In this month's newsletter...

Welcome to our June newsletter

Best wishes to all from the Recruitment Matters team!

This is our monthly newsletter featuring a mix of industry news, helpful information from recruitment industry experts, tips to help you improve and grow the profitability of your business and, of course, news from ourselves at Recruitment Matters about our training courses, products and services – please note our June-Sept 2007 training schedule at the end of this newsletter.

As you will read, a thoroughly productive day on May 24th was enjoyed by both our trainer, Matt Wilson, and the New Frontiers team, who were the winners of our National Learning At Work Day competition. Our congratulations, too, go to our latest ‘Quote of the Month’ winner, Jo Donnelly of Anglia Recruitment.

You will recall that Warren broke his ankle quite badly while ice skating last month - thank you to all concerned for your patience and flexibility in helping us to reorganise Warren’s in-house and open training dates. Thankfully, despite the fact that he is still wearing a plaster cast, we now have the show fully back on the road.

We are all looking forward to a very exciting July with the launch of two new half day training courses ‘Winning Retained Assignments’ and ‘250 Tips For Busy Recruiters.’ Also, as you are probably aware, we have a terrific new book to look forward to – ‘Don’t Become A Frog! 250 Tips For Busy Recruiters.’ However, do you know that we are publishing a newly updated and reformatted edition of ’25 Ways (And More) To Grow Your Business’? Both titles are available at a pre-publication price of £16.99. See our news section for a link to the order form.

Keeping up with the news is crucial to any company. The following findings from research conducted by the CIPD caught our attention. Maybe sharing this with your clients could help them.

Businesses that struggle to retain good staff may find that the offer of flexible working boosts loyalty levels.

Research conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that, of the 900 organisations interviewed, almost 80 per cent of employers experienced difficulty in holding on to staff during the past 12 months. The high turnover of employees was the result of several factors including pay expectations, a shortage of specialist skills and lack of experience.

However, three-quarters of employers also reported that flexible working arrangements not only helped recruitment but also improved retention rates among valued members of staff.

Nicola Monson, who put together the study, said "Employers will continue to struggle to find suitable candidates and keep staff turnover under control if their approach to recruitment and retention fails to take account of both business and employee needs."

A reminder that this is very much an interactive newsletter and we welcome your comments and feedback and will be happy to feature your contributions on important industry issues and your advice on how to improve the success and professionalism of our marketplace. As you will see below, in return, we will show our gratitude by featuring a link to your company, as a contributor to this publication.

We at Recruitment Matters have a simple underlying philosophy to everything that we do, and that is, by helping each other to improve, we all stand to benefit in this large, dynamic and fast-growing industry.

Please send your potential editorial contributions to ken@recruitmentmatters.com.

Small businesses would be 'hardest hit' by mail strike

The decision by Royal Mail postal workers to support a national strike could pose severe difficulties for many small businesses.

The warning came from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) after the Communications Workers Union (CWU) voted for industrial action in its dispute with the Royal Mail over a 2.5 per cent pay offer.

The vote has raised the real possibility of the first national postal walkout in a decade.
Responding to the news, the FSB said that a lengthy strike "could be devastating for small businesses."

Clive Davenport, the FSB's trade and industry chairman, said: "Our survey on the postal service showed that 88 per cent of small firms send mail every day and 94 per cent of small businesses use Royal Mail exclusively. Small businesses would be hardest hit by this dispute.
Other mail providers do not offer an alternative to small firms because of their size."

With almost 70 per cent of FSB members sending invoices through the post, the fear is that any industrial action will interrupt payments and adversely affect the cashflow of small firms.
"A cheque delayed in the post can mean the difference between life and death for a small business," said Mr Davenport.

The FSB is advising firms to plan around possible strike days by posting mail earlier and making allowances in their cashflow predictions for the late arrival of cheques.

Here at Recruitment Matters, we anticipate even more emphasis on communication by email and, certainly, fax for our course booking forms, with more financial transactions being carried out via BACS.

Recruiters’ Guide to handling researchers

Step One – the target list
If a successful research assignment is to be viewed as a triangle, the target list acts as its base and in that sense, is the most important part of the process. In short, get a target list wrong and the entire assignment is doomed to fail; irrelevant people will be identified, approached and profiled, resulting in a recruiter being unable to shortlist candidates for their client and having a research invoice land on their doorstep for a wasted exercise. Not good.

Most research businesses will be able to create or assist in the creation of a target list, but time and money can be saved if a recruiter contacts a researcher armed with a list of organisations to rummage around.

A target list can often be straightforward. A legal recruiter, looking to entice a 2 year PQE private client lawyer, for example, will generally know that that type of candidate could only come from another practice. The only issue then would be how far you cast the net in terms of location. Things get slightly more complicated when your client will say: “We need to recruit a Sales Manager, but previous experience of our sector isn’t important…” Then it becomes an issue in defining where a possible candidate won’t come from, as against where they might come from, to shape a target list.

In this case, contacting a research business with that kind of brief and with no input into the target list from either yourself or your client is a potential waste of time and money. The researcher will need plenty of time to create a suitable list for you and your client to review, which could be pricey. A good tip would be to work with your client to set some parameters early on; what sectors would be most applicable, what turnover boundary should we work to, what locations should we search in and so on.
Once a target list has been defined and a good clear brief has been issued, a researcher has everything he or she needs to start mapping structures, identifying relevant targets and digging up the types of people who could go on and earn you that all important fee.
David Steel is Research Director at Exacta Research, a recruitment research company who provide a candidate research service to help clients find the best possible candidates across all sectors and levels. For further information email hannah@exactaresearch.co.uk, visit www.exactaresearch.co.uk or call 08000 856 618.

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Written by Dale Carnegie in 1937 (yes 1937).
“$**+, that man knew a thing or two!” Quote from Warren!

Handling People:
• Don’t criticise, condemn or complain
• Give honest and sincere appreciation
• Arouse in the other person an eager want

Make people like you:
• Become genuinely interested in other people
• Smile
• Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language
• Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves
• Talk in terms of the other person’s interests
• Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely

Win people over to your way of thinking:
• The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it
• Show respect for the other people’s opinions. Never say “You’re wrong”
• If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically
• Begin in a friendly way
• Get the other person saying “yes, yes” immediately
• Let the other person do a great deal of the talking
• Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers
• Try honestly to see things from the other person’s point of view
• Be sympathetic with the other person’s ideas and desires
• Appeal to the nobler motives
• Dramatise your ideas
• Throw down a challenge

Change people without giving offence (be a leader):
• Begin with praise and honest appreciation
• Call attention to people’s mistakes indirectly
• Talk about your own mistakes before criticising the others
• Ask questions instead of giving direct orders
• Let the other person save face
• Praise the slightest improvement
• Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to
• Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct
• Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest

Warren Kemp is principal and lead trainer with Recruitment Matters. For more tips, advice and information on Recruitment Matters visit www.recruitmentmatters.com/free.php, telephone 0800 0749 289 or email warren@recruitmentmatters.com.

Are you upside down?

I was recently talking to a group of managers struggling to cope with the challenges of their job – with increasing demands of their directors on the one hand & staff on the other.
They felt isolated and unsupported. Sounds familiar?
Luckily, a while ago I read “Dear James” by John Timpson, of the shoe repair, key cutting business. Timpson’s have adopted an ‘upside down’ approach to management.
They’ve identified that the shop staff are their front line – they deal with customers & generate the income. The role of the managers & directors is to support their staff – to make it easy for them to do business, easier to make money for the business.
Timpson’s have a successful, profitable business & are regarded as a top business to work for.
This “upside down” management is about attitude – supporting people (helping), ensuring that systems and procedures are there to help people do their job – do they help you make money, or do they get in the way? Root out excessive reporting and form filling, consider how staff can make more decisions themselves so things get done more quickly. You might even ask your people, “what do you need from us to be able to do your job better?”

If you have any questions or comments on this article or issues you face, please contact me (in confidence) on 01707 395850 or email me at neil@neilkirby.co.uk. There’s no obligation.
Neil Kirby is a life coach and a leading practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP).

Winner of ‘Quote of the Month’

As recruitment trainers, we are always keen to promote and learn motivational techniques, including maximising the power of words. Visitors to our website will know that we are big fans of quotations which succinctly capture our beliefs and objectives, hence our ‘Quote of the Month’ competition, inviting you to send us your favourite quotes which inspire, or amuse, or simply make you stop and think.

Each month, we choose a submission to feature in this newsletter and the winner is offered a free day on a Recruitment Matters training course of their choice.

As ever, the quality of submissions has been excellent. However, we are delighted to announce that our May winner is Jo Donnelly who is the new head of Anglia Recruitment’s HR Division. Jo supplied this quote by Matthew Keith Groves.

“Winners lose much more often than losers. So if you keep losing but you’re still trying, keep it up! You’re right on track.”
Here’s another one by Mr Groves that we rather like.
“If an individual sets an achievable goal and never gives up, they will either achieve their goal or die trying. If a civilisation sets an achievable goal and never gives up, they will achieve their goal. What shall we do?”
So come on folks, it’s time for the next competition. Let’s see what you can supply to motivate us to even greater heights – we look forward to hearing from you!

Please send your entries marked ‘Quote of the Month’ to ken@recruitmentmatters.com.

Researcher’s Casebook (continued)

None of us ever takes on an assignment without understanding exactly our client’s requirements. In the same way we should never instruct a researcher without a very exacting set of parameters. Last time we asked “Should I double-check my research?” This time we ask:
How important is record keeping?
Everyone who starts a research project looking for that perfect candidate should always start with a plan of attack. That will, without a doubt, include a hit list of companies needing to be looked at. Before we know it, we are into full swing and so focussed on each call that the little scrap of paper in front of us is fast filling with names, numbers and comments. This person said this and suggested that another may help, and on the chain of events goes until, suddenly, we realise that something has gone horribly wrong. How many years of experience did she say she had? And who worked at company “A” for three years?
After every call where good information is gleaned, stop and immediately make notes, on a fresh piece of paper. At least that way if a mistake is made, you have a starting point to unravel the mess. In our office after every call, first notes are made, then referring to the notes, a verbal report is made to another colleague, who not only enters the information on the computer but actually questions the caller as to the information and results. It sounds cumbersome but it is amazing how many errors are picked up at that stage, saving countless hours (and embarrassment) later. And let’s face it. Reporting to a colleague tends to stop a lot of Friday laziness, and guessing at answers to unasked questions.
Next time we look at being honest with your client.
Chris Malcolm heads up deAnsaPlus, a pure research company for head-hunters, executive search consultants and research professionals who require target specific research to find the right candidates on a worldwide basis. For further information email chris@deansaplus.com.

Tip-Top Time Management

Most of us use some sort of daily sheet where we write down all the things that we have to do each day and then we cross off all the things that we have completed. All the non-completed items simply pass to the next day or to the next list. We are simply in danger of going into ‘tick drive’ where the most important goal is just to tick off the most completed jobs whatever their worth or importance to the business.

Priority is everything because you just know that the very task that you are putting off has the most value to your business. Get into the habit of writing or compiling your personal list in priority order. Put the key actions first as they are the ones that drive you and your business. They are the things that enable you to add value to what you do and separate you from the crowd.

Whenever we discuss this with managers and staff, they all say ‘well of course we do this’ and ‘we know this’ and I suspect many of you have just said the same. But how many of you actually do it? I made the assumption at the start that most people run a system but how many of you actually do run a ‘to do’ list or a ‘today list’ as some of you may call it? If not, why not? There simply is not a more effective way of getting things done provided you operate it effectively. For example:

• Complete the list the night before and not in the morning or whenever you run out of things to do. Make it part of your normal day.
  
• Restrict it to five or six key actions. Any more, and you will be deluding yourself - and the sight of all those tasks may be more of a burden than a motivation.
  
• Place all tasks in priority order and complete them in that order. Only move on when you have finished. Otherwise you will end up with a list of unfinished tasks that will simply move forward to the next day.
• Share your key tasks with your boss, peer group and your subordinates. You may find that someone else has completed a piece of work that can help you to accomplish the task in question. This is not about getting someone else to do the job but simply sharing knowledge to the benefit of all. You will also make sure that someone else is not trying to complete the same task as you.
  
• Agree the priority of the task at the beginning. More often than not the priority of the task is determined by who asks you or who sets the tasks. The higher up the ladder that the request has come from, the more importance it gets. This is neither fair nor is it productive. If taking on another task disrupts all the other tasks and plans, then you have say no. Better to declare your hand upfront and not set expectations and deadlines that you cannot possibly keep to. The more you take on does not determine your worth, the more that you successfully complete does.

Matt Wilson is a consultant with Recruitment Matters with a current focus on our Two Day Induction, Telephone Skills and Interview Skills courses. For more information on Recruitment Matters, our training courses, services and products visit www.recruitmentmatters.com, telephone 0800 0749289 or email info@recruitmentmatters.com.

LAW Day winners, New Frontiers, enjoy Matt’s training

You may recall that the winning entry for our National Learning At Work Day competition was submitted by Jose Cofone of New Frontiers. On May 24th, Recruitment Matters’ trainer, Matt Wilson, visited New Frontiers’ premises to deliver a Telephone Skills training course to their lucky team.

Both Matt and the six delegates enjoyed an interactive and productive day focussed around winning new business and developing existing clients to maximise revenue produced.

The following day, Jose contacted us to say “I would just like to say thank you for all your help and to Matt for coming down yesterday. All involved enjoyed the training and we all feel that we have taken something from it. Thanks again.” Jose & trainees, New Frontiers.

The Campaign for Learning started to organise LAW Day in 1999 as part of Adult Learners' Week to draw attention to the importance of workplace learning and skills. Each year, thousands of organisations take part in LAW Day and stage fun and business-related learning activities to help their staff learn new skills that they can put into action at work. We look forward to supporting LAW Day again next year.

Thanks again to all who entered our competition – we trust that you enjoyed putting your free PDF’s of Warren’s best-selling book ‘Recruiting In A Tough Market’ to good use!

Recruitment Matters news

Since our last newsletter, you should have received an email flyer outlining the selection of course content and other details about our Barcelona training and networking event on Oct 4/5th. Just in case this passed you by, please click on the following link http://www.recruitmentmatters.com/news/barcelona/. Don’t forget that we’re heading to Brussels, too, with our ‘Successful Head-Hunting’ course on July 27th.

As mentioned earlier, our new ‘250 Tips For Busy Recruiters’ seminar, coincides with the launch of Warren’s recruitment book ‘Don’t Become A Frog! 250 Tips For Busy Recruiters’ and all attendees of this course will receive a free copy. By the way, we’ve had many enquiries as to the significance of the ‘Don’t Become A Frog’ part of the title – well, we’re not telling you – you’ll have to read the book to find out! We would like to draw to your attention that the first of these seminars in London will be held at Waterstone’s, Piccadilly. It promises to be a fun day, which also sees the first outing for our other new half day course ‘Winning Retained Assignments.’ Why not reserve your place now? Here’s the booking form. www.recruitmentmatters.com/docs/e-mailbookingform.doc.

Also, if you wish to reserve a copy of ‘Frog’ and the 2007 edition of ‘25 Ways (And More) To Grow Your Business’ at the pre-publication price of £16.99 each, here’s the form for that, too. www.recruitmentmatters.com/docs/Productbookingform.doc

By the way, we have received quite a few requests for information about our Q4 2007 open course training schedule and can tell you that it is almost complete. We’re only days away and will email you accordingly as well as posting it on our website as soon as it is finalised.

If you require more information or have any ideas for new courses, locations, or topics that you feel that we should be covering, or if you would like to explore what we could do for you on an in-house basis, we would be delighted to hear from you.

For more information on Recruitment Matters, our training courses, services and products visit www.recruitmentmatters.com, telephone 0800 0749289 or email ken@recruitmentmatters.com.

RECRUITMENT MATTERS: June - Sept 2007 Training Schedule

SUCCESSFUL HEAD-HUNTING
Trainer: Warren Kemp
June 27th: Milton Keynes
Jul 4th: London
Jul 10th: Dublin
Jul 17th: London
Jul 24th: Birmingham
Jul 27th: Brussels
Aug 1st – London
Aug 7th – Bristol
Aug 9th – Leeds
Aug 21st – London
Sept 5th – London
Sept 11th – Birmingham
Sept 18th – London
Sept 25th - Manchester

Investment £295+VAT
‘Bring A Friend’ £195+VAT
For bookings placed from July 1st, 2007
Investment £325+VAT
‘Bring A Friend’ £225+VAT

TWO DAY INDUCTION 
Trainer: Matt Wilson
Jun 27/28th – London
Jul 10/11th –Bristol
Jul 24/25th – London
Aug 14/15th – Birmingham
Aug 21/22nd – London
Sept 25/26th - London

Investment £495+VAT

TELEPHONE SKILLS
Trainer: Matt Wilson
Jul 3rd – London
Jul 31st - Birmingham
Aug 7th – London
Aug 29th – Manchester
Sept 11th – London
Sept 18th – Birmingham

Investment £245+VAT

INTERVIEW SKILLS
Trainer: Matt Wilson
Jul 4th – Bristol
Aug 1st – London
Aug 8th – London
Aug 30th – Manchester
Sept 5th – London
Sept 19th – Birmingham

Investment £245+VAT
‘Bring A Friend’ £195+VAT

WINNING RETAINED ASSIGNMENTS
Trainer: Warren Kemp
Running Time: 9.00am – 12.30pm
Jul 19th - London - Waterstone's, Piccadilly
Jul 25th - Birminham
Aug 8th – Leeds
Aug 22nd – London
Sept 12th –London
Sept 19th –Birmingham
Sept 26th –Bristol

Investment £149+VAT
‘Bring A Friend’ £129+VAT
If attending 250 Tips course in the afternoon, then £239+VAT for the day (including buffet lunch)

RECRUITMENT MATTERS - 250 TIPS FOR BUSY RECRUITERS
Trainer: Warren Kemp
Running Time: 2.00pm – 5.30pm
Jul 19th - London - Waterstone's, Piccadilly
Jul 25th - Birminham
Aug 8th – Leeds
Aug 22nd – London
Sept 12th –London
Sept 19th –Birmingham
Sept 26th –Bristol

Investment £149+VAT
‘Bring A Friend’ £129+VAT
Includes a free copy of new publication ‘Don't become A Frog! 250 Tips For Busy Recruiters.’
10% off another open course of your choice if you bring along Warren’s book ‘Recruiting In A Tough Market’.
If attending Retained Assignments course in the morning, then £239+VAT for the day (including buffet lunch)

And FINALLY, please consider our special recruitment training event in BARCELONA on OCT 5TH.
Course content - choose two from four sessions. Networking event on the evening of Oct 4th. For more information do check out http://www.recruitmentmatters.com/barcelona.php.
Investment £795+VAT.
‘Bring A Friend’ £695+VAT

For more information on all these courses, visit www.recruitmentmatters.com.

Contact us

Recruitment Matters
2 Oakfield Road
Coventry CV6 1ED
UK
Tel: 0800 0749289
Fax: 01483 761709
Email: info@recruitmentmatters.com

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