TeamPlayer360 Second issue Scotland by TeamPlayer360

TeamPlayer360Edinburgh Jobs • Careers • Recruitment • HR

ISSUE 2, 2015

Are you fishing from the Entire Pool? More women in work will boost and stimulate international economic growth, says Melinda Gates. development both scientifically and economically. This year, is no different. Fairness and equality seem to have In their 2015 Annual Letter they claim travelled up a few rungs on the that the next 15 years will be crucial International agenda, with gender “equal access to education and parity and economic integration keenly technology will empower more women debated at the World Economic Forum and girls to build better lives. By 2030, Annual Meeting held at the Swiss if women’s level of employment in India mountain resort of Davos this year. and Africa rose to match men’s, their gross domestic product (GDP) “If you invest in a girl or a woman, would go up 12 %". you are investing in everybody else.” Melinda was speaking at the forum Earlier in 2014, Bill and Melinda which reinforced her and her husband’s Gates, launched a series of “Grand Bill Gates’ message in their Annual Challenges” to stimulate research and Letter 2015. They have a “Big Bet for development with scientists from all the Future” where they outline a 15 over the world, including the UK. year acceleration of improvement. Not One of these was “Putting Women only will technology transform lives, and Girls at the Center of Development but positive and pro-active support - focussing on a rigorous understanding to help encourage more women gain of women’s and girls’ needs, access to work, financial stability and preferences and gender inequalities, jobs all over the world, especially in supporting new approaches promoting the developing countries, will lead empowerment to enhance the ability to swifter economic growth. to achieve multiple health and development goals.” The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation began in 2000 and with every publication of their annual letter, Bill and Melinda continue to challenge Continued on page 3

Bill and Melinda Gates ©Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation/David Evans

TeamPlayer 360 • Issue 4

London, recruitment news surrounding young people is always of interest to us. Just before this issues went to print, Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister, unveiled £6.1 million jobs boost in Scotland. The main focus is on unemployed young people and is to be created through the large investment. It aims to deliver opportunities for 300 vulnerable young people such as care leavers and ex-offenders, 100 for disabled young people and others for young people: the 16-24 age group. As a graduate who understood the sufferings of trying to find a job and clinging on to the days gone, this news is most welcomed!

Deputy Editor΄s Note Wow! What a first month we have had after our launch! It has been an amazing feeling to see people around Edinburgh reading the paper, meeting others that are interested in contributing and learning from their expertise. As we are a group of young, hardworking individuals who have come together to make this paper with the wealth of experience in

I hope that you find this issue both educational and interesting to read on whatever journey you are on. Thank you to everyone that is tweeting into @TeamPlayer360, all of those that have said that you are enjoying the paper, the recruitment specialists and lawyers that have written within and to everyone involved in the making of this paper! Deputy Editor, Mary Philips Edinburgh, 2015

interview I hear seems to be burgeoning with negativity and fear. There are two themes in our Focus section, inclusion and getting the best out of conventions. Some people have the gift of the gab and can work a symposia like it’s pick ‘n’ mix in a sweetshop, some of us, however, would rather wash the socks of the English rugby team after a match than go and do some networking.

Editor΄s Note As I was putting this issue of the newspaper to bed, I felt a wave of positivity. Which is odd, as I am not the only one who has been affected by the appalling events unfurling across the globe, I’ve got to the point where every news bulletin I read and every radio Deputy Editor - Scotland Mary Philips mary@teamplayer360.com Editor Vanessa Champion vanessachampion@teamplayer360.com Letters Send feedback & letters to letters@teamplayer360.com Advertising michael@emblemgroup.co.uk t: 07725 841617 Publisher Emblem Group Ltd info@emblemgroup.co.uk Distribution Enquiries Emblem Group Ltd info@emblemgroup.co.uk

What΄s Inside Highlights Editor’s Note ...................................................................................... 2 How to Attract 'Techy' Women: Reboot your Recruitment ............... 3 News ............................................................................................. 4 / 8

Perspectives Tesco: Discussions are Rife in Fife .................................................. 09 Employment in Scotland has reached a Record new high .............. 10 What are the hot industries in Scotland ........................................... 11 Who are RoundDoor and whose doors will they open .................... 11 WeAreTheFuture: Inspiring entrepreneurs around the world ........ 12 New Scottish Tax Powers .............................................................. 12 "What's my IM?" ............................................................................. 13 10 Reasons why there is a disconnect on Linkedin ......................... 15 Smart phones, dumb Recruiters ..................................................... 16 Can technology improve team engagement? .................................. 17 How to keep your staff when all around are losing theirs ............... 18 Penelope Trunk there are three career paths ................................... 24 10 time management tips to maximise your workday .................... 25 Do you have the right people on your corporate bus? .................... 26

So we have some useful tips for you.

The Pulse

Tenacious, problem solvers, loyal and productive? The ideal candidate?

Focus

Well, you’ll be surprised at a talent pool that is often overlooked, turn to Graham Findlay’s article. We hope you enjoy this issue, we have some extra content on our website if you would like to submit articles for that as well, please get in touch.

Networking; Love it or Hate it, you have to do it! ......................... Inclusion is now recognised as mainstream to business success .... Getting Disability confident ............................................................ Interpersonal skills sensitivity ......................................................... How to get the most out of conferences .........................................

Editor, Vanessa Champion London, 2015 Design Matthew Case t: 07545 213200 e: designmc@live.com Subscriptions Have the newspaper delivered to your desk. Send a cheque for £24 payable to “GLOBAL NEWS CORPS LTD” along with your name and address to: Subscription TeamPlayer360 Global News Corps Unit 29 Enterprise Industrial Estate, Bolina Road, Bermondsey, London SE16 3LF Printing Mohammed Faqir St Clements Press (1998) Ltd mohammed.Faqir@stclementspress.com

28 29 30 31 32

Leisure Training & self-belief makes all the difference .............................. 33 The Captain Alan Glover ......................................................... 34 / 35 Glasgow Philharmonic Orchestra ................................................. 36

Book Reviews Law

Are you a Job Seeker? We want your opinion. Bad experience? Plain-sailing? Email the editor 100 words and tell us about your experience job hunting. Lies and promises or support and encouragement? editor@ teamplayer360.com Want to work with us? Apprentice journalists and media sales executives wanted. Email the editor.

TeamPlayer 360 • nov 2014

surely quicken this evolution not just in the developing countries but elsewhere in the world too, including our own kitchen tables. Being able to select education programmes, the best teachers and research qualifications that already enable career changers here in the UK to take control of their own personal development and career paths, will provide a stimulating and rewarding path to progress wherever you are in the world.

“ it’s obviously better to hire from 100% of the population than 50%.” Paul Polman, Unilever chief executive

Bill and Melinda Gates meet with women in Jamsaut village in Bihar, India. ©Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation/Prashant Panjiar

continued from page 1 My assignments in Africa and Asia over the past years have opened my eyes to just how important mobile banking is to remote communities, especially for women. The ability to communicate, save and pay as they would a bank card, has already started to transform the lives of the poorest communities and if the developments that the Gates Foundation are initiating then we will witness a positive change at a rate incomparable in history. It’s safe and secure, much better than folding money under the bed. Combine that with a strong commitment to educate women, Bill and Melinda’s vision for an accelerated growth and empowerment

How to Attract 'Techy' Women: Reboot your Recruitment If you are a small Technology Company, you may take a look around and find that you have an all male workforce. Even some of the larger companies can struggle to attract and recruit women into their businesses, but why is this? Despite there being a broader skills shortage in the industry, I can’t help but feel that there are more talented females out there that for some reason, are either not applying or not getting to interview-stage for key tech roles. A few of the biggest names in the industry Facebook, Pinterest and Box have decided to tackle the issue head-on by piloting a one-to-one mentoring program called WEST (Women Entering and Staying in Tech) aimed at attracting more women into technical roles. But if you don’t have the capacity to set up a mentoring group of your own, here are a few tips on how you could make small changes and see positive results: • R eview the wording in your job adverts and job descriptions; • H ave female employees on your interview panel (if possible) or at least address the elephant in the room by informing your candidates that you’re encouraging a more diverse workforce; • E ducate your Recruiters! Are you even getting to see their CVs or are they being sifted out before they even reach you if they have had a period of time out of work?; • A llow for an ‘incubation period’ for anyone returning to work after a period of time off.

for women over the next 15 years will very likely come true. The World Economic Forum “provides a six-point framework through which to focus organizational gender parity efforts: measurement and target-setting; mentorship and training; awareness, incentives and accountability; work environment and work-life balance; leadership and company commitment; and responsibility beyond the office.” www.weforum.org. Learning wherever there’s internet access. Online schools will make an incredible difference. The Gates’ claim that “better software will revolutionise learning” will

It’s subtle, but we suggest you start by taking a look at the language you are using in your job adverts and job descriptions. It has been suggested that male candidates are more likely to have the confidence to go for a role where they meet 60% of the criteria and could learn the rest. Women on the other hand appear to be more reserved and if there are skills you’ve listed that they don’t yet have, they may not even consider applying, even if they meet 90% of what you’ve asked for! A small but simple statement at the end of your advert suggesting that ‘for the right candidate’ the Company would support them to grow into the role, might make all the difference. In the job advert and job description it may also be worth changing any criteria that are not deal breakers, from ‘essential’ to ‘desirable’ or ‘the potential to…’. This should have the effect of broaden your candidate pool to those who know they could do it with a little guidance and support. Who knows, you may find a star that wouldn’t have otherwise applied! The interview is as much about selling the Company to the candidate as it is the candidate to the Company. If you are an all male workforce, have someone on your panel that isn’t afraid to address the ‘elephant in the room’ and explain that they are really keen to encourage a mix of male and female applicants to join the Company and would like to see more of a balance within the Company moving forwards. Does your Recruiter really know what you are looking for? It is wise to ensure that they are fully briefed on what you would consider suitable for your long-list, but if you think this could be a current issue in your business, why not sample a few of the ‘rejected’ candidates and give your Recruiter feedback on any potential candidates that have slipped through the net. Many people might be of the

The main challenge I see, is ensuring that individuals are not penalised, intimidated or castigated for educating themselves. Even here in the UK, kids from poor areas are ridiculed for learning. I see kids from really deprived areas on that mind-freezing social-obsequiousness that is “Vine” and wish that there was some widget that popped up to inspire them to transform their own lives, to dive into a learning funnel that will help lift them out of poverty. I can see why Melinda Gates is so passionate, and why Bill Gates is so zealous to develop technology to help education and also to encourage industry to employ more women. In my mind, it’s not just the developing countries that will benefit. Wouldn’t it be great, if the playing field was levelled, so our businesses here in the UK have a richer net to cast its recruitment claws into? About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty.

view that tech is very fast-paced and that you can become out of touch with the latest technology very quickly – potentially preventing you from re-entering the tech space after a period of time out. Listening to a number of speakers at a recent TechUK event, this simply isn’t the reality. For a number of Companies the foundation of their technology remains the same, and it was felt that it wouldn’t take too much time or effort to bring someone back up-to-date with any developments through an ‘incubation period’ as some Companies do with their Graduates. If you can invest the time you might find that you recruit someone who really values being given the opportunity and will go the extra mile to prove that you made the right decision. In summary, there are lots of subtle ways that we think you could increase female candidates applying for your roles, getting shortlisted and wanting to join your business. This may always be a challenge, but if you need further guidance on what to try, look at what the industry leaders are doing, network, try doing things a little differently and see if it makes a difference.

Richard Cummings Managing Director, HR Insight AFlight@HRInsight.co.uk www.hrinsight.co.uk

TeamPlayer 360 • Issue 4

Highlights Fitzy's Review

Thousands apply Halfords to for job involving appoint search being shot at firm to find A recruitment ad placed by UK Paintball, new CEO which stated “the role may pose a small risk of pain, discomfort and some bruising,” has drawn about 10,000 responses from applicants across the world, reports UPI (United Press International).

Building products firm uses word of mouth to recruit workers Hanson Building Products has used “word of mouth” to fill 30 roles at its recently reopened factory. The firm’s Accrington-based factory closed seven years ago, but has reopened following a £1.6m government investment. The initiative created 30 new jobs, with potential for a further 20 at the site during

2015. A Hanson spokesperson explained that around six in 10 of the workforce were former employees. “The majority of posts have been filled using word of mouth. We haven’t had to do much at all,” he said. For higher skilled roles the firm has transferred talent from other sites, the spokesperson added. Joanna Milton

According to the ad, an “official bullet tester” was required to be shot at “to ensure that all health and safety checks were in place.” In return, the company was offering flexible working hours and a salary of £40,000 pro rata. Company owner Justin Toohig said applicants included a man who said his large size would make him perfect for the role, and an ex-magician's assistant.

Automotive and cycling product retailer Halfords Group is to turn to an executive search firm to appoint a new chief executive. The group announced that current CEO Matt Davies had resigned to take up the position of UK and Republic of Ireland CEO at Tesco plc. Davies will remain at Halfords until the end of May, supported by Halfords' long-standing management team.

Applications are now closed.

A spokesperson for Halfords said: “The board will lead the process as usual. They will probably work with another company on doing that but there is no decision yet made on who that company will be."

TeamPlayer 360 • nov 2014

Highlights French manufacturer aims to recruit 4,700 French plant, animal and human food manufacturing group Roullier has embarked on a campaign to recruit 4,700 professionals from across the globe within five years. Group world purchasing co-ordinator Olivier Julienne, who is leading the campaign, said: “The recruitment campaign is ambitious, but the real ambition is to double [turnover] within five years.”

Roullier is looking for people with specific skills in business development, manufacturing and finance. The group’s in-house recruitment team of 10 people launched a recruitment campaign late last year, receiving more than 2,000 applications from the UK and Ireland alone. JM

Less than a quarter of workers request flexible working A study by O2 Business has found that only around a quarter (23%) of workers have requested flexible working despite more than half (54%) being aware of the government’s right to request legislation. The survey, which polled 2,000 UK workers, indicated that a lack of trust, a business culture that doesn’t encourage working away from the office and a

lack of technology to facilitate flexible working were all inhibitors to requests. The survey also suggests employer reluctance to embrace the legislation is set to continue, with only 12% of workers believing their organisation would embrace flexible working in 2015. HT

BMW uses Facebook in search for new apprentices BMW is using a dedicated Facebook careers page and its own career portal to recruit 200 new apprentices. The group has announced it is seeking 47 new apprentices across its MINI UK production network, while its BMW and MINI retailers will recruit around 150 apprentices across the UK. A BMW

Starting salaries for permanent roles continue to rise KPMG and the REC’s Report on Jobs indicates starting salaries for permanent roles are on the rise. Almost a quarter (24%) of employers surveyed said they were awarding higher salaries for permanent positions than in November 2014. They also reported a decrease in candidate availability, and highlighted skills shortages in several areas. Recruitment and Employment Consortium (REC) chief executive Kevin Green said the recruitment market is looking strong, but warned the general election could result in uncertainty. “In order to keep their best employees, companies need to offer an appropriate salary and bonus structure. Companies will also do well to focus on initiatives that support work-life balance,” he said. JM

spokesperson said most of the recruitment is to be handled by the firm’s career portal. “We tend to just use those rather than any agencies to attract the applicants we need. There’s a little bit of Facebook – it’s just those two channels,” she added. HT

HR Professionals working extra month for free Around three-quarters of HR professionals work on the commute to and from their jobs, according to research by HR recruiter Ortus, with the majority not seeing their efforts reflected in pay, bonus, time off in lieu or additional holidays. The survey of HR professionals from more than 160 companies, suggests they work an average of 3.5 hours per week while commuting, the equivalent of working unpaid for about four weeks a year. Ortus MD Simon Bassett commented that the research highlights an "irony" of HR professionals protecting other employees' working and pay conditions while essentially working for free.

Media Sales Executive OTE £40k Media Sales an advantage Full Training and On-going Coaching Exciting Opportunity Michael@emblemgroup.co.uk

DX is latest carrier looking to recruit redundant City Link workers Transport and logistics firm DX has become the latest carrier aiming to hire redundant City Link workers as it seeks to fill 150 roles.

A DX spokesperson confirmed the firm is also seeking to recruit former City Link workers to join its workforce.

The group has picked up assets from City Link, including scanners and cages as well as certain intellectual property, for £1.125m. The sale followed the firm’s collapse, leaving more than 2,000 employees out of work.

Courier and parcel delivery service TNT has previously reached out to City Link workers to fill 100 vacancies across its network. HT

TeamPlayer 360 • Issue 4

Highlights

Brits behaving badly in the workplace Optima Corporate Finance Recruitment Sector Specialists

Advising recruitment clients for 18 years: • Business Sale • Mergers and Acquisitions • Raising Finance • Valuation • Exit Stratgeies • Maximising Shareholder Value Contact: Philip Ellis:

The Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) has uncovered widespread unethical behaviour in the UK workforce. In its survey of over 1,600 managers, 72% reported witnessing employees lying to cover their mistakes. The same number said they’d also seen colleagues cut corners and deliver substandard work. A further 68% had seen people badmouthing team

philip@optimacf.com www.optimacf.com

Heather Trefusis

Employee assistance programmes found to be cost-effective A new survey by XpertHR has found that employee assistance programmes (EAPs) are cost-effective in supporting employees. 66% of employers currently provide access to an EAP, with a further 17% considering doing so. While it can be difficult to measure the impact of an EAP, employers reported that

020 3405 3166 / 07973 625211

members behind their backs. Charles Elvin, Chief Executive of ILM, said: “We were surprised to see just how endemic some of these bad behaviours are in the workplace. Even relatively minor misdemeanours, if left unchecked, can poison a workplace culture and bring down trust and ethical standards across the workforce.”

the schemes had directly helped to decrease absence – particularly when related to stress or bereavement - and had also turned around situations involving disciplinary or performance problems. Not a single employer of the 156 surveyed felt that the cost of their EAP was not justified. HT

Continued success for apprenticeships initiative More than 1,000 employers are now involved in designing apprenticeships as part of the Government’s trailblazers scheme. Launched last October, the initiative aims to ensure that every apprentice in England is enrolled onto a scheme that’s been designed and approved by employers. The third phase has just been launched with 76 new apprenticeships in roles such as

policing, HR and boatbuilding. A further 47 schemes are currently being developed in sectors such as adult care, construction and hospitality. Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “Our reforms have empowered businesses large and small to design and deliver world-beating apprenticeships that offer a real route to a successful career.” HT

TeamPlayer 360 • nov 2014

Highlights Weekend wind down starts early UK employees start winding down for the weekend at 10.19am every Friday, according to research by car rental company Budget. 25% of those surveyed said they would check their work email on Saturday and Sunday though, and 20% said the pressure of their job stopped them from switching off over the weekend. Over half of us do manage to switch off though, with 56% of respondents saying they wouldn’t think about work at all until Monday.

Best employers keep getting better Google has once again topped the annual ‘Great Place to Work’ list, with the top ten employers barely changing from 2013. What has changed though, is that employees of these companies – including NetApp, Microsoft and Cisco – are even happier than before, with levels of trust, camaraderie and pride amongst staff reaching new heights.

Microsoft came in at sixth on the list, with CEO Satya Nadella commenting: “More than ever before, today’s top talent is not just looking for great work, they’re looking to create a great life and a better world – and their work is how they achieve that.” HT

“Who cares, wins”, according to report A new MoralDNA report from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) has found that ethical leadership has a positive impact on performance. Of respondents in the research who work under a leader with a coaching, visionary and democratic approach, 75% said the effectiveness of their management was ‘excellent’. But only 18% of those working

for a ‘command and control’ style leader said the same. Ann Francke, Chief Executive of CMI, said: “When it comes to management and leadership in the 21st century, the truth is that who cares, wins. Ethics should be at the heart of every organisation’s culture.” HT

UK companies lacking innovation?

The only country found to watch the clock more keenly than the Brits was Spain, where employees were found to start winding down on Fridays at 10.10am.

Only one UK company has made it onto the 2014 list of the top 50 most innovative companies in the world.

The list, compiled by The Boston Consulting Group, gives Apple the top spot as the most innovative company in the world for the tenth year in a row. Google, Samsung, Microsoft and IBM complete the top five. The only British representative was consumer goods company Unilever, which just scraped in at number 49. A representative said: “Looking to the future, all our products will incorporate social, economic and environmental metrics in their innovation plans.” HT

Music uplifts employees Conference call service provider Powwownow has researched the psychological effects that music can have on individuals within the workplace.

Shift work affects mental ability

Over 75% of the 2,000 respondents stated that music was a definite mood enhancer and the best way to boost eagerness.

Researchers from the universities of Toulouse and Swansea have found that working an irregular shift pattern may cause long-term damage to people’s mental abilities and memory.

irregular shifts for a decade was equal to six and a half years’ worth of natural, age-related cognitive deterioration.

Pop music was recognised as the best genre for creative and management meetings, target updates and employee reviews.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, the authors - led by Dr Jean-Claude Marquié - advised shift workers to closely monitor their health as a result of the findings.

Participants said it made them feel happy, confident and uplifted.

2They found that those who worked rotating shifts performed significantly worse in memory and cognitive speed tests than people who had worked regular hours. In fact, the amount of cognitive decline seen in people who worked

Classical music is believed to be the best genre to focus the mind but was also voted as the most suitable for delivering bad news.

Employee referral recruitment saves thousands Business communications company Daisy Group has reported that it saved around £330,000 on recruitment agency fees over the last year, as a result of hiring more people through its employee referral scheme. Employees receive a £250 cash bonus for recommending someone who is successfully hired. The firm has hired 141 staff through the scheme during the past year - 29% of its total hires. Jo Clifford, Head of Recruitment at Daisy Group plc, said: “Our figures evidence the massive savings that businesses can make just through ‘word of mouth’ recruitment, or an employee referral scheme.”

TeamPlayer 360 • Issue 4

Highlights Add a revenue stream with a completely free ASK Personalised Print Franchise Be your own boss! ASK Print launched their new online Personalised Print Franchise, a ‘No Catch No Cost’ Franchise Opportunity, at The Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP) Convention on Friday 16 January 2015 at the Hilton London Metropole. Their new ground breaking and Internet leading online design and print system enables ASK to provide Franchisees and Sales Agents as well as small niche businesses and traders such as Photographers, Event managers and Sports Clubs to have their very own personalised version of ASK’s Print Shop where they and their customers can design, save and order a vast range of personalised print products via an online shop. Their ASK Print franchise models have been designed to suit different individual lifestyles and business aspirations and can be part time or full time so suitable for home and part-time working Mums and Dads. Being self-employed you will be your own boss, and this unique opportunity is completely flexible time wise to fit in with the time you have to dedicate to it.

ASK will also be providing free marketing and networking workshops to franchisees, and business advice to those who need it. Most of the competition is from faceless online websites, ASK passionately believe that their premium products are best sold face to face via fantastic samples backup by industry leading websites and fantastic pricing. Everything is printed in-house at their factory in Bury St

Edmunds, Suffolk and they seamlessly perform all print fulfilment to your customers. Everyone with a camera is a potential customer so once their network of friends, family and contacts is aware of their site, Franchisees can earn money while they sleep.

ASK provide free samples and a credit card gateway and take care of the logistics and delivery to the customers, leaving the Franchisee to concentrate on marketing and networking. This system also suits evening networking parties, where the Franchisee or Sales Agent can show the products and demonstrate the software. The online design software is phone and tablet friendly, and ASK proudly boast that a Canvas Print can be created online in a Browser in 60 seconds and amazingly a Photo Book created from scratch in 3 minutes, and they have a YouTube video to prove it. Gary Keens, Managing Director of ASK Print in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk says, “I setup ASK in 1988 with £50 and a credit card so know how hard it is to start a business. As I move into my 51st year and 26th in business I wanted to launch something ground breaking and unique that gives aspirational people an additional revenue stream and can start them on the path I started to tread all those years ago.” “It is important to my brand’s ethical ethos that this is a no catch, no fee opportunity. So we provide the

franchisee or self employed sales agent with their very own version of our new online Personalised Print Shop, completely branded in their name and very importantly the ability to set their own pricing, thus controlling the margin earned on each sale.” “We are already a high quality provider, our aim is for this to quickly become the Internet’s leading online personalised print and photo book system, all run from the cloud.” ASK’s expertise in print and photography print, includes everything from clothing to high-end photo albums, for consumers, companies and the photographic industry.They are already signing up one franchisee a day, with franchisees varying from retired business people to stay at home mums. Their fantastic new print system can be seen in action at http://my.askprint.co.uk and their www.askprint.co.uk website has full information on the opportunity. The wide ranging online product range that franchisees can select includes: • Photo Books • Canvas Prints • Mugs & Gifts • T-Shirts & Hoodies • Exhibition Display Materials • Stationery • Albums • Gift books • and much much more ... Further information on this opportunity can be found at: http://www.askprint.co.uk/services/franchise-opportunity.php

@amazingASKprint @PhotographyPrin

TeamPlayer 360 • nov 2014

Perspectives

Tesco: Discussions are Rife in Fife Fife Council leaders and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown are to meet with Tesco to discuss the future of Tesco’s Kirkcaldy store.

Campaigners in Fife have been rallying together since the announcement last month that the Kirkcaldy store, which employs 189 people, would be the biggest out of the four closures in Scotland. Mr. Brown has expressed concern ahead of meeting with Mr. Lewis, Tesco Chief Executive, that the closure of the store

would also include the Post Office that is within the Tesco building. The other closures will affect those in Edinburgh, Troon and Grangemouth.

15th or April 14th depending on the size of the store. It is not just in Scotland that members of Tesco staff will be affected but also two thousand staff members across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

of the company that this investment would go ahead in the coming financial year. Now the company has broken its word," said Mr McFadden.

Those rallying presented a dossier that contained a package of measures that could save Tesco £1 million a year and boost the store back into profitability. Measures include rent and rate reductions, which they hope will make the company reconsider its closure plans. The closures are planned to happen on either March

Pat MacFadden, Labour MP for Wolverhampton South East, has been} quoted as saying that this is a “betrayal” to the £60 million development plan and that they “could not be trusted”.

The announced closures across Britain have been commented as an illustration of how Tesco have expanded too quickly over the last 10 years. The number of Tesco stores across Britain increased by 37 during the last 12 months to 2,614.

“Less than a year ago the UK managing director of Tesco gave a pledge on behalf

TeamPlayer 360 • Issue 4

Perspectives

Employment in Scotland has reached a Record new high Scotland continues to have a higher employment rate and a lower unemployment rate that the UK as a whole. This month, it has been great to see that in the news that unemployment in Scotland fell by 15,000 in the three months since December. The number of people claiming Job Seeker's Allowance in Scotland fell by 3,200 to 81,100 between December and January - 29,200 fewer than a year ago. Official figures now have the number of those unemployed at 149,000. Reports from the Scottish government highlighted that unemployment had fallen from 150,000 for the first time since 2009. Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: "Today's figures are hugely encouraging and demonstrate a robust, more inclusive and active Scottish workforce supporting our economy which in itself is

going from strength to strength. […] Scotland is outperforming the UK on all three headline labour market indicators with employment continuing to increase and unemployment down."

Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael said the figures showed that the UK government's long-term economic plan was working. He added: "With economic activity and employment levels in Scotland above the UK average, it is clear our businesses are making the most of the opportunities that come with being part of the UK with our shared currency, pensions and a large and diverse economy which is forecast to grow faster than any other G7 country in the last year. "We've had to take difficult decisions and tackle the deep economic problems we

inherited head on. These figures today show our decisions are benefiting communities across Scotland." Grahame Smith, Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) general secretary, said: “Today's figures again show that the dominant political narrative of a labour market recovering rapidly from years of recession and stagnation is somewhat misleading. In the three months to November 2014, unemployment increased and employment grew only minimally. “Better news is to be found in the risin women's employment and falling unemployment and the start of the long-awaited recovery in full-time jobs. “A further rise in real wages at UK level is welcome although it must be stressed that this is again attributable as much

to falling inflation as it is to rising nominal wages.

“The position of young people in the labour market continues to be a concern with employment for 16 to 24-year-olds actually falling in the year to September 2014. With youth unemployment falling and inactivity rising, the key question must be whether more young people are moving into or staying in education or simply being lost to the labour market."

With the General Election just around the corner, it will be interesting to see impact the employment growth in Scotland will have.

11 TeamPlayer 360 • nov 2014

Perspectives

What are the hot industries in Scotland? Whisky has demanded appreciation in the Scottish market. Recent report finds investment pouring into new distilleries, but Scotch Whisky Association finds government tax hard to swallow.

After energy and financial services, whisky has emerged as Scotland’s third biggest industry in a recent report. Scotch whisky is worth more than £5bn to the United Kingdom’s economy and is a major factor in the country’s exports and job creation. The industry swallows up tourism and the creative sector with room to spare, compromising for about 70% of the entire Scottish food and drink sector. Despite a reduction in exports, Scotch whisky provides the bulk of the percentage by representing 75% of Scotland’s food and drink exports and more than a fifth of the UK’s food and drink exports. The UK’s total in take for food and drink exports is £19.4bn with Scotch whisky representing £4.3bn of that. Statistics from a study from the Scotch Whisky Association show that it is United States that is particularly partial to the good stuff, taking in a record high of £820 million in 2013. This is all in huge contrast to the industry’s history. Despite being at its peak during the 1970s, accounting for over 20,000 jobs at the time across Scotland, the 1980s saw a different story. The downturn saw a structural change with many distilleries based in rural parts of the country, providing employment for those outside town and city centers. Now, distilleries spread across the lowlands up to the north and directly employ 10,900

people. Additionally, the industry supports 30,000 jobs through the supply chain – the research group 4 consulting discovered.

What does this mean for future recruitment? Around 30 new distilleries are being planned across Scotland, capital investment increased by 31% since 2008 with a £142 million investment into the industry in 2013. The whisky association’s chief executive, David Frost, feels that the impact that the industry is having should be recognized with a reduction in government tax: “Given the scale and impact of the Scotch whisky industry, we believe the government should show its support. It is unfair on the industry and consumers, and detrimental to the economy, that almost 80% of the average price of a bottle of scotch is taxation.” A Treasury spokeswoman responded with: “Scotch whisky is a huge British success story – to support the industry we ended the spirits duty escalator and froze the duty on whisky and other spirits at last year’s budget. That means a bottle of Scotch whisky is now 42p cheaper than it would have been if the escalator had continued. The government has also introduced the spirits verification scheme. This will help protect the integrity and high reputation of Scotch whisky by helping consumers in the UK and abroad to identify genuine products and avoid fakes.”

Who are RoundDoor and whose doors will they open? Becoming Deputy Editor of TeamPlayer360 has meant that I am fortunate to have had more and more opportunities to meet start-ups around Edinburgh – and Round Door has been one of those. Their website has been featured by the template site Strikingly as the one of the best in Britain, an exciting feat for a company that started so shortly ago.“RoundDoor is a brand new sales outsourcing company with expertise in providing innovative solutions and consultancy to solve the problems others don’t have time to fix.”

This is the answer I got when I sat down with the three boys who are only a few weeks into the lifecycle of their start-up, and they are nothing if not positive about it. We sat down for an interview about their new company and it was clear the three where enjoying themselves; jokes where flying, confidence was high and there was an aura of promise about them. So tell us a little bit about what RoundDoor is? RoundDoor is an outsourced sales and consultancy company that focuses on helping clients identify what the root causes of their problems are and the best solutions to solve them; we do this with a speciality in sales but we have a wide range of partnerships and a large body of knowledge to try and do the best for the wonderful people that we work with. Three recent graduates with varying backgrounds, how do you specialise in fields you are new too? We met when we joined a Sales Training graduate scheme in which we all hit it off instantly, we found that the position we were in meant we could work very well off each other; providing feedback and constant learning together – including the healthy competitions we kept getting ourselves into helping us drive forward. The training we received was all sales related and we took to this very quickly, with notable success. Then we began to come together in our spare time and discuss our goals and ambitions – which was unsurprisingly shared between us all. All of us had an

ambition to move forward in our own direction, offering what we had learned with the freedom to approach it with our own personal style. Part of what we offer is the determination to better ourselves while working very closely with our clients to ensure we work in tangent to achieve the same thing. A factor of what makes RoundDoor an attractive company is the partnerships we have with two excellent sales people. We have taken our previous sales trainers on as Directors for which we can seek advice from, when needed, and help guide our growth – as we plan to rise to new heights aggressively quickly. And, I have to ask, where did the name come from? As the three of us started this venture due to our close relationship, we decided to name it after something that could only have come through our constant horse play. Telling people we had jobs as salesman was always full of the standard salesman connotations, so we used to portray our work as selling double glazing to elderly ladies door-to-door; “Opening doors for our customers”. This seemed like a fitting homage to the relationship the three of us had developed, and we are now proud Door Openers at RoundDoor – our very own company. And what should we expect from RoundDoor in the coming future? Well, we have got an ambition to grow, and grow quickly. In the position we are in now, with full time clients and three active employees we are not currently that scalable. As the work we intend to do with clients will be over the long-term, we ideally like to take on more members of staff which we can train and work on our current clients, so we can be free to generate more business and continue to grow. But, at this point in time we are more concerned with making our current projects a success. We have an undying loyalty to the organisations that are supporting us by being our first clients and we want to work alongside them so that we can all be successful. I’m hoping you will hear the name RoundDoor more and more in future but, for now, let’s just prove we can be as successful as so many people seem to believe we can be.

TeamPlayer 360 • Issue 4

Perspectives

WeAreTheFuture: Inspiring Entrepreneurs Around the World The WeAreTheFuture Global Summit Programme is designed to inspire and connect entrepreneurs across the world and this month they released details of the events that they will be embarking on to inspire entrepreneurs globally. The programme will begin with two Start-up Summits in London and Glasgow, to select the top entrepreneurs within the United Kingdom to go over to San Francisco this April.

WeAreTheFuture have done amazing work already with young entrepreneurs in Scotland, like locally born Fraser Doherty. Fraser, the owner of a highly successful brand SuperJam, attended the competition and event last year in San Francisco and then went onto master his place in the industry as well as to become a renowned public speaker and author. The London Startup Summit pitching event has already started the events off with great success. Erika Brodnock from Karma Kidz and Cristiana Camisotti from Silicon Milkroundabout winning the pitch at the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Headquarters in London. The day compromised of eight pitches, all aiming to win the prize of going to Silicon Valley to promote their business to big companies like Apple, Google, AirBnB, RocketSpace, eBay, HP and more.. The Global Summit Programme will include seminars in the following countries: • • • • • • •

New York San Francisco Berlin Geneva Shanghai Edinburgh Dubai

The summits are designed to inspire and connect entrepreneurs across the world by bringing together renowned business leaders and organisations with recent start-ups.

Edinburgh Summit in November will be the largest pitching competition in

Edinburgh at the Royal Bank of Scotland’s Global Headquarters. Last year’s November Summit hosted a number of inspiring speakers, including billionaire philanthropist Eric McAfee who has since became an ambassador of WeAreTheFuture.

This year will be similar with those in attendance having opportunity to meet leading Venture Capitalists, Accelerators, Executives and Corporate Venture Funders for two days. Bruce Walker, Founder and CEO of WeAreTheFuture, said:

“The November Summit will see the largest number of countries represented by young entrepreneurs gathered together in history! We anticipate over 400 attending and already have received applications from around the world.” This is all quite a feat as the company began as a school project in 2012 by Bruce when he was 17. Now, the Start-up Summits are the inspiration of WeAreTheFuture, a social enterprise that Vince Cable, UK Business Secretary has commented on:

“The Government’s ambition is for the next decade to be the most entrepreneurial and dynamic in Britain’s history, and organisations like WeAreTheFuture have a major role to play in helping us achieve that vision.” For further information, please visit www.wearethefuture.org.uk

New Scottish Tax Powers: What do they mean for the recruitment industry? An “administrative headache” for contractors, umbrella companies and recruiters. Draft legislation that has been brought together after Scotland’s independence referendum outlines the option for the devolved nation to set its own income tax rates and thresholds. Umbrella companies, contractors and contingency recruiters have been warned by those within the industry that if Scotland chose to use a different tax system it will be an administrative nightmare.

Julia Kermode, Chief Executive of the Freelancer and Contractor Services Association (FCSA), told the Recruiter, that a different tax rate could also affect where contractors want to work and could affect the competitiveness between Scotland and England. There are still many questions to be answered about how any changes would affect Scotland at large, as well as the recruitment agency.

It would be up to the Scottish government whether it wanted to increase taxes to spend on public services or decrease the taxes to reduce the burden on the taxpayer.

Each of the political parties has differing views on the position of new Scottish tax powers. The SNP Scottish government and the Green’s are in favour for full control of income tax with the Conservatives stating that Scotland should be responsible for setting the rates and bands of personal income tax.

There is confusion as to how a new tax system would be applied to those that live in England but commute to Scotland for work.

Any changes to the Scottish tax system would come into effect in April 2016.

13 TeamPlayer 360 • nov 2014

Perspectives TeamplayerHR is not merely a tool for recruiters and HR departments – it is a tool for the job seeker, as well. TeamplayerHR is designed as an intelligent matching tool – a “hire order of intelligence” for jobseekers and employers. It’s quick, simple and online. Job seekers answer questions, enabling the proprietary technology to build a compatibility profile. And then, you can be matched to anyone with your “IM”, essentially your “soft-skill” resume/ CV which needs only be completed once. How does TeamplayerHR speed-up the recruitment process? • The TeamplayerHR questionnaire is completed even before being shortlisted • The compatibility of the job seeker is ranked against either an organization’s culture as a whole, a sub-team, or specific individuals (e.g. the line manager) • Results are taken into account by both the employer and job seeker as part of their decision making processes (the high-demand job seeker can use the results to compare their potential employer opportunities.) Results can quickly produce compatible shortlists and add value for your client by reducing costs, saving time, and increasing the probability of retention of the selected job seeker. An employee can rank potential opportunities. All without guesswork!

"What's my IM?" IM: a person’s compatibility profile, pronounced “eam” as in team. “What’s my IM?” is the question you’ll be hearing more and more and the answer is only a click away.

be like peeling an onion – layer after layer until you get to the core. Now I ‘think’ I know you, but it’s still a guess.

Sizing people up always comes down to the burning questions:

In these dynamic times, we are well aware that time is money and quick decisions must be made.

• Are we compatible? • Do I like you? • Have we anything in common? • Can we do business together? • Can we work together? And a lot more... How we do that in everyday life is by attempting to ‘read’ the other person. We make eye contact, observe body language, listen to what they say, how they say it, how they dress, how they stand, and from all of these we form our judgmental ‘perceived impression’. If we’re experienced, we know that perception and reality can be poles apart and the process of ‘getting to know you’ can

That’s not just in business, but in life too. Because we’re more mobile, we’re being exposed to more choices. Regrettably, there are opportunity costs to waiting too long and possibly making the wrong decision. It’s true everywhere, but in recruitment the real problem has been masked because of the world recession. The workforce has been rooted to their roles in a false state of loyalty, as the job market for many has been stagnant or falling. But times are beginning to change and the pressures building from the skills shortage and lack of talented people will start to impact the job market.

As a result, those that do become available won’t be there for long!

To speed up the process of recruitment and avoid making costly mistakes, finding the answer to “What’s My IM” benefits both employer and job seeker. Why? Because with TeamplayerHR, you can quickly compare all potential job seekers (their IMs) with your current team. Unlike any other tool in the market, TeamplayerHR does not measure inherent psychological traits. It is not a psychometric test. It is an assessment of the compatibility of the job seeker and the organization. It works on the simple basis that like-minds attract and work well together (answering our “sizing up” questions.) But it doesn’t stop there. TeamplayerHR can easily be customized to fit your purpose - whether using the results for hire, short-listing, promotion, transfer, or even termination or job acceptance decisions.

Further advantages of this objective assessment approach include the defence of recruitment decisions from accusations of discrimination and the provision of objective and auditable evidence in support of selection. There are lots of tools employers, recruiters, and HR departments use to sort CVs. Even without an interview, you can assess whether a candidate is qualified and experienced. You can now go one step further and preselect compatible candidates to shortlist, again without the necessity to interview. The recruitment/selection process can then continue knowing you have a ranked list of job seekers that fit! As TeamplayerHR flourishes, the network of job seekers will grow and options become almost limitless. My vision is that every CV will soon have an IM ID number, i.e., the resulting soft-skill identifier, which will inform the decision making objectively for both employer and job seeker. Using TeamplayerHR for your needs is limited only by your imagination. If your concern involves putting compatible people together, TeamplayerHR is your solution. Jim Lanas, Group CEO, jlanas@teamplayerhr.com, www.teamplayerhr.com

TeamPlayer 360 • Issue 4

Perspectives f Out ofice f the o

strategy is a long term plan or ambition of where you want to end up when you have finished being a mortgage slave. It tends to reflect something you love but not what you currently do for a job. For example at this meeting, one guy wanted to set up a diving school in Australia, another guy wanted to open his own restaurant and one lady wanted to open a tea room in Cuba! By the time they got to me, the other 19 people had each given their exit strategy. As this was the first time I had even heard of this then I could only come up with one idea.

"My exit strategy....is to get an exit strategy". Once upon a time, when our little company was part of a bigger company, I attended a "getting This went down well but ever since that meeting (7 years ago) I have been thinking about what my to know you" meeting with the heads of each strategy will be. internal business unit. To kick the meeting off, we were asked to stand up and say who we were and explain a little about ourselves. In a room of about 20 people, I was last to go. First manager stands up, gives his name, explains what he did within the company and finished off by saying what his exit strategy was. Next bloke stood up and did exactly the same thing. As it went round the room it became apparent that everyone had one of these exit strategies. If, like me at the time, you don't know what this is, an exit

I occasionally get ideas but then dismiss them shortly after. Most of the time I default back to winning the lottery (that I do not currently play). Failing that then I hope my kids have a plan on how they will look after me. Colin Woodley, www.landbasedmammal.co.uk

From London to Paris... and back again... The changing career path

way my career choice had defined me - law and now what am I? Then there are the myriad of questions: why on earth would you want to do that, how will you ever afford property (a question I ask myself), you qualified as a lawyer so stick at that.

It feels like pushing water up a hill. That's the thing that you have to remember when you think about running back to the comfort of the familiar job that you used to do, the mundane, repetitive tasks you could do in 20 minutes but stretched them out for 1 hour and the chats by the tea point.

Stick-to-it-isity, just isn't me

Career change feels like pushing water up a hill only for some of the water to trickle down the sides and the need to stop at certain points only to realise you haven't got that far up the hill and there is still a long… long way to go. Training as a lawyer many years ago, I qualified and did a few years as a paralegal before obtaining the fabled training contract and then officially “graduating”. I had arrived in my 20s. Not that my job defined me but I was now able to say in a succinct sentence: I am a lawyer, rather than the rambling and what felt embarrassing spiel of “I graduated and I am trying to figure out what type of law I want to do”. However, after a few years in the City I felt disenchanted - long hours and wondering what was all this about. I hadn't bought any property so in one sense I wasn't a slave to my salary. The crash came and I took myself off to France where I was going to give law a final stab in a compliance consultancy company and also pursue the dream - what I had always to do - becoming a published writer. Whilst living in Paris, I had 3 feature articles published in the leading women's monthly magazine, Psychologies, and started writing a successful blog Liquid Marmalade all about eating and drinking solo in Paris and London. Cliff Leaping Fast forward 4.5 years and I've leapt of that proverbial cliff and started working as a freelance journalist. Standing in my practical, legal shoes I would tell you I was unemployed and back in London. However, the positive spin would be to say I am a freelance journalist looking a job. Yet, I'm now in my late 30s and when people ask me what I do - I am rambling. Somewhere along the

However, it is just that - just stick at it. I don't want to just stick at anything, I want to be passionate about what I do and whilst I enjoyed some aspects of being a lawyer: the writing and the salary was great, the passion seeped away. I am though a passionate storyteller, film reviewer and writer. I love the medium of words. Now I am in the midst of the change and it does feel like pushing 50 gallons of water up a hill. There are times I have to stop and just take stock. The hardest part of career change is securing a job in your new career. I looked at my cv a year ago when I knew I was going to take the leap. The cv had not been amended or even reviewed in years - it had my GCSE grades on it. How was I supposed to convince new employers that this lawyer could be a writer? The answer is to get your cv professionally reviewed and rewritten. I did just that. I was amazed in reading the cv - I thought who is this incredible woman who has done all these things. I have a new cv and in 2015 I intend to secure that job or potentially have a portfolio career where I do many writing and creative jobs. Whatever I do from now on I know I have to be passionate and feel energised when doing it. y advice for anyone about to embark on M career change: Plan - you cannot just change careers overnight it takes time. It took my 3 years to have courage to make the change. It is hard - if it wasn't everyone would be doing it - just keep going. et your cv professionally rewritten. It is G hard and often lonely in the midst of the change but it feels incredible when you've made the change.

Rosalynn Try-Hane

creative@rosalynntry-hane.com

Recruiting success in Britain Many companies have been successful in Britain, and many recruitment companies. We asked EMS Services to tell us a little about how they got where they are since their start in 1990s. We were established in 1998 by our CEO Roy Davies, and EMS Recruitment Group has grown organically as a result of continued investment. Our initial remit was simple - to provide a professional and efficient recruitment service delivered in a ‘down to earth' and honest manner, and in the ensuing years we have worked hard to develop an established reputation for doing exactly that. Our team at EMS Sigma offer both retained and contingency recruitment services for permanent placements, whilst our colleagues at EMS Interim focus specifically on the contract recruitment market, offering the perfect opportunity for us to provide a total recruitment solution to our client base. Both our divisions employ highly-trained recruitment consultants, each one being dedicated to their specialist discipline hence becoming experts in their field, enabling them to consult on current market insights and provide genuinely sound advice and support to client and candidate alike.

" The key to the company’s growth strategy at EMS has been to continuously improve our services to our increasing number of candidates and clients. Through extensive research and business development efforts we have accumulated a distinguished CRM database that acts as the central hub for our activities.."

We are now considered to be one of the UK’s most innovative Recruitment firms; we are developing new ways of Social Recruiting and are now able to operate on a global scale as well as a national basis. Our overseas expansion has been made possible through an advanced technological interface, EMS-Intro—which allows us to connect to key stakeholders internationally through video interviewing and personality profiling. One of the main challenges that we have encountered on our journey is ensuring that throughout our expansion, each consultant in the business delivers the same quality of service to our clients, and maintains the same quality of care to our candidate base. This is an element of our internal recruitment strategy that remains key. It is vital to us as a business that the quality of our offering is not jeopardised. Given the length of time that EMS has operated, we have developed and maintained a strong reputation with our clients for sustaining a high-quality service. It is this reputation that ensures that we are recognised as an industry leader and ensures that we continue to develop business, on a repeat basis, with our valuable client base. Moreover, the fact that we are constantly reviewing the quality of our service from an internal and external perspective culminates in excellent client retention rates. Recently we have also launched a new client incentive scheme, so that the clients that utilise our services on a repeat basis have further benefits that they are entitled to. There have undoubtedly been challenges for us as a business over the years but we maintain innovation and creativity as a team. It is absolutely vital in our industry that we remain competitive from a commercial and technological perspective.

Natalie Handley, Managing Director, EMS Sigma

15 TeamPlayer 360 • nov 2014

Perspectives page, and then use only two or three words to search (this mirrors Google search patterns). So if they are looking for a recruiter to engage with you or connect with you, had better hope you have recruiter or recruitment in your headline on your profile, or it is very likely they will never find you easily.

10 Reasons why there is a disconnect on Linkedin between Recruiters and Candidates Why do so many recruiters make wrong assumptions with regards to prospective candidates when they use LinkedIn? We all know what happens when you make assumptions, yet every single day, recruiters are making some huge ones directly regarding their target audience – candidates – on the world’s largest professional network, LinkedIn. And if you are currently saying to yourself, ‘this doesn’t apply to me’, think again – it applies to all of us who use LinkedIn because that is the way LinkedIn have got us all using it! A famous quote from Yoda (from Star wars, if you didn’t know) says:

“ LinkedIn you know not, differently you must think” (OK I may have made that bit up, but I am sure it is in the film out-takes somewhere). Let me explain and you will understand what I mean when I say there are 10 reasons why there is a disconnect on LinkedIn between recruiters and candidates. 1. Recruiters use LinkedIn every day, candidates do not. Have you ever thought how many times someone who has a LinkedIn profile, and who isn’t either a recruiter or an active job seeker, uses LinkedIn? Well the answer is a less than you think they do! The reality is probably once a month for people who are happy in their work and only go there when prompted by all those pesky LinkedIn emails or to add/accept a friend connection to their network. “So what” I hear you say. Well it means that these people who you want to reach, are not updating their details, they are not then seeing your status updates, they are not seeing the jobs you paying money to post, not seeing the company status updates, and very importantly are very likely not as skilled and knowledgeable about all the intricacies of using LinkedIn.

2. Recruiters (should) have full Linkedin profiles, candidates do not. Every day you struggle to find the people you want when searching on LinkedIn, don’t you? Many times it is because the people you are searching for simply don’t have the desired keywords within their LinkedIn profiles. This may well be an oversight, but in many more cases (especially people with sought after skills), individuals are downsizing their LinkedIn profiles to the basics, and removing all the relevant information you would normally use to find them. This is the result ofLinkedIn being based on user generated content. Even things like job-titles regularly get changed to something completely different, sometimes making it very difficult to find people. 3. Recruiters use a primary email address on LinkedIn, candidates use a secondary one. How many messages and InMails do you send candidates that appear to have disappeared into a black hole? As I said in no.1, for many people on Linkedin it is not a primary social network for them , so they choose not to use a primary email address as their contact email. This means that they many not see your emails, InMails or messages as often, if at all. Several developer friends of mine never bother ever checking them because they know it will only be recruiters contacting them! When you consider LinkedIn say that a 30% InMail rate is good (that is a 70% fail rate by the way), you know, they know they have a problem with their messaging on their platform! 4. Recruiters use advance searching on LinkedIn, candidates use 2/3 words. When I say ‘advance searching’ I simply mean the advanced search within LinkedIn, because many recruiters still don’t know how to deep search LinkedIn effectively. However most people who use LinkedIn less often, simply use the search bar at the top of the

5. Recruiters use InMails within LinkedIn, candidates think they are spam. encourage people to buy and use InMails as a method to reach out to and engage people on LinkedIn, yet they fail 70% of the time (see no.3)! The reason for this is partly in no.2 and partly because many people I speak to (non-recruiters) know the only people that use InMails are recruiters and sales people – and they don’t want to speak to either of them. There are other methods than using InMails to connect with candidates. 6. Recruiters (try to) join industry groups on LinkedIn, candidates (may) join interest groups. This is a big mistake recruiters make. They seemingly just try to join the obvious industry groups, assuming that all the candidates will also join them. They don’t. Non-recruiter types join groups that are of interest to them such as alumni or network groups – yes they may includesome main groups but not as often as you would like. If you don’t believe me, check out the groups your target audience are on by looking at the bottom of people’s profiles and actually seeing the groups they are members of. I guarantee they will surprise you. 7. Recruiters want to strategically build LinkedIn industry networks, candidates are happy to add friends and industry peers. How many invites do you (recruiters) have outstanding on LinkedIn? 100, 200? For most of the reasons above, many people don’t want to connect with recruiters – unless they are actively looking for a new role. As that only represents 15% of the platform according to LinkedIn themselves (85% passive, 15% active member breakdown), that is an awfully large number of the 313 million members that are not interested. It makes personalising the connection message more important than ever. You do personalise them don’t you? 8. Most recruiters only use LinkedIn while at their desktop, over half of candidates use it via mobile/tablet. Self explanatory really – and I have asked so many recruiters this question to get this answer it scares me. 56% of all LinkedIn’s traffic comes from mobiles or tablets, yet amazingly still too many recruiters don’t have the LinkedIn mobile app on their mobile device. If you have the app, you can easily connect with people without needing an email address to do so. A brilliant tip regarding the mobile app is that if you add “http://” to your “www” address you add in your summary or other content, they actually become clickable links via the mobile and tablet apps. I am sure you can see the benefit of doing that. 9. Recruiters use LinkedIn Monday – Friday, 8am – 6pm, candidates use it early am/late pm and weekends. One of the busiest times on

LinkedIn is on Sunday evenings between 7 -10pm. Other busy times are the daily commuting times – before and after office hours, and at weekends. Recruitment has never just been a 9-5 job, yet when it comes to trying to engaging with people on the world’s no.1 professional network, way too many recruiters work that philosophy when using LinkedIn and stick to office hours. 10. Recruiters rely on LinkedIn, while candidates use other social networks by choice. On average (depending on which survey you read), people now use 4 or five social networks when online – which may or may not include LinkedIn. Recruiters on the other hand still only primarily use LinkedIn for finding people at work. I see this every single week when working with both recruitment agencies and in-house teams. The simple answer is that you have to go where your target audience is – whichever social network that is and not keep assuming LinkedIn is the only way forward. Just for the record, I am not picking on recruiters here or even trying to question how they do their job. I have written this to try and make you think about how you use LinkedIn and how other people view the same platform you use. All the observations have come from the many workshops I have done, as well as user surveys and conversations I have with non-recruiters on LinkedIn. If you can enlighten me with any more recruiter – candidate disconnects I would love to hear about them.

Andy Headworth I work with companies to help them improve their recruitment strategies, recruitment processes, candidate attraction, employer branding and recruitment content marketing strategy. I am also an international speaker. My second book, Social Media Recruitment - How to Successfully Integrate Social Media into Recruitment Strategy, is published on 3rd May 2015. To get a 25% discount for pre-ordering my book use code SMRAD25 when ordering via publishers site here http://www.koganpage.com/SMR @andyheadworth andy.headworth@sironaconsulting.com

TeamPlayer 360 • Issue 4

Perspectives not because of, your recruiting process and recruitment marketing initiatives. That 16% of respondents “weren’t sure” whether or not their ATS allowed candidates to apply via mobile is, frankly, perplexing – a reminder how rarely recruiters actually audit their own processes, much less demand their providers offer the features and functionalities that really matter.

Here’s a helpful hint: if you’re not sure whether or not your ATS is enabled on a mobile device, you need to be. Pick up your phone and open your careers site, already. Seriously. Doing the Jitterbug: Why Your Systems Suck. Using ATS with mobile apply capabilities (source: CareerBuilder) he CareerBuilder survey found 46% of T employers report that they are aware of the fact that their ATS doesn’t offer mobile apply capabilities and aren’t doing anything about it

Smart Phones, Dumb Recruiters While candidate experience is largely seen in the strategic and process purview, and mobile tends to be seen largely through the lens of recruiting technology, the fact remains that making a meaningful change to candidate experience means first making a meaningful change to their mobile experience. I’ve said before, but customers are consumers, and therefore expect a consumer level experience when searching for and submitting information online. According to Comscore, over 60% of all online traffic now originates from mobile devices; with SEO firm BrightEdge reporting that smartphones and tablets together now accounting for fully 1/3 of organic search traffic. Since studies repeatedly show online search strategies to be similar for consumers and candidates, this means that about 3 out of every 5 candidates are reading your job descriptions or viewing your career sites on a mobile device. The problem is that no matter how sexy your careers site, no matter how compelling your job description copy or engaging your social media content might be is,

candidates who are actually answering your call to action on mobile have no way to actually become applicants a recent CareerBuilder study suggests. A Phone is Only As Smart As Its User CellIn their newly released report, How the Candidate Experience Is Transforming HR

Technology, CareerBuilder surveyed hundreds of hiring professionals and candidates to understand where mobile recruiting is at today, where it’s going tomorrow and its overall impact on candidate experience. Nearly one half of all employers responding to the survey reported that they offer no way for candidates to access their ATS (Applicant Tracking System) on mobile devices; only 38% responded that they had a mobile apply process to begin with. Think about how perplexing this is for a minute.

Imagine trying to check out from an e-commerce site like Amazon or eBay on your phone, only to be told that, sorry, you need to try again when you’re on a desktop. You’d likely never complete that purchase, whether out of frustration or forgetfulness. Preventing this customer churn is why e-commerce sites have aggressively invested in building and optimizing mobile experiences. The same thing is happening to candidates before they can even begin your application process – and 60% of those who actually can won’t even finish that because it’s too long, according to CareerBuilder data. Of course, 57% of employers have no way of capturing the information of candidates who don’t apply, meaning, statistically speaking, the resumes you’re receiving are in spite,

When asked why they were so behind the rest of the world (literally) on mobile adoption, 28% replied they hadn’t made the investment in the technology; another 18% said that they didn’t have the resources to invest in the first place This perceived limitation in resources to support mobile seems to be a critical reason so many employers aren’t more aggressively pursuing these solutions his is absolutely asinine, of course; the study T showed that approximately 20% of those of respondents were paying more than $3,000 or more per hire, on average (20% had no idea what they were paying, for comparison), and 52% filled 25 or more open positions last year elpful hint: if you’re spending that kind of H money on recruiting, you’ve got the resources required for mobile. With so many hires attributed to job boards (19%) and career sites (19%) from survey respondents, one can assume that a majority of the candidates generated by investing in those traffic sources – rightfully so, given their efficacy – are falling off due to the fact that they’re accessing these platforms via a mobile device. Which means your pipeline has a leak before you’ve even begun to build it simply by not offering mobile apply functionality. Besides resource constraints, the other primary driver for mobile seems to be technical limitations. Which is similarly silly, considering that nearly half of respondents (49%) reported to using 2-3 systems, and fully 14% reported using 4 or more HR systems in their talent organization. Here’s another helpful hint: if you’ve got more than 1 system, and it doesn’t support mobile, than you’re investing in point solutions that won’t actually solve your most pressing recruitment priority. Of course, if you don’t’ measure mobile traffic to your ATS, like approximately 1/3 of organizations responding

to the CareerBuilder survey, then you don’t’ realize the staggering opportunity cost you’re paying by sticking in systems stasis. If you did, you’d already be doing something about it.

Survey Says: You Dumb. Ignorance might be bliss, because recruiters largely seem both blissfully unaware – and ignorant -about the true impact of mobile on their recruiting efficiency and efficacy, particularly as it relates to candidate experience. Job seekers responding to the CareerBuilder study reported that a quick application process (54%); open jobs for the company are easy to find (48%) and that the application process allows them to highlight their relevant skills (40%) were among the top characteristics of a good candidate experience. These outcomes are all negatively impacted by not having a mobile recruiting strategy in place to make finding and applying for jobs easier for candidates – or even possible, considering the fact that approximately 82% of job seekers report to using a mobile device in their most recent job search, and 9 in 10 report they plan on leveraging mobile the next time they look for a job. Those statistics alone make a pretty compelling case. Furthermore, most fully-employed (aka “passive”) candidates rely on mobile during their job search to bypass their company’s network controls, firewalls and monitoring, and mobile usage/adoption is actually significantly higher among diverse candidates than the rest of the job seeker population, according to the ComScore study. Passive job seekers and/or diverse candidates have always been placed at something of a premium by both internal and agency recruiters (not to mention their clients), which undermines the study’s most surprising finding: a whopping 90% of employers who don’t have mobile recruiting capabilities think that this means they’re missing out on talented applicants.

Yeah. Survey says: you’re an idiot. Seriously. If you don’t think missing mobile means missing out on top talent, you’re missing the most obvious, and most essential, way to increase applicant flow and quality while improving the candidate experience and staying ahead of the competition.Which is kind of the entire point of recruiting to begin with.

Matt Charney, mattcharney.com. A recruiting & HR geek, Matt started his career as a corporate recruiter, leading full cycle executive level searches while managing employer branding and social recruiting & recruitment advertising for Fortune 500 companies including the Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Entertainment Group and Amgen. With a focus on – and passion for – marketing, technology & talent management, Matt’s writing has been featured on sites such as Forbes, ERE, Fistful of Talent, Brazen Careerist, Glassdoor.com, SourceCon, HRO Today and HR Executive.

17 TeamPlayer 360 • nov 2014

Perspectives

Can Technology improve team engagement? Globalisation and technology have made the world smaller and our pool of potential resources bigger. Especially when it comes to employing the right people. Many organisations are leaning more towards building the best team possible, no matter where they are located, rather than relying on local talent. This has opened up mobile working and the possibility of building remote teams, or even an entirely ‘virtual’ business. As great as this is for business, and for potential and current employees, it just wouldn’t be possible without the technology available to us today. So can technology improve team engagement? This is the question we put to Kelly Fryer, Managing Director of organisational development firm Chrysalis Consulting. “In a word yes. Despite engagement generally being seen as being easier to achieve face to face, sometimes that simply isn’t an option. Email, online messaging, and phone calls, as well as video conferencing, when used well, can make a remote team or employee feel connected and a part of your organisation.” “A quick video conference on a Monday and Friday, even just for 30 minutes, allows teams to engage and talk about the week ahead. You can allocate tasks and responsibilities, reflect on progress and give a virtual pat on the back, or hear some key business information in real time.” states Fryer. “Together with ongoing communication via phone, email, or instant messaging, teams remain in communication with each other on a daily basis. It’s no different than being in the same office.”

Phone or video conferences can be set up and arranged in minutes and they really can create the feeling of being part of a team, something which only used to be created using face to face meetings, or by being sat in the same office. Conducting team meetings via phone or video conferencing can also save time and money. There is no need for remote team members to travel to your location, everything that needs to be communicated can be via the effectiveness of today’s technology. This cuts down on team members spending hours away from carrying out their role, as well as reducing the costs associated with travel and accommodation. Planning and utilising technology effectively is a great way to bring your team together, no matter where they are. It’s time to give it a try, and it’s easier than you think.

Kelly Fryer Managing Director of organisational development firm Chrysalis Consulting. Chrysalis Consulting are leaders in organisational development and business transformation, specialising in change, culture, leadership development and employee engagement. They create tailored and sustainable organisational development programmes that lead to greater performances from passionate, happy employees, working efficiently and aligned to the business values.

Forex Fix Much has been made of the recent hefty falls in oil prices which is good news for companies and consumers whilst also lowering inflation expectations for UK PLC confirming that the rate in which things go up in price has slowed down. A knock on effect of lower oil prices has been a higher priced US Dollar. In plain terms this means companies having to purchase USD’s to pay oversees employees, suppliers and customers have seen a rapid increase in the cost of doing so. As the price of a barrel of oil has fallen from $112 / barrel to sub $50 since summer 2014, UK Pounds Sterling has depreciated from 1.72 to the current levels of around 1.50 against the Greenback since July, a fall and increase of cost of around 13%. As we look forward through the spring and into summer it is likely that wholesale oil prices have further to fall and with a UK election due where the result is far from certain one could argue that The Pound could also fall further against the US Dollar. It is also likely that the US Dollar will strengthen further due to economic and political challenges in the Euro zone and cause further depreciation of the Euro. The recent Greek election, threat of Grexit and Quantitative Easing (QE) policies outlined by the European Central Bank all serve to undermine and devalue the single currency further. Incidentally, the fall in the value of the Euro of some 18.5% against the US Dollar over the same period will have a significantly positive impact on European exporters but will import inflation into the Eurozone due to higher import costs, not a bad thing when you consider the much headlined deflationary threat in Europe right now. On the flip side, companies with earnings in Euros and bills in US Dollars

are looking at significantly more expensive purchasing or employee salary payments for those with exposure to the US dollar.

Volatile currency markets have long been a challenge for companies to navigate but mitigation of price depreciation and control of cost isn’t as difficult as it might seem. It is possible for companies to aggregate their foreign exchange needs and purchase currency at an agreed price today for actual delivery at some point in the future without the need for instant settlement of funds. This would negate volatile swings in the currency market, providing certainty of rates of exchange and cost whilst ensuring cash flow disruptions are kept to a minimum. Deposits are sometimes required on these types of forward contracts. In the above example, a company with a $500k US Dollar exposure would have had a purchase cost of £290,697 in July last year as against a cost of £333,333 at recent rates of exchange (GBPUSD 1.500), an increase of £42,636. It would have been possible for a company to guarantee July 2014 rates of exchange to July 2015 for $500k with a rate of exchange of 1.72 minus any currency market forward premiums and broker margins whilst only parting with a small deposit as surety against the contract. The end result of that would be UK based employers remunerating staff overseas in US Dollars would have had a consistent monthly cost but would also have had the benefit of saving a considerable amount of money.

Bruce Borrie bruce.borrie@hotmail.com

TeamPlayer 360 • Issue 4

Perspectives creating a false perception about the true risk of employment law. I recently worked with a small company who had those typical HR concerns and were worried about getting things wrong. They were a smallish, expanding and successful multi-site company employing around 20 people with a strong brand and customer base.

What are the real HR challenges facing a growing enterprising company? I see a reoccurring theme amongst SME companies I work with. The primary motivation to engage me often includes some concern over ‘HR’ responsibilities. This invariably translates into concerns about employment law compliance (I have long since accepted the popular interpretation of ‘HR’ translates to little more than compliance – sorry CIPD). The thing is most companies are worrying about the wrong things…

I’m not saying employment law is not important. It clearly is important to have the basics in place to protect your business and to know your main responsibilities. However it is about perspective and in many respects straight forward risk management. The problem is the media and ambulance chasing lawyers have gone some way to

It quickly became apparent that whilst they were indeed lacking in some basic HR compliance areas, their real challenges did not lie there. As it stood they did many things very well - they engaged people in their work (without knowing engagement is something multi nationals spend huge amounts of money on!).

However the tension here, particularly for an entrepreneurial company, is that the flexibility and autonomy people enjoyed starts to become harder to maintain. Creativity and innovation become harder to nurture, the company starts to become diffused and in short the organisation starts to turn into just another company. These were the challenges I highlighted to my client. Moving forward with them firstly required education in that their people challenges were less about HR and much more about organisational development and internal communication. Yes HR was part of the equation, but if anything it was the easy part of the challenge.

They had grown through a strong sense of purpose, strong enabling leadership and a committed workforce. Their challenge going forward, particularly as they grew, would be maintaining these things. The problem is these positive organisational factors often grow quite organically and more easily when the organisation is smaller and flatter. Once the organisation starts to expand (first beyond 10 people then beyond 20 and 30), developing and continuing this simply becomes more difficult. As people move further away from company leadership, it is harder for them both to express their ideas and be listened to. The tried and tested route for an organisation to respond to these challenges is to try and impose some structure and control through greater hierarchy.

David Jack, Ascend www.ascendhr.co.uk, david@ascendhr.co.uk,

How to keep your staff, when all around are losing theirs? Whether the economic client is uncertain or not you generally want to retain good staff, don’t you? Is it useful to believe there are plenty of people out there who would be glad of a job? Or is it better to retain those employees who know the job, know the clients and who affect the bottom line in a positive manner? The majority of people at work like things to stay the same and to evolve over time. They will generally accept major change at least once a year but they need to know how this change will make things better for them and their work. Does the job require a great variety of tasks and how long does each task remain the same? When objectives are met successfully is that by creating change or meeting its needs, or by building up what is already there, or keeping things the way they are? And what proportion of each of those is needed? This is about how often individuals require change to be there in a specific context. People who are good at creating change and also good at seeing a variety of options may well leave unless we ask them ‘We value you as an

employee and so do the clients how can we change things to make it better for you?’ When you need to make cutbacks and offer voluntary severance the wrong staff might leave. Employees who are proactive, who initiate and are in control of their own world, these people you can leave them to get on with things, may well jump before thinking. At times however if they think things are going wrong they will leave. Employees such as these who also have the ability to create change and variety are needed to cope quickly with changing customer needs. When they have good rapport with a customer letting them go can be a mistake. It can be difficult to decide who is the most cost effective option to retain. Do you need people who notice what should be avoided and got rid of, who work best with phrases such as: ‘You won't have to...’ ‘We’ll fix it’? Or people who are focused on what they/you want, achieve, good at managing priorities? Who talk about the ‘advantages’, ‘what the job or product or service will enable them to do’.

There will be people who will create or recognise different options.You might want to retain some of these before they jump. These people will be motivated by opportunities, possibilities. Use words such as ‘opportunity’, ‘choice’. People who can follow set ways and who will complete the job will also be needed. These people will be able to ‘follow set ways’, ‘the “right” way’. They will be compelled to complete what they start. Talk to them about. ‘first ...then ...,’ ‘the right way’. Most people in a company will take on board information and feedback from others and act on the information and will need feedback to know they have done well. They will say they know because – ‘so and so thinks’, or by ‘the feedback they’ll get’. However when faced with possible job loss sometimes people will make their own mind up. They will gather information from outside, judge it based on internally held standards and leave unless you act quickly and the right way for them. They need handling with care and respect for their combination of patterns if you want to retain them.

There may well be those who believe their fate in someone else’s hands and these could be the thinkers you need to retain or not they will wait, analyse and respond. Check where you need them and can deploy them most effectively. The Language and Behaviour Profile® (or LAB Profile®) a methodology that has been proven since the 1980s can be used as a tool to retain the personnel with the right skills, knowledge etc. and to ascertain what will make them stay (this may not be money). This is a linguistic interview as opposed to a written or computerised test which predicts behaviour on 12 levels. The language patterns can also be learned to mediate, negotiate, retain staff and understand customers better and more. Accurate information about a single person in a given context which might be job or a certain part of that job for example is obtained. For more information contact Rosie O’Hara www.developingworks.com or www.rosieohara.com tel. 07796 134081, 01224 900748, 01309 676004

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First Six Months in Recruitment The first six months in any recruitment position are a steep learning curve. Crazy days filled with confusing emails and phone calls, joined with learning the lingo make for a scary time. Any recruitment position is a lot like running your own business, which has both its pros and its cons.

I was lucky enough to start my recruitment journey in a sector specific company, a sector which I had previously worked in and had great ardour for. This is a choice I would urge anybody who is considering a role in recruitment to make however you don’t necessarily need to have previous knowledge of your sector to enter into recruitment, having passion for the industry is enough to set you on the path to success. This was fundamental to settling into my position, realising the extreme highs and indeed the lows this job provides which is understandable with any sales position. Recruitment is extremely fast paced but incredibly rewarding, when you join a company like Gemini Search where training is available for all levels and for every target there is an incredible incentive. ASK! Asking questions, or requiring help of any kind was alien to me in the beginning, but I soon gathered that pride is a trait you leave at the front door of the office. I quickly learned that asking questions and listening to the advice given to me was paramount, as it is the best way you can learn in this sector. It also helps with all the other elements, and I found it personally helped me to handle feedback so much better.

T hat first business development call you make to a company you know you will be of interest to, but falling short at the first hurdle because of the ‘gatekeeper’ or the unrelenting ‘I don’t have time’-ers, can get you down but asking the more senior people in the business how I could do it better after each and every call I made helped me to develop and become a better recruiter.

Rewards for hard work One of the best things to me about recruitment, especially at Gemini, is the meritocratic environment. This ensures that those who work hard can climb the career ladder much quicker than in other industries, and rapidly maximise their earning potential which was one of the main alluring factors for me. This teamed with the sheer thrill of closing a deal, has made the first six months in recruitment a joyous time. The fact that you win the trust of the client, find them the perfect candidate and give said candidate the next step up in their career along with progressing personally makes it a truly stimulating profession. No two days in recruitment are the same, however they all share the similar principle which is getting as much done as you possibly can! My average day certainly wouldn’t be for everyone, however I personally couldn’t imagine going back to

checking the clock every five minutes to see when home-time is upon us.

The dynamic, capricious and extremely fast-paced environment, often sees me going from calling the MD of an international brand, to sitting with a candidate trying to find them their dream position five minutes later. I thrive on vibrancy, targets and exciting projects, and would recommend a career in recruitment to anyone similar. The last six months have certainly been a roller coaster ride, frustrating at times, rewarding the next but I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else. I am lucky enough to be surrounded by like-minded individuals who know how to work effectively and constantly energise, challenge, enthuse and inspire me to get better at what I do. That is what Gemini is all about, an incredible working environment full of dynamic and supportive people that will always encourage you to be the best you can be.

Richard Nolan, Not-For-Profit Specialist, Gemini-Search www.gemini-search.co.uk

The 'Young Gun' in the office The workforce is dramatically changing with a breath of fresh, highly ambitious, young gun employee’s coming through the ranks. The common workplace is seeing an influx of these employees who are changing the office with their determination and “go getter” spirit. Many employers are embracing the different perspective and skill set, which these youngsters are adding to their business. While many are finding the transition hard, as the new employees don’t fit into the rigid structure of the business which once delivered great success. A study in May 2013 from the Office for National Statistics showed that 29.76 million people aged 16 and over were working, of which 10.6 million were aged between 16-34, people of the Gen Y era. The Gen Y or Millennials, being anyone born within the early 1980’s to the early 2000’s, who are the predecessors to Gen X. Knowing that 35% of the current workforce consists of this generation its hard to deny the change within many companies. So, the question must be asked, how do these young guns truly fit into a company and how should an employer handle the change at hand? Generation Y are building vast amounts of knowledge within a short amount of time. Many youngsters follow the traditional paths of schooling education, followed by university before launching into a chosen career path and entering the workforce. The difference however is the ambition and drive that these young employees have, help drive their passion for constant learning. This can be within their career by taking on any training or projects that expand their horizons as well as continual self-development. Anything from reading entrepreneurial and business management books all the way through to learning the distinct language of computer code. These employees are on the hunt for the edge to help them rise the corporate ladder and further their skill set. Gen Y has been raised in an era of technology, flanked by the expansion of the Internet and social media community and therefore embrace this way of life. With their no fear and tech savvy approach it’s easy to see how Gen Y employees can cause tension between colleagues and management who are not willing to embrace the change within the business. The young guns need the recognition of their employers and managers, even if the results that they achieved were not through the standard traditional paths. They will challenge the status quo and with a different prospective it’s amazing what they can achieve and implement into a companies systems and processes. For an employer it all boils down to an employee knowing that they matter within the company. Don’t dismiss the ‘young guns’ due to lack of in job experience they may have compared to other employees. What they bring to your company could be invaluable and see the continued success of your business for the next decade.

Born in the Gen Y era and having worked within companies with 50+ staff, small business, start ups both my own and others across a range of countries I can relate to many of the issues which we have discussed and have the following tips for any up and coming employees to succeed within their company and career. . Continue to learn – As soon as you 1 learn and master a new skill or piece of technology its sure to be out of date. Continue to learn and extend your knowledge as much as possible the rewards will be far greater if you do. 2 . Have a voice – Unless your happy with your current career path and pay cheque, be prepared to voice your opinions and offer your knowledge and expertise. However, show respect to your colleagues and their position within the company . Respect – Although our generation 3 has a different skill set to our successors they still have a great value with the business and many skills and knowledge can be passed down from these custodians. So respect them and listen to what they have to say. 4 . Grow – Until you push yourself to the edges will you begin to grow. Get out of your comfort zone and tackle a challenge. You are ensured to learn more from this challenge then out of any book. Who knows you might surprise yourself. 5 . Mistakes – They are bound to happen so embrace them. Ask any entrepreneur and he or she will tell you about the mistakes they have made and the learning opportunities they provided.

. Have a goal – Your career is going to 6 change and take a number of different paths until you reach success. However, how are you going to know when you have reached success if you don’t know what success looks like. Plan out what you want to achieve in your career and take small steps and daily actions to move yourself closer to achieving these goals. . Have fun – Enjoy what you do. You 7 don’t want to look back on your life and have spent every minute in the office working a job you didn’t enjoy. Find what your passion is and your job will no longer be a job. An exciting time is ahead for all of us within the business word with enormous change and expansion on the horizon. These young guns are a driving force of this change. Be prepared for and embrace the new and fresh approach we are about to see. Exciting times are ahead for young and old. Daniel Baillie, Marketing Manager, 3R Partnership, www.3rpartnership.com, +44 (0) 7476 917 323, dbaillie@3RPartnership.com

Grad famine in Science More and more jobs becoming available but there’s not enough graduates to fit the bill. Natalie Handley, MD of EMS Sigma, discusses the options.

The UK is being starved of highly-skilled workers because of reported STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) shortages on its shores. Over the past few years there has been a decrease in the number of teenagers studying subjects such as science and maths to a high-level and this is damaging sectors such as manufacturing, IT and banking. In particular, the Engineering and Manufacturing industries have been forecasted for decline if the issue is not addressed.

The Royal Academy of Engineering reported that an increase of up to 50% more STEM Graduates is needed to maintain the 100,000 candidates a year demand. Adecco detailed this year how for every 1.9 available STEM jobs, there is only one qualified STEM professional available for hire. Making matters worse, STEM career opportunities are expected to increase 17% by 2018, well above the 9.8% expected job growth for all other skillsets. Thus, the shortage of qualified STEM professionals is only expected to increase. But why is this happening? The spectrum of blame for the skills shortage has ranged from government education officials, to teachers, to sexism within the trade. A key issue is that some STEM employers do a poor job in recruiting; from rigid selection procedures, to restrictions on a minimum 2:1 degree, some companies are quick to deny a candidate with good A-levels and a strong CV - even though they may still be a great applicant. All-in-all this may have created a falsity within graduate circles that STEM careers are too competitively sought after. A lot of graduate roles in science and technology involve working your way up in a low paying position, whilst the initial years of engineering can be slow. Exceptional candidates with impressive academic

credentials may be deterred by the thought of spending years earning the right to think again. Other critics have pointed to the lack of Intern programmes to guide the UK’s manufacturing talent. It is also possible that the majority of STEM job postings may not sell the position well enough and do not do enough to entice talent. What can we do?

In a global STEM skills race that has enabled some Asian economies to soar, it is vital that Recruiters play a part in the matter in order to combat any decline in UK manufacturing. I would encourage companies to be pro-active. We have recently added four graduates to our ranks and hope to increase this number in the coming year. Within the company, their primary focus will be to drive placements of graduate Engineers into some of the manufacturing industry’s leading firms. We are applying our best efforts in order to entice these highly-skilled candidates with interesting job postings that are delivered through a range of mediums such as social media. A possible solution for the STEM scarcity has been to encourage more females to pursue a STEM career. Following the recent influx of female engineers, EMS has been determined to capitalise on the surge of women applicants to provide clients with the best possible workforce. It is essential to the continued success of UK Manufacturing that Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths are delivered in an interesting and measurable way from grassroots School level all the way to University standard. It seems that a combined effort from education and employers may be the best way to encourage the pursuit of a STEM career for the next generation.

Natalie Handley, Managing Director, EMS Sigma, EMS Recruitment Group, ems-sigma.co.uk

Disabled and looking for a job? Tips

• C oming across confidently and knowledgeable in interviews. Don’t talk about your disability. If they ask re: potential problems, they are the problem. RUN • B eing open and positive about your disability to employers • M ake provisions for adjustments early on; have the foresight to identify obstacles. Access to Work/ Disability leave. Be helpful and informative without being pushy. They will do it if they want to be seen as

a diverse friendly company • Only say as much as you feel is necessary and remember you’re a person. Don’t feel pressured into telling sensitive info to people, especially those you don’t know

be hasty but don’t let things slip because you’re new or because you’re trying to please people,

• Act fast and be congruent when things don’t go to plan

• People respect your opinions and having boundaries. It’s what makes you respected and interesting. Being a people pleaser all the time is a bad move. Set limitations and don’t let others push you around

• Use your wits. Most of us have a good head on our shoulders. If something doesn’t feel right, it’s probably because it’s not. Don’t

• Stay enthusiastic and positive for the right reasons. Remember why you’re there, why they picked you above all others.

Pearl Findlay, Photographer www.pearlfindlay.com

Graduate Recruitment Fairs across Scotland Aberdeen: Organised by Careers Centre University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University this is your opportunity to network with graduate recruiters across a wide range of sectors to understand what talent they are looking for in 2015. Whether you are a first year, a finalist or a recent graduate we encourage you to attend this annual event and connect with local, national and international businesses seeking not only to secure the best graduating talent but also to discuss their placements, vacation, part-time and voluntary work.

Graduate C.V advice Your CV is the first impression you make – so make it count! As a graduate in a competitive job market, you need to be thinking about how you can make your job applications stand out. Here are five top tips to finding the right blend of professionalism and personality: 1. Relevance The key when writing your CV is making sure it’s relevant to the roles you’re applying for. Essential information like your degree, university and work experience should be instantly accessible to the reader. A recruiter could look at your CV for a matter of seconds, so the information needs to be clear and easy to locate. There is no specific rule determining which should come first on your CV: experience or education. Consider which facts are most relevant As a recent graduate, it’s likely that you will want to draw attention to your degree over your experience. However, if you do have relevant work experience, this needs to be brought to the reader’s attention. For example, if you did a humanities degree and are looking to get into marketing, but have previous experience in using CMS. Here, your degree is important, but your experience is more relevant so should feature above your degree. If you have done a placement as part of your degree, you should also highlight this. Don’t just write a list, explain the skills you have learnt and developed as a result. 2. Personality In order to stand out from the crowd in the job hunt, it’s important to express a bit of personality in your applications! Use your

CV as a platform to showcase your skills - whether that’s creating an infographic rather than a traditional CV as a graphic design graduate, or adding links articles you’ve had published as an aspiring content creator. Avoid generic statements about being a “team player” with “good communication skills” and focus on facts you can support. As a volunteer or member of a university society for example, you can demonstrate how you honed these skills. This is also a good opportunity to emphasise success you might have had in these areas. Incorporate the use of numbers where possible when describing your achievements and experience. How much did you exceed your targets by? How many hits did your blog accumulate?

3. Avoid errors It seems simple enough to avoid basic errors in your CV, from spelling mistakes to dodgy grammar, but it isn’t something you can overlook. Check, check and check again, then sent it to a parent or a friend to read it with a fresh pair of eyes. One mistake could halter your chances of reaching the interview stage, if you’re lack of attention to detail fails to back up those claims of “excellent written and spoken English”. Keep paragraphs short and text succinct. Beginning paragraphs with action words like “Presented to” rather than “I presented” gets straight to the point and avoids overuse of “I”. Bullet points can help break down information and make it easy for the reader to digest. 4. Layout and format A clean, simple layout with each section

clearly labelled is ideal. The use of links to websites, online portfolios, blogs or previous projects is welcomed by employers and increasing popular as graduates look to build up a strong online presence. A CV longer than two pages is unnecessary, particularly if you are a recent graduate with limited experience. Save your document as a Word or PDF file, and remember to change the title each time you edit your CV. Avoid saving it as anything generic like ‘CV for internship applications’ and focus on quality over quantity. Start with your name and contact details, followed by a short personal statement. Keep your experience and qualifications towards the beginning of the document and interests and achievements towards the end. Although less significant, your interests and achievements shouldn’t be overlooked! Highlight your passions and personal attributes, whether they set you apart from other candidates or offer a conversation starter in an interview. A company is looking to find a match for their culture and values, as much as they are keen to find the right skills. 5. Video CV Finally, consider going digital! Check out Inspiring Interns - the pioneers of the video CV - to find out more about filming a video CV and how it can boost your employability.

Katie Appleby is marketing executive at Inspiring. http://inspiringinterns.com/ @InspiringIntern

The North of Scotland Graduate Recruitment Fair will be held on Tuesday 24 March 2015 at Music Hall, Aberdeen from 11am to 3pm http://www.rgu.ac.uk/current-students/news/north-of-scotland-graduate-recruitment-fair-2015 Law Traineeship and Work Experience Fair Thursday 25th September 2014, Elphinstone Hall, King's College, Aberdeen. This is an annual Fair attended by 30-40 Law firms each year. This Fair focuses on firms and other law related organisations advertising work experience and traineeships for Scots LLB and Diploma in Professional Legal Practice students, as well as opportunities to train in England. For more information, contact the Fair organiser, Tracey Innes.

Edinburgh University of Edinburgh Graduate Recruitment Fair The Edinburgh Graduate Recruitment Fair is a one-day recruitment event designed to help your organisation fill vacancies for summer 2015 onwards. This event will be held in May 2015. The venue is to be confirmed nearer to the time. http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/careers/employers/ working-with-us/attend-a-fair-orevent/edinburgh-graduate-recruitment-fair?language=ja

TeamPlayer 360 • Issue 4

Perspectives " Choosing a career seems endlessly difficult, but actually, most of work falls into just a few categories, and most of what we love to do falls into just a few as well. Look at your choices. They probably reveal to you which of the three paths you should take.."

Penelope Trunk there are three career paths I am reading Miranda July’s book “No one belongs here more than you” because she made a great ad for her book. It’s like a little film and after I saw the ad I got upset that I cannot make such good ads for my books. But then I read that what she really loves is filmmaking. People are driven by one of three core things: achievement, affiliation, competence. When I was first learning about this, the coach gave me more simple words: winning, friends, craft. I took the test and found I was 100% motivated by achievement. I looked at my boss, who was sitting next to me, to make sure that he was not looking at me and thinking I was an egotistical money grubber because of my score. Then I saw that his score was the same as mine. I already had a huge crush on him, but that really put me over the edge. I wish I could find the link to the test but I can’t. But so what? So what that I’m going to write a whole piece based on a theory that appears to exist only in my head. Because once you see that there are three key motivators, you can see that there are three paths to being successful at work. The path to ruling the world. People think that the CEOs of Fortune-500 companies are self-involved jerks, but that’s actually not true. The transition to top levels of management requires that you are not only a star performer but also that you care immensely about the growth of the people around you. There was an article way back in July 4 2008 in the Harvard Business Review which showed that narcissism holds back a lot of middle managers from reaching the top. Another thing you have to do

t o get out of middle management is shift from being a specialist to a generalist I know, I know, I tell you all the time that you have to specialize. And it’s true. You do. It’s so true, that on the roadmap that the Harvard Business Review presents for people to move into senior leadership

roles, the first assumption is that you became a specialist to get to where you are. But to get higher, you need to get good at a wider range of corporate skills

S o the path is this: early in your career you jump around to figure out what to do with yourself. Then you specialize and become a star performer in that specialty. Then you start cultivating an ability to help people, which will open up opportunities to get trained in new arenas of the company to prepare you to be at the top. Most people think, for a surprisingly long time, that they will be one day running a big company and making a lot of money. This will probably not be you just from the odds of it alone. Almost all Fortune 500 CEOs are ENTJs but only 2% of all people are ENTJs. And, let me just remind you that I’m an ENTJ, and it would take me a mere month to run a Fortune 500 company into the ground, so way fewer than that 2% is actually capable of running a huge company. ENTJ,

is the abbreviation of personality type known as the Extraversion, intuition, Thinking, according to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator The path to building a career based on relationships. A much wider spectrum of you will be better at storytelling than running companies. And there are so many jobs that involve storytelling that we don’t think about. Sure, a novelist is a job that involves storytelling, but look, even Miranda July can’t make a

living at it: she needs to do films that have big budgets so she can siphon off a living wage in sneaky ways. But all of marketing is storytelling. You can’t sell something that doesn’t have a way to connect with buyers, and buyers connect with stories. Marketing is the place where stories are created, and sales is the place where you test those stories to see if they work. This is a career path for people who care most about caring about people. Also, here’s some good news: Ode magazine reports that people who tell stories are healthier. Which means that all the commenters who have read the stories of my life and then said that I’m messed up are actually misguided. That’s really all I wanted to say. But I had to tell you the story about getting jobs as storytellers in order to get to where I can say this. See? That’s the power of storytelling. The path to living in details, and mastering your craft. There are sixteen personality types according to Myers-Briggs By focusing on either being king of the corporate world or being a storyteller, we have covered a large swathe of those sixteen. But some people are too analytic to guide either companies or stories. They need to work with data. I might be one of those people, because I keep links to articles I like in folders and spreadsheets and piles on my desk, and I think I’m going to die if I don’t tell you about all the best links. It’s like link Tourette’s or something. But actually, I’m not one of those people because I like obsessing about details more than I like details. I actually hate details. A lot of detail people focus on craft. They like order and precision. The photo up top is my seven-year-old son’s self-portrait. “What’s the line on the side of the page?” I asked him.

on my desk, by telling you about this article I read furtively in the Harvard Business Review, during cello class, titled,Big Data: The Management Revolution.

ig Data is where the jobs are B right now, and the jobs in that field will actually explode in the future. It is no coincidence, that among me and my three brothers, the only one of us who actually goes to work and collects a paycheck is the one working in big data. He talks all the time about buying up content sites so his company can manipulate data and sell it. So anyway, learning how to analyze data and draw larger conclusions from reams of small pieces is where the big job growth will be in the future. Right now, the Harvard Business Review reports that there are not people officially trained in this field. And there’s a huge shortage. The people are mostly self-taught and they have a knack for understanding how to bridge the gap between big data and big business. So the important thing about a career is that you are doing something you are good at. The thing I really get from Miranda July is that I’m not a writer like she is. She’s a craftsperson writer. She is a details writer. I’m a writer like my writing is a company. I got really good at writing blog posts, and that’s my specialty, but I like that my blog is a company also. It’s so useful to know what motivates you: winning, relationships, or craftsmanship. If you asked me early in my life, I would have said being really good at something, because I like to write. But I see the life of writers, and I see that I consistently make the choices entrepreneurs make, not that writers make.

He said, “That’s my ear drum.” Below is a picture of me waiting around at cello lessons. Right after piano lessons. Both lessons make me die of boredom because music is math and I can’t do math. But I take him because I really do believe in our power to know what we want for ourselves. I am alleviating my anxiety, and clearing off part of the pile

Penelope Trunk, Penelope has founded four startups. Her most recent is Quistic, which provides online courses to help you manage your career. Her career advice has run in 200 newspapers. She lives on a farm in Wisconsin and homeschools her sons. www.penelopetrunk.com

25 TeamPlayer 360 • nov 2014

Perspectives 01. Organise your workspace - Don't let a disorganised desk slow you down. Minutes spent looking for misplaced documents can add up to untold hours in the long-run. Your workspace should be free of distractions and enable you to quickly access what you need within seconds. Take time to purge anything obsolete, pare down desktop items to the bare essentials and create consistent homes for everything else: files, stationery, reference materials and the like.

02. Start the day with the end in mind Before the melee begins, carve out a few quiet minutes to yourself each morning. Use the time to set goals, review the day ahead and reinforce your most important tasks. What do you need to accomplish by close of business? What obstacles might get in your way and how can you pre-empt them? We have a limited amount of time each day. Taking time to proactively review our plan keeps the day purposeful and on track.

03.

10 Time Management Tips to Maximise your Workday Good time management in the workplace goes far beyond turning up on time. In fact, time management plays an integral part in how efficiently and productively we perform our roles. When we're disorganised in how we execute our day, our workload, stress levels and even our reputation can suffer. The good news is that time management is a skill anyone can learn. It's a matter of putting a few practices into place until they become habit. Whether you’re interviewing for a new position, or looking to improve where you are, you’ll want to ensure your time management prowess is up to par. Here are a few tips to keep you sharp, as well as help you feel more confident and in control of your day.

Know your prime time - We all experience natural energy cycles as we work. The key is to know when your peak level of energy occurs and where possible use this window exclusively for jobs demanding the most brainpower. You’ll blaze through that detailed report at 9am when you’re firing on all six cylinders, as opposed to 3pm when you’re sinking into the afternoon lull. Avoid using your best energy on low-level quick wins that you could knock out any time of day. Instead, use your prime time to drive your productivity.

04. Do you have a minute? - Workplace interruptions are inevitable, but they can be minimised with a bit of practice and anticipation. Since time management is really self-management, it’s up to us to defend our work time. Diplomatically cut to the chase by asking the interrupter a few questions up front. ‘How can I help?’ gets to the point, revealing the true purpose of the interruption. If information is requested that you have to hand, handle it and move on. If more complex, ask how much time is needed and – unless urgent – diarise accordingly. If the interruption is purely social, politely decline with a simple: ‘I’d love to catch up but I’m on deadline’. Being vigilant with your time shows respect to your commitments.

05. First things first - We don’t always know what the day will throw at us. Getting the important tasks done and dusted as early in the day as possible not only keeps our productivity ticking over, but also keeps us ahead of the game should unforeseen emergencies ransack the afternoon.

06. Minimise task time with Parkinson's Law - Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. For

example you may only need fifteen minutes to complete your expense report, but if you’ve allocated forty-five, you’ll likely take the full forty-five minutes. That’s half an hour of lost productivity. Ensure your time estimates are accurate. Start imposing tighter deadlines on your activities than you usually allow until you discover how much time you really need.

07. Cease multi-tasking - Multi-tasking is really more about the succession of switching back and forth between tasks. However, with each switch your brain has to reset and refocus on where it was a moment ago and this eats valuable time. Embrace mono-tasking as much as possible. Concentrating on one task at a time gets the job done faster, often with fewer mistakes and a higher level of quality.

08. Keep emails under control - We all feel compelled to launch the inbox first thing. Beware, it’s a slippery slope. Before we know it ‘I’m just going to check my emails’ has become a two-hour affair. If you must look first thing, give a quick sweep for anything immediately urgent then move on. While much of your work may be email based, don’t allow emails to be a constant source of interruption. Remember, emails come through when convenient for the sender. Disable email alerts and instead schedule processing intervals throughout the day. Save yourself and the recipient time by limiting emails to five sentences or less.

09. Be punctual - Don’t allow frequent tardiness to chip away at your reputation. If this is an area of struggle, resolve to turn the tide once and for all. Sometimes we simply miscalculate how much time we really need, other times we allow last minute delays to get in our way. It’s worth investigating the cause so we can make adjustments. Build in extra time for commuting, prepare what you can in advance to avoid a last minute frenzy, stop yourself from writing ‘just one more quick email’ when it’s time to be on your way. You’ll feel better about your time keeping and others will appreciate your efforts.

10. Start tomorrow today - Get a jump-start on tomorrow. Prepare a game plan at close of play today so you’re ready to get started first thing. Identify tomorrow’s top three to five tasks. A prioritised list will remove the guesswork of where to start and what to do next so you won’t waste time tomorrow deciding. Note where you left off on any unfinished work so you can easily resume. Adjust your master to-do list or task management software. Review the day’s successes and where you can improve. Priorities may change overnight, but at minimum you’ll be mentally prepared so you can relax and enjoy your evenings.

Cory Cook, Organising & Time Management cory@corycook.com, www.corycook.com 07590 069 900

TeamPlayer 360 • Issue 4

Perspectives Prioritising employee selection improves productivity In the US, an assessment company carried out a 25-year research project involving personal interviews with more than 10,000 managers, along with assessments of more than a million applicants and employees. The results of this research showed that prioritising your employee selection process and putting only peak performers on your bus can have a quantitative impact on productivity. The assessment company’s repeated predictive validity studies revealed that employees who “passed” its employment tests were over 100% more productive than those who did not pass. In one financial services company, sales representatives with passing scores were more than 67% more likely to survive the first year of employment.

"Right people on the bus" checklists Deciding whether you have the right people on your bus means looking at both your hiring practices and your organisational chart with an eye to the three dimensions of success. Only if your candidates and employees are compatible with all three of these dimensions can you rest assured that your company can make the move from good to great. The three dimensions are: • Can Do (skills, knowledge and experience) • Will Do (personality and motivation) • Follow-through (values and disciplines) To get an idea of how well you are applying these three dimensions in your organisation, share these checklists with the appropriate managers or executives, and ask for their feedback.

Do you have the right people on your corporate bus? When leadership guru Jim Collins’s team of researchers conducted their analysis of the most productive, efficient and effective of the 126 major corporations they were studying, a common denominator emerged. They found that the “good to great” companies put “the right people on the bus in the right seats”. Collins’s book From Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don’t suggested that the best way to take your company from good to great is to select and hire peak-performing employees before pointing your corporate bus in the right direction.

Checklist for new hire Assessing "Can Do" 1. Have we defined the job description to determine the importance of its core competencies, such as skills, knowledge and experience? 2. If we hire candidates who are not proficient in these competencies, do we have the time and resources to train them properly? 3. Do we efficiently and effectively pre-screen our candidates, via the internet or over the telephone, to assess each of these “Can Do” competencies? 4. Do we routinely eliminate candidates who do not possess the required “Can Do” for the job for which they are applying? Assessing “Will Do” 1. Have we analysed the job description to determine the importance of personality factors such as the candidate’s confidence, drive and motivation? 2. If we hire candidates who do not have the personality and motivation to be peak performers, do we have the time and resources to coach and motivate them? 3. Do we administer a highly valid and reliable personality test, in-house or via the internet, to assess these “Will Do” personality traits?

4. D o we routinely eliminate candidates who do not possess the required “Will Do” for the job for which they are applying? Assessing “Follow-through” 1. H ave we analysed the job description to determine the importance of the values and disciplines that characterise our unique culture? 2. I f we hire candidates who do not have compatible values and disciplines, do we have the accountability systems to monitor their productivity? 3. D o we use effective, structured interview questions and reference checks to assess the candidates’ “Follow-through”? 4. D o we routinely eliminate candidates who do not possess the required “Follow-through” for the job for which they are applying?

Checklist for existing staff Assessing "Can Do" 1. D o we have, for each of our positions, effective job descriptions that define the importance of having relevant skills, knowledge and experience? 2. D o we use annual reviews and/or 360 feedback to assess employees’ proficiency in their core competencies? 3. D o we offer employees educational opportunities that will help them to master the required competencies? Assessing “Will Do” 1. D o we have, for each of our positions, effective job descriptions that define the importance of having compatible personality and motivation? 2. D o we use personality profiles and/or 360 feedback to assess employees’ personality to determine whether it is compatible with heir position? 3. D o we offer effective coaching and counselling opportunities for employees who have incompatible personality or motivation? Assessing “Follow-through” 1. D o we have, for each of our positions, effective job descriptions that define the importance of compatible values and disciplines? 2. D o we use annual reviews, accountability systems and/or 360 feedback to effectively assess employees’ compatibility with our organisation’s values and disciplines? 3. D o we offer effective coaching and counselling opportunities for employees who have incompatible values or disciplines? 4. W hen we find “Can Do”, “Will Do” or “Follow-through” incompatibilities that cannot be corrected, do we try to reassign the individual to a position that is more compatible? 5. I f reassignment is not an option, do we decide that this is the wrong person on the bus – and take steps to immediately get them off the bus? Terry Irwin, Managing Director of TCii Strategic and Management Consultants, www.tcii.co.uk

27 TeamPlayer 360 • nov 2014

Perspectives Graeme Read, CEO, 3R Partnership , GRead@3RPartnership.com Tel +44 203 291 3827 www.3RInside.com Advice, Assist, Advance www.3RPartnership.com Respect, Results, Returns www.Networks3R.com Enabling Recruitment Entrepreneurs www.OptimaCF.com Boutique Corporate Finance Specialists

10 Tips to stop start-ups slowing down It is acknowledged that SMEs are the engine of financial and employment growth in all major countries. They are better at adapting and innovating and for many potential employees they offer a more fulfilling proposition. SMEs and Start-ups alike have already tapped into the potential provided by people requiring flexible working solutions, the self-employed, the working mothers and the grey demographic of experienced semi-retired baby boomers. With increasing numbers of companies registering every day, there is a wealth of knowledge and experience available for the start-up entrepreneur and the new SME business. Couple these with an improving financial outlook, 2015 is set to be the Year of the start-up. 1. Procrastination It’s never the optimal time, or the wrong time to start your own business. A benign market helps but self-belief is the key ingredient which you need in abundance. Well-meaning friends, family (and of course the doubters) may voice their opinion, but it’s your self-belief and single mindedness that will win the day and get things off the ground. Sadly, riddled with indecision over timing, the market and self-doubt, many great businesses never leave the kitchen table idea stage. Make your decision and in the words of Nike swoosh ‘Just do it’. 2. The Paradox of Choice My experience in recruitment spans nearly 2 decades.

" I’ve seen many embryonic start-ups spend too much time agonising over choice." Choice of CRM software providers, location, branding, logo, website, company name, the list goes on. Such stunted businesses get hung up on names, domains, software and marketing, often only to return to the start again. You can avoid this death spiral by being clear about your core values and mission, target market and ‘your story’ for clients, candidates and staff. Being unshackled from politics and inflexibility can far outweigh corporate life, but does have a ‘sting in the tail’. Here you were supported with procurement, HR, software, technology, marketing and accounts teams. Replicating this, now becomes a multiple choice decision for the new business owner. The Paradox? Less is more. The longer it takes to study the best whiz bang gizmos, the longer it takes to do business. 3. Mind the Pennies You rarely need to buy at full price, there is always a more competitive option and only buy what you need or explore pay-as-you go offers so you don’t get locked in. Sites like Fiverr and Elance can help you get projects done, or find knowledgeable partners who know your industry and have done

it before. Look at a Regus Gold Card for meetings and other office services, rather than a costly rent lease. Be honest with yourself, before you become Chief Sales, Head of Marketing, CFO and Procurement Manager. Ask yourself what you are good at and look at how you can use your network and/or buy in skills to help with the rest. There will be many SME clubs for similar companies in your sector who will have support networks. Some of these networks have group buying power, active referral groups, forums and helplines. 4. Get a buddy It can be lonely at the top. It’s invaluable to have someone impartial to brainstorm and help with perspective. A critical friend, supporter, coach, sponsor, it could be a fellow entrepreneur, friendly competitor, or industry specialist. It’s key they know your sector, your journey and where you want to go. Some will do this for a fee, others prefer equity, or a mix of both. Make sure they are impartial, flexible and their knowledge is current. I would always advise securing a ‘critical friend’ on a fee basis, over and above a non-exec who pitches up to the odd board meeting, collects a fee and perhaps takes a chunk of my equity. There are some great non-execs out there but one size doesn’t fit all. My advice, whatever you decide, is to try not to agree long term or equity-led agreements in the early days, or you could end up paying or giving away more than you bargained for. Why not go for an initial 3 month agreement instead? 5. Don’t give the farm away, or even the field In the early days, it is tempting to attract people to join as employees by dangling shares. Some advisors and even suppliers may ask for equity. This is an entirely personal choice and there is no right or wrong. However, unless you use an EMI (Enterprise Management Incentive) or share option scheme, equity lasts for the business lifetime or until you transact. Equity in a start-up is a cheap option but could be a long term costly decision. I have seen some start-ups offer equity to attract ‘big billers’ and many have given away to 40% to employees who are just not in it for the long haul.

" An unstructured share scheme will make it difficult and expensive, not to mention legal and emotional when you want to lose initial shareholders." Some dodge tough decisions leaving ex-staff with equity. If you do this, make sure your Memorandum and Articles are well crafted and you understand the impact of your minority shareholder rights.

" My advice is to always think: who, why, when."

Some companies are stuck with well rewarded minor or non-critical staff, where retention or transaction bonus would have been more appropriate. 6. Niche specialists v generalists In the animal world, the small species often effectively compete with the larger and more powerful. The same is true in the business world. Niche businesses innovate faster than larger, slower, generalist competitors and are highly effective, incredibly nimble, highly experienced and knowledge based. The latter specifically a key aspect as clients seek knowledge and experienced based niche suppliers. This is very apparent in the recruitment sector where internal recruiters are predominantly generalist and supported by 3rd party generalist firms. Because of this, many clients use niche recruiters to search for specialist candidates. On a global basis the same can be seen across many sectors. In the banking world, for example, large players are being impacted and disrupted by smaller niche players eating away at profits and offering better customer services. Getting your strategy right at the outset is essential for finding and becoming a key player in your niche specialisation quickly. 7. Hiring and firing

" Hire often, hire fast, hire more than one and make quick decisions." People often ‘hope and pray’ that one new hire will generate revenue, and put all their time, energy and money into that person, when the reality is that the odds are at best 50/50. You can turn the odds in your favour by hiring two or three at the same time. With all three having similar experiences and skills the fact is that one will be great to fantastic, one may not work out and one will need more development before you can make that decision. If you use a recruiter, they will likely agree a sliding scale for multiple hires to save costs. To address skill shortages, many firms are now hiring part-time or job-share candidates. There are a wealth of excellent candidates who for many reasons need to spend time at home to look after young family members or care for elderly relatives. In a socially connected world your employer brand needs careful management – sites like Glassdoor enable staff to showcase what they think of your business so be aware of the right way to downsize or performance manage staff out of your business. Hiring the wrong person remains the biggest cause of business disruption impacting on growth, time, money and morale. 8. Accountancy A high percentage of start-ups could be far better advised by their accountants. I might be lighting the

touch paper here but I’m talking from experience. Having worked in SME’s in broadcast and media, recruitment and consumer services – I’ve been underwhelmed more often than pleasantly surprised. I’ve had far more value-added services from accountancy providers who really know my industry sector and drivers, and who really get my dynamic. Choose your accounting firm wisely over and above the basic expectations of expertise in tax, VAT, payroll, monthly and annual accounts, they should be aware of the pressures affecting your business, the opportunities, funding choice, your competitors and your market. A good accounting partner should help you anticipate and plan with the end goal in mind, rather than just react. 9. Early planning for a transaction Be it a private sale, a management buyout, or a takeover you should think and plan the various routes your business could take in the future. For many, the first time they look seriously at what is required is when they may have been approached by a potential buyer. If the SME owner hasn’t identified what is needed well ahead they could be leaving too much of the future value on the table, not planned their tax effectively have a business that is not yet saleable. It could be company structure, orphan divisions, a lack of a credible management team or client concentration - be aware of the things that drive down value or could scare off a potential buyer and plan early for any future transaction. An experienced non-exec or business consultant who has been there and done it before can help you ensure your business is ready and maximises value for shareholders from the start and saves you time and money as well as adding value in the future. 10. Social media No business can afford to ignore the benefits that social media can bring their business irrespective of the sector. Be it a premium, high end business offering, mid-range or mass market – social media is both an opportunity and a threat so getting it right is critical. This starts with ensuring you know the best way to use each of the plethora of media resources that exist and having a unified brand identity across all relevant platforms from LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube, Quora, Hootsuite and more. Your social media investment doesn’t need to be costly but it does need to be planned and managed effectively. Not being on some platforms is akin to hanging a “closed” sign in your shop window. Getting your media strategy defined and implemented early doesn’t need to take a lot of time and it is easier to maintain an outlet than to start learning a new platform while you play catch-up with a competitor and slows you down. Networks 3R and 3R Inside were founded by recruitment professionals with 67 years combined sector experience who have launched, scaled and transacted over 150 recruitment businesses in 35 countries. To get down to earth practical advice on all aspects of your existing recruitment business meet the team at www.3RInside.com and book a free consultation to find out how we can help you.

TeamPlayer 360 • Issue 4

Focus

Networking; Love it or Hate it, you have to do it! There are a few lucky people in this world who find networking to be an intuitive and even enjoyable activity. For most though, the very word makes us shudder and retreat.

Like most things, practice makes perfect and the more you do the easier it become, but to ease you in, here is some well-founded advice to get you started:

people on the edge nervously looking at their phones.

No matter how you feel about it, it’s something that is increasingly important for modern professionals.

01.

Remember everyone is there to network! It’s amazing how nervous we can get when networking is involved. We invent weird and wonderful reasons to talk to people then spend the conversation wondering how to get away.

But not for the reasons you think. It’s not about ruthlessly climbing your way to the top, it’s about giving yourself the best support and opportunities you can, and helping others to do the same. As a skill and activity it’s invaluable; yet most of us still don’t do it. Or, we try but end up standing at events looking at our phones or talking to the people we came with, wasting the opportunity. It’s also easy to give ‘networking a go’ but dismiss it because we don’t see any return and therefore any point. But it is a great thing to do, once you get into, and if it’s not on your personal development agenda this year, it should be.

Research the event and attendees; especially if you’re hosting it, Get a hold of the delegate list, or arrive early and scan the name badges to work out who you want to talk to and why. Knowing the purpose of the event and the people it will attract will give you something to talk about and give you a purpose. If you’re at an event to learn then ask people questions, or share the parts you found most challenging – the best connections are made over a shared interest.

02. Make it easy for yourself, Start by looking for people with whom you might have an affinity – even if that is just height or age. Equally, think about basic body language & approach the people who look ‘open’ to conversation. For example; leave the pairs engaged in deep conversation with their backs to you, and approach the

03.

What we have to remember is: If you’re at a networking event, everyone else is there to network too! This means it’s equally acceptable to start and stop talking to strangers. - S tart simply by introducing yourself and asking what they thought of the event or speaker - F ocus on them, asking personal questions about what they do, their opinion and so on. We gravitate towards people we like so if there’s a connection made that’s great and you may want to start asking more specific questions to establish whether or not there’s a mutual opportunity to be explored. Don’t spend the rest of the night though, take their card and give them a call or email the next day to follow up

- B e honest: If there isn’t a connection personal or professional, it’s ok to move on, no excuse needed. Simply say ‘well I’ll leave you to meet more people’ and move on. The most important thing to remember? This piece of advice was given to me at the very first networking party I hosted for myHRcareers, by Michelle Brailsford. She said ‘Be Interested, not Interesting’ and it has never failed to work. You’ll never gain anything from networking if you do it looking for a return or pretending to be interested in something you’re not actually passionate about. Instead, go ready to learn, expand your horizons and offer your expertise where you honestly feel you can. It’s the first step in building a network worth having, and guess what – makes it a lot more fun!

Charlotte Hallaways, Founder and Director of myHRcareers, Londons largest network for aspiring Hr professionals www.myhrcareers.com

29 TeamPlayer 360 • nov 2014

Focus acquired from our long experience of delivering culture change and my elected membership of the NTL Institute of Applied Behavioural Science, the leading knowledge body in the world on behavioural change and leadership and organisational development. Our approach to building an inclusive culture involves following the 5 Stages of Change (Prof Kurt Lewin). In Stage 1, ‘Unfreeze’, we conduct an Inclusion diagnostic to understand the key behavioural change issues. The diagnostic also generates quotes or stories, which can, where appropriate, be scripted into interactive theatre scenarios. This is important because the intellectual business case for inclusion needs to be reinforced by quotes and stories of experiences by clients’ employees of exclusion and unconscious bias. These make an emotional impact to create the will to act by senior management.

Inclusion is now recognised as mainstream to business success and here’s how to make it happen “The Inclusion Imperative”, a book by Stephen Frost, a Harvard Fellow, and just published, powerfully demonstrates that inclusion is mainstream to business success and particularly in these times of VUCA (Volatility,Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity).

Building an inclusive culture is now recognised as the means to increase the representation of women in senior management. Of course, regular readers of mine will know that IDC has been saying both of these things in our monthly blogs for a long time.

The McKinsey Insight for January states: “To ensure that corporate culture supports—not hinders— the ability of women to reach top management, companies must address mind-sets and develop a more inclusive, holistic diversity agenda.”

Ian Dodds Consulting is differentiated from many of its competitors by having successfully delivered Inclusion in many client organisations. We are able to achieve this success through having the indepth behavioural change knowhow needed. This has been

In Stage 2, ‘Mobilise’ we help our clients establish an Inclusion Steering Group. The role of this body is to: a. Formulate an Inclusion strategy taking account of the diagnostic findings and have this agreed with the leadership team and sponsored by them. b. Establish any task/project groups needed to work up Inclusion policies and practices, e.g. on flexible working. c. Monitor progress with the implementation of the Inclusion strategy and address any barriers to progress and identify and publicise success stories. In Stage 3, ‘Realise’ the Inclusion strategy is rolled out across the client’ organisation and communicated. The communication takes into account the Beckhard Change Equation by: a. Offering a vision of future success achieved by Inclusion being the way things are done.

b. G enerating dissatisfaction because the world has changed and Inclusion is needed for future success. c. The actions that will be taken, including those needed to enable everyone to be successful in an Inclusive organisation. In Stage 4, ‘Embed’, the leadership takes action to ensure each one of them is a role model exemplar in inclusive behaviour. This is because leadership behaviour is the most powerful driver of change (Prof Ed Schein). Also, business and, especially, the people processes are changed as necessary to take account of Inclusion needs and incorporate best practices. Stage 5, ‘Sustain’ is the stage when internal change agents are trained to sustain Inclusion practices and behaviours. The internal change agents train middle and front line managers in interactive effectiveness to lead great teams (this is most effectively done using IDC’s interactive behaviours tool which was described in IDC’s blogs of June 2013 and Feb 2014). Finally, this is the stage when success stories are publicised to reinforce the behavioural change. If you would like to know more about our approach to building high performance, inclusive cultures, or what we call leveraging The Power of Inclusion, please contact us.

Dr. Ian Dodds, CEO, Ian Dodds Consulting Ltd, www.iandoddsconsulting.com iandodds@iandoddsconsulting.com, www.iandoddsconsulting.com M: +44 7989 337088; Skype: Doddsi2

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TeamPlayer 360 • Issue 4

Focus

Getting disability confident Tenacious. Problem-solvers. Solution-finders. Stickability. Loyal. Productive. Creative. Who do you think of when you read these words? Russell Group high fliers? Oxbridge graduates? Probably not disabled people. Yet these traits and skills are often the ones that disabled people have developed in order to live their lives independently, and to overcome the barriers they face. And as a disabled person myself, who mentors and coaches other disabled people, I can identify with most of them. And how do you view the 7 million disabled people in the UK as potential employees? Are they a group who need our care, support and sympathy and then quietly put in the “too hard to do” box? We all share preconceptions and myths around disability – but if you don’t look beyond them you could be missing out on a talent pool that could make your organisation much more dynamic, diverse and ahead of the curve in terms of business edge. And actually it’s really not that hard to do. Worrying about recruitment and managing

disabled employees can become a block that make us focus on the problems, rather than thinking about the talent and how to tap into it. Finding Talent There are various practical routes to finding disabled candidates for jobs. All Jobcentre Plus offices have a Disability Employment Adviser who acts as a liaison for both employers disabled job-seekers. https://www.gov.uk/lookingfor-work-if-disabled/looking-for-a-job There are some great specialist recruitment agencies out there – for example, Evenbreak (http://www.evenbreak.co.uk/) runs a job board for inclusive employers to help them match their vacancies with disabled applicants. EmployAbility (http:// www.employ-ability.org.uk/) focuses on finding disabled graduates entry level jobs as a stepping stone to a professional career. Both these organisations offer great advice on the practicalities of employing a disabled person and offer support and guidance to both employers and applicants. Managing talent Managing disability in the workplace also needs to be seen in a more positive context. Disability is a very diverse term that covers a multitude of conditions and impairments.

I can predict that you are almost certainly already employing disabled people, even if you believe you aren’t.

It takes confidence to disclose a hidden disability as many employees are understandably nervous that doing so may count against them in terms of future prospects. So sending out the strong message that you are a disability-confident and inclusive employer is vital – for both job applicants and existing disabled staff. A recent Government initiative has tried to encourage employers to do this. https://www.gov.uk/ government/collections/disability-confident-campaign Adjusting Managing disabled people should not be very much different from managing any other employee in terms of performance and expectations. But one key distinction is the need to make reasonable adjustments, as required by the Equality Act 2010. So it’s a good idea to commission an access survey of your office premises to identify what needs improving in terms of inclusive access, and to prioritise any changes that may be needed. Access audits can be sourced from the National Register of Access Consultants or some local disability groups via Disability Rights UK. http://www.nrac.org.uk/ and http://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/ Very often, these reasonable adjustments are cost neutral or very low cost. They can range from finding suitable desks or chairs, or buying some additional software to allow visually impaired people to work a computer effectively. Some disabled employees will

need bigger adjustments – for example specialist equipment, transport to and from work or a personal assistant to help with work-related tasks. The Government has introduced a dedicated pot of funding, called Access To Work (https://www. gov.uk/access-to-work/overview) which helps to pay for these sources of support. Employees need to apply themselves for this support (employers are debarred from doing so), so disabled job seekers take note – and it’s best if you do so as soon as confirmed in post. Managing your own career development Disabled people themselves also need to think carefully about how to approach their own career development. Disability consultant Phil Friend talks about learning to manage your disability “lightly” – to accentuate you unique skills and talents and to reassure employers that being disabled is an asset to their organisation, not a deficit. You can help educate your employer and colleagues about disability. Disability Right UK produce an excellent guide, Doing Careers Differently, which is free to download. https://crm.disabilityrightsuk.org/ doing-careers-differently So embrace disabled people as employees and reap the rewards. As disabled trainer and consultant Simon Minty says – “difference is the one true thing we all have in common”. Graham Findlay, Disability Equality Consultant at Findlay Equality Services, findlay.equality@gmail.com

31 TeamPlayer 360 • nov 2014

Focus

Interpersonal Skills Sensitivity The ability to form give-and-take relationships which enhance understanding and mutual respect, acknowledge the needs and feelings of others being aware of how one’s own behaviour affects others, focus on the positive aspects of conflict and values differences. Many jobs require individuals to act based on their perceptions of the feelings, skills, competencies and needs of others. As a retail manager for major UK high street bank with over 20 years’ line manager experience, I was completely focused on being the best person that my people had ever worked for, and this was to be in their entire career not just in that company Why was it my passion? It derived from a clear understanding that to be successful it was no longer possible for me to be the practically perfect employee, who maintained a business focus consistently and delivered the customer service and income objectives that were set at my level.

These results and qualities had got me to that level and given me the opportunity to lead a team, but I no longer could deliver and in fact exceed the objectives of my role alone. On that day a leader was born! I very quickly learnt that the passion that I had needed to be shared by my team, and the drive and results focus would need to injected into the team in order to really move the performance and make us a winning team. Interpersonal Sensitivity was going to get my team engaged and deliver the results for the team. In my career I cannot even begin to count how many times colleagues and my peers would tell me they were a "people person" only to discover through word of mouth and my own observations they in fact were not! This is also when I made a conscious decision never too utter those words, and to leave that honorary title to be bestowed on me by my team!

Staff never leave the Organisation they leave the Team they work with on a day to day basis getting the right people in the right roles and nurturing the talent they have, fostering a challenging whilst extremely supportive leadership style breeds success. Showing everyone my interpersonal sensitivity became my daily focus, calming situations and supporting others with compassion and understanding quickly became second nature, results rubber stamped this approach was a key factor in delivering numbers that exceeded all set objectives. Most importantly “People scores” for attrition and sickness were taken to a new level never seen before. Embrace it, live it and breathe it, interpersonal sensitivity is the holy grail of people management.

The platinum rule is one I now live by

Treat people the way they want to be treated Gosh I was treating people the way that I wanted to be treated for many years, thinking that this made me a people person! How wrong was I? Take on board this knowledge and insight Digest and act upon it, watch what caring about others can do for you, them and the business.

Karen Gee, Inspirational and Motivational Coach and Facilitator. Interpersonal Sensitivity and Relationship Building using MBTI, geedevelopment.co.uk @karengeeswl

TeamPlayer 360 • Issue 4

Focus

How to get the most out of Conferences The definition of networking is “to interact with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts” according to Google, but to many people it is defined as the all-important holy grail of growing your business that seems like an impossible and daunting task. That is certainly what it meant to me when I first started attending conferences; looking for that one person who will point me in the direction of business success while double checking how sweaty my hands where every two minutes. But it really isn’t all that scary. From reading hundreds of articles on improving my networking skills, and learning a lot of tips along the way, here are 4 guidelines that will help you get the most out of your next networking event. Business Cards – the how too I could bet my next month’s wages on the fact that you already know that you need to bring business cards to these events with you, and you need to give them to the right people. But there is a lot more which can be brought into account in order to do this effectively. There can often be the desire to hand your business cards out to everyone and anyone, pretty much as soon as possible, but there is a near-perfect moment. When talking to someone you will naturally feel the connection in a conversation; may it be over working together, knowing someone that could be helpful or even just in personal experience. You will know if this is someone you would want to keep in touch with, and so will they.

The best moment to hand out your business card is simply when you are asked for it.

There is no point in handing out 30 cards to 29 people you’ll never have any reason to speak to again, and they are not going to want to carry around your card for the same reason. You’ll save yourself time and money in ordering new cards. Contact and follow up Following-up on meetings with people is an absolute must-do and I’m sure we will all have experienced a really good conversation with someone who did not get in touch as promised, and the feeling of being let down that follows. It is incredibly easy to simply drop them a note via email just thanking them for their time and summarising what you spoke about. Connecting with them is then the next step, if you have met them in person then that is more than enough reason to connect with them on LinkedIn. When sending the connection request make sure you tailor the message to reference the conversation you had when you met them; “Hi there George, it was great meeting you and hope you have success when you’re out fishing at the weekend. It would be great to connect on LinkedIn and keep in touch” It is okay to be slightly informal as you have already met an introduced in real life. After the

LinkedIn request is sent why stop there? If they have a Twitter, an Instagram, a Facebook page there is nothing stopping you following there – these are all websites designed to share content and if it is someone you are interested in keeping up contact with, then you should be looking at and keeping up to date with their content.

A helpful tip to make sure you keep your memory fresh when meeting lots of new people is some note taking. If they give you a card take some notes on the back of it regarding what you talked about, how you could help each other and even a small anecdote of the conversation points you had. It is a good way of making sure you have all the information needed, and it will resonate with people that you actually cared about meeting them. Listening “You’ve got two ears and one month – use them in that proportion”. This is advice everyone should live by, especially when you are meeting new people at conferences. Being able to listen to someone tell you what they do and how they are is the best way to get to know them – and after all, you will need to get to know them if you want to have any chance in identifying if they could help you or vice-versa. Applying active and empathetic listening is the best way to practice this, being genuinely interested in

what it is they are saying and able to show that you are understanding what they are saying will show that you genuinely care. Which you should! The best advice I was given in relation to this was; “Be interested, not interesting” – it is a great way to get remembered and the best way to learn. Planning Planning is the best way to be successful in pretty much any aspect of life, and networking is absolutely no difference. Depending on the organiser and the privacy of the event, you’ll often find that you are able to get a list of those who have signed up to attend. Being able to find out this information will help you plan who you want to try and speak too and will save you a lot of time trying to do this on the day. Finding out a little bit about recent news involving the companies of people you want to speak to will make it seem like you have a lot of interest, along with a strong way to start a conversation and break the ice. Networking is the same as any skill, it takes a lot of work to become really good at it. I am always looking to improve at it among many other things, as we all should, but these are just the most helpful tips I’ve found to start getting the most out of networking events. As you go to more you will find out what works best for you but if you just be yourself and go in with a smile and a little preparation, you’ll discover you’re much better at networking than you might have originally thought. Scott Dalgleish, Door Opener at RoundDoor, @scottrdalgleish

33 TeamPlayer 360 • nov 2014

Leisure

Photography by: vanessachampion.co.uk

To follow Louie, track him down on Facebook: louiethechrist or Twitter @ louievegas1st

“Always training to defy gravity”

Training & self-belief makes all the difference We talk to Lord Louie "The Christ" Christie to find out why Louie “The Christ” Christie, is the son of Former European Boxing Champion, Guinness Book of Records Holder and England Captain, Errol Christie. Our editor, caught up with Louie in between his training bouts. Full of energy and an inspiration to anyone fighting anything! Where did you grow up? I grew up in south east London and always surrounded by boxing. My whole family were in the game so I guess it's in my blood. I trained in the Floyd Mayweather gym in Las Vegas too which was a good inspiration.

What’s your training programme like? I train 2 hours every morning, my trainer pushes me hard. I train in the park on the bar too, and I do that midday. I train and alternate activities at the different sessions so I don't get bored otherwise you repeat so much and that can get boring, and staying dedicated is hard! How do you psyche yourself up in the ring? I go in there imagining the moves and the punches I'm going to do.

Did your Dad inspire you?

I go in to win, so I go in knowing the outcome.

Yes he did, always pushing me to train and stay fit, which is the most important thing in boxing.

Do you find putting on the boots and shorts, feels like a suit of armour almost, is the right clothing important to you? Why?

When did you start boxing? When I was 6, as soon as I could get the gloves on. I was in the ring training with my Dad.

Are you ever scared? How do you overcome that?

What advice would you give someone who needs courage?

I think I'm more anxious, once the bell goes your fears fly out of the window.

Encourage yourself, believe yourself, love yourself. Just never doubt yourself.

You have no choice but fight.

You fight brilliantly at featherweight and I know you are training now, I think? When and where’s your next fight?

What does it feel like to win? It's indescribable feeling. Anyone who wins, knows. If you’ve lost a fight, what goes through your mind? How do you dust yourself off and start the training again? Do you go straight back to it, or have to take some days to think?

Comfortable clothes is key.

I go back to the drawing board. I watch replays of my mistake, observe my moves and start again.

It can give you confidence!

Sometimes a loss makes you a better fighter.

Looks like it’s going to be March in London. Check out my social media for updates! Whatever your realm of business, whatever field of industry, we all come across moments where we are terrified. Listening to Louie, I was reminded of the Samurai “Way of the Warrior”, which hones chivalry alongside bravery and valour. Meeting Louie, he has these intrinsic virtues. I was also reminded of the Buddhist concept of “Warrior”, which advocates and trains you to fight self-ignorance. Practice builds you and gives you confidence. It trains you to be brave, and seek your inner warrior to step up and face it. It was when Louie said: “Just never doubt yourself”, that I thought, if only we could all always ‘know’ and ‘feel’ this every day, we would be able to tackle anything. Maybe, we should take a leaf from Louie’s book, step up to the blocks and trust in ourselves.

TeamPlayer 360 • Issue 4

Leisure

You are the master of your own destiny

The Captain Alan Glover A career path doesn’t always have to follow one line, sometimes you just go with the flow, and let life take you where it wants you to go. Alan Glover is a Sea Captain, our editor met him when he was sailing Queen Galadriel for the Cirdan Trust, the ship had been chartered for a corporate sailing to support the Trust. His passion for the sea and Tall Ships intrigued her to find out more about this man whose career spans air and sea. His fascinating and humorous story threads history and heritage as well as inspiration for anyone wanting to live their dream.

How long have you been at sea? Total length of time at sea 59 years, amateur and professional of which 22 professional 2 university and 24 as an airline pilot. As a family we had a lot of holidays in Cornwall and I had read a lot of C S Forrester. I spent a lot of time by and in the water. When I was 11, my father bought me a book called “Cherish the Sea”, by a French author. Having been brought up on Hornblower stories, and British superiority, I was surprised to read about the long Maritime history of the French. The book gave me a lasting interest in the sea and sailing ships in particular.

My career actually started at sea, when I started as a Deck Officer Cadet in Shaw Savill and Albion aged 16 in 1964. A successor to the White Star Line, many of our ship names ended in " ic" eg. Brittanic, Icenic, Corithic, Gothic: a tradition inherited from them (sic Titanic). The remainder of our ships had Maori names and then I joined my first ship, the Waiwera (which means Hot Water and is a town just North of Auckland).

longer they were well within their comfort zones with what life and the sea could throw at you and made good instructors.

At that time 60% of all the Merchant Ships in the world were British (it’s now only about 6%). The job involved more labour than I expected. My first job at sea was cleaning out the sewage tank. This worked because you knew that everyone up the tree had been through the same mill, even the Marine Superintendent in the London Head Office would have spent time washing paint work, in winter, with cold water running up his sleeve.

Your experiences with the Royal Navy must have been varied and unforgettable!

You can`t command unless you can take orders, something we seem to have forgotten. The Ship's Captains in those days had mostly also served in the second world war so as there was no one throwing torpedoes around any

As the Merchant Navy went into a decline in the 70`s my career was stagnating so I looked around for options. I was already a Royal Navy Reserve Officer so I had the opportunity to transfer to the Royal Navy where I served as a Navigation Officer.

I was with the Royal Navy until 1982. During that time I experienced Force 12 in the Atlantic, I flew a hired plane to Cedar Key in Florida for a sea food Sunday lunch, explored Cape Kennedy, drafted and executed the entry plan into Devonport for an Aircraft Carrier, fired black powder weapons, the initial Sea Harrier trials, 50 mph over the ground going through the Pentland Firth in 28,000 tonnes of aircraft carrier (imagine that overtaking you on the motorway) lots of runs ashore, teaching navigation and collision rules on board ship and waking up one day to find the ship on fire. I sailed on 2 Aircraft Carriers, a Frigate and an Offshore Patrol Vessel.

I finished up as a Lieutenant Commander in charge of the underwater weapons trials unit based at Portland in Dorset although much of the time my office was the East Loch Tarbert Hotel.

That’s some round of experience! What made you move? At my re-engagement point a new round of defence cuts was in force so I had to find new employment. I was lucky to be able to go to Woolfson College Cambridge (and the Maritime Dept Plymouth Uni.). There I worked on the “Sea Speak Project” where we wrote the basis for the current International Maritime Organization version of the English Language and the radio procedures to go with it. It involved a lot of travel largely around Europe and the UK which I did in my 4 seat single engine aircraft. I visited Dover Coast Guard, Cap Griz Nez, Ushant, Gothenburg, Southampton Maritime Traffic Service (VTS), Dubai, The Arab Maritime Transport Academy Sharjah and the Elbe Pilots where I went with the pilot when he took a Chinese Ship down the river. On there we were served green tea in jam jars with screw lids. The Ship`s captain explained that they preferred this as the screw

35 TeamPlayer 360 • nov 2014

Leisure lid kept the flavour in. As a result of this I have my name on 3 books, the only thing I can read in the Japanese translation is my name! I looked for something the future of which I could understand better and as a result of my research decided to convert my Private pilot`s License into an Airline Transport Pilots License.

So you started flying professionally? I spent some time building up my flying hours by instructing, mainly at Bodmin in Cornwall (The Free Cornish Airforce) and also at Exeter. I also flew for a couple of parachute display teams. Those guys are mental, one trick was to hang on the outside until the plane stalled, wave at me, then let go. Another one was to take the ignition key with them (carry a spare). Not as big a jump technically as you might think. I had been flying light aircraft since I lived in New Zealand. I started in the late 60`s in Wellington and had been doing it on and off ever since. Also the technical subjects include Navigation and Meteorology with which I was familiar from my Master Mariners exams, training and my work at sea.

experience of a sail trailing voyage. The trips usually last about a week and during their time on board they are involved in everything from cleaning the toilets to navigating the vessel. Usually when they arrive they are unhappy with the lack of TV and electronic entertainment but by the end of they are usually pulling together and involving themselves in home grown entertainment. You can see them grow into it. www.cirdantrust.org

What are your next plans? Maybe tell a bit about your British ship dream. Next I hope to help turn around the decline in our maritime presence. I want to attempt to restore the balance as bit. I am trying to raise the money to buy a specific square rigger, in good condition having been recently rebuilt, and work her carrying cargo transatlantic, training crew, carrying passengers and displaying her at events in the UK and near continent.

There’s a pilot shortage now?

Finally, why the sea?.

Yes there is, just as there was then in the mid 80`s. The risk was and still is the financial factor. The cost of obtaining an ATPL is horrendous. I was successful and got a job in Edinburgh flying for DAFFS on the fishery protection aircraft. 7 hour flights conducted up to 200 miles offshore and 150 feet above the sea (that is lower than the normal (Category 1) decision height when landing an airliner). Mostly we wore immersion suits, because of the sea temperature and after 7 hours in one of those you don’t stand downwind of your crewmates when they are taking their suits off at the end of the patrol.

When I look at the edge of the sea, it is the start of an unlimited road leading wherever you want the free windpower to take you.

As all the fat had gone from the operation the only way the new operator could manage to stay ion budget was by lowering wages, so we all walked out. I got a job with Air Ecosse in Aberdeen, airline at last but still on piston-engined aircraft. I then got a position in Plymouth with Brymon as a Twin Otter Captain and a Dash 7 First Officer, turbo props at last. I became full Captain and was based at Plymouth, Birmingham (in charge) and London City Airport. Brymon was bought out by BA so I became a BA short haul captain in Atlantic. All went well until 2007 when BA sold us to Flybe. I lasted 3 years at Flybe they, put me back on a turboprop, and didn’t enjoy it very much. I left in 2010 with a total of 19,700 hours of flight experience.

So what happened to the sea? Whilst flying I had kept my interest in sailing owning a number of boats. I have since sailed as Captain for 4 trips on Gaff Rigged ketches, one 32 mtr one was just over 100 years old. I have also commanded square rigged vessels. The last one was the Phoenix, owned by Square Sail and we were used in the making of the Warner Bros film, In the Heart Of The Sea, (at Gomera in the Canaries) due out in cinemas this March. The Cirdan Trust are my current employers, I am Captain of the sail training vessel Queen Galadriel, a 32 mtr gaff ketch on an old Baltic trader wooden hull. The purpose of the Trust is to help disadvantaged youngsters through the

On a ship you are reliant on yourselves independent of outside support, your situation is real in every sense. The day to day affairs of politics etc. seem irrelevant to your existence. Also you are much closer to the world. You experience the weather, the moods of the sea, it brings back meaning to the distance and difference between places, the experience of arriving in a foreign port after a passage gives a huge sense of achievement. Probably why the first place sailors visit on arrival is the nearest bar. Alan Glover is running a project to get funding for a British Tall Ship. If you are interested in being part of it, contact him on 07922 305344 or drop the editor of this newspaper a message.

TeamPlayer 360 • Issue 4

Leisure

Glasgow Philharmonia Orchestra: Offering Young People the Chance to Perform. The growth in the creative industries has been well documented over the last year with reports at the beginning of 2014 showing that jobs in film, television, music and software have grown by 8.6 per cent in recent years and bucked the trend for minimal expansion. Jobs in the Creative Industries create the Creative Economy. Across the United Kingdom, creative employment has increased from 2.4 million in 2011, to 2.6 million jobs in 2013. This is an 8.8 per cent increase and far outweighs the 2.4 per cent increase in the total number of jobs in the wider UK economy over the same period. However, in 2014, Scotland had the biggest decrease in percentage change for creative jobs. Between 2011 and 2013 Scotland faced a -0.6 per cent decrease of employment in the creative industry, statistics from the Department for Culture Media & Sport June 2014 reported. Luckily for those in the Scottish music performing and visual arts industry in Scotland, statistics in the aforementioned report showed an increase of 1.8 percentage share within the creative industries sector from 2011 to 2013. Glasgow Philharmonia Orchestra is an example of this within Scotland and demonstrated this beautifully with their performance of Movies to Musicals, 20th February 2015. Supported by We Are The Future and Santander, the Glasgow Philarmonia Orchestra was originally founded in 2012 by up and coming conductor Ross Gunning. Due to the group’s attention to diversity, playing numerous styles and genres of music from staple classical repertoire to hit Broadway arrangements the Glasgow Phlilharmonia Orchestra has accelerated in popularity. The Movies to Muiscal evening, 20th February 2015, was another example of this with only a few seats left available. The evening featured fabulously forty Musical Theatre performers from across Scotland. Guest Artists included Jai McDowall, Sabrina Carter, Keith Jack, Lyndsey Gardiner, Gillian Budd and Adam Robert Lewis. Glasgow Philarmonia Orchestra pride themselves on being an orchestra for young people, by young people. At the evening, 16 young people from across Glasgow were invited to participate in forming an exclusive children’s choir for the evening. This desire to provide an opportunity for talented young musicians to perform together as an orchestra to a high standard, at very little cost to the musicians will hopefully encourage the music and performing arts employment statistics to only grow with more investment into its future. Live sales in the United Kingdom rose 15% to £1.6 billion, statistics from 2011 show. Admittedly, this includes concerts from those in the charts, but it was both the highest in years and higher than the £1.1bn from recorded music. The creative industry is the United Kingdom’s fastest-growing sector, making up 5.6 per cent of the work force and being worth £71.4billion a year – reports from the Department for Media, Culture and Sport stated. Although there was an increase in Scotland within the creative industry for musical performing and visual arts employment, Scotland still has a way to compete – and with performances like that from the Glasgow Philarmonia Orchestra, it is well on its way.

Mary Philip Deputy Editor

37 TeamPlayer 360 • nov 2014

Book Reviews Book Reviews

If you have written a book you would like us to review, please contact the editor.

Retro London A mouth-watering, picturesque account of London through time. A beautiful record of the buildings and people in black and white and sepia. The colour photos are few, which only adds contrast to this record of London. As a child growing up in London during the war, my memories seem to be in black and white, as clothes’ rationing did not give much chance of colour to the dusty streets which is illustrated well in this chronicle of the time. It is enjoyable to bathe in the good research in this account. It takes you through the many changes in the city and surrounding areas, which any student, tourist or resident will find very informative, reflected here is the saying “a picture paints a thousand words”. It is easy to follow the chronology of changing times, it mirrors the sometimes stark reality of different walks of life. I particularly enjoyed the pictures of the

Pearly Kings and Queens, which are rarely seen today and the text notes their charity works. The sewing on of the many pearly buttons which were designed in intricate patterns must have taken many hours of their spare time. The layout of the information pages are packed with, to my mind, accurate accounts of the chosen period which they precede. The iconic pictures of the London Blitz are heart-rending. On pages 62 – 64 the account of the first and second world wars gives a valiant, albeit brief, well-researched view of such a large subject. But backed by the striking pictures, it gives it to us in a nutshell. It is written with feeling, conjuring up the people’s attitude to the Blitz you can almost feel the warmth of the Londoners as the words fall from the page. On pages 176-177 there is a two-page spread of the 1938 Royal Command Performance, with all the company on stage

doing the Lambeth Walk, a popular song at the time, this was led by the actor Lupino Lane. I think this is a really good shot, as you can see the whole company on stage, the orchestra, some of the audience and the Royal Box. I thoroughly recommend this book, I enjoyed it immensely and appreciated the work that has gone into its production. It is a large book that would add interest to any home library or coffee table. I also think that this beautifully bound book is a snip at £19.99 which will give the reader many hours of pleasure. Happy browsing. Review by Carol Champion, author and poet, info@trepets.com

Official Tourist Board Guides The three Guides entitled ‘B&Bs and Hotels’, ‘Self-Catering’ and ‘Camping, Touring & Holiday Parks’ provide a trusted and comprehensive source of information for visitors looking to stay in the UK. Most accommodation establishments in Britain have a star rating from one of the four assessing bodies – VisitEngland,

Transform and uplift your interior and outdoor spaces Fine Art Collectable METAL prints for your business and home A designer’s dream – these revolutionary metal prints can also be positioned in gardens, reception areas, kitchens, bathrooms Prices from £500 up to £10,000 Call 07747 025 361 to view portfolio or email collectors@vanessachampion.co.uk for more information

VisitScotland, Visit Wales or the AA. 2015 marks the 40th anniversary year of the Official Tourist Board Guides and to celebrate this milestone, the publishers Hudson’s Media are giving away 6 UK short breaks worth £500 each. Six golden tickets have been randomly

inserted into copies of the Guides and the lucky finder of each will win one of six short break prizes which include hotel stays, holiday park breaks and self-catering accommodation. Special offer price £5.99. www.visitor-guides.co.uk

TeamPlayer 360 • Issue 4

Law Raising the Reputation of the Recruitment Industry: SAFERjobs on continuing their fight against job fraud This year the Daily Telegraph listed job scams in their 'Top 10 Scams’ to watch out for in 2014 promoting job scams to the national agenda. Recent statistics from the USA showed that of just over one million reported frauds, some 6% were job scams. The volume and variety of job scams continues to grow, as more job searching is done online and via social media. Whilst most recruiters do business the right way, the actions of the minority can damage the reputation of the industry overall and everyone working within the recruitment industry has an ethical responsibility to improve this image. Whilst job scams can occur in any hiring situation, fraudsters often target both recruitment companies and job boards as a way of defrauding job seekers and organisations. SAFERjobs (www.safer-jobs.com) is a non-profit joint law enforcement and private sector organisation who continue to see a steady increase in the amount of scam activity reported. In a recent 8 week period SAFERjobs received reports of 15 fake recruiters. SAFERjobs is helping the recruitment industry to develop its response, and protect its jobseekers. The industry has an ethical responsibility to protect its clients, job seekers, as well as itself as job scams are on the rise and don’t just target job seekers; they attack both clients and recruitment companies too. Common scams against job seekers include advance fee fraud where fraudsters persuade jobseekers to hand over money for services during the recruitment process, identity and bank details theft where fraudsters obtain personal information, or money mule scams where fake cheques are used to trick individuals into spending money on equipment or goods thinking the first salary has arrived in advance. The value of individual scams varies widely, from tens of thousand of pounds for fake visas and insurance documents, to hundreds – or even tens – of pounds for police checks, CV writing, or premium rate phone scams where job seekers are tricked into calling a premium number believing its an interview. This can seem like a small price to pay for a jobseekers dream job. Recruitment companies are equally susceptible, falling foul of fake contractor scams where a fake client calls in a job which happens to match exactly the skills and qualifications of a fake contractor recently registered with the agency. Finally, hirers themselves are vulnerable to fraudsters copying their ads and amending email or web addresses slightly to convince job seekers the role is genuine. High profile cases hit in 2014 include Harrods, Shell, Anglo American, along with many smaller organisations. The recruitment industry has a key part to play in helping people find work as well as helping companies find talent. It now has an equally vital role, an moral responsibility, to help continue the fight against job fraud, and protect jobseekers in their search for a role. Combined with this responsibility is also a need for the industry to defend its reputation and improve its image. An important part of that is being seen to take the job scam fight to the fraudsters and ensure customers engaging with the industry are protected and have objective parties to report to if they do encounter a problem. To acknowledge a problem exists and respond in the right way ensures the industry is seen as safe, and socially responsible. This is the role of SAFERjobs - a voluntary, non-profit organisation. SAFERjobs brings

together the main recruitment trade associations, law enforcement (such as the Metropolitan Police), government (Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills),as well as private sector partners to issue advice, support, and help to people engaging with the recruitment sector who may have witnessed potential fraud. SAFERjobs offers free advice to job seekers to help them make a decision about a job application scenario as well as providing information to the industry on common scams and how to avoid them. SAFERjobs respond to every report from job seekers or companies and works to prevent fraud through free advice and general education of the growing issue. Scams are not restricted to the recruitment industry and can occur wherever there is a job seeker and the promise of a job. This point is often overlooked, as people have been quick to associate job scams with the recruitment industry. This simply isn’t true, in fact using a reputable company within the recruitment industry actually lowers the chances of a job scam. SAFERjobs recently released advice on how to select a reputable recruiter. This includes choosing a recruiter who are a member of a trade association as they will have had their processes checked and the associations have strict complaints procedures which can be accessed by job seekers. Using a reputable recruiter also means high standards as they will be keen to protect their own reputation, and that of the industry. This means as the issue of jobs scams grow, so will the organisation’s vigilance and response, and more importantly jobseekers will be increasingly protected. The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EASI) exist to ensure recruiters meet their legislative obligations so using a reputable recruiter means they will adhere to the standards, if not, EASI will investigate. Repeat business is critical to the future of a recruitment company, so protecting the interests of the job seeker and client organisations is vitally important This means that recruiters will take extra steps to ensure that jobs, companies, and information are correct. Genuine recruitment companies won’t mind job seekers checking the information – meaning that job seekers can and should contact recruitment companies by landline to follow up enquiries using details that have been independently sourced, and to check the details they have received. Reputable recruiters will want to build a relationship with the job seeker. This means face-to-face or Skype interviews, the majority of fraudsters prefer to keep the relationship purely over email. The old-fashioned skill of relationship building will help build the reputation of the industry and minimise the possibility of job fraud. Job seekers need to be confident in checking the information, both online and by phone, and the genuine companies really won’t mind. Improving the image of the industry is part of the mission of SAFERjobs. By working to keep job seekers safe, and advising employers on what to look out for, SAFERjobs aims to make the recruitment industry a safer place to do business and demonstrate an ethical responsibility to everyone who uses the sector. Keith Rosser, Chair, SAFERjobs www.safer-jobs.com

39 TeamPlayer 360 • nov 2014

Law

Employment Law 2015 - looking forward to the year ahead Introduction

Happy New Employment Year! UK employment law continues to develop at an unabated pace. The coming year promises several major changes in the legal landscape that both employers and HR professionals need to be aware in order to avoid unanticipated liabilities for their organisation.

adopting a child from outside the UK will be entitled to shared parental leave and pay. In addition, employees will have the right to take time off work to attend adoption appointments. Protection will also be provided against suffering a detriment or being dismissed in relation to exercising this right.

Here’s a summary of what to expect:

Fostering

From April 2015 a raft of changes will come into effect that will change the landscape of employment entitlements for working parents.

Current adoption rights will be extended to individuals fostering children under the “Fostering for Adoption” scheme run by local authorities.

Shared parental leave and pay A new system of shared parental leave will be available to parents of children due to be born or placed for adoption with them on or after 5 April 2015. Eligible employees will be entitled to a maximum of 52 weeks' leave and 39 weeks' statutory pay upon the birth or adoption of a child, which can be shared between the parents. Adoption Also from 5 April 2015, couples who are

Unpaid Parental Leave Amendments to the unpaid parental leave rules are due to come into force on 5 April 2015. The age of a child, up to which unpaid parental leave may be taken, will be increased from the child's fifth birthday up to the child's eighteenth birthday. In addition to these ‘family friendly changes, there are several other developments in UK employment law to watch out for.

Holiday pay

There will be a two-year cap on back pay claims for holiday pay claims lodged on or after 1 July 2015 brought in by the Deduction from Wages (Limitation) Regulations 2014. Caste discrimination A draft order outlawing caste discrimination is expected in the autumn. In the meantime, the EAT has held that race discrimination claims can include caste discrimination. Time for a spring clean of your business’s employment contracts, policies and procedures? In order to ensure your business is fully up to date with these latest changes in UK employment law, we recommend carrying out a spring clean of your business’s employment contracts, policies and procedures to ensure they are fully compliant, so as to avoid unanticipated liabilities. A single claim for unfair dismissal can now potentially cost an employer £90,794 and more in cases involving allegations of discrimination. As an example of the value we can offer your organisation, we are able to provide you with

Shared Parental Leave and Pay policies and procedures reflecting the imminent changes in the law for inclusion in your existing ‘family friendly’ related policies and procedures. Free employment law health check

We appreciate that with all of the pressures involved in running a business in these difficult economic times, you may have limited time available to ensure your employment law practices and procedures are fully up to date with employment law best practice. At Fletcher Day we can help ease the burden by providing your business with a free employment health check. We will come to you and review your employment documents and procedures to ensure they are legally compliant. We will then send you a complimentary report setting out our recommendations with no obligation to you. Even if you do not have any employment policies or contracts currently in place we can assist you with this also. Please contact Julian Cox, Head of Employment either by telephone on 0207 632 1442 or e mail at julian@ fletcherday.co.uk to make an appointment. Fletcher Day, 25 Savile Row, Mayfair, W1S 2ER www.fletcherday.co.uk

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