Working Flexibly:It helps to be a bit bendy.
There’s a lot to be said for an employer who gives flexibility. Yesterday I was called home on a domestic crisis. Once there, after dealing with the situation, I was able to log on and work from home without the distractions of the office, so was happily typing away close to a bed-ridden invalid. The very fact that I was able to be there and on hand if I was needed was invaluable and much appreciated. I’m not saying that employers should let their staff leave the office at the drop of a hat, and there obviously has to be a good reason for it and a bit of give and take all round, but it pays to keep an open mind and only encourages good internal feeling. We regularly meet candidates who are seeking new roles but are ideally looking to work at least a day a week from home, usually for commuting reasons. What we’ve found is that generally clients are reluctant to commit to this, and may also question the candidate’s commitment. What we would recommend in these situations, if you are someone who would appreciate a degree of flexibility and are able to do this (ie don’t have childcare commitments – see below!), is to commit to a full-time 5 days a week position, prove yourself in that role, and then, once you’ve impressed your boss and if you still feel the necessity, gently broach the subject then, explaining why this would be beneficial to the company. Make sure your request isn’t all about you! You’re generally much more likely to be given flexibility once you’ve proven yourself as a valuable commodity and it’s usually the case that most people who work part-time or 1 day from home are generally long-termers. From an employer’s perspective, yes, whilst its not ideal to have a valuable team member out of the office 1 day a week as you may wonder what they’re doing and find it frustrating not to have them on hand when you need them, surely its best to accommodate them and keep them happy and doing a good job for you, so they don’t start looking for an employer that will. Make sure they are able to log onto any centralised systems, access email, and remain in regular contact with them so neither parties feel out of the loop. On the subject of flexible working, a quick note on flexibility for women in the workplace: I read today that new research by the Centre for Policy Studies showed that, of the 4,690 mothers questioned for the survey, just 12% wanted to work full-time. According to the YouGov poll, just 1% of mothers and 2% of fathers with children under five think Mum should work full-time. According to the survey, what women really want would appear to be greater flexibility to work part-time, and more options when it comes to childcare. Clearly more and more mothers are keen to work under their own terms (hence why a growing number are setting up their own businesses) so in these circumstances, flexibility (within reason) really is critical to building successful working relationships. All in all, it’s all about give and take, and mutual respect. Let’s all just try to be that bit more bendy!
Finding the great amongst the good.
I am often asked about the talent we represent and how it fares in this market. I so wish I had a staple answer that appeased the majority, but as of yet I am still struggling with the fact that there are so many good people in search of the next great opportunity. Candidates that have a strong repertoire of skills, great emotional intelligence and the gutsy drive that every business knows will make a difference. These are the great -The people who can simply add value regardless of the sector as they just know how to adapt to meet the market.
Equally there is a whole raft of others who are loyal, trustworthy, deliver good results time and again and show: honesty, commitment and persistence to all they turn their hands to. These are the people every business needs to ensure the company consistently meets deadlines, always produces the goods and never falls short of the brief. They are the doers, the people who know how to just get it done.
Neither genre is better than the other, they both have a pivotal place in the workplace. One is the firm foundation that ensures stability and longevity presides and the other is the gloss, the glamour, the look of the business.
In the ideal world one person would embody both traits and indeed there are rare occasions when this happens and you think a “Midas moment” has occurred, however more often than not you get a great foundation maker with strong skills, but not as sparky, impactful as the rainmaker who turns up for interview laden with ideas, motivated by making a difference and yearning to simply set themselves apart from the status quo.
What defines great or good depends on each company’s perspective. Some want the image, the gloss, the glamour and the style whilst others want the rich staying power, the consistent safe hands that many view as dependable, loyal and always at hand to get the job done.
From a personal perspective -I think I am similar to many of our clients. I want it all. I want the passionate, inspiring team player that engages the audience with aplomb, yet I also want the employee who turns up 30 minutes early for work, breakfast eaten, to do list written, steady, dependable and true to their goals.
I am not dissimilar to the clients I wish would flex their brief a little! Perfection is so easy to define and yet difficult to attain and attract.
The importance of being sternest
In these troubled times we, as recruiters, often bear the brunt. Frequently viewed merely as suppliers we are often (in the current climate) denied the opportunity to flex our abilities and truly demonstrate and convey our expertise in finding the perfect match between brief and candidate. Many companies currently feel that they can effectively ‘go it alone’ and attract the right candidates…but at what cost? As specialist recruiters we are experts in our fields and it’s more important than ever to educate our clients of this. Finding the perfect candidate is a tough job and if you aren’t equipped with the correct tools it can be an uphill struggle one that can often end, disappointingly, back at the start! At Elizabeth Norman we have over 20 years of specialist experience in the MR recruitment field. We live and breathe CVs and job briefs and day in day out we work tirelessly to introduce the right people to each other. We recognize the investment of time it takes to search out and attract these people and we pride ourselves on being able to take that requirement away from our clients. HR responsibilities cover so much more than resourcing and the time saved in trying to find the very best pool of available talent can be invested back into other initiatives, ultimately adding value to other areas of a client’s business. So let’s educate and really push to demonstrate exactly what we’re here for!
SOS – save the bottom line!
We all know how it is. You get to the final stages of a challenging project, having covered off all your bases and having put in a lot of hard work at each stage, and can just about glimpse the finishing line…the light’s at the end of the tunnel, the line’s on the horizon…you’re almost there!
But wait…what’s this? Having given your all throughout the project and worked your socks off, eager to show the client exactly what you can do and what you’re made of, and with them making encouraging noises at every step, a last minute glitch occurs. You’ve done the research, the field work is over, the analysis has been done, toplines have been written up, submitted and agreed, and you’re about to submit that final report, when suddenly the client wants to change the objectives! And furthermore, what’s this? They suddenly want a reduction on the project cost! So all that hard work at a fraction of the originally agreed cost! Not only this, but how do you explain this to your boss, who is also thinking about his or her own company bank balance? Aaarrgh….
Ok, so although rare, it does happen. And if you’ve ever experienced this, you’ll agree – it’s very annoying, and makes you question yourself. Have I misunderstood the brief? Have I now answered the objectives? Have the numbers been wrong, or were the groups not moderated properly? Am I a (gulp) BAD RESEARCHER??? The answer, of course, is no. The client is just thinking of his own research budget, and is trying to get as much for his or her money as he or she can. Trying indeed, but increasingly common in these tricky economic times.
So how did it make you feel? A bit rubbish? Like you provided an inferior service, when you know you didn’t? Well, if you can identify with this scenario, spare a thought for us recruiters, who have to deal with clients trying to pull a fast one in the name of ‘saving money’ all the time. You shouldn’t have to put up with it, having worked hard on a project, and neither should we. We are all feeling the effects of the recession, and good business partnerships need to be forged and respected now more than ever. The final stages of a project or candidate placement are not the times to be trying to suddenly think about cutting costs. This is something that good business practice dictates should be done up front. You agree a cost at the outset, and, providing all goes to plan and the client gets what they want, then this should be respected and adhered to. Anything else simply isn’t cricket!
Every man and his dog
It is important no matter how desperate you are to find a job in such a difficult market to maintain your focus and not lose track of why you started looking for a new job in the first place. This point could not be more pertinent right now as things start to pick up (or so it seems) and recruitment consultants become ever more swamped in CV’s, jobs and an endless stream of correspondence at both the candidate and client end.
Not that I am complaining of course as this year has been one where the term ‘scraping the barrel’ has probably set a new world record for its use and consultants from here to far have tread with great trepidation about the next unforeseen black hole just waiting to swallow them up. No, it is certainly a different time from 6 months ago for all the right reasons bar one – totally uncharacteristic and unanticipated responses to job adverts. It would be no exaggeration to say that we have seen more than our fair share of ‘unqualified’ ad responses from the down right absurd positions of zoo keepers and taxi drivers to the more frustrating ones where a pure quantie with 6 years experience for instance is applying for a role clearly stating ‘proven qual experience’ is an absolute necessity. I don’t begrudge these applications, in fact in some ways I actually admire the courage and boldness of these applications and the level of thinking outside of the box when reading justifications for why said person is the ‘perfect’ match for the advertised position.
However, coming back to the point I first made about maintaining your focus when searching for roles in this market, it is important to maximize your time particularly as the market begins to pick up and more jobs become available. Before applying for anything and everything, remember why you decided to look for a new role and what that new role looked like to you in your head, otherwise you could be giving a little bit too much of your time and not getting anything back in return.
When the going gets tough…… Blame!
What a bizarre breed of bods we can be! I have spent the last week observing all I come into contact with; in work, on the tube, in the supermarket, and the overarching finding and feeling is one of……”It’s your fault”.
It seems that tough times indefinitely make a large proportion of society miserable, and rightly so. Money is being spread far thinner than before, regardless of the dip in interest rates and mortgages. Fear seems to be etched on people’s faces. Fear about the security of their jobs, fear about paying the rent, fear of being alone, fear of letting the kids play with others .Fear, fear, fear. This fear confines people: binds them into a routine they don’t really want, but feel powerless to escape. The treadmill of life has to go on!
On the other hand you get others who feel on top of the world, they are working this difficult market well and reaping the rewards. You can generally spot them by their condescending look, arrogant attitude and “cock of the hill” disposition. We have all seen them: they think the train carriage is their domain and stand legs as wide apart as possible or hands on hip surveying the area. They see every business opportunity as a chance to be the “winner”, the one in pure control – little knowing that every person engaging in any business transaction wants equal levels of power and equal ability to leave feeling empowered. You can imagine them consistently believing that everything they are, do and touch is clearly given the Midas touch. When the proverbial hits the fan, you know without a shadow of a doubt – taking responsibility for it won’t be their style. They will be looking for a chump to blame and “scapegoat” them out of a sticky situation. These are the “infallibles” who when the going does get tough – bail out. The ones who fail to see that every little action, every discrepancy is not a failure but one step close to growing as a citizen, a parent, an employee, a boss.
Let’s start seeing the good today! We will get peaks and troughs in business, life and just in general. That homeless person on the street could be any one of us. That struggling salesperson with revenues to make people weep could so easily be me or you. The business that has just made shed loads of losses and is on the brink of administration could again be your company or your employer. That marriage that breaks down under irreconcilable differences could be mine or indeed yours too. Gloating, glorying and revelling in our own strengths can be stripped so easily with one slight shift in fortune.
Empathy is vital in these challenging times, try not to tell, but to listen and feel. Help people understand your viewpoint, educate don’t demean.
No one person encapsulates perfection. We all have flaws so let’s look internally and make ourselves better bodies to inhabit so that we can live in a better society where we genuinely show care and concern for each other’s wellbeing.
Where have all the job seekers gone… a changing market!
As a market research recruiter it’s important to know what’s happening in the market with regards to candidates’ frame of mind, why people are moving or why they are staying within their existing companies. This is an ever changing dynamic and I think has changed and evolved in the weirdest way at the moment. You’d think that in a down turn there would be more people looking for more jobs! However as things move towards the end of the summer the pattern has occurred that researchers and insights people have been snapped up quickly by many of the quietly confident companies earlier in the year. The other end of the spectrum being that most of those inspiring and change-making insights people are riding the wave in their existing companies …
