Mairead Scott & Honeycomb –A Period Of Change Like No Other

EyeonRecruitment

Mairead Scott & Honeycomb –A Period Of Change Like No Other

If the Covid pandemic brought change and the need to adapt to many different industry sectors, it’s arguable that the world of recruitment and people management has changed more than most.

Working life has changed irrevocably, hybrid working has become the norm, remote working is here to stay and employees are suddenly much more aware of what they want from their working lives...and what they don’t.

“I’ve heard it described as ‘The Great Resignation’,” says Mairead Scott, Managing Director of one of our leading employment specialists, Honeycomb. “Suddenly, people aren’t afraid to look for new opportunities and to ask for what they want out of working life. If their current job doesn’t match up, they’ll simply leave.

“The old concept of Monday to Friday nine to five working is a thing of the past, broadly speaking,” she adds. “Employees are much more aware of what is important to them. They’re looking for work life balance alongside a satisfying career. And there’s nothing wrong with that.”

As a result of those changes, employers are having to step up to the mark. “Everyone, large and small, is having to be much more creative when it comes to employment packages and conditions. It’s not all about salary any more. Working hours, flexibility, health and wellbeing all come into the equation.

“Bigger organisations like PwC and FinTrU here in Northern Ireland have been leading the way with some of the employee innovations that they’ve introduced, but other employers are on the same track. We’ve heard of unlimited holidays, we’ve heard of complete working flexibility, we’ve heard of sabbaticals...and much more.

“What has happened during Covid is that the world of work has become a lot more trustbased. Organisations are trusting their people to get the job done, whether they’re in an office or at home. It shouldn’t matter. As long as the productivity is there, no one has a problem.”

Based in central Belfast, and itself operating a hybrid working environment for its employees, Honeycomb was established five years ago and is a specialist in business support professionals, the kind of people who make almost any business tick.

It works across most sectors, including fintech, human resources, FMCG, supply chain and engineering, providing personal assistants, executive assistants, compliance professionals and other key people to a wide range of organisations across a number of sectors.

“It’s definitely a candidate’s market, there is no doubt about that,” says Mairead. “And there is a war for talent out there. But, then again, there has always been a war for talent in my opinion. Candidates know what they want and they’re not afraid to ask for it. If they don’t, they’ll drop out quickly.”

Good customer service professionals, she says, are in high demand, as are those with analytic skills able to provide support for sales, manufacturing and other functions. “There is also a real need for executive assistants with the potential to move on into leadership roles.”

Despite the current economic headwinds, Mairead Scott says that Honeycomb is firmly focussed on growth.

“We have a real appetite for growth. Companies and organisations here in Northern Ireland need trusted recruitment partners most than ever, and we want to be in a position to work with as many customers as we can over the coming months and years.

“This business is all about relationships – relationships between ourselves and our clients and relationships between employees and their employers. It’s every inch a people business. It might have changed a bit in recent times, but the fundamentals haven’t.

“Here at Honeycomb, we’re firmly focussed on matching the right talent with the right opportunity and matching people with organisations. We think that there are exciting times ahead.”

EyeonNews

UBLOQUITY & b4b GROUP SIGN EXCLUSIVE DEALS TO BE FUJITSU’S SMART BORDER PARTNERS

Banbridge-based ubloquity and b4b Group in Belfast have jointly announced exclusive consortium partnership agreements with Fujitsu UK & Ireland, to underpin its smart border solution – Atamai Freight – with their bespoke technologies.

Atamai Freight enables goods to move seamlessly and securely by verifying the integrity of road freight throughout its entire journey. By unifying and mapping all elements of the supply chain on a single digital platform, Atamai ensures the most complex customs procedures are completed automatically – saving time and money – and providing customers with accurate arrival times for their goods.

Central to the success of Atamai Freight is ubloquity’s enterprise blockchain technology. and b4b Group’s ‘smart seal’ solution. As aleading IT and telecoms provider b4b Group will also deliver sales and after-sales support.

Supply chain pioneer, Entopy, which is based in Cambridge is the third consortium partner behind the roll out of the innovative smart border service.

Signing the 3-year contract with Fujitsu coincides with ubloquity’s first anniversary, during which time it has quadrupled in size, built a provenance chain of custody platform for a multinational food manufacturer, and won several prestigious awards for innovation and technology.

Ubloquity was established in July 2021 following a successful round of seed funding where it secured more than £2m from early investors. It is currently in the process of seeking Series A investment to accelerate its growth both domestically and internationally.

Rob Chester, ubloquity’s CEO said: “I’m absolutely delighted we are partnering with Fujitsu to underpin its smart borders solution. Our vision at ubloquity is to provide the foundational technology to enable the seamless movement of goods across all international borders.

“The future of global trade will be digital, and it will be carried on distributed ledger technology. That’s why we are focused on building federated blockchains that can carry the truth between multiple actors in an interconnected supply chain. Be that government agencies, logistics providers, or the producers of goods.”

The deal is also a significant coup for b4b Group, as confirmed by Mark Fraser, Sales Director:

“We are delighted to partner with Fujitsu UK & Ireland to deliver this revolutionary platform that can dramatically improve operational efficiencies for the movement of goods.

“As hauliers and suppliers seek to deliver goods to their customers on time, they are faced with a complicated logistics process. Harnessing the transformative power of digital technology however, through the Atamai Freight platform, we can cut through those complications, facilitating safe, and secure passage for shipments saving both time and money.”

Fujitsu’s Atamai Freight platform officially launched in the UK at the end of June, following successful trials of the service with logistics providers and food manufacturers across GB and NI.

Christian Benson, VP, Client Managing Director at Fujitsu UK & Ireland said: “With the help of our consortium partners, we are establishing a new level of collaboration and trust throughout the UK supply chain making it easier to move goods. Atamai utilises Smartlocks, GPS and Blockchain to secure and assure the content of road freight between GB and NI. It provides real-time visibility of each journey and consignment, which can then be shared with participating businesses and government authorities.”

Kieran Kelly (r), CTO of ubloquity and Mark Fraser (l), Sales Director of b4b Group.