Here at Recruitment Solutions Wales we understand the importance of a good work/life balance. A happy workforce that isn’t stretched too thinly is proved to be more productive. Paymentsense recently conducted a survey of 2,000 UK workers to find out just how happy employees are with their work/life balance.

Almost two thirds of those questioned are happy with their work/life balance, with men (73%) slightly happier than women (67%). However, 69% of all workers questioned claim their personal lives have been affected by work.

Personal life

The effects of work on your personal life can be for a wide range of reasons; 33% do not believe their workload would be covered whilst on annual leave and more than 50% go to work when ill.

Guy Moreve, Paymentsense’s Head of Marketing, explained:

“It’s important that everyone within the workplace gets the best possible work-life balance. It’s crucial to the efficiency of a business. If the employees are demotivated, then this will eventually show in the quality of their work.”

Moreve added:

“We need to make sure this ethos is fed down from the top management to all levels of the business. As a business, you should be offering flexible working schemes. This gives employees the opportunity to take care of everyday life tasks and manage their workload effectively. If you own your own business, it can be hard to switch off, however, you still need some respite, so it’s crucial to put practices in place in order to achieve an effective balance.”

Despite the survey indicating that business owners struggle to switch off, it seems there is still a strong desire for many to start their own business. Of the 2,000 Brits surveyed by Paymentsense, 20% plan to start their own business in 2018.

The post The Importance of Work/Life Balance appeared first on Recruitment Solutions Workforce.

If you are looking to start a new job in 2018, building a CV that best represents you as a potential candidate could be key to standing out from the crowd. Here at Recruitment Solutions Wales we offer tips on how best to present your CV.

Contact Details (name, address/location, contact number, email address)

It may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many job-seekers fail to disclose key contact information on their CV. If you don’t disclose your contact details then inevitably everything else is irrelevant. From phone numbers and email addresses to social media links, the more contact channels you feature, the more eager you look to be recruited.

Key Skills

Ensure you add a short, sharp list of skills you could bring to the position. But; make them relevant! Crucially, this list could be the difference between you and another candidate.

Employment History

List your employment history in chronological order (most recent position first). Include a short description of your role and the duties required of you. It may also be a good idea to include achievements within each role – displaying what you can bring to a new position.

Education

Like your employment history, this should be listed in chronological order. Include the names of places you have studied, dates attended and qualifications earned.

Length

Whilst not critical, a CV will ideally be 2/3 pages long. Too many pages suggests your key information has been diluted somewhat whilst a single page is unlikely to include enough information to help you stand out. With digital CVs now being the norm, you will want to present a PDF or even a short video that is short, snappy and concise.

Font

There is no industry standard font to use but always ensure your CV is both clear and professional. If you are applying for a high-end role, you may wish to rope in the help of a designer, ensuring your CV is aesthetically pleasing.

What we have found is that between 10 and 12 is a fair size with Arial, Calibri and Times New Roman being the most common fonts. This is due to the fact that they appear professional (unlike Comic Sans!)

Covering Letter

Finally, a covering letter can be a useful way of selling yourself to prospective employers. Any information that may aide your ability to best fulfil the job requirements can be included on this.

For more help on creating the perfect CV or for details of current vacancies in your area, be sure to contact the Recruitment Solutions Wales team.

The post Building the perfect CV: A how-to guide appeared first on Recruitment Solutions Workforce.

Experience inevitably plays a part in this, with older workers having had the time to build soft skills as well as define the areas in which they enjoy working in.

Having had jobs in which they can learn new skills, new rules, new ways of working and how to interact, people in their 30s tend to offer a ‘well-rounded’ candidate option. If you are looking to revive your career in your 30s, then be sure to make use of our top tips!

Diversify your skillset

Twenty years ago, ‘niche’ was a buzzword that consumed the world of recruitment, with everyone having to be geniuses at something. However, diversity is the key in the modern workplace, with individuals in all sectors needing to have a strong grasp on a variety of skills. From communication and time-keeping to computer literacy, ensure you brush up on your skills before going down a new professional route.

Stand out

Nowadays, more and more people are attending university, meaning it is no longer such a unique quality that can push a candidate straight to the top of the pile. In recent years, we have seen employers highly regarding those with a diverse career path, showing an ability to change and take risks. Therefore, standing out in this way is vital!

Think about your motivation

The modern employer is very interested in personal drivers, eager to uncover what motivates candidates. Usually with a career change in your 30s, there is a need for recognition, career progression and of course; money. It is important that you are open about this, ensuring you are a fit for the employer and vice versa.

If you are in your 30s and looking to take your career in a new direction, get in touch with the RSW team today. With a team of highly-experienced agents, be will be happy to help.

The post Starting a career in your 30s: Top tips for success appeared first on Recruitment Solutions Workforce.

Surprisingly, many of the tips provided do not cost a penny to implement.

Chris Meredith, CEO of LondonOffices.com said:

“The average Brit will spend around 81,000 hours, or the equivalent of a full nine years of their lives at work, so it’s important that they’re commuting to a workplace that encourages happiness and positivity.

“For some people, work is just a means to an end, yet for career-driven folk it’s much more than that.
“By following these rules, you can ensure that your employees or co-workers feel happy and motivated, which will in turn encourage them to do their best work – it really is a win-win situation!”
Featured in no relevant order; here are the top ten tips to encourage happiness in work.
Employ happy individuals – One tip was to start with the recruitment process, with hiring happy extroverts having a huge bearing on the tone of an office. With happiness being rather contagious, employing one happy person could also encourage other workers to come out of their shell, becoming more creative with their work tasks and more celebratory of professional successes.
Appraisals – A good ten years ago, employers were very much focused on autonomous workers, wanting employees to understand their tasks and get on with them. However, many research projects have proven that a lack of employer-employee communication can be detrimental to productivity and retention rates. For this reason, constant appraisals and positive feedback is encouraged; seeing people happier knowing they’ve done something worthwhile.
Encourage a selfish workforce – In this age of the Millennial recruiting, personal career goals are incredibly important, with a job being about a lot more than covering the bills. As an employer it is your job to ensure these objectives are considered, giving employees the tools they need to work towards what matters to them.
Trust – When people are micro-managed they can tend to feel under pressure, like they are not trusted by the powers that be. By putting responsibility and trust into an employee, you will inevitably see happiness levels rise, seeing confidence in their own ability.
Get personal with your perks – When we think of work perks, we think holidays and pay, but; there is a lot more you could be doing to incentivise your staff in a personal way. With companies such as Google, Facebook and Apple topping the list of the best places to work, many put this down to their approach to perks. From childcare programmes to health and wellbeing support, Millennials in particular want a lot more than money when to comes to job perks.
Get your hands dirty – Ripping up the rulebook and doing rid of a rigid hierarchy can do wonders for happiness levels in work, with employees liking to see that their boss is not a dictator but a team player. So, whether you are a manager or a Director, make sure you are always relatable and most importantly; approachable.
Promote togetherness– Where many bosses will shun the idea of office relationships and friendships, having friends at work makes the office environment a fun place to be. It is important to promote this ‘togetherness’ on a constant basis. Whether it be team lunches or hosting an event, giving co-workers a chance to connect on a personal level is great for company morale.
Give back as a team – Work charity events are renowned for bringing the team together, allowing employees to feel connected for a worthwhile cause. LondonOffices.com advises business owners to learn about causes that their team cares about; building charity events and fundraisers around that.
Work-life balance – Though this has become a bit of an HR buzzword of later, work-life balance is still very important in building a happy team. Showing that you care about your employees’ wellbeing both inside and outside of the office will see your staff know that they are far from just a number on the payroll.
Create a social office – Gone are the days where offices were stuffy, filled with unapproachable folk that employed a ‘my way or the highway’ policy. If you are looking to work with a positive, happy team, ensure everyone has their say, promoting a social workplace where workers are free to talk.
If you are looking to make additions to your team in the coming months, be sure to contact us at RSW; allowing us to find those happy individuals to brighten up your office.

The post 10 tips to create a happy, productive workforce appeared first on Recruitment Solutions Workforce.

Take advantage of the winter

Just because Christmas is around the corner does not mean that all of the talent has taken their leave. Just like you, other top employees will still be in work. You can use this time wisely to weed out hot prospects. Given their bosses could be on vacations, they may have more flexible working hours, and their schedules may not be as hectic. People also tend to get more inquisitive in the winter months, wondering whether the snow is whiter on the other side.

Timing is everything

As is the case with most parts of recruitment, planning is key. Giving the precariousness of the winter months, it is vital that you give enough notice to your recruitment team or agencies that you are looking to hire. Timing with this could be the difference between a great hire or no hire.

Stay in touch

This may seem like a no-brainer, but you may be surprised at how many people, whether companies or clients, fail to mention to the other that they are taking the kids away that day. A simple call or message will prevent long-winded communication attempts, and be sure to put your out of office auto-response on before you leave.

Get real with timelines

Working to realistic timelines is crucial at every stage of the year, but even more so in the winter when you are working around the vacation schedules of HR managers, hiring managers, candidates, referees, or anyone else involved in the recruitment process. You should take all these variables into account when setting targets and dates, as you could be dealing with a lot of missing personnel.

Christmas may be the time to relax, but it can also be the time to recruit some serious talent with some purposeful timing, good communication and an eye for ability.

If you are looking to recruit or be recruited during December, be sure to contact us at RSW today!

The post Hot Tips for Recruiting During the Christmas Slump  appeared first on Recruitment Solutions Workforce.

Already adopted by big name firms such as Adobe, GE, Deloitte and Goldman Sachs, we thought we would dig deeper into what the term actually means and how the recruitment industry could benefit from adopting its core practices.

Timely and actionable feedback

Retention rates are so important in the fast-moving world that we find ourselves in. With both employers and employees needing to be happy with the outcomes of an employment, continuous performance feedback can enhance such clarity. Ensuring timely and actionable feedback, this approach ensures things that need to change; change, meaning both bosses and workers are on the same page.

Retaining Millennials

Whilst Millennials used to be an enigmatic group, we now know quite a lot about their attitudes towards employment. In a recent research project, it was revealed that 64% of Millennials put ongoing training and feedback as a priority, with younger employees tending to stick around at companies that actively invest in their growth.

Build high-performing teams

By offering continuous feedback to employees, you give them the space and opportunity to develop, allowing manager to build high-performing teams that meet and exceed expectations. Whether it be a daily informal chat, or a monthly review, sewing feedback into the employer-employee relationship can ensure better performance across the business; ensuring everyone has their finger on the pulse.

Bringing company values alive

For many, their mission statement and core values sit on their website with little thought put into them. In 2018, we expect managers in particular to start placing more focus on these core objectives; becoming a prominent theme with regards to performance management. Acting as the overarching theme, continuous analysis will see such documents take centre stage, giving way to a more centralised organisation.

Let us know what you think on this subject; is this an approach that has worked for you?

The post Top Benefits of Continuous Performance Management appeared first on Recruitment Solutions Workforce.

Meeting in a Relaxed Setting

The interview process may have been very formal so far, so inviting each candidate for an informal relaxed meeting can do the world of good for the process. Perhaps invite them to a morning in the office. Try to incorporate the team into this as it will give you a good indication of how the candidates will work with other members of staff.

Seeing them in a relaxed setting will show you more of their personality. This isn’t always easy to detect in a formal interview. By introducing them to the team, you are getting them on board for whichever candidate you choose. Your team could also have an input and voice their favourite too; after all, they do have to work with them as well.

Take References

You should make an effort to contact the candidates past employers. Ask each candidate for details on their past employer and contact these for a verbal reference. Ultimately, by talking to someone who’s worked with this person, you can get a better idea on the candidate’s’ cultural fit and personality.

Look at the Future of Your Team

The person you choose will remain with your organisation for the foreseeable future, and so it’s a good idea to consider your company’s future plans. If your team is going to expand, someone who has worked in larger teams would perform better in that particular environment. Likewise, if you are going to expand internationally, someone who can speak multiple languages may be beneficial to the company.

Additionally, do you have skills gaps in your team that you would like to fill? Which candidate has these skills?

Finally…

Be sure to ask the candidate their thoughts on the role, the salary, notice periods, etc. One candidate might be more likely to accept an offer than the other. It’s better to address these issues before you’ve decided on a definite individual. However, you need to make sure that you keep both candidates in the loop during the recruiting process. And finally, ensure that you take the time to give the candidate that isn’t hired some feedback.

If you aren’t in the fortunate position to have two candidates to choose from, and would like to see a selection of candidates apply for your roles, be sure to contact us today.

The post Top Tips for Choosing Between Two Equally-Qualified Candidates appeared first on Recruitment Solutions Workforce.

It is for the above reasons what we feel Facebook shouldn’t be ignored as a recruitment tool. For many people the platform represents family and friends, so there are some trust issues to overcome here. There are still numerous companies that ban Facebook in the workplace, though changes are happening.

So, why should Facebook be part of your 2018 resourcing strategy?

The Ability to Show Your Company’s Personality

Unlike any professional network platform, Facebook is first and foremost a social network. Facebook is doing everything it can to ensure that new feeds are focused on friends and family first, and any content from companies that users see, should inform or entertain in order to remain relevant and gain a wider reach.

However, Facebook is the platform for flexibility around how you deliver your content. Facebook allows you to convey your message as you want to, and show your company culture exactly how it is. This is a huge bonus, and something you certainly can’t gain from a standard job advert.

Reach Talent You Otherwise Wouldn’t

All candidate attraction methods have their limitations. However, Facebook has the average of 50 minutes of usage per day from more than 1.3 billion average daily user base. The people you want to hire will typically be there in a much higher volume and are more likely to see your content than on other platforms.

Optimisation

A brilliant feature of Facebook Ads is that it delivers it to the correct audience. For example, if you optimise for page likes, Facebook will serve your ads to the people within your selected audience it deems most likely to like your page. Ultimately, this gives you the opportunity to be as efficient with your delivery.

Conclusion

Using Facebook for recruitment gives you, the employer, a great deal of control over what type of content you use to attract people to your company. The flexibility and reach of this particular platform gives you a position to practice some effective advertising. If your company strives to use it properly and ethically, you are sure to see some great results!

Here at Recruitment Solutions Wales, we Specialise  in the Logistics, Industrial, Professional Services, Manufacturing, Engineering, Commercial and Warehousing sectors, we are proud to work with some of the greatest companies and candidates in Wales.

The post Top Reasons Facebook Should Be Part of Your 2018 Resourcing Strategy appeared first on Recruitment Solutions Workforce.

Reduce costs

Rather than having an in-house recruitment team, it can be advantageous to outsource the demands of a recruiter; whatever the size of your business. This is mainly due to costings, with utilising agencies costing a lot less that employing full-time staff.

Place your focus on core business

As a leader, it is essential that your time is spent steering your business in the right direction, with recruitment duties famous for their demanding and time-consuming nature. By sourcing the help of a recruitment agency, you will ensure other departments of the business are getting the attention they need, not seeing business stall in the event of a recruitment drive.

Beat the competition to the post

Many SMEs do not have the marketing resources to heavily promote a vacancy within their firm, often resulting in top talent being snapped up by competitors. This is where an outside agency can help, widening the reach of your job description; subsequently attracting a larger talent pool.

Enhance your employer branding

If you are in business, you will be well aware of how costly a high staff turnover can be; detrimental to both company finances and office morale. By utilising the support of professional recruiters, you will in turn create a recruitment and on-boarding process what works. Ensuring your business runs in a more professional manner, having such procedures in place also does wonders for your employer branding.

Here at Recruitment Solutions Wales, we can dedicate time and resources to scouting, engaging, contacting, hiring, and on-boarding top talent, helping your business move forward. Specialising in the Logistics, Industrial, Professional Services, Manufacturing, Engineering, Commercial and Warehousing sectors, we are proud to work with some of the greatest companies and candidates in Wales.

For more details on how we can help you, get in touch today.

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