of Consensus HR comments: “Further to our previous blog on 28^th January 2022, it would seem that most of the British companies who took part in the four day week are. now sticking to it. Previously we commented: “we believe as long as the correct Policies and Procedures are put in place for the team and company and the required results are achieved, then why not have a four-day week? Are more companies who can accommodate this due to their business sector / products going to give it a try? We wait to see if cultures / business sectors see the benefit and make the change following what has happened over the previous three years with the Pandemic and major changes to companies having to happen due to not having a choice.”

NEWS ARTICLE: Firms stick to four-day working week after trial ends

Most of the British companies taking part in the world’s largest trial of a four-day week are to continue with the new working pattern. Of the 61 companies that started the six-month trial, 56 have extended the four-day week, including 18 who have made it permanent. The vast majority of companies reported that they were satisfied with productivity and business performance over the trial period. The six-month trial was organised by campaign group 4 Day Week Global, think-tank Autonomy and researchers at Boston College and the universities of Cambridge and Oxford. The findings of the trial are to be presented to MPs on Tuesday as part of a lobbying push to encourage the UK government to change legislation to give staff the right to request a four-day pattern. Joe Ryle, the director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, described the trial as a “major breakthrough moment,” adding: “Across a wide variety of sectors, wellbeing has improved dramatically for staff; and business productivity has either been maintained or improved in nearly every case . . . We’re really pleased with the results and hopefully it does show that the time to roll out a four-day week more widely has surely come.” Juliet Schor, an economist and sociologist at Boston College, observed: “At the beginning, this was about pandemic burnout for a lot of employers. Now it’s more of a retention and recruitment issue for many of them.”

Sky News

Financial Times

The Wall Street Journal

The Guardian

The BBC

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YOUR OUTSOURCED HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

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The Importance of Employee Engagement and How to Improve it

Employee, Worker or Self-Employed … What’s the Difference

23 11 2022

Investigation reveals harsh conditions at Boohoo factory

Matthew Chilcott Blog, General, Health & Safety, Recruitment, Redundancy #hrstrategy, #outsourcedhumanresources, #workingconditions, Business, Business Owners, hertfordshire, HR, HR Advice, HR Consultant, HR Support, Small Business, SME, SME's, stevenage

Matthew Pinto-Chilcott, Owner, of Consensus HR comments: Investigation reveals harsh conditions at Boohoo factory – “An interesting article in ‘The Times’ in relation to working conditions at a UK company where the team call themselves “Slaves”! How can any company employ a team where they make comments such as this and in extremely poor conditions. A reputation of a company is vital for its success and employees making extremely poor comments about it, does not help. In this article, they comment about temperatures reaching 32 degrees which I could understand in the height of summer but in November! There is no legal limit on how high a temperature can get in a workplace but surely if you had an environment like this, you would aim to get some sort of air-conditioning in so that the team felt comfortable when working and producing more!

This investigation gives perfect examples of how not to look after your team and how to go against everything a good HR strategy would provide. The current economic climate may not give companies surplus funds to provide excessive HR benefits, but all of these listed within this article are conditions that do not cost a fortune and are purely down to mismanagement by the team and failure to work to best practice and Health & Safety regulations. I dread to think what their sickness / absence and retention must be and the continual additional costs of recruiting more employees both financially and in view of their reputation!”

NEWS ARTICLE – Investigation reveals harsh conditions at Boohoo factory :

An undercover investigation by The Times has revealed the harsh conditions at Boohoo’s warehouse in Burnley, where workers label themselves “slaves” and have complained of racism, sexual harassment, gruelling targets, inadequate training and ill-fitting safety equipment. The investigation found the conditions, where workers are forced to walk the equivalent of a half-marathon per shift in a sweltering warehouse in which night-time temperatures can reach 32C, have led to workers collapsing in the aisles. An undercover reporter revealed staff complained they are treated as “fodder,” with managers timing their lavatory breaks and no allowances made for injuries they said they had suffered as a result of the manual work. Justin Madders, Labour’s shadow minister for employment rights and protections, said: “These shocking revelations must be a wake-up call for ministers. The government has repeatedly failed to deliver their promised Employment Bill to tackle conditions in warehouses run like Victorian workhouses.” He said there needed to be “urgent guidance for safe indoor working temperatures.”

The Times. The Human Times

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Has you company got an HR Strategy? If not and you want your company to be an employer of choice, why don’t you contact us now?

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