Next government must curb public sector job cuts
A recruitment industry body has warned that an incoming government of whatever stripe must address two immediate priorities – stimulating jobs growth and cutting expenditure without creating a public sector recession by shedding thousands of posts. The warning came as research indicated that the rate at which recruiters filled permanent vacancies slipped last month from […]
Recruitment rates up but gap in private and public sector grows
While hiring by private sector organisations is set to surge this spring, the public sector jobs outlook is the bleakest for six years – although overall the balance is positive for the first time since the winter of 2008. According to the latest quarterly labour market survey of 800 employers undertaken by the Chartered Institute […]
Survey reveals dissatisfaction with recruitment agencies
Nearly three quarters of employers find it difficult to find good recruitment agencies, while a huge nine out of ten believe that recruitment processes take too long. These are the findings of a survey among 250 UK business owners and HR professionals undertaken by research firm Vanson Bourne and commissioned by TalentPuzzle, an online marketplace, […]
Graduates? No thanks!
Neither school leavers nor university graduates are providing employers with what they need due to basic problems with literacy, numeracy and attitude, a Tesco executive said today. The broadside came only days after university union, the UCU, slammed the business community for failing to “make a proper contribution” to funding for higher education, despite being […]
Small businesses, watch your back when hiring
Small business owners know the value of good employees. But unlike large corporations, smaller businesses are often unable to absorb the risks and liability that may come from bad hiring decisions. In this article, Traci Canning, Managing Director, Kroll Background Worldwide will be offering guidance on carrying out employee checks. More and more, employers feel […]
Drowning in a sea of applications
When you have so many applicants to sift through, recruiting can seem a huge ordeal. Dan Hughes offers a lifebuoy and explains how it has worked for Waitrose. Many employers experience the challenge of sorting through a sea of job applications to find the select few with the greatest potential for success in their organisation. […]
Beating the frustration: improving HR’s relationship with recruiters
Historically HR and recruiters haven’t had a great relationship, yet they both need each other – something has to be done so we can both get along. While in theory recruitment only forms a small part of an HR manager’s role, in practice it can be one of the most time-consuming elements. In addition, at […]
Jobs, skills, growth? Not likely this year, say Unions
Union research indicating that the rate of pay freezes will accelerate this year has been published just as an influential employment advisory body hosted an international conference to focus on the UK’s future strategy for skills, jobs and growth. The new study undertaken by the Labour Research Department found that pay freezes were now more […]
Graduates could cause HR headache
Desperate university graduates are likely to cause HR professionals headaches over the year ahead by applying for as many jobs as possible, formally accepting multiple formal offers and making their final decision at the last minute. These are the findings of an online poll undertaken among more than 300 recent graduates and current undergraduates by […]
Happy 100th Birthday, Jobcentre
An employment expert has praised the UK’s Jobcentre network as being one of the most “sophisticated” in Europe as the public employment service begins celebrating its centenary this month. The Public Employment Service was created under the Labour Exchange Act of 1909 when unemployment rates of eight per cent were similar to today. By 1912, […]
Recruiting? Get the job spec write!
Rob Ashton explains how to write your way to the ideal candidate. It’s the start of the new year and the UK is sitting on a glut of unwanted Christmas presents. Matching present to person is seldom an easy task. It takes time and effort. But in the run up to Christmas, many people will […]
Talented graduates seek work in call centres
Talent war? What talent war? Call centres appear to be winning a better quality candidiate since the downturn. While contact centre agents have traditionally been considered undereducated with few other options, a huge 25 per cent are now graduates, with 14 per cent having a post-graduate degree under their belt. Moreover, according to a report […]
What HR can learn from sales to optimise recruitment
Over the last 10 years there have been a lot of changes in the way recruitment has been carried out by HR departments. But now, according to Mitch Sullivan, more radical change is needed by HR to get the best results from their recruitment campaigns. In most companies there is little or no interaction between […]
The new world of outplacement
Richard Alberg, CEO of mynewjob.me, explains how he’s experienced the world of recruitment and outplacement changing. Outplacement is changing. What was once predominantly a service designed for a relatively small number of senior executives is now a mass market offering. The problem is that although the name has remained the same the available budget has […]
Tips on keeping agency worker costs low
Matthew Sanders, Chief Executive of de Poel – the number one purchaser of temporary agency labour in the UK – outlines his top tips on how to keep hire costs down. With Christmas upon us, and the demand for temporary agency workers in the UK soaring, the cost a company faces in order to supplement […]
Finding and filling senior roles
It might seem like a recruiter’s market, but actually it can be as tough recruiting as applying, says Nick Stevens. In many ways, the current outlook for senior people looking for a career move and employers with roles to fill is not exactly what most people would expect. Issues which you wouldn’t instinctively associate with […]
Employing disabled people
The subject of employing disabled people is one that is likely to raise a number of concerns amongst employers. Unfortunately, most of these concerns are based on misinformation and prejudice. Jane Hatton, Managing Director of specialist training company The Diversity People (and who has herself become disabled) helps to put the record straight. Recruiting and […]
Unscrupulous employers take advantage of work experience ‘slaves’ to the tune of £214m
The desperation to gain work experience to become more employable in the midst of the worst youth unemployment since 1993 has led to many employers illegally taking advantage of students and young people. A study of nearly 2000 students has found that 16% have worked unpaid hours for an employer in the last year in […]
Jobcentre Plus gets a plus with improved services
With the help of HR and behavioural change specialists, Jobcentre Plus has begun work to offer business a better recruitment option. The pilot programme, which took place in Greenwich, focused on addressing the additonal pressure on the nationwide service because of the recession. No longer is the jobcentre dealing with typical jobseekers alone: the recently […]
Home grown leaders preferred, say UK employees
When hiring your next CEO or director, bear this in mind: research has revealed that ‘growing your own’ creates better perceived, more highly regarded leaders than hiring externally. A majority of UK employees have more respect for leaders who have worked their way up through an organisation. Two thirds of the employees surveyed considered ‘home-grown’ […]