When discussing the biggest drivers of change in the digital age over the last decade, it can be said that the influence that social media holds in this regard is almost unparalleled. Not only has it transformed how we communicate, work, network and collaborate but it has been directly responsible for so many success stories – both on a personal and corporate level, with social proof now being a key (and highly coveted) attribute in brand (and reputation) building, and directly responsible for ‘lead’ generation and growth.

Social media in general is now integral to businesses’ understanding of their market’s behaviour (and that of their customers/clients) and consequently their own value as a business. Many companies today are well aware of its influence, and that these channels of communication are often the first place prospective customers can find them to get a sense of whether they are the right company to work with – as well as future employees.

Where Does It Fit In Your Hiring Strategy?

As far as hiring is concerned, it has now become an indispensable tool, given the potential scale of its reach, as well as the accessibility and cost-efficacy it offers compared to other traditional marketing means. With over 80% of jobseekers known to use social media in their job search and 73% of millennials (18-34 age group) having acquired their last position through a social media platform, its role in recruitment is only set to grow in the coming years, making the need to understand how best to leverage its value even more of an imperative.

As such, we have outlined in this blog how you can utilise it to bolster your brand and business impact and highlight your company to candidates as the employer of choice.

Picking Your Channels

A big part of effective marketing of your business on social media involves deciding what channels are best suited to support and further bolster your efforts. Not all channels will work to this end, and if not selectively picked, you could find yourself speaking into the void, with little understanding or clarity about whether or not your target market has a presence there, or whether it’s a good fit for certain demographics over others.

LinkedIn remains the clear choice for any business looking to expand their reach and give their content maximum visibility to establish their brand as thought leaders and experts in their field – but also as an employer of choice that celebrates the success of their people, and champions individuals.

Facebook is also a worthwhile investment reach-wise, particularly for building local organic brand awareness and community engagement.

Instagram meanwhile offers a real opportunity for businesses to showcase their company culture, and show rather than tell the personality behind the professionals.

X (‘formerly Twitter) works best for more real-time commentary and trend-oriented discussions, as well as quick updates.

TikTok may not be the first channel that springs to mind when it comes to a recruitment focus – but there is no denying that it is a formidable force with global reach and attention, particularly amongst the younger demographics such as Gen Z who will soon become the dominant workforce cohort within the next year or so. Employee-led content could be utilised here if you have brand advocates, as well as being able to bring the working environment and culture to life.

Whatever channel you decide to utilise, it’s crucial that you ensure it facilitates and supports the growth of your business, as a social media strategy done right offers an immense opportunity to not only influence the conversation amongst your target audience but gain a significant advantage over competitors and earmark your company as trustworthy experts.

Using Multi-Media to Build a Robust Content Plan

LinkedIn is a natural vehicle to build your profile – your company page is easy to follow and allows you to share the level of clients you work with and your company culture but your employees’ profiles are an even greater channel of communication for your company’s brand – as the platform itself favours individual and user generated form of content, particularly those that aim to establish thought leadership among their audience.

Building a robust content plan that incorporates multimedia elements such as videos, photographs, podcasts, and compelling content is instrumental in conveying the essence of your business and creating a compelling narrative that resonates with candidates – these can be huge convincers of what it could be like to join your company; therefore, communicating consistently is key.

Showcasing your company’s achievements, CSR activities, and the personalities behind your team through engaging multimedia content can significantly influence talent’s perception of your business and attract top candidates looking for a collaborative and supportive work environment.

Authentic Employer Branding

Sharing authentic and relatable content about your company culture, values, and employee experiences can provide potential candidates with a genuine understanding of what it’s like to work at your company. This could include employee testimonials, “day in the life” features, and insights into your company’s mission and vision. Highlighting real stories can help build trust and connection with your audience, ultimately attracting talent who resonate with your company’s ethos and shared values.

There are several ways in which this can be brought to life too. A robust content plan that incorporates multimedia elements such as videos, photographs, reels/stories etc can all play their part in conveying the essence of your company and creating a compelling narrative that resonates with candidates.

Engaging Content Strategy

Beyond traditional job postings, a compelling content strategy can include a mix of industry insights, thought leadership articles, and behind-the-scenes looks at your company. By sharing valuable content that goes beyond recruitment pitches, you can position your company as an industry leader and an attractive place to work. This approach not only engages potential candidates but also reinforces the expertise of those who work there (‘future colleagues’) as well as the wider culture and demonstrable ways of highlighting you are on the pulse of the latest topics across the sector.

Interactivity and Engagement – Not Just Broadcasting

Incorporating interactive elements such as polls, quizzes, and Q&A sessions into your social media strategy can foster engagement and dialogue around your employer brand – although this will need a little more thought and resources than posting/broadcasting your content out to your network.

Interactive content encourages participation and can create a sense of community among your target market. This engagement can attract individuals who are not only interested in potential job opportunities but also align with your company’s values and culture – and can get involved in discussions that interest them (and also position your brand as being at the forefront of such topics).

Spotlighting Your Brand Advocates

Empowering your existing employees to be brand advocates on social media can significantly impact your employer branding efforts. Encourage them to share their work experiences, achievements, and industry-related content. Employee advocacy not only amplifies your employer brand to a wider audience but also provides an authentic and relatable perspective on your company, showcasing what it’s like to be a part of the team.

A varied multi-media approach is key here, and cross-channel marketing can also be extremely effective in bringing this to life.

Utilise Targeted Advertising

Leveraging social media advertising allows you to target specific demographics and skill sets – although will come at a cost, albeit one that can be controlled in line with budgets and outcomes. Tailoring your content to resonate with the talent you want to attract can significantly enhance your recruitment efforts. By using targeted advertising, you can reach potential candidates who align with your company’s values and requirements, as well as basic information including location (if you are offering office-based roles) as well as job titles, level of seniority, experience etc.

A Golden Opportunity or Added Complexity?

Social media presents an unparalleled opportunity for businesses to showcase their Employer Value Proposition, engage with talent, and shape a compelling employer brand.

As the number of social media users continues to soar, with platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and TikTok boasting billions of active users, the potential to connect with and engage candidates through these channels has never been greater.

One caveat with this rising phenomenon, however, is the added layer of complexity it adds to the recruitment side of things, as it now becomes an imperative for a business to factor it into their hiring practices and when it comes to navigating and understanding the evolving demands of talent attraction and retention in the sector, it can become even more challenging.

Knowing When to Call in the Experts

While these strategies are effective in enhancing your employer branding and attracting talent, partnering with a recruitment specialist can further augment your efforts. A recruitment specialist can offer valuable insights, industry expertise, and a network of potential candidates, streamlining the process of finding the right talent for your business.

Their understanding of the market and access to passive candidates can provide a competitive advantage in securing top-tier talent that aligns with your company’s culture and requirements – and those who have been operating for some time will almost certainly already have an engaged network of professionals on their own social channels who know, like, and trust them – and utilise their services when it comes to finding a new role in the market.

By combining these modern recruitment strategies with the expertise of a recruitment specialist, you can maximise your chances of attracting and retaining the talent you need to drive your organisation forward.

About Clayton Recruitment

Clayton Recruitment has been partnering with organisations across the country since 1989, and during that time has built up an excellent reputation for trust and reliability.

With specialist divisions covering Commercial, Financial, and Engineering appointments, on a permanent basis.

Whether you are looking for your next career move, or your next hire as a business owner of HR professional – we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121.

In today’s competitive landscape – where every aspiring professional’s aim is to stand out and prove as convincing as possible to current or prospective employers, understanding your strengths, weaknesses, and unique qualities is fundamental to individual success – whether you are looking at continued success and promotions in your current role, or are indeed starting to think about new opportunities in the market.

For the latter, merely recognising these attributes isn’t enough; it’s about strategically leveraging them to enhance your professional profile and effectively communicate your value proposition to potential employers. In today’s evolving job market, cultivating a compelling personal brand is indispensable for professionals at any career stage. It serves as a powerful tool, not only in opening doors of opportunity but also in signalling a robust self-awareness, expertise, and dedication. A well-crafted personal brand doesn’t just highlight your potential for success; it embodies it, making you a natural choice for career advancement and recognition within your niche.

As accurately put by company Brand Credential, a cultivated and well-honed personal brand is needed to stand out in ‘the sea of competitors – in order to give you a competitive leg-up, particularly when it comes to client acquisition, business development, and influencing stakeholders. Put simply, it can help to elevate your professional standing, gain trust and build a positive reputation within your company and wider network, a feat that will almost certainly serve you well in your longer-term career ambitions.

With this in mind, we’ve outlined the key strategies you need to be implementing when looking to build a successful personal brand as a professional.

Smarten Up Your Online Presence

Nothing diminishes professional influence as much as an unprofessional online presence and anyone aiming to be taken seriously must first prove that they are deserving of such respect – whether that be on a professional platform or otherwise. Hence, due diligence must be conducted to ensure your digital footprint is tidy. Any rowdy Facebook pictures or LinkedIn interactions must be managed – either by being exceedingly careful with your what kind of content you decide to engage with, careful management of your privacy settings, using an anonymous profile name or getting rid of certain social channels altogether.

It can also be useful to conduct an audit of your online presence through a quick Google search of yourself to find out if any damage control needs to be done on anything that could be viewed as unprofessional by senior leaders at your company.

Replace any unsuitable pictures with well-taken, professional headshots and update your LinkedIn profile, so that it accurately reflects your values and ambitions, and portrays exactly what you would want those in your network thinking about you. LinkedIn has evolved in more recent years, but is arguably still the channel where professionals converse, collaborate, and network – plus it can also be seen as your online CV. So, finding time to make sure it is on point is well-spent.  You could also join any relevant online groups or forums that might prove beneficial career-wise. If you have quite a bit to say about your professional credibility, you can let your achievements and personal interests do the talking for you on an online portfolio.

Make Time To Network

Spend as much time as you can networking with fellow competent and respected professionals in your field; the more connections you build with relevant people in your field, the more your reputation will grow. If you feel you lack the confidence to reach out, know you’re not alone – a lack of confidence when networking – whether face-to-face or virtually – is common – whatever profession you are in, but it is certainly a skill worth honing as the benefits far outweigh the perceived risk that any initial feeling of awkwardness or anxiety might project. Being as visible as possible in situations where you are surrounded by individuals equally passionate about something that resonates with you on a personal level or are leaders in your area of expertise, will significantly strengthen the potency of your personal brand and others’ perception of you – so do take advantage of such opportunities that come your way.

Find Your Voice

Whilst it may very much depend on your employer as to how comfortable they are with you posting on social media, utilising your knowledge and expertise in your fiwls to create valuable, consistent content will go a step further in cementing your reputation and establishing a strong sense of thought-leadership in your brand. You may choose to do this in the form of a blog, a regular LinkedIn newsletter, or simply be an active ‘voice’ in online discussions around topics that interest you – in a professional sense of course (It goes without saying that you want to be mindful of jumping into any particularly controversial topics).

Digital agency owner, Lara Acosta, writing recently for Forbes talks candidly about the various strategies she employed to grow an engaged following of 55k individuals on LinkedIn, stating that contrary to popular belief, it is not synonymous with ‘oversharing’. Rather, it involves looking at the six main components of content marketing: inspire, entertain, educate, promote, empower and validate – and choose to stick to one or several of those. This aspect of personal branding is very much focused on the relationship-building element; being ‘seen’, adding value, and then being discovered by association – to provide tangible benefit to your professional development or your firm’s growth plans for its business.

Increase Your Value Through Continued Education

One of the most important things to bear in mind regarding your personal brand is its continual growth. As various industries undergo a constant evolution propelled by new technologies and emerging trends, it is becoming increasingly incumbent on professionals to proactively anticipate and adapt to these shifts to distinguish themselves in the profession.

A continued commitment to education and staying abreast of current trends will ensure your personal brand maintains its relevance, no matter what direction the wind blows. This may involve honing soft skills like teamwork and communication, as well as periodically evaluating the currency of your technical expertise.

A helpful approach to staying on course is to periodically compare your CV with job listings relevant to your interests. This allows you to observe any evolving requirements within those specifications. For example, some businesses now look for professionals with specialised knowledge and a keen understanding of their clients’ businesses. An employee (or potential candidate) who is always on the lookout for and actively participates in activities that build networks and networking skills, will add significant value to their professional profile compared to those who show little interest in doing so.

Ask Where You Need Development

Sometimes, there might be a behaviour or skill gap you exhibit that is barring your way to promotion, and yet you may not even be aware of it. For example, you might be skilled in winning a lot of clients for your company but find yourself lacking the essential interpersonal skills necessary to effectively interview, advise or negotiate with said clients or other professionals to secure agreed objectives.

It’s also possible that the management in the business may be oblivious to your aspirations for promotion simply because you haven’t communicated it to them. Therefore you are better off being as clear about it as soon as possible, and so when the opportunity presents itself (perhaps at your next performance review) – take some time to discuss your goals and ambitions with them, bearing in mind that you make sure you ask what they believe you could work on to achieve your goals. Embrace all feedback – no matter how uncomfortable – and then begin outlining a step-by-step plan to make any necessary changes. In doing this, your manager will be very clear on your ambitions and will be able to advise on the steps necessary to help you get closer to your stated goals.

Building Trust: Harnessing Social Proof

Leveraging social proof and testimonials is crucial for establishing credibility and trust within your industry – whether that’s from clients you have worked with, or colleagues and managers that can sing your praises. By actively collecting testimonials, endorsements, and reviews from satisfied clients, colleagues, and industry peers, you can demonstrate the value and quality of your work. Plus, showcasing social proof of your expertise and accomplishments through case studies, success stories, awards, certifications, and media mentions further solidifies your reputation as a trusted authority in your field. These testimonials and examples of your achievements serve as powerful validation of your skills and capabilities, helping to attract new clients, opportunities, and partnerships while reinforcing your personal brand’s credibility. LinkedIn makes it easy to request endorsements, as well as display these on your personal profile.

The potential that lies in a well-built personal brand is immense and the only limits to it are really your own imagination and willingness to grow. We hope these strategies have given you some food for thought and perhaps set you on the right path toward achieving your career goals.

About Clayton Recruitment

Clayton Recruitment has been partnering with organisations across the country since 1989 and during that time has built up an excellent reputation for trust and reliability.

With specialist divisions covering Commercial, Financial, and Engineering appointments, on a permanent basis.

If you are building your existing team or looking for your next career move, we can help. And, if you are currently employed, you can be assured of complete confidentiality, professionalism, and honesty throughout the process – as standard.

Click here to speak to one of our experienced specialists or call 01772 259121 for more information on how our exceptional recruitment experience can help your career aspirations.

Building an exceptional workforce goes beyond simply recruiting the right individuals for the job. It involves creating a comprehensive onboarding plan that integrates new employees into the organisation’s culture and equips them with the tools for long-term success. 

What’s more, it doesn’t just facilitate success at the initial integration stage – it involves incorporating mechanisms that enable employees to not only thrive but also continually evolve and excel throughout their tenure within the organisation. An effective plan of action empowers employers and managers to utilise the onboarding process as a strategic tool to not only assimilate new hires but also to enrich and fortify the company culture, motivate and inspire teams, and significantly bolster staff retention.

So, what exactly should your onboarding strategy entail? Here’s what you need to know about building a robust plan.

Employee Orientation vs. Employee Onboarding

Employee orientation and onboarding are distinct processes that play crucial roles in integrating new employees into the organisation. Employee orientation is typically a one-time event focused on familiarising new hires with the company’s policies, practices, and facilities. During this process, human resources personnel and partners formerly introduce employees to both the physical and hierarchal layout of their work environment.

On the other hand, employee onboarding is a more extensive process that spans the employee’s entire journey, from their initial introduction to their full integration and productivity within the organisation. When done right, effective onboarding not only accelerates the integration of new hires but also contributes to building a strong employer brand, fostering employee engagement, and ultimately leading to a more productive and cohesive team.

How to Design an Onboarding Plan

Research has consistently shown that a well-structured onboarding process significantly impacts employee satisfaction, retention, and overall team success – with a strong onboarding process said to bolster hire retention by 92% and productivity by over 70%.

While there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy for onboarding, there are some steps you can use to improve your chances of the right results for your team.

1.    Decide on an Optimal Onboarding Strategy

First, it’s worth considering how you’re going to deliver your onboarding experience to new hires. Traditionally, onboarding takes place within the office, consisting of regular face-to-face meetings, training opportunities, and induction processes. Since the shift to hybrid and remote work, 1 in 4 UK workers now work a hybrid work week (as of 2023), making efforts to both understand and cater to the preferences and needs of hires and employees vital to not just retention but general employee wellbeing.

As such, the trick in designing a flexible but successful onboarding plan lies in figuring out where to incorporate virtual elements, and what aspects require face-to-face interaction. This is best informed by the input of the new hires themselves, as they are best placed to offer pointers on what makes for the best onboarding experience.

2.    Assign Each Staff Member an Onboarding Buddy

Because onboarding is a long-term development strategy for each employee, it requires as much of a social support system as a professional one, primarily in the form of someone to turn to for any questions, advice or company, especially considering the learning curve of a new hire is rarely linear.

Although seemingly insignificant, an onboarding buddy can prove key in integrating a new employee, as they can often be the difference between a rocky and frustrating start and a much smoother onboarding experience.

Regular communication should therefore be encouraged between the new hire and their onboarding buddy, in order to build an authentic, transparent relationship – this will be the bedrock on which any further dynamic between the two will be built. Some companies use informal coffee chats and video calls between staff members and their “mentors” to help further integrate new hires into the company culture and track their progress – the onus is on you to make whatever changes are most practical to foster a healthy relationship.

3.    Prioritise Regular, Transparent Communication

Establishing a culture of open communication from the outset is essential for fostering a supportive and inclusive work environment. Team members should be able to feel like they have a voice, and can contribute to their own development by suggesting areas where they feel they need to improve, or requesting training opportunities where necessary. They should also feel comfortable opening up about any struggles with workload, burnout or a sense of disconnect felt with the team or company goals.

Regular one-on-one meetings between employees and their managers provide a platform for such discourse and enable both parties to productively discuss progress, address challenges, and identify opportunities for growth and development. It is vital that each employee knows how their performance will be evaluated, and what kind of qualities they need to demonstrate in their day-to-day work.

4.    Set and Regularly Update Goals

In light of the fact that up to 33% of employees leave within their first 6 months with a new company and that 86% of respondents in a survey last year expressed willingness to switch jobs despite potential damage to their CV and reputation, it has become increasingly imperative for partners to be exceptionally attuned to the engagement and satisfaction levels of their staff members, especially in the wake of the effects of the Great Resignation.

This necessitates providing each team member with a clear and compelling vision of their future within the business and actively supporting them in setting and achieving their career goals. Regular one-on-one meetings with line managers should serve as a platform for encouraging employees to candidly discuss their strengths, areas for development, and aspirations, thereby fostering an environment of open dialogue and personal growth.

As an employee’s role within the company evolves, the individuals or teams responsible for their onboarding should collaborate with them to expand and refine their goals to ensure that they consistently perceive themselves as progressing in a meaningful and purposeful direction. This proactive approach not only cultivates a sense of alignment and purpose among the staff but also reinforces their commitment to the business’s long-term success.

5.   Focus on Employee Development From the Get-Go

Creating a plan for employee development as part of your general onboarding strategy will ensure you can retain your top talent for longer, and achieve the best results from every member of your team.

Having clear communication and documentation around career paths, professional development, and objectives around progression demonstrates to new professionals that there is investment in the long term. The regular meetings with your new starters should also touch upon their professional development – where they are currently on that career path, as well as their future aspirations and goals.

In Conclusion

Hiring a new individual is a huge investment of time, money and internal resources so it’s imperative to ensure that once that individual joins your company, their onboarding process is designed and focused on their long-term career (and not solely focused on the inevitable HR administration and initial IT setup!).

Of course, the success and retention of your new hire starts with ensuring that all important ‘fit’ from the outset. Using the services of a recruitment specialist can help here as they have the time and resources to ensure a deeper understanding of not only your challenges and objectives as a hirer, but the career aspirations and goals of the professionals they help as well. What’s more, many recruiters offer alternative services such as ‘retained search’ which may include elements such as psychometric testing, video profiling and virtual interviews which are all focused on that ‘fit’ giving you a head start on your onboarding process, and ensuring that individual is in it for the long run.

About Clayton Recruitment

Clayton Recruitment has been partnering with organisations across the country since 1989 and during that time has built up an excellent reputation for trust and reliability.

With specialist divisions covering Commercial, Financial, and Engineering appointments, on a permanent basis.

Click here to speak to one of our experienced specialists or call 01772 259121 for more information on how our exceptional recruitment experience can help you hire talent for your team.

With the first month of the new year now in the bag, it is highly probable that those ‘New Year’ resolutions set at the back end of 2023 have already been broken – at least those set on a personal level where exercise or the quitting of bad habits are usually top of those lists.

In this regard, it is estimated that as many as 80% of people fail to keep their resolutions by February, with only a mere 8% seeing them through for the entirety of the year.

A 4000-year Old Tradition

The act of setting goals at the start of a new calendar year is reported to date back to Ancient Babylonians some 4000 years ago where ‘debts were promised to be paid to gods and borrowed objects returned’. And, whilst the new year promises were deeply entwined with religion and mythology, the premise of a ‘new beginning’ is one that has carried through for many thousands of years.

While resolutions are often associated with personal goals, they hold equal importance when it comes to business – especially around setting annual objectives and reflecting on the overall strategy in an ever-changing environment where continual review of the road ahead is crucial.

Most businesses will review their new year plans in quarter four when typically, there is enough information to reflect back on metrics and KPIs for the current year, assess whether or not objectives will be hit, and allow some wiggle room to re-calibrate and focus on ending the year on a high.

Objectives or ‘new year resolutions’ therefore have likely long been set at this juncture – and for those businesses set on a growth trajectory, these will likely include executing hiring plans as well as a laser-sharp focus on staff retention.

Are Your Business Resolutions Still on Track?

At the stroke of midnight on 1^st January, and the subsequent return to the office after the festive break, business across most sectors will no doubt have set their sights kickstarting the 2024 objectives with intent. However, as the first quarter unfolds, it appears that some may be encountering obstacles in adhering to their hiring-focused resolutions.

Even one calendar month down the line, and then as the year progresses, it’s essential for businesses to reassess their hiring objectives, adapt to unforeseen challenges, and remain committed to the path of growth – especially when you consider a recent statistic that 75% of UK businesses are in a state of ‘existence’ or just surviving.

So what areas should companies be focussed on to ensure their well-intentioned goals remain on track?

Streamline (and Standardise) Your Hiring Process:

The aspiration to streamline hiring processes and avoid past mistakes holds promise, but the intricate decision-making within some companies can pose challenges. If you recruit regularly, it is worth looking to standardise processes where possible, albeit not at the detriment to the often-unique experiences of each individual candidate that comes into contact with the business. An ethical approach to recruitment is recommended here – and is becoming a non-negotiable in the current candidate-led market.

Enhance Diversity Efforts:

Despite the emphasis on diversity and inclusion, some businesses may struggle to make significant progress due to ingrained practices and a lack of comprehensive strategies. Overcoming unconscious biases and fostering an inclusive environment requires continuous effort, which may not be progressing as rapidly as intended. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are not just buzzwords or an acronym to add to your customer-facing marketing; they are essential components of a successful business strategy of any business that aims to remain competitive. As the glue that keeps social dynamics within a business and in turn, team competence and efficacy functioning at its highest capacity, it is indispensable to your hiring strategy, whatever your recruitment goals or objectives may be, and when done right, it can be instrumental in keeping your talent attraction and retention efforts on track.

It is perhaps concerning then, that businesses are yet to treat it as more than an emerging trend in practice, and some go only as far as paying lip service when professing to make it a central part of their recruitment efforts. If you’re serious about taking your hiring game to the next level in 2024, then this is a great place to start.

Revisit Your Job Descriptions:

Job descriptions may be overlooked as daily tasks take precedence. Busy schedules can result in insufficient attention to crafting comprehensive and appealing job descriptions, making it difficult to attract top-tier talent.

However, as the hiring landscape evolves, active candidates still rely on engaging, informative, and powerful job descriptions to assess whether or not they are a fit for their career aspirations and professional development. The best job descriptions go beyond skill requirements, offering a glimpse into company culture and showcasing benefits that matter to the market’s top talent.

As companies forge ahead with hiring initiatives, the importance of making your voice shine amidst the noise becomes increasingly important. If you want to turn the heads of the right people from the get-go and avoid a ‘square peg in a round hole’ scenario with regard to your hiring efforts, then your job descriptions must be compelling, engaging and effective enough to attract the market’s top talent. Find out more about how to craft a winning job description here.

Harness the Potential of Social Media:

Depending on your sector or industry, some may find it challenging to fully embrace the power of social media. The time and resources required for maintaining an active and engaging social media presence can be overwhelming for companies, leading to a lapse in this resolution, however, love it or loathe it – the fact remains that jobseekers will research the whole digital footprint of a business as part of their decision-making process.

If you have the core channels set up and active, it’s always worth a holistic review of things like your bio information, and your wider content strategy. What kind of things do you communicate? Do you share information that gives visitors to those platforms a good idea of your working environment and culture? Is it obvious how you celebrate success? Can you utilise the voice of your existing employees to focus on things like career development?  A social media strategy is usually easy to flex and improve as and when you need to, so if that review wasn’t part of your new-year resolution, it’s always worth finding the time to conduct your due-diligence and ensure that your channels are working as hard as they can to put your best foot forward to those in the active talent pools.

Invest in Training and Upskilling:

Despite recognising the importance of investing in staff development, businesses may face budget constraints or a lack of suitable training programs. This can hinder the execution of the resolution to upskill existing staff – something that will no doubt be on the agendas of businesses up and down the country as the much-documented skills shortage becomes a harsh reality.

Similarly, what jobseekers look for in an employer has changed significantly since the pandemic and the value of career fulfillment has become a staple part of the modern employee’s priorities when searching for the ideal employer.

The notion of the one-employer-career has changed dramatically in recent years, and it’s not at all uncommon for individuals to be left with a lingering sense of stagnation after spending a few years building their skills in their current role, and consequently view the option of jumping ship as the only way to experience real progress in their career.

The resulting high turnover rate is what has brought the idea of Employee Development Plans into focus for businesses, with an aim to ensure ongoing employability through improving the individual’s workplace soft and hard skills, and industry knowledge. A good plan will strive to create a series of actions designed to help the individual develop and grow within the context of their professional career, while also developing their capabilities and meeting the needs of the employer.

Build and Maintain Brand Image:

Building and maintaining a strong brand image demands consistent effort and resources. Companies may find it challenging to allocate sufficient time and funds to enhance their brand, especially when immediate client needs take precedence.

Candidates believe in what they can see now more than ever, and in an age where information is easily accessible online, maintaining a strong brand and a good reputation is essential for attracting and retaining top talent. Prospective candidates will research a business as much as the hiring manager of that business will investigate the candidates’ qualifications and qualities – and should your credibility fall short as an employer you can be filtered out of shortlists before a CV or profile is even read.

A proactive approach is therefore essential in order to positively influence one’s brand and reputation in the market, whether that be by building a workforce that acts as ambassadors that champion the business values, or convincingly demonstrating that your business does indeed walk the walk when it comes to employee satisfaction. Click here to find out more about how you can tap into the potential your employer brand carries and catalyse its growth.

Consider How Flexible You Can Afford to Be:

One might say that the hybrid working drum has been beaten to death ever since its meteoric rise in popularity among candidates during the pandemic. It’s hardly a secret to anyone keeping a close eye on the state of play across the industry over the last few years, and most if not all businesses competing for the best talent available on the market will be well aware of just how highly sought after flexibility is by the talent pool in their current market.

And yet, this topic of flexibility remains a sticking point with some employers today, and as a result a barrier to rather than a buttress for hiring success. While that is in part due to expected challenges in marrying candidate and business demands, it is also due to the general rigidity some employers now have towards changes to traditional modus operandi in general. When competition for talent is fiercer than ever before, can your business afford to be flexible when it comes to working arrangements?

Ultimately, the crux of your success in your hiring efforts will come down to how well you can provide the best employee experience better than your competitors (and back it up). If it is indeed a viable option for your business then it should absolutely be part of your recruitment – and retention – strategy.  We take a deeper look at this and much more here.

In Conclusion:

With almost 11 months left of the year, arguably it is still all to play for when it comes to adherence to your annual business objectives. If however, the roadmap to growth has already hit some bumps in the road, especially when it comes to talent attraction, utilising the services of recruitment specialists will undoubtedly get those plans back on track with renewed insight about current market conditions and the movement of talent within your region and/or practice area.

About Clayton Recruitment

At Clayton Recruitment, we have been committed for the past 20 plus years to helping professionals build a career they can be proud of, whatever stage of their journey they might be at. If you are at a point where that next step in your career is unclear at this stage of the new year, then we can give you the guidance you need to make your start in 2024 the strongest possible one. Give our team a call today on 01772 259 121 or contact us here.

When was the last time you sat down and reviewed to what extent you are meeting your career objectives?

And I don’t mean your annual review with your line manager; I’m talking about your deeply personal career goals and intentions.

Wherever you are in your career journey, it is a good idea to periodically analyse your current position in light of where you aim to be. When you dig a little deeper, is everything working out as you expected? Or do you need to make some changes in order to stay on track to meeting your goals?

To help you measure if your career is progressing as you envisaged when you started out, we have created the following checklist to provide you with a snapshot of where you stand at present career-wise and whether you’re on the right track.

When you work through this checklist, it is essential to bear in mind the reasons you are where you are in the first place.

What did you set out to achieve in your career – and what does doing so look like up to this point? Did you plan on meeting certain financial goals by this stage of your career or have your ambitions been driven by more personal goals?

An equally important point to consider is what you value most about the company you work for. Do your values fit in with what the company’s culture prioritises? Is there a synergy present in your working relationships with your colleagues and managers?

If you find that your current role or employer is not providing the satisfaction you had hoped it would, or that the pace of your progress has gradually petered out, then it could be a sign that some important decisions need to be made regarding your career sooner rather than later.

Read each statement below and decide on how much you agree, using the following scale –

1 – Strongly disagree

2 – Disagree

3 – Neutral

4 – Agree

5 – Strongly agree

So, let’s get started!

Career Checklist

1. I am progressing the way I want in my career.
2. I have achieved some of my career goals, and others are within reach.
3. I enjoy my work and look forward to going in each day.
4. The people I work with are very supportive and friendly.
5. I feel like a valued member of the team I work within.
6. My manager gives me the right balance between support/guidance and working under my initiative.
7. I feel I make a difference within the company I work for, rather than just being a number.
8. The company I work for really invests in supporting me to achieve my goals.
9. I can see a clear progression path within my current company.
10. I am happy with the level of training and personal development offered by my current employer.
11. The company I work for believes in me and trusts me to do my job well.
12. I feel that my company enables and supports my focus.
13. I am recognised and rewarded for my work.
14. The sector I work in really interests me.
15. I am happy with the location of and commute to my place of work.
16. I feel my company offer a fair and competitive commission structure (if applicable).
17. The monetary remuneration I receive has enabled me to achieve goals in my personal life (i.e. buy a house, go on my dream holiday, etc.)
18. I feel I have the right work/life balance working for my current company.
19. I am happy with the way my working day is structured.
20. I can see myself staying with this company for a long time.

What Did You Score?

Tally up what you scored and take a look below at some of the points you may want to consider when thinking about how you want your career to progress in the future:

20-40

Alarm Bells!

Things aren’t going to plan, and you are probably not enjoying life in your current role. We suggest taking some time to reflect on the possible reasons behind your dissatisfaction and what needs to change to have them resolved. This can be anything from your current workload and position within your team to your working environment and even your practice area.

41-60

Room for More

A better score, which suggests there are aspects of your job you enjoy but also a lot of room for improvement. For example, you might like the people you work with, but feel that there is a lack of support present within management to help you meet medium or long-term career goals. You will need to find out if there is any commitment on the part of the management team to implement changes, and assess how concrete said plans for change are. Speak with your manager and outline your concerns as well as what plans they have in this regard. Whatever the outcome of the conversation, you will have either gotten a clearer picture of what your future at the business looks like or a clear indication that your tenure there has run its course.

61-80

Meeting Some Goals

You’re neither happy nor unhappy, though you wouldn’t describe yourself as entirely satisfied. Meaning that if the right opportunity came your way, you would be weighing up your options. Whenever you feel this way it’s important to bear in mind that sometimes the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. If you’re leaning towards a move away from your employer, have a think of why this is your preferred option. What you want to be sure of is that there is no impulsivity driving your decision-making and that an exit is needed because of a bad career move, not a bad day at the office.

81+

Loving Life and Your Job

You are achieving your goals, meeting targets and enjoy life where you work. There may be elements of your work life that you feel could be better, but they aren’t big enough of a negative to make you consider working elsewhere. However, we suggest you don’t let complacency set in, as being in your comfort zone for a certain period of time can sometimes lead to that and prove counterproductive to your progress in the long run. If you find that despite being happy with where you are in your career, you haven’t taken any major steps forward in the last year or two, then a fresh challenge could be the jumpstarter you need.

Hopefully this checklist has prompted you to think harder about your career goals – and whether or not you are on track to achieve those with your current employer. If the final score however has intimated a change may be afoot, your next wise move is to call on the expertise of a recruitment specialist who can further challenge those thoughts; find out exactly what you are looking for from an employer and uncover the potential reasons you are ready to look at new opportunities in the market.

At Clayton Recruitment, we have been committed for the past 20 plus years to helping professionals build a career they can be proud of, whatever stage of their journey they might be at. If you are at a point where that next step in your career is unclear at this stage of the new year, then we can give you the guidance you need to make your start in 2024 the strongest possible one. Give our team a call today on 01772 259 121 or contact us here.

Following the pandemic businesses across the country have gradually started to find their feet, slowly but surely accepting and adapting to the multitude of changes the post-pandemic market has thrust on our shoulders. Employers have recognised and respected the change in status quo concerning the expectations set out in current client and employee demands and seem to be reworking their hiring strategies accordingly to keep up.

Last year however, wasn’t quite the year of progress many would’ve envisioned, and while it’s certainly true that finding the right talent in today’s market is rarely ever a straightforward task, many will agree that few years have brought more challenges when it came to both the recruitment AND retention of top talent.

The UK saw as many as 1 million vacancies go unfilled nationwide in these 12 months, and despite the sharp rise in the availability of candidates on the back end of the year (in part due to widespread concerns over job security), the hiring appetite across the country had notably reduced, with permanent staff appointments rapidly declining in Q4 and businesses hesitant to commit to new hires due to continued economic uncertainty. The candidates that did make the shortlists were either not considered adequate enough or lacked the necessary skills companies looked for in their hires, with an Xpert HR report revealing that poor quality applicants and a well-documented skills shortage were, according to surveyed employers, the biggest reasons for this difficulty in hiring.

From a retention perspective, it is very much a similar story, with 26% of respondents admitting they struggled to keep a hold of new hires, 44% saying they struggled to compete with competitors’ salary and benefits packages, and 58% of HR professionals saying they were offering more appealing pay and benefits to tackle this issue. Undoubtedly, this points to a clear shift in demands and priorities of younger professionals, in particular work-life balance and a greater sense of purpose in the work they do on a day-to-day basis.

For any business intent on growth this year, there is therefore no better time than now to put your recruitment process under the microscope and lay the groundwork needed for it be successful – particularly against a backdrop of continued economic uncertainty and a skills shortage still prevalent in the sector.

Recruitment can be, and often is, a laborious and multi-faceted process, but here are 7 steps to ensure you start on the right path this coming year >>>

1. A Focus on Flexibility

A direct and perhaps one of the biggest consequences of the widely reported skills shortage is the sudden shift of the industry towards a more digital tech-oriented manner of working and the incorporation of such tools into business practices – something that’s sure to change demand for certain skillsets in a variety of sectors. What is poignant about this fact however, is how it will actually emphasise the need for soft skills in the near future. With AI technology set to spearhead the streamlining of procedures and more work to be commoditised, what will be highly sought after by employers skills-wise is the ability to deal with human beings, and the qualities that best serve that purpose.

However, if some of the inflexibility found in businesses across the sector continues to persist, the search for talent of this calibre will only get harder. A paper published last year by Harvard Business School and Accenture revealed that a huge number of skilled hidden workers are shut out of employment simply due to the lack of flexibility present among employers today. Hiring companies risk being oblivious to the reservoir of talent right under their noses if they fail to adapt to the changing demands of today’s professionals.

It therefore serves your business far better to begin looking at how you can better serve the candidates you want working at your company. Whether this requires a sit-down with your recruitment team to discuss how such accommodations can be made and communicated throughout the hiring process or a talk with your management team to improve existing business practices to better support its employees, it is a must for any company seeking to remain attractive to prospective candidates.

2. Update Your Hiring Strategy with a Focus on Candidate Care

As you begin to rework your hiring and business practices with your candidates in mind, the central theme of empathy should be the thread that runs throughout your hiring process, as this is what virtually all job seekers are looking for at the end of the day.

Show your candidates you have their best interests in mind and are invested in delivering the right level of support at every stage of the application process, by implementing strategies for better candidate care. This could involve simplifying interview processes to enhance accessibility through the option of flexible interview locations or the use of screen readers during assessments. This could be especially ideal if you’re looking to hire remote and hybrid employees.

Remember to implement and establish channels of communication with your candidates throughout the hiring process too. Regular communication is key to a good candidate experience.

3. Refine Your Employer Brand

Your employer brand is what gives your company the edge over the competition in your search for talent. It’s how you ensure you appeal to candidates with what your business has to offer, whether that be an excellent salary and benefit options, a sense of purpose, shared values or great career development opportunities.

Despite its recognised importance in any successful hiring endeavour today, many companies still struggle to utilise it effectively to position themselves in front of their target audience. If you find yourself questioning the efficacy of your brand, then a good starting point will be to define what makes people actually want to work with you. Ask your team members what convinced them to continue with the company, and what they find most appealing about working there.

• Do you have a supportive leadership team?
• Does the company offer excellent opportunities for professional development and growth?
• Does it foster an employee-centric culture that eliminates many of the problems professionals encounter in the workplace, such as burnout?

Once you know what makes your business unique, the next step is to get it publicised as much as possible.

Don’t forget that existing employees can help here – particularly those that are engaged and are already good advocates for the business and brand.

By giving them a voice to provide prospective candidates with insights into the employee experience, you add much more credibility to your message and get the attention of the right individuals. Use testimonials, success stories and positive feedback to your advantage and make them known on social media as often as possible to expand your reach

4. Review Your Digital Footprint

Establishing a compelling employer brand is pivotal for attracting top talent, but its effectiveness hinges on strategic exposure to the right audience. A strong digital presence is essential for any business today. Presently, approximately 86% of job seekers incorporate social media into their job search, and prospective candidates frequently turn to the web for insights into a company’s culture through reviews.

Ensuring that your website provides an insider’s perspective on your business operations is crucial for the credibility and authenticity of your employer brand. Clearly articulate your values, mission statement, and vision to engage the interest of potential candidates while maintaining a consistent presence across the social channels frequented by your target candidates. Don’t forget to assess and update your appearance on job review boards too.

5. Spark the Interest You Want Through Your Job Descriptions

Your job descriptions are one of the first things potential candidates will examine when deciding whether they want to work with you. With this in mind, it’s important to ensure you’re conveying the right information. Don’t make the mistake of putting off potential hires by listing too many unnecessary or “preferred” skills.

Highlight only the characteristics and qualities you know you’re going to need most. At the same time, make sure you’re avoiding any language in your descriptions that may show unintentional bias towards a specific audience.

When writing your descriptions, don’t forget to showcase reasons why your candidates might want to work for you. Draw attention to your unique company culture, your salary package, and even the available training opportunities in place.

More help to ensure these turn the heads of the right people can be found here.

6. Bring in the Experts:

When it comes to attracting talent, undoubtedly the best tool you can possibly have in your arsenal is the services of an expert in the field – one that takes the time to understand your company’s business needs, and acts with your best interests at heart, while giving you the support you need at every step of the process. This is what makes the expertise of a specialist recruitment partner so invaluable for hirers as not only can they position your business in front of the right candidates – a task becoming increasingly harder by the day in today’s market – but they also work with you to build a talent pipeline and ensure your recruitment process remains efficient and effective even when not actively hiring. Amongst several other benefits that come with such partnerships, perhaps one of the most beneficial is that the longer you work with them, the better they can understand the needs of your business, and the better the fit and quality of candidates they can find for your company as a result.

At Clayton Recruitment, we work with businesses such as yours to make this a reality, no matter the staffing requirement asked of us, and are committed to adding real value to the businesses that partner with us for their hiring needs. Our team make it their mission to ensure you get nothing less than the support and the talent you need to make your recruitment endeavours successful – and are on hand to provide guidance throughout the process wherever necessary. If you are currently weighing up your options and feel that your hiring efforts could do with a little extra help from a recruitment expert then there is no better time than now to get in touch with our team for an informal chat about how we could help. Give us a ring on 01772 259 121 today or contact us here.

About Clayton Recruitment

Clayton Recruitment has been partnering with organisations across the country since 1989 and during that time has built up an excellent reputation for trust and reliability.

With specialist divisions covering Commercial, Financial, and Engineering appointments, on a permanent basis.

If you are building your existing team or looking for your next career move, we can help. And, if you are currently employed, you can be assured of complete confidentiality, professionalism, and honesty throughout the process – as standard.

Click here to speak to one of our experienced specialists or call 01772 259121 for more information on how our exceptional recruitment experience can help your career aspirations.

Find a job doing what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.

It’s a common adage, but what does it really mean to “love” your job? Do people who love their never wish they spent their days kicking their feet up at home instead of being in the thick of it at work? Are people who love their jobs less likely to procrastinate, get caught up in a daydream, or have the odd bad day at the office?

Not necessarily.

Every position, even the one you can only dream of attaining, comes with a few pesky tasks you’d probably rather avoid. Loving your job isn’t synonymous with always having an unwavering passion to spend more time in the office than at home.

It simply means that when you do work, you’re passionate about what you do, find it highly engaging, and are committed to giving your best in your position with your chosen employer.

As we approach the year’s end, many will be assessing their options to gauge how well their needs are being met on a personal and professional level and among these, will have their career satisfaction and development front of mind.

If you find yourself in a similar vein of thought, then now is a good time for a little introspection regarding where your heart is at. Here’s how you can figure out if your love and passion for what you do is still going strong or if it might be time to move on to new pastures.

1.    What Motivates You to Show Up?

If you do profess to love your job, then your biggest sources of motivation should transcend the monetary value it brings. Yes, money can certainly be a strong driver of performance, particularly in this line of work, but your first answer to the “why do I have this job” question shouldn’t be “it pays the bills”; if it is then something is amiss. If your motivations are primarily financial, then you’re working to check off tasks on a to-do list.

With this in mind, it’s worth looking at your biggest reasons for sticking with your current role. Do you share the same values and vision as the company? Does it give you a sense of purpose, and do you enjoy the challenges that your work brings you day-to-day?

If you find that you’re failing to derive much fulfilment or lack any non-monetary sources of motivation, then the biggest favour you can do for your career right now is to have an honest conversation, both with yourself and with a specialist recruiter about what steps you can take to realign your current position with your present ambitions. After all, endless alternatives exist for the right talented professional.

2.    Do you love the job but not the company?

When you look at yourself 3 to 5 years from now, what future do you envision for your career? Do you see yourself working with the same company, but further up the ladder in a position with a greater degree of responsibility? Does the thought of building your career there excite you? Or do you see your future taking your career in an entirely different direction?

If you find it difficult to see a clear path of progression with your present employer then it might be worth asking yourself if where you are now is really beneficial for your career, even if you do love what you do at present. What you don’t want is to find yourself 5 years from now in a position where the advice given in this piece rings true for your present situation. Sometimes, the best move for your career is a move away from your comfort zone.

3.    Does Your Company Love You Back?

Any good relationship is a two-way street. You can pour all your sweat, blood and tears into a role, but if this isn’t reciprocated by your employer, the relationship between both parties will quickly turn sour.

Ask yourself how you demonstrate your commitment to the company and also how (and if) your employer and the wider business support you in return. What kind of culture is the company building, and how does it contribute to facilitating individual success from a performance and inclusivity standpoint? How frequently do your managers or team leaders share feedback with you through recognition and reward? Do you find your hard work to often go unnoticed? If your company doesn’t make much of an effort to recognise its employees as valued members of the business, then there’s a good chance that your love for it will diminish over time.

4.    Is Your Company Invested in You?

If you’re deeply passionate about your role, chances are you dedicate a significant portion of your time and energy to your job. Perhaps you go the extra mile, ensuring that you deliver nothing less than the best on any project or case, and work to continuously add to your value as an asset. While your company’s growth and success are certainly reliant on your level of commitment, it is once again important to consider how much this is reciprocated. How invested is your employer in your own growth? Are there regular conversations about your plan for and goals in development in check-ins or reviews? Does your manager take a proactive approach to supporting you in meeting your objectives?

Do you have access to in-house resources and training to upskill?

Or are you regarded as the sole person responsible in your company for broadening your skillset? A company committed to nurturing the relationship between the business and its employees will consistently invest in its staff. Your engagement will eventually drop if or when you sense a lack of commitment from your company in this area.

Is the Love Still There?

Over time, your love for your role will either flourish or wilt depending on your day-to-day experience on the job; and if the company you work with is as invested and committed to helping you grow as you are to it, then the future is certainly bright for your career.

On the other hand, if you discover that over time, your love for your job begins to dwindle or aren’t sold on the prospect of building your career a growing with them, you can always look for other opportunities to find new love with a different employer.

If your general job satisfaction for either your current role and/or your employer isn’t as strong as it once was, now could be the perfect time to start getting back on the playing field.

Wherever you are in your career journey, it is a good idea to periodically analyse your current position depending on where you want to be. When you dig a little deeper, is everything on track and working out as you expected? Or do you need to make some changes in order to meet your goals?

To help you measure if your career is progressing as you envisaged when you started out, we have created an easy-to-follow checklist to provide you with a snapshot of whether you’re on the right track.

The back end of a calendar year may seem like a strange point in time to begin your job search – but those considering a New Year opportunity should take heed of the fact that many will be ‘on the market’ as it were in January – making the aforementioned playing field that bit more competitive. What’s more, the festive period is often a time when individuals will have that much more time to dedicate to CV updates and job applications.

So do get ahead of the curve and use these next few weeks wisely to reflect, review, and take action if needed.

About Clayton Recruitment

Clayton Recruitment has been partnering with organisations across the country since 1989 and during that time has built up an excellent reputation for trust and reliability.

With specialist divisions covering Commercial, Financial, and Engineering appointments, on a permanent basis.

Click here to speak to one of our experienced specialists or call 01772 259121 for more information on how our exceptional recruitment experience can help your career aspirations.

In a skills-short market, businesses across all sectors are looking more closely at their strategies for attracting and retaining their talent. And whilst a focus on employer branding has been a part of business DNA for a number of years (prevalent in the early 1990s and usually straddling both the marketing and HR functions), the last decade has seen a new phrase coined that takes the concept a step further.

The Employer Value Proposition (EVP) has become somewhat of a buzzword more recently – especially as businesses operate in an increasingly competitive and borderless world that is economically volatile.

Pioneer of employer branding research, Brett Minchington defined an EVP in 2005 as “a set of associations and offerings provided by  an organisation in return for the skills, capabilities, and experiences an employee brings to the organisation.”

In simple terms, it is the way that businesses differentiate themselves in their particular market allowing them to not only attract and recruit ‘right fit’ new employees but also impact the engagement and retention of existing staff members.

Why Your EVP Could Be Your MVP

While there seems to be more jargon and acronyms than ever – what is clear is that it is more important than ever for businesses to communicate the compelling reasons why future hires should choose to work with/ for them.

In the past, many businesses assumed the key to a successful EVP was simply offering their team the best salary and benefits. However, teams today are looking for more than just financial value in their careers.

As attitudes to the workplace have changed, so have priorities as professionals now have more opportunities than ever to consider where, how, and when they work.

Vacancies offering fully remote or hybrid contracts means that staff are no longer restricted by geography when assessing new opportunities in the market, and with the net cast wider – so too are the opportunities (and indeed, competition).

Fundamentally you need to communicate all the specific and unique benefits an employee can expect to receive when they join your business. These should seek, where possible, to differentiate yourself from competitors operating in the same region and/or practice area; describing (and making tangible) what the business stands for – vision, culture, and working environment.

According to Gartner, a leader in people management, an EVP can massively strengthen your position in the hiring landscape and improves your chances of retaining talent, decreasing annual employee turnover by just under 70%, whilst increasing ‘new hire commitment’ by nearly 30%.

The War For Talent Is Over. Talent Won.

The quote above by PwC’s US Chairman, Tim Ryan in October last year continues to do the rounds as the UK’s drought of talent is still felt across many industries and professional sectors. As highlighted in a recent article on Maddyness, UK unemployment rates remain at a historic low of 3.75%, and with vacancies still at heady heights (compared to pre-pandemic levels), there remains a disconnect between demand and supply.

Furthermore, those businesses that were proactive in securing talent by offering inflated salaries may no longer have this option against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, and squeezed budgets.

And whilst this may on the surface start to level the playing field between small and medium-sized companies who couldn’t compete on price, the challenge around standing out on the things that matter very much remains.

Creating a stand-out working culture and work environment, and offering staff a holistic package of perks and rewards is only the first step, however. Finding innovative, bold, and creative ways to communicate this externally (and through internal channels) is key – and should go beyond one-dimensional lists on websites and job descriptions.

Attracting The New Generation Of Talent

It is a well-publicised fact that Generation Z, the youngest generation to approach the working world, will soon surpass Millennials as the most populous generation on earth. By 2030, this group will make up 30% of the workforce, bringing new demands, expectations, and priorities for employers to consider.

Often raised by innovative millennials, Gen Z is the most diverse and educated age group in the professional world today. Born into a connected, digital, and empathetic world they spend approximately half of their waking hours interacting with technology. Shaped by an era of social feeds and internet culture, the slew of powerful social justice movements they’ve witnessed in recent years have given them a unique sensibility and a strong stance regarding ethical business practices and equity.

Generation Z undoubtedly has several valuable characteristics to bring to the workplace, yet their approach may cause certain challenges for business leaders as they aren’t motivated or moved by the same things as their millennial parents (we looked at some of these recently in our detailed guide on Motivating Gen Z Employees).

What has been already noted, however, is that this demographic cohort (known colloquially as ‘zoomers’) is emerging as the ‘sustainability generation’ – impacted massively by global events like the Pandemic which, according to Forbes, didn’t start the sustainability revolution necessarily, but certainly put it into overdrive (with Gen Z in the driver’s seat).

Attracting and retaining this generation will therefore need to focus on green and eco-credentials, and general CSR initiatives as part of a wider employment proposal that is demonstrably ethical, moral, and has a societal purpose. 

CSR & ESG – as easy as ABC?

Employer value propositions are evolving, due to shifting business priorities, working patterns, and employee values as well as external factors like the economy and political landscape. A focus on well-being and wellness initiatives, work-life balance, diversity, and inclusion are continuing themes setting value propositions apart across the professional landscape, alongside programmes and statements centred around Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

But with a new acronym on the block for businesses to get their heads around – ESG… it’s no wonder there is some confusion around where they should place their focus amidst this ‘alphabet soup’ of initiatives.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a business approach designed around making a social impact and focus beyond profits. It is designed (or should be) to benefit society and the local community as well as the environment for the collective good – and in turn will also, by proxy, enhance the company’s image, generate more business, and earn customer and employee loyalty.

It is generally split into 4 areas:

1. Environmental
2. Ethical
3. Philanthropic
4. Economic

All are aimed at providing benefits to both the general public as well as company shareholders and employees.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) isn’t quite the same – although according to a Harvard Law School study in 2021, both terms do appear interchangeable. Rather, this programme is more data driven, and increasingly  an act of corporate compliance; defined as ‘a set of standards measuring a business’s impact on society, the environment, and how transparent and accountable it is.’

In brief, the three areas or factors look at:

• Environmental – a business’ impact on the environment, such as carbon emissions, waste management, and resource usage.
• Social – a business’ impact on society, including issues such as labour practices, human rights, and engagement with the local community.
• Governance – a business’ management and oversight, such as board and management structure, executive compensation and remuneration, and shareholder rights.

ESG has become increasingly important for investors and businesses as stakeholders demand greater accountability and transparency on sustainability and ethical issues. The key difference therefore compared to CSR, is that it is viewed as the outcome (measured and reported on) of a business’ sustainability, whilst CSR focuses on their voluntary actions to improve its impact.

An even simpler comparison by Akepa:

• CSR: a general sustainability framework, mainly used by companies
• ESG: a measurable sustainability assessment, popular with investors

In Conclusion

As a Managing Director, Manager, or Hiring professional within a business, getting your head around the many acronyms and initiatives is the first hurdle in understanding the evolving values that current (and prospective) employees have when it comes to their employer.

Understanding what these shifting ideologies are is critical when it comes to retaining, engaging, and attracting talent  – although it is equally as important not to pay lip service or view things like your EVP as a box-ticking exercise.

What is clear, is that embracing CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) has become a necessity for businesses around the globe, not least because it remains high on the agenda of both Millennials and Gen Z employees who are ever critical of their employer’s ethical stance, reputation in the market, and values that they hope will mirror their own.

In a LinkedIn News article from earlier this year, it was reported that these demographic cohorts actively consider “conscious quitting” if the company doesn’t align with their values. It also highlighted research from KMPG which stated that 46% of employees want their employer to ‘demonstrate a commitment to environmental, social and governance’, with 1 in 5 turning down the offer of a new role if they felt a disconnect.

Clayton Recruitment’s Commitment

Of course, CSR, ESG, EVP, and any other business-related acronym are relevant to all businesses – ours included.

As a prominent Northwest employer that has been in business for nearly 25 years, we also recognise the importance of our own value proposition when it comes to our people and our community.

Our commitment to CSR can be seen here, where we detail our approach, programme, and statement of intent as we strive to become a socially responsible business, both internally and externally – making a positive impact on our people and workplace, our clients and suppliers, our local community, and our local and global environment.

The purpose of our programme is to sustain a business that is successful and respected in its ethical standing by our stakeholders. These include candidates, clients, investors, regulators, suppliers, and the wider community.

We are particularly passionate about supporting causes that have roots and impact here in the UK, and in the Northwest. One initiative that we have recently joined and committed to is Ecologi, a certified B-Corp social enterprise, and platform for Climate Action; helping individuals, families, and businesses become Climate Positive.

This market leader is certainly gaining traction and publicity, and we are delighted to join the other 40,000 members in taking simple, but impactful climate action. This year we have committed to fund the planting of trees in the UK for every placement we make and are also involved in the Beta trial to calculate our carbon footprint, and put plans in place to reduce our emissions.

You can see the impact of Ecologi’s work and their UK reforestation projects here.

In addition, Managing Director, Lynn Sedgwick and Performance and Development Director, Louise Kearns joined the Good Growth Programme in February this year, ran by Lancaster University and supported by Boost, Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub.

The 5-month Programme was underpinned by world-leading research produced by Lancaster University Management School and focused on business strategies that are centred around the environment, community, and social justice. It was a great chance to connect and collaborate with other SME leaders and contribute to solving local and global challenges.

About Clayton Recruitment

Clayton Recruitment has been partnering with organisations across the country since 1989, and during that time has built up an excellent reputation for trust and reliability.

With specialist divisions covering Commercial, Financial, Industrial, and Engineering appointments, on both a permanent and temporary basis. If you are looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

If you’ve just gotten that confirmation email or call from the hiring company offering you the job you’ve long been hoping to land, then chances are you’ll have already punched the air in triumph and let out a huge sigh of relief at the conclusive news, thankful that the hard part of the job searching process is now behind you.

And while it’s certainly in order to celebrate such wonderful news with friends and family and give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back for making it this far, caution is advised at this junction – as there is still a transition period you are to navigate successfully, especially when there is still your resignation and notice period to manage.

Perhaps the most pertinent when discussing the activities involved in a thorough due diligence post-job search is the topic of counteroffers, an aspect of the transition process that presents a challenge to candidates often regardless of what they might have on offer from their soon-to-be employer.

According to the latest CIPD Labour Market Outlook report, 40% of UK employers have made a counteroffer to departing employees in the last 12 months and among that number, 38% matched the salary of the new job offer while 40% exceeded it. With employers increasingly reliant on counter offers to retain their key staff and a skills shortage across the industry to contend with, these findings point to two indisputable facts that any candidate on the brink of leaving their current role faces at present:

• The chances that you will be made a counteroffer are higher than ever before.
• It will likely be a tantalizing prospect to consider, regardless of whatever offer you’ve got on the table.

All of this to say, it isn’t an issue you can afford to take lightly, simple as its solution may seem.

So, what happens when you break the news to your current employer with your resignation letter at the ready and your current manager provides a counteroffer, asking you to stay?

While the promise of extra benefits, money, or extra responsibilities from your existing employer might be tempting, they usually point to a few red flags that make accepting a counteroffer ultimately a bad move for your career in the long run.

Here are 5 reasons you may want to think twice before accepting the new offer on the table:

1. Counteroffers Don’t Solve Underlying Issues

Moving from one job to another isn’t a decision most professionals will arrive at on a whim. There will be a lot of time and thought gone into weighing the pros and cons of leaving your current role, and from every possible angle, before deciding to take the leap.

When you’re given a counteroffer, it may address one or two gripes you have with your existing role (such as a low salary), but it’s unlikely to tackle every major issue that convinced you to leave. When faced with one, it’s a good idea to take a moment to ask yourself why you wanted to take this new job in the first place.

Is your current role lacking the challenge you’re looking for at this stage of your career, or are you planning on moving in an entirely new direction? Perhaps the culture or lack of flexibility are a constant source of headaches at your company. If the sticking points with your role aren’t resolved by the counteroffer (which tend to be the case if these sit at the root of your concerns as culture and career development are not as simple a problem to fix as salary concerns) you should absolutely be turning it down and moving on with your new job offer.

2. An Unwelcome Change in Dynamics

Whilst it is well within your right to explore alternative options if your needs aren’t being met professionally and personally, an inevitable by-product of accepting a counteroffer after making your departure known to your employer is the impact it will have on your relationship going forward.

There’s a good chance your employer will have lingering questions about your loyalty after accepting the counteroffer, and this can manifest in ways that will eventually come to undermine the reasons that sit behind your decision to stay.

You may see yourself getting passed over for promotions, or find your employer actively looking to hire for your position to fill the gap you’ll leave when you do eventually jump ship, all because they consider you a flight risk.

As they will (somewhat understandably) no longer have the same level of trust they once did, there’s likely to be an uncomfortable and awkward dynamic at play, even if they do end up going in the other direction and working harder to keep you happy.

3. A Growth Plateau

Career development often involves moving between different roles, taking on new responsibilities over time and stepping out of one’s comfort zone constantly to keep the trajectory of one’s growth on the up. While there is the benefit of quickly climbing up the ladder in one business and building up experience working within a particular team or role, staying put for too long can be as damaging to your career prospects in the long run, as it keeps you out of the loop on what opportunities are ripe for you to expand your skills and experience and consequently stunt your growth.

When deciding if a counteroffer is worth accepting, ask yourself if it keeps you on course to achieving your short and long-term career goals. Compared to the job you presently have lined up, does your existing role get you closer to meeting those key milestones any faster?

Remember that a higher salary won’t bridge the gap that an unrewarding role leaves. Yes, the money will certainly be a welcome incentive but that will quickly become irrelevant if your existing role isn’t pushing you in the right direction. It’s important that you keep your end goal in mind when considering a counteroffer and avoid any ill judgement based on the promise of monetary value.

4. With Great Investment Comes Great Scrutiny

Given the gravity of the skills shortage prevalent in the hiring market today, keeping a hold of top talent has become a lot more of an urgent imperative for businesses across the industry. As companies increasingly opt for desperate measures to retain their key personnel, it has become commonplace to see employers rush to offer a more handsome remuneration package to save themselves the stress of scouring the market for an adequate replacement.

While this is good news for candidates currently without a role, it is a double edged sword for anyone considering the prospect of a counteroffer. This flexibility towards a salary/benefits increase can and often does mean employers  become increasingly wary of how much you warrant the extra investment down the line and can lead to them actively looking for tangible evidence you’re worth it right away.

Having this extra scrutiny placed on your performance, conduct and attitude – down to the smallest of things – can be a stressful experience, even if you are conscious you are well-deserving of the extra benefits you received.

In some cases, employees who accept counteroffers find themselves under pressure to perform like a new hire all over again, trying to prove they deserve their new salary and responsibilities. In other cases, you may find that some of these responsibilities aren’t ones you asked for or are fit to handle, and that’s because your employer simply wants to ensure they’re getting their “return on investment” from you.

5. Risk of Regret

Job changes can be stressful and worrisome, but they can also present incredible opportunities to tap into your potential as a professional and build a stellar career for yourself. If you’ve been offered a job at another company, and you’ve said “yes”, then chances are there’s clearly something about the new role that appealed to you.

Maybe you loved the level of flexibility it offered and don’t have an opportunity to get that kind of work life balance at your current company. Perhaps you were interested in branching out into a slightly different aspect of your practice area and won’t get the chance to explore that in your current role. Bear in mind that any unfulfilled desire will always be there in the form of regret if you do nothing to change your circumstances when opportunity knocks at the door.

Although you’ll have the comfort of not having to get accustomed to a new working environment or team, you’ll also be left constantly wondering what would have happened if you had followed through and moved into that new role.

Counteroffer Strategies 101

It’s always worth preparing for a counteroffer in advance before approaching your manager with your resignation letter. Think about how best to pass across your rejection to their offer politely and firmly, and whether there are still any important factors at play that warrant you seriously considering passing up the chance to make a new move.

By far the best way to add that extra layer of security to your preparation is to work alongside a specialist recruiter throughout the process. They possess a great deal of knowledge about the job application process, from both a hiring and employee perspective and are best placed to help alleviate any doubts you might have about your current options – counteroffer or not.

If you find yourself at a critical junction in your career with no clear pointers on how best to advance, then you’re in luck. At Clayton Recruitment we make it our goal to simplify the job-hunting process as much as possible for candidates, whatever the complications involved may be, and would love to give you the helping hand you need in navigating any uncertainties about the next move for your career. Give our team a call today on 01772 259 121 or contact us here

About Clayton Recruitment

Clayton Recruitment has been partnering with organisations across the country since 1989, and during that time has built up an excellent reputation for trust and reliability.

With specialist divisions covering Commercial, Financial, Industrial, and Engineering appointments, on both a permanent and temporary basis. If you are looking for your next career move, we can help. Call us on 01772 259 121 or email us here.

So, you’ve reached the first major milestone in your journey to finding a new role: being invited successfully for an interview.

Whilst there is already much to celebrate, arguably the hard work starts now and many recruiters will tell you it all boils down to one thing – preparation (and plenty of it).

There is already much written on the specifics of what kind of preparation you should consider. From researching a business’s digital footprint (including PR, reviews, news articles and social media channels) to connecting with your interviewers on LinkedIn.

But there is also one element of an interview that is essential in not only demonstrating your interest and enthusiasm for the role and company, but actually ensures you are sense-checking job suitability against your own objectives while you’re in the room.

All interviews, whether they are conducted over the phone, over video/virtually, or face to face, will present the opportunity for you as the candidate to ask questions.

Pass up this opportunity at your peril.

We know from our own independent research that the top reasons jobseekers choose to move roles are:

1. Progression
2. Salary Increase
3. Redundancy
4. Relocation
5. Work/life balance

It certainly makes sense therefore to pose your interviewer relevant questions that align with the above and use the interview as an opportunity to conduct your own due diligence of sorts.

Here are 10 smart questions to consider:

1. What are the opportunities for progression within the business?

The question itself is multi-faceted in that by asking it, you are already demonstrating you are ambitious and career-minded and are already in it for the long run. It is also an essential question to pose if you have decided to leave your current role due to a lack of progression opportunities.

As your role’s career path and available opportunities are critical for your professional growth, it is in your best interest to find out where your future lies with the company in question. One way to circumnavigate this topic if you’re concerned about being too direct is to ask instead ‘Where have successful employees in this role moved on to?’ or ‘How are promotions handled?

You can ask if there is specific career-path documentation although don’t be put off if this doesn’t exist in smaller companies. Whilst some roles may not necessarily have an apparent move ‘up’, you may still want to check that there are opportunities to train and upskill more generally.

2.  How will my performance be evaluated?

Whilst we know that salary and remuneration are often a catalyst for moving roles, it is generally a no-no to ask about specifics in your interview – at least initially. That is of course, unless your interviewer brings the topic up themselves.

However, one area of questioning to consider instead which is likely to touch on the subject is around performance.

The question in itself demonstrates that you are eager to make a positive contribution to the business and are once again thinking about your long-term career in understanding how job performance is evaluated.

You may want to probe a little further around expectations in the first 90 days, or the formal review process but should seek to understand any specific metrics or KPIs that you will be measured against.

Whilst this line of questioning doesn’t necessarily touch upon base salary on offer with the role, it is likely any sort of performance-related incentives or bonus will be communicated at this juncture.

3.  What are the company’s plans for growth and development in the next 5 years?

Asking questions about the company’s growth trajectory will certainly impress during an interview. It shows that you are curious about the wider company and its success, rather than a sole focus on your role and the specifics that come with that.

However, the response you get from your interviewer will also give you further insight into progression plans (and where you may fit in with these in the future) as well a general idea of job security – a must if you have concerns in this area or perhaps find yourself on the job market due to a recent redundancy.

You shouldn’t however ask questions on this topic that you could typically find online – on the company’s own website for example. This may include things like their mission statement, their vision or press releases. This will only demonstrate that you haven’t done your homework.

Instead, do an ‘environmental scan’ (a term used by Dr. Lenaghan at the Hofstra University School of Business) to understand what is happening in your specific region or professional sector more generally. The questions you ask then could focus on the broader implications of these on your role and the business you are interviewing with.

4.  How has the company changed since you joined?

Questions that focus on the individual(s) who are interviewing you are a great way to build rapport and that initial relationship – imperative if they will be your direct line manager or supervisor if you are successful in getting the job.

However, this line of questioning is more so about ascertaining what the culture is like at the company in question.

It allows you to sense-check that your own values align with the businesses, and consider your general compatibility and ‘fit’ on a deeper level than just being competent and able to do the job.

Making the transition from interviewee to interviewer isn’t always easy, but it will certainly help to uncover how those individuals view the office environment and helps to build a certain camaraderie from such a personal response.

5.  What are the opportunities for collaboration within this particular role?

Asking questions that focus on your relationship with existing members of the business are great in showing your interviewer that you are a team player that can think outside of the singular job description in front of them.

Questions that probe more generally around the specifics of the position are also worthwhile in understanding more about team dynamics, the structure of the business in question, and scope for growth and personal development.

If the role in question is hybrid or remote, this question also demonstrates that you are looking to cement working relationships regardless of where or how you physically work for the company. This is important as the general sentiment around hybrid working and an apparent ‘gap’ between business leaders and employee preferences continues to widen, according to an article from the World Economic Forum released last year.

The article focuses on research conducted by Ipsos in which over half a million survey responses from 95 countries were analysed revealing attitudes to hybrid working. Interestingly, over 25% said that working remotely improved communication and collaboration (and actually led to decisions being made swifter as a result).

Regardless of your anticipated working pattern, however, this question will also give you an insight into your direct team, individuals you will be working alongside, and other projects or steering groups you could be a part of.

6.  What does a typical day look like in this role?

If you are looking to ascertain or enquire about work-life balance at the company you are interviewing with, then you need to tread carefully. You don’t want to jump straight in by asking questions around working patterns, flexitime, expectations around working outside of contracted hours or holiday allowance (although all of these may certainly be on your mind when considering a new role).

Whilst there will be the opportunity to gain answers to some of these as part of the general hiring process (indeed your Recruitment Consultant can act as a liaison here) in the interview itself, you can certainly assess the work-life balance without projecting a negative impression – even if that means reading between the lines in places.

You might ask the interviewer about their own work schedule over a typical week/month/quarter as well as ascertain if there are seasonal peaks (relevant to certain sectors over others).

There is also a lot to be gained by assessing more generally the interview process itself; was it easy to get the interview arranged or has it been chaotic? Do the other team members in the office (or on-screen) seem relaxed and happy, or distracted and frenetic?

If you are looking for a new opportunity that offers a more suitable work-life balance, then questions that probe around this topic are essential, yet should be handled with care in order to still leave with a good impression and not focused solely on the ‘what is in it for me’ sentiment. A fine balance to strike.

7. How much contact with clients can I expect to have on a daily basis if I’m successful?

If the role in question is a client-facing one or involves overseeing client projects, this question helps to further build a clearer picture of what to expect on a more practical level in a typical day on the job. As your skillset will be better suited to some aspects of the work than others, this question provides the opportunity to gauge how much of the role actually aligns with your key strengths and whether it will ultimately be a good fit for you skill-wise.

If for example, you find that the role involves a lot more of the behind-the-scenes aspects of project management, such as document writing and paperwork than actual face-to-face interactions with clients, it may be best to reconsider the options you’ve got on the table with your recruitment consultant to find out where your preferred work style can be better accommodated.

8. Can you describe a typical client the company represents?

As a bit of a spin-off from the previous question, this one serves a dual purpose here, for your sense-check of each party’s suitability. While you will likely be aware of the company’s values and culture by this point from your own preliminary research about the business, learning what kind of clients the company usually represents can give you an inside look at exactly how well this lines up with what is professed. It can also prove useful in determining whether you are likely to encounter any ethical considerations you might have, particularly if you’re being interviewed by a larger company, as you would likely be working with a more diverse clientele. However, if you’re being interviewed by a smaller business, it can be quite beneficial to gain pointers on which strategies and approaches can be best used to build rapport with clients, considering the type of client you will be working with will be more frequent.

9. How is workload distributed?

Getting a general idea of the distribution of tasks among team members allows you to gauge the level of collaboration, potential stressors, and potential work-life balance within the firm. This question helps to assess if there is a fair allocation of responsibilities, whether there are support systems in place, and how teams collaborate to meet deadlines. Moreover, it signals to the interviewer that the candidate is mindful of the practical aspects of the work environment and is interested in ensuring they can maintain a sustainable level of productivity.

10.  What are the next steps in this process?

Understanding the general timeline and steps that follow the interview is important and shows the interviewer that you are still engaged and wanting to progress (if of course, you decide that you do at this juncture).

Rather than focus however on the ‘yes/no’ decision, or when to expect an invitation for the second/third interview, asking about the onboarding process or what the first few months will look like demonstrates further that you can envisage yourself in the position, and are enthusiastic about starting on that journey.

If nothing else, this line of questioning and the responses you get may indicate the interviewers’ own thoughts on you as a potential candidate through their body language and general fervour when they run through what those next steps look like.

In Conclusion

Asking strategic questions in your interview is always recommended and will undoubtedly impact the chance of you moving on to the next stage in the process.

In the same way that you will spend time researching the company in question, as well as perfecting answers to the most commonly asked questions, preparing for the questions you wish to ask is always worthwhile.

In the very least, it demonstrates that you are engaged in the process and focused on a long-term career with the business. Yet it is also the chance to cross-check against your own objectives and goals when looking for your next employer.

If you are leaving your current role due to a lack of progression – ask about those opportunities at this company. If the catalyst to move is around culture fit, probe a little around that.

As a general rule, you shouldn’t focus too much on the specifics of the role regarding salary and benefits but do use this part of the interview to ask about the elements of the role you’re not sure about, any concerns, or to clarify a point that had been discussed earlier in the interview.

At Clayton Recruitment, our sector specialists help to prepare candidates for interview as standard as part of the service we offer. We already have valued working relationships with the many businesses we work with across the northwest and, as such, can help to get a head start on some of the topics raised here around culture, structure, and remuneration.

If you are considering a move at the moment, our team can help to understand current opportunities in your region and sector specialism, as well as general market conditions and the competitive landscape.

Get in touch today for a confidential, impartial chat and we’ll help you take that all-important first step in the next stage of your career.

About Clayton Recruitment

Clayton Recruitment has been partnering with organisations across the country since 1989 and during that time has built up an excellent reputation for trust and reliability.

With specialist divisions covering Commercial, Financial, and Engineering appointments, on a permanent basis.

Click here to speak to one of our experienced specialists or call 01772 259121 for more information on how our exceptional recruitment experience can help your career aspirations.