In this month's newsletter...

Welcome to our October newsletter

Best wishes to all from the Recruitment Matters team!

This is our October 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.

On that subject, for those of you who may not have already received it, we feature our new training schedule through to March 2009. We’ve had an encouraging start to our increasingly international schedule with Brussels on December 1st proving a popular choice as a pre-Christmas venue.

As we all know, times are tough and, understandably, the traditional Christmas party is likely to be a slightly more sombre affair for many this year. In fact some recent research suggests that the majority of employers are planning to cancel Christmas.

The research, from employment lawyer Peninsula, found that 83% of employers will not shell out on a Christmas party as staff want to save money due to the downturn, while 74% could not see the benefit of a Christmas party and 66% of employers had received harassment claims from workers following their Christmas party.

Peter Done, managing director of Peninsula, said: “The economic downturn has forced a lot of companies to cull their Christmas celebrations. With the economic conditions the way they are, firms just cannot warrant spending money on a Christmas party. These events represent a considerable cost to any firm, whether they employ five people or 50, and many employers consider this another process in tightening their belt and making their company more cost efficient. Firms who have been forced to make people redundant may also consider spending money on a Christmas party inappropriate, as well as detrimental to the streamlining plan they are implementing in their business.”

An alternative approach, we suggest, is to consider using the opportunity when everyone is together to use the pre-party time constructively. One of our clients, for example, has booked Warren for some sales development training before they go out for some festive cheer – and, no, before any of you say it, despite his increasingly grey beard he won’t be dressed up as Santa Claus – although, you know, that’s not a bad idea..

Poorly managed conflicts in the workplace are crippling British business, according to a new report ‘Fight, Flight or Face It’ from business psychology firm OPP and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. The average UK employee spends over two hours a week dealing with conflict, which means that, in total, more than 370 million working days were lost last year at a cost to British employers of more than £24 billion. See the full article below.

These are startling figures, don’t you think? Almost enough to bail out a country’s economy! Perhaps a few more people to should try our Managing Teams and Mentoring People course – we still have a few places left for this year…

The downturn is causing mothers to re-assess their working options, according to another new survey. The survey, from jobsite Workingmums.co.uk, shows that 79% of mothers are now looking to return to work or increase their present working hours due to the credit crunch.

An earlier survey conducted by the jobsite showed that 90% of mothers found it very difficult to find flexible work, although the vast majority wanted this so they could balance work and family life.

Mandy Garner, spokesperson for WorkingMums.co.uk, said: “The present economic situation is not all doom and gloom and actually presents some good opportunities for mothers to assess their working options and look at what is available to help them meet their needs. It also key that employers should look at more efficient ways of working and how this can help them to become more cost-effective whilst remaining productive. Employers should not get caught out by reducing their resources. Working mothers are a fantastic pool of talent that many businesses should be calling upon.”

Here at Recruitment Matters, we can certainly endorse that point of view – take a bow, Claire! In fact, one of our clients was only saying the same to us last week about his team of working mum recruiters and the great results that they are generating.

More than nine in ten IT professionals are currently worried about losing their job. The findings, from specialist recruitment computer support company Ulysses IT, also show that 41% of IT managers are literally losing sleep over their job prospects. With other news such as that from Deloitte that the number of firms in the recruitment and business services sector going into administration in the third quarter of the year increased by 266% on the same period last year, we don’t believe that they are alone in experiencing sleepless nights – see below for Warren’s tips on combatting and dealing with stress.

In a further sign of the times, the Monster Employment Index UK fell by eight points in September to reach a level of 159. This is the fourth consecutive decrease and the first time that the Index has shown a year-on-year decline.

This month, we have a new contributor, Daniel McPherson, CEO of InTIME Solutions, with five top tips on what to look for in back office management software.

Featured below are several articles that we’ve compiled from recent news reports about the state of the economy and its effect in the recruitment sector. It remains our considered view, however, from a recruiting perspective that the resultant increase in the number of talented executives who are becoming available in the marketplace creates an opportunity – the smartest and most proactive recruiters with the sharpest interview skills and search techniques are likely to do quite well out of the situation, we feel.

Elsewhere, we have another fine contribution from our networking expert, Will Kintish, with the second of his two articles on giving and receiving referrals. Our research expert David Steel is back again, this time with an article extolling the virtues of using research methods to uncover prime candidates. As ever, of course, we feature tips from our very own trainers, Warren Kemp and Matt Wilson. For more of our tips and advice, please visit http://www.recruitmentmatters.com/free.php.

We very much like this to be 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 now know, in return, we 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 ever evolving industry.

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

Do I have any choice?

Talking to people I often hear them describe the situation they face - "I have to", "I should", "I must". There's a sense of obligation - but no real energy or enthusiasm for it. And I'm left feeling that we're unlikely to be totally committed to something when it's like this.

As you can imagine I tend to ask "does it have to be this way?" So now when I hear "I have to", "I should", "I must", I tend to ask - "Who says?" What options do you have? There are often more than we first think. Yes they'll have consequences and we can consider the consequences (which are often not as bad as we think) and make a decision. If we are doing something because we've made a decision to do it, we're more likely to put more energy, more enthusiasm into it. As a consequence we're likely to have better results.

Like you I'm faced with these same dilemmas - "I should take on this piece of work because it's more income; I have to work long hours; I must to do a particular job because no one else can". Thinking that we have no choice somehow makes it easy - it's not my fault, not my responsibility, there's no decision to make. And if it doesn't work out, I didn't really want to do it in the first place. However this also leads to inaction. Things don't change - we put up with something even though we're not happy with it.

Many of us experience a conflict between our work and private life, often with a wish to spend more time with our families. I recognised this dilemma when I recently undertook to take my daughter to a football class each Tuesday afternoon. It's quite a drive and a big commitment for 13 weeks. My initial reaction was "I can't because I have to work", but I realised that in fact I was choosing to work instead. There are consequences of course - I have to arrange my work so I'm home early; I may have to turn down work (which can generally be arranged at some other time); I may miss out on an evening networking event and possibly miss out on a business opportunity. So if I get to choose - what's more important to me? I may earn less income because of my choice (I probably do) - but I get to spend more time with my daughter. As it's working out, I've been able to use the hour while she's training to catch up on reading, develop new ideas and even write my newsletter!

What can we do? Start by thinking about the things you're not happy with, the things you feel you have to do. Recognise that this is a choice you're making and consider the options you have and the consequences of these options. Remember that many of these consequences can be overcome - planning ahead, delegating work, taking a different approach.

Finally, decide what you're going to do and acknowledge you're doing this because you've chosen to do it. Notice how it feels.

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).

Mixed signals in the hospitality sector

Travelodge’s hotel expansion is a sign that it is ‘business as usual’ in the hotel sector, a recruiter has claimed.

Following hotel chain Travelodge’s announcement that it plans to create 450 new jobs by opening 22 new hotels across the UK from now until Christmas, Paula Rogers, managing director at hospitality staffing firm Admiral, said that a recession would not mean that the hotels sector would grind to a halt.

Rogers said: “It is brilliant. They are carrying on with their plans. I sit on the employment committee for the BHA [British Hospitality Association]. I think it is a message to say it is business as usual. People will still need to stay in hotels for business and pleasure. The world is not coming to a standstill. We are in recession but this country does not go to sleep. People will come to the UK because of a weak pound. Everyone was going to the States - all the Americans will probably come here now.”

On the other hand, as we have previously reported, Christmas parties will be cancelled and venues will be recruiting fewer people as firms struggle with the economic downturn.

Rogers said: “There will be very little talent pipeline. People will wait to the last minute. Normally, we have staff booked two to three months in advance, whether it is long-term chefs or long-term hospitality staff and even management into contracts where they are very busy. I think this year we will see a shift. Christmas will be smaller and the parties will not be as extravagant. Parties will be cancelled. Spend will be less, entertainment budgets will be slashed.”

Top tips for back office improvement

Recent research has found that SMEs in the recruitment sector could be losing up to £350,000 a year through poor back office management. But with an economic downturn still looming how many organisations can really afford to be throwing away as much as 4% of their turnover when an effective back office system can quickly save both time and money?

Daniel McPherson gives his 5 top tips on what to look for in back office management software:

Integrate systems front to back to reduce errors and re imputing info
All too often payroll staff find themselves continually copying booking details from the front-office software and re-typing it into the back-office software. Look instead for a package that will bring together front and back office systems. This will allow your payroll staff to work with more accurate information, meaning less time spent correcting errors or dealing with wrong payments.

Set up E-payslips
Are you really still sending payslips in the post? On average, it costs £0.68 per person per week to send workers their payslips this way -that’s £35 per worker per year. When you take into account the extra time and cost involved in sending workers further copies of their payslips when they apply for mortgages and tenancy agreements, it's a great idea to get them onto the web where they can easily be downloaded.

Automate umbrella pay schedules
Lots of you out there will be dealing with umbrella companies .And how many of you consequently need to devote a member of staff to copying hours and pay-rates into the format required by the umbrella service? Look for a system that will automate this process and you’ll make immediate financial savings.

Insist on real time reporting
It is vital for managers and decision makers to be able to monitor the progress of their teams on a continuous basis. But it often takes a ludicrous amount of time to generate reports because data often needs to come from both front-office and back-office software systems. Real time reporting allows instantaneous alignment of back and front office information and will give you management information and earnings updating live on-screen.

Reduce debtor’s days by using semi-automating credit control
There is always a gap between paying the worker and receiving money from the client causing high finance costs. Making the invoice process electronic can give a big reduction in debtor days - even if you only save the time it takes for your invoices to arrive in the post, that's going to be several tens of thousands of pounds onto your bottom line.
Daniel McPherson is CEO at InTIME Solutions (www.in-time.co.uk), the UK’s leading online back-office support platform for the recruitment industry. He can be contacted at d.mcpherson@in-time.co.uk or on 0870 997 0304

Extra training funding for small businesses

Retailers have been urged by a retail recruiter to cash in on £350m of extra skills funding promised by the government Following Skills Secretary John Denham’s announcement that small businesses will receive funding to access free or subsidised training for their staff, Kate McCarthy, managing director at McCarthy Recruitment commented that it was important for retailers to demonstrate commitment to staff or risk losing them.

McCarthy said: “Often when there are times of financial crisis, training is one of the things that are cut. This affects motivation and you can lose your people. What is key to being successful is having a really, motivated, engaged team who will drive the business forward and make it as strong as possible. Training is a key part of that because employees are rewarded for the hard work they are putting in. I can only see it as being a good thing. If retailers are giving help with training, then that is extremely positive.”

(Editorial Note. Of course, there is no reason why the UK staffing industry shouldn’t get their fair share of this new funding, too..)

Kate McCarthy also commented that as an ever increasing number of candidates come on to the market, retail recruitment firms are needed more than ever.

With trade body the British Retail Consortium claiming that like-for-like sales dropped 1.5% in the year to September, McCarthy observed that the retail recruitment market was moving from being a candidate-led market to being a client-led one.

“Building partnerships and sending out quality people is great because the volume of candidates have gone up. Clients need that help because they cannot cope with the volume of sifting through many CVs to see the talent that is out there.”

Dealing with stress

Ask anyone in business today if they feel stressed and under pressure and, at least 85 times out of a hundred, you will get the answer ‘yes.’ Stress can and does affect performance. Individuals tend to think that we can hide the signs and that, therefore, other people will not notice. This is simply not the case. We all have issues with stress, how we deal with them is what makes us different. Certain individuals can recognise the signs and then take positive actions to deal with it, others continue blindly on perhaps until they can continue no more and illness forces them to take a rest.

Recognition of the symptoms of stress is vital if you are going to get the best out of your team and be a quality leader. It is not enough to simply ask ‘Are you alright?’ and just accept the answer because when we have noticed a difference in their work rate or standard of work, ‘Yes I am fine’ is clearly not the truth. Likewise, if we are stressed, our team will pick up on this and we will all become less effective.

I would like give you some examples of the types of symptoms that indicate whether a person could be stressed. Consider physical, behavioural and emotional symptoms. Physical symptoms could be frequent colds, muscle tension, headaches, arthritis, backache, fatigue, muscle twitching, rashes or itching, ulcers - the list goes on. Behavioural symptoms - perhaps nervousness or aggressiveness when one is not normally nervous or aggressive. Or the use of alcohol, poor posture, difficulty in concentrating, anger, teeth grinding, compulsive eating, daydreaming, sleeplessness and sighing. Emotional symptoms – well, they can be depression, impatience, loneliness, anxiousness, frustration, inflexibility.

So what are some of the methods for dealing with stress? As we stated earlier, recognition is fine, but how can you deal with it? It is not often practical to expect to run off into the country every time we feel that we are under pressure or stressed. There are however positive ways to deal with it. Let us consider four: active, mental or physical distraction; self nurturance or spoiling; emotional expression; and confronting the issue.

Firstly active, mental or physical distraction: look at hobbies that you can take or retake up, such as gardening, reading, sewing, listening to music, crosswords, woodwork, houseplants, chess, cooking, writing letters, DIY - the list goes on, even going to the cinema or theatre or perhaps shopping. Then there is physical exercise – walking, jogging, squash, cycling, tennis, golf, you get the idea. Even chores are an active physical distraction such as housework, laundry, ironing, washing the car or grocery shopping. Then there are people, why not have ordinary chitchat with friends and thinking about or helping out someone worse off than you?
Next we have self nurturance or spoiling yourself. First and foremost - rest, take proper breaks, ensure you get enough sleep, take catnaps if you can’t, relaxation exercises and we have done some of those before, yoga, putting your feet up, even a long, hot bath, sauna or a jacuzzi. Look at your diet, always have a proper breakfast and lunch. Have more whole foods and less refined foods and not an excess of any one kind of food and why not check out food allergies. Treats – buy something new or special, have a special meal, have a cuddle, stroke the dog or have an aromatherapy massage. You get the idea.
Then there is emotional expression. Why not write or talk about your stress, unburdening to a friend or colleague, having a moaning session, telephoning someone or writing down your feelings, catharsis – have a good cry! Bash cushions, punch a punch bag, stamp your feet, scream or shout, swear, even smashing or ripping up something that is of little value. Then there is creative, emotional expression, try poetry, painting, drawing, writing a song, singing a song, sculpture, making music, amateur dramatics or dancing.
Finally, confront the issue by thinking, working it through step by step, pinpointing and analysing the problem. Clarify the causes of stress, brainstorm and decide on priorities and make a plan. This may be helpful if you use someone else alongside. So, ask other people for help and advice on certain needs and wants and challenge someone if they are causing stress. Finally, look at the organisation or the system, telling people in power how you think and giving them any information which will help make them change. Join a pressure group or form a project team.

One thing is important though – recognise your stress, get help if necessary and deal with it.

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.

Employees unconvinced their bosses can deal with the downturn

According to research conducted by the Aziz Corporation, employees are becoming increasingly concerned over their bosses’ ability to cope with the current economic climate. 200 employees (ranging from people involved in admin positions to senior management) were surveyed, and 81 per cent believe that their boss (and bosses throughout the country) have little or no experience of dealing with an economic downturn. They feel that the economy has been booming for so long, that senior members of an organisation have never experienced an economic slowdown.

Almost three quarters of the people surveyed (74 per cent) believe that many companies are reluctant to communicate to their employees the full extent of the financial downturn they are facing. Interestingly, 88 per cent feel that companies will gain their employees trust and confidence by disclosing bad news in full, and as early as possible.

Professor Khalid Aziz, Chairman of The Aziz Corporation, comments: “It is perhaps not a matter of chance that the recently-humbled HBOS had the youngest management team in the banking sector, with its youthful Chief Executive having never been through a recession in banking, and is now selling out to a bank with much more experienced leadership. “

He adds that: “In having to deal with and communicate bad news, a downturn exposes leaders who are muddling through without a plan. In the absence of full information, markets will assume the worst. Companies which refuse to come clean risk a steady and persistent drip of bad news. Businesses in difficulty should disclose their position early and in full. That way they can often allay the worst fears of the market, while demonstrating that they are on top of the problem and have a plan to deal with it.”

Recruiters’ Guide to handling researchers

"The Third Way"

We’ve had some business development success of late off the back of a campaign we’ve run for most of this year – ‘The Third Way’. I thought it would be of interest to you to briefly explain the concept as it’s particularly pertinent given the current climate.

We quickly recognised at the end of 2007 that the market was going to get tough – we had listened to what our clients were telling us, as well as what the press, TV news, etc, were reporting and predicting. These days, you’d have to live in a cave on some obscure island off Antarctica not to realise what it’s like out there.

As a result of this, we came up with marketing research services to our clients as ‘The Third Way’ – an offering they can include on pitches to their clients.

One thing is clear; companies still have to recruit. Granted, certain sectors have experienced a lot pain this year and there are frequent stories of redundancies in certain areas, but natural turnover, businesses that are still growing (albeit a bit slower than they would have liked) and organisations in sectors that have yet to cry “help!” are still going to be looking for new talent – just with a smaller recruitment budget than previously.

We’ve been trying to assist our clients in winning assignments by offering ‘The Third Way’ as a genuine alternative solution; a research campaign. Traditional agency databases are costly/often a merry-go-round of the same candidates and advertising is both pricey and very unpredictable; the third option is to go down the research route – it’s bespoke, results-orientated, targets the ‘right’ kind of people and, of course, cost effective. All the things you, as smart recruiters, should know already!

Clients have been contacting us more and more this year to say that they’ve been retained on a piece of work, but that their client isn’t going to pay for an advert and that it’s “research or bust” in terms of finding candidates. HR recruitment budgets are smaller, therefore recruiter’s margins naturally get tighter, so it’s natural to look for a solution that produces the same result (a placement) for less cost.

The days where a client would contact us to use a research campaign as an ‘add on’ to a big glossy ad in the press and some expensive web advertising (with some spare cash left over to put a banner on the London Eye…) appear to be over; everyone is tightening their belt.

I’ve always wanted to keep these articles “this our business!” free; I’m cynical and have often read articles in recruitment press over the years that were out & out business development pieces disguised as ‘interesting reads’ and certainly Warren & Ken wouldn’t thank me for it if I went down that road. On that basis, it isn’t just ourselves who can offer this – if you’re a recruiter with a good relationship with a research organisation you should be experiencing the above already. Research is tailormade for these times.

If you’ve never engaged a research business before, it might not be a bad idea to ring round a few to see if value can be added whilst some of the cost of running a recruitment campaign for a client is taken away.

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 david@exactaresearch.co.uk, visit www.exactaresearch.co.uk or call 08000 856 618.

Conflict mismanagement costs £24 billion

Poorly managed conflicts in the workplace are crippling British business, according to a new report ‘Fight, Flight or Face It’ from business psychology firm OPP and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. The average UK employee spends over two hours a week dealing with conflict, which means in total more than 370 million working days were lost last year at a cost to British employers of more than £24 billion.

Personality clashes and warring egos are the number one cause of conflict, cited by 49% of respondents. Stress and heavy workloads follow, being cited by 34% and 33% of employees respectively. Over half of employees (54%) and many more HR professionals (80%) want managers to address underlying tensions before they escalate into conflict

Robert McHenry, Chief Executive of OPP, said, “In the context of the current economic downturn, businesses could see steep rises in conflict as workloads increase, budgets shrink and stress levels rise. The fact that there are too few managers in British business with the insight to handle it effectively could cost us dearly.”

A quarter (27%) of employees have seen disagreements involving personal attacks or insults, while one in six (16%) have actually seen conflicts lead to people being fired. Meanwhile, the majority of HR professionals (63%) have seen employees become ill or absent following a disagreement within their organisation.

According to HR professionals, most conflict is seen in departments at the operational level, such as customer service, where it has a direct impact on the performance and reputation of an organisation. However, conflict also exists at the senior levels, where others in the organisation take their cue: 12% of employees say that disagreements among their senior team are frequent or continual.

Over the course of the average 44-year career, employees will spend nearly six months dealing with workplace conflict. It could actually be time well spent, but only if they are able to do so effectively.

Linda Holbeche, director of research and policy at the CIPD, thinks that conflict management should be an integral part of leadership and management training. “Conflict is an inevitable part of the workplace and can be very damaging and costly if not managed properly. Managers must be able to identify the early signs of conflict and intervene and diffuse situations before they escalate if teams are to work productively and harmoniously. Managers must also manage under-performance firmly and fairly, as well as pick-up on when banter starts to become bullying or when workloads become excessive.

“Just as importantly managers must learn to manage in a way that does not create conflict by providing clear objectives, communicating effectively and planning and managing individual and team workloads appropriately."

The report revealed that where training is more prevalent, positive outcomes from conflict are far more common. Over half (58%) of employees who have had training now look for win-win outcomes from a workplace conflict.

However, the research revealed that more than half of the UK workforce (55%) has had no training in the effective management of conflict. Around a third of all employees (28%) simply allow conflict situations to continue, causing untold damage to morale and productivity.

This ‘head in the sand’ approach is widespread, even though eight out of ten British workers (82%) have to spend time dealing with conflict in the workplace, and the vast majority (89%) have experienced workplace conflict that has escalated.

McHenry concluded, “What is most worrying is the way in which UK managers are failing to deal effectively with that conflict, as a result of being poorly supported in developing the right skills in to do so. If disagreements are managed professionally, based on good training, they can be very beneficial to an organisation in terms of helping to generate new ways of working and creative solutions.”

Recruiters’ Guide to Networking

Referrals – giving and receiving [2]

This is Will’s latest article on ‘working the room.’ This month, in the second of two contributions on the subject, he shares his ideas with you on giving and receiving referrals.

8. Be as helpful as you can when making referrals. Don’t just give tips or leads but offer to make a call or send a letter of introduction.
9. Be careful about giving unconditional referrals. You could damage your own reputation so tell your contact you are only making an introduction but can’t vouch for that person unless you have used that person’s services.
10. Follow up quickly when you are given a lead. Leads are like food; they go stale quickly!
11. Keep your introducer involved when you are given the lead and always thank him or her.
12. Ensure you are even more reliable than normal with referrals. You don’t want to let two contacts down.
13. Ask for what you want, people get a buzz out of helping…it’s good for their ego!
14. Give outstanding and unforgettable service and your reputation will become widespread. When you are unreliable your fellow networkers will not forgive you easily and your chances of more referrals will be minimal.

Will Kintish and his team show people how to attract more business and clients by helping them become more confident and effective business networkers. For more information, email willk@kintish.co.uk, visit www.kintish.co.uk or call 0161 773 3727.

Presentation skills – pitching for business

Do you view pitching for business where you have to address perhaps 2 or 3 decision makers at the same time simply a business meeting or a performance? A performance you say? Great - I’m glad you said that! Whenever we make a presentation to a large group or to a small group we owe it to ourselves to put on a performance – no, not a song and dance routine but simply a controlled, logical, flowing and well delivered presentation. Too often we can be overcome by a need to throw in as much information as possible and often this is in the most illogical and confusing way.

Let us look at what I consider to be the main contributors to putting on a strong performance.

• Firstly develop an opening or title, this sets the scene and lets the audience know exactly what to expect.
• Structure your presentation; remember the introduction, development and conclusion. The introduction where you say what is going to happen, development where you expand on key points to your argument and conclusion where you summarise the main points that you want your audience to take away with them.
• Make sure you take the time out to complete personal rehearsal; everything that looks natural has been rehearsed. Take time out to complete this stage, particularly the opening.
• Be organised, have all your visuals to hand, keep hold of your cue cards and pay attention to details e.g. how the room is set up, how the light is in the room. So often the things that we overlook are those that really make the difference.
• Keep visual aids simple. Use straightforward, bullet point charts and you add the details with words. Never attempt to take short cuts by filling the slide with detail, as it just will not work.
• Avoid the thesaurus, use everyday language that you feel comfortable with - do not be tempted to use big words just to impress, it will be clear to everyone that you are less than comfortable with them and your message will be weakened.
• Use jargon sparingly, if you are talking to a body of people from your own environment then the use of jargon to make and emphasise points is fine provided that you do not overplay your hand. If you are trying to explain a point to a group of people to whom the subject matter is new never, ever use jargon as your message will be lost. I once attended a presentation where a marketing executive used the phrase ‘hand-held portable bread snack’ to describe a sandwich – the message was completely lost!
• Use the most persuasive words, words just as ‘new, save, free, guaranteed, proven, safe and discover’ to name but a few. These words are emotive and powerful but, be warned, repetition will diminish their impact.
• Control your voice, use a high pitch to elevate the spirits and express excitement and use a low pitch to express sorrow or anxiety to make a point.
• Build rapport, use a mixture of words so that every member of the audience sees what you are trying to say, likes the sound of it and feels comfortable and relaxed.
• Read and use body language remembering to watch for the signs of disagreement or confusion.
• Consider your personal presentation, remember to be properly dressed to be appropriately dressed, look the part whatever that part may be. There is a story, of course, that the only reason gentlemen play football is so that they can wear black shoes and white socks!
• Handle interruptions with confidence.
• Consider what questions you may get asked and plan to answer them convincingly.
• Do remember to listen actively to anything that is said to you, whether it is before, during or after your presentation.
• Above all relax, rehearse and enjoy. The audience want you to succeed - do not disappoint them!

Matt Wilson is a consultant with Recruitment Matters and is offering a wide range of courses for 2008. For more information on Recruitment Matters, our training courses, services and products visit www.recruitmentmatters.com, telephone 0800 0749289 or email info@recruitmentmatters.com.

Recruitment Matters news

We have had a great response to our three new audio CD titles that we’ll be releasing in the coming months which is just as well as Warren is going into the recording studios next week… The first two titles (Overcoming Client Objections and Overcoming Candidate Objections When Head-Hunting) will be out just in time for Christmas!

Speaking of Christmas, remember that you have the opportunity to, at least temporarily, forget the doom and gloom by combining business and pleasure with a trip to Brussels’ famous Christmas market for the weekend, followed by attending Warren’s Successful Head-Hunting course in this great city on Monday, December 1st. For more information please click here.

Following many enquiries about course dates for 2009, at last, we have our schedule for Jan-March 2009. There is plenty of variety in both content and location, including further dates for our two new one day courses Diversity and Key Employment Law and Managing Teams and Mentoring People. Also, you’ll see that we’ll be in Amsterdam, Dublin and Glasgow with Successful Head-Hunting next year.

We hope that you enjoyed Warren’s and Matt’s new tips for this month – you will find many more on our free tips page http://www.recruitmentmatters.com/free.php which is regularly updated.

Please see the schedule below for all our open course dates through to March 2009.

RECRUITMENT MATTERS: November 2008 – March 2009 Open Training Schedule

To download a booking form, please click here.

TWO DAY INTRODUCTION TO RECRUITMENT
'Induction for new recruits'
Trainer: MATT WILSON 
Nov 5/6th – London
Jan 14/15th – London
Jan 28/29th – Birmingham
Feb 17/18th – Manchester
Mar 11/12th – London
Mar 25/26th – Birmingham

Investment £495+VAT
'Bring A Friend' £425+VAT
Link

INTERVIEW SKILLS FOR RECRUITERS
Trainer: MATT WILSON 
Nov 25th – London 
Dec 3rd – Manchester
Jan 8th – Birmingham
Feb 24th – London
Mar 4th – Manchester

Investment £245+VAT
'Bring A Friend' £195+VAT
Link

WINNING NEW BUSINESS
'Telephone Skills For Recruiters'
Trainer: MATT WILSON
Nov 12th – London
Nov 13th – Birmingham
Dec 10th – London
Jan 20th – Birmingham
Feb 4th – London
Feb 10th – Manchester
Mar 17th – London

Investment £245+VAT
'Bring A Friend' £195+VAT
Link

SUCCESSFUL HEAD-HUNTING
Trainer: WARREN KEMP
Nov 4th – Manchester
Nov 11th – London
Nov 25th – London
Dec 1st – Brussels
Dec 2nd – Bristol
Dec 15th – Birmingham
Dec 16th – London
Jan 8th – London
Jan 14th – Manchester
Jan 23rd – London
Jan 27th – Coventry
Feb 2nd – Amsterdam
Feb 12th – London
Feb 20th – Glasgow
Feb 24th – London
Feb 25th – Birmingham
Mar 3rd – Bristol
Mar 10th – London
Mar 16th – Dublin
Mar 25th – Manchester
Mar 26th – London

Investment £325+VAT
'Bring A Friend' £245+VAT
Link

NEGOTIATION SKILLS FOR RECRUITERS (half day)
Trainer: MATT WILSON
Nov 19th – Birmingham
Jan 27th – London
Feb 11th – Birmingham

Investment £129+VAT.
'Bring A Friend' £99+VAT
Link

RECRUITING IN A TOUGH MARKET (half day)
Trainer: WARREN KEMP
Nov 14th – Birmingham
Dec 5th – London
Jan 28th – Birmingham
Feb 13th – London
Mar 20th – London

Investment £99+VAT
NEW! 'Bring A Friend' £69+VAT!
Link

BUILDING & RUNNING AN EFFECTIVE SEARCH DESK (two days)
Trainer: WARREN KEMP 
Dec 11/12th – London
Mar 12/13th – London

Investment £595+VAT
'Bring A Friend' £495+VAT
Link

GAINING CLIENT COMMITMENT (half day)
'Secure More Profitable Vacancies'
Trainer: MATT WILSON
Running Time: 9.30am - 1.00pm
Nov 26th – Manchester
Dec 4th – Birmingham
Jan 22nd – London
Feb 25th – Manchester
Mar 5th – Birmingham

Investment £149+VAT
'Bring A Friend' £129+VAT
Link

MANAGING TEAMS AND MOTIVATING PEOPLE (one day)
Trainer: WARREN KEMP
Nov 21st – Birmingham
Nov 26th – London
Dec 3rd – Manchester
Jan 15th – London
Feb 4th – Birmingham
Feb 18th – Manchester
Mar 4th – London

Investment £299+VAT
'Bring A Friend' £199+VAT
Link

DIVERSITY AND KEY EMPLOYMENT LAW (one day)
Trainer: DAVID HARRISON
Nov 25th – London
Feb 12th – Birmingham
Mar 12th – London

Investment £279+VAT
'Bring A Friend' £199+VAT
Link

For more information on these courses and our other services and products, visit www.recruitmentmatters.com, email info@recruitmentmatters.com or call Emma or Ken on 0800 0749289 or, if you’re overseas, 0044 1483 755559.

Contact us

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

Unsubscribe

To unsubscribe from this newsletter please click here.