With employers interviewing multiple candidates for one position it is important that candidates interviewing make a great first impression but that first impression is just as important as the follow up after your interview.

The interview is complete, you felt it went well and you are keen on securing the position so what do you do now. We have included a quick template for you to send to the employer, following your interview.

Dear Sir / Madam

I wanted to express my gratitude for the opportunity of interviewing me for the position of …………… on the date of …………….

The position sounds like a great opportunity and I would really appreciate any updates regarding the status of my application and the next steps in the hiring process.

Thank you once again for considering my application. Please let me know if you need any additional information from me and I look forward to hearing from you.

Kinds Regards,

Candidate name

Just a short email to say thanks and reiterate your keen on the position can go a long way.

If you would like further tips then get in touch with one of our consultants, we would love to support you on your journey in securing your dream role.

Anti-Slavery Day takes place every year on the 18 October. Anti-Slavery Day is part of Anti-Slavery week, a UK and European awareness week, which this year runs from 16 – 22 October 2023.

In 2010, an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom introduced a national day to raise awareness of the need to eradicate all forms of slavery, human trafficking and exploitation. Today, we continue to raise awareness of these issues, highlighting good practice.

It has been reported today with surveying of businesses across the UK that a whooping 76% of UK companies are struggling to hire new staff.

Recruitment being a hot topic in the news at the moment with 3 in 4 companies struggling to recruit and retain staff which is a massive number and with the market still being candidate led, what can companies do to attract and retain staff.

Years back candidates went where the money was but now we are finding although having a great salary and benefits, company culture is what is important, staff stay or go where they feel most valued and respected.

So what can you implement in your business to ensure you attract and train your staff?

Culture:

Culture is everything and ensuring staff feel happy, valued and respected within the business and amongst colleagues is key, so what can you do to ensure your staff are happy within the work place. Having open door policies, staff want to be able to address and raise concerns without feeling penalised, likewise they want to ensure they can share ideas and thoughts openly and feel they are being listened too. Offering staff flexibility, work life balance and not to feel micro managed. Having team events / team building exercise and most importantly, have a work hard play hard culture, get the job done but ensure staff can laugh and enjoy along the way.

Salary and Benefits:

Of course this one will be up there in key ways to attract and retain staff and its a pretty simple one to navigate, having an attractive salary within a job role of course will attract candidates to the role. Go above the average for that role, pay staff their value along with additional incentives such as increased holiday entitlement, discounted perks, life style benefits, bonuses and ensure these are regularly reviewed. You will be surprised the return you will get from an employee when you pay they what they deserve with additional incentives.

The Recruitment Process:

So you have had a lot of candidates apply for the job role, don’t wait around to short list as good candidates won’t stay on the market for long, so get interviews lined up in your diary. There is nothing worst to candidates than a lengthy and drawn out recruitment process, if you are taking a long time to get back to candidates or having a extremely long interview process such as multiple interviews / tests and so on, it can put candidates off. a one or two stage interview process we thinks works well in keeping candidates engaged, anything longer than this, you may risk loosing candidates interest.

If you want to have a chat with one of our friendly consultants who can work with you in offering advice on ways to improve candidate attraction and retention then get in touch today.

3 Ways a Recruitment Agency can support your business.

When it comes to recruitment and hiring it can often become a stressful and time-consuming process with some businesses not knowing where to start or simply not having enough time to sift through applications, arrange interviews and ultimately find the right person for the job.

This is where an agency comes in, an agency will work with you in finding out exactly what you need in terms of candidate skills, experience and personality fit. Taking the stress away from the recruitment process and freeing up your time to focus on your business.

Here are just 3 ways a recruitment agency can add value to your business.

Candidate Attraction – giving you access to a higher pool of candidates.

Direct Response will manage the whole process on attracting candidates for your job role. We will create an eye-catching job description, showcase what you have to offer and advertise these across a wide range of job boards and social media channels ensuring your job is seen by those looking for new opportunities.

At Direct Response we all have established a large database of candidates over the years meaning we have access to candidates who may not be active on the job market but could have the skills you are looking for, giving us a greater pool of candidates to approach on your behalf.

We Manage the process for you.

Having to sift through a large number of applications can be time consuming, but here at Direct Response we will handle all that for you. We will manage all applications and short list candidates who are suitable for the role. We will pre-screen all candidates, discussing the role in detail, salary expectations and so on before sending all suitable candidates over to you attached with a CV and profile detailing their suitability for the role.

Once you have selected which candidates you would like to interview, we will manage the interview process for you, scheduling and assisting with the all-important interviews.

Offer, Rejection and Negotiation.

So, you have found a candidate you would love to join your business and its time to make an offer, we will support your business in making that all important job offer.

Direct Response will assist with the whole offer, negotiating salary, carrying out references checks and supporting with the onboarding process of your new recruit.

We will also ensure any candidates you have been declined during your recruitment process   are informed within a polite manner so you can concentrate on what you do best within your company.

If you would like to find out more about how Direct Response can support your business, then get in touch with us today to see how we can help.

Mental health can affect us all at different times in our lives and with work being here we spend a lot of our time during the working week, its important that employers and colleagues alike to be able to support those who may be experiencing mental health in the workplace.

Its important that your employees are aware they can come to you should they be struggling or generally just need some time out or someone to talk to and it’s an employer’s job to ensure you have that open door policy to allow employees to do this.

However not everyone feels comfortable when it comes to talking about their feelings or asking for help, so how do we recognise if someone is struggling within the workplace.

Is you employee / colleague struggling with mental health and what are the tell tell signs to look out for.

• Isolating themselves from other workers and being very quiet or not talkative. Now there are some people who generally are just not that talkative but if an employee or colleague who was once very talkative and social becomes distance and starts isolating themselves from how they normally behave it could be a sign they are going through some troubles.  
• Having increased absences from work.
• A person may become more aggressive and suffer from increased mood swings.
• Having difficulty concentrating at work and no motivation to complete tasks.

Sometimes it can be easy t spot a change in someone’s behaviour or if someone is perhaps not in a good mood, we can pick these up easily but there are times where people who may be struggling and out on a go mask so to speak.

Which brings me on to what can we do in the workplace to encourage mental health awareness and what support can you provide?

• Encourage employees to talk, ensure employees know you are there for them to discuss any problems they may be facing and ensure they feel welcomed in being able to express any feelings.
• Have regular one to one’s with employees, it’s a great way to build a bound with employees, find out how they are getting on in the workplace and gives them the opportunity to express themselves to you.
• Encouraging mental health support within the workplace such as mental health awareness training or workshops or having dedicated trained individuals or councillors or mental health champions being available, so employees know where to turn if they need that extra support.
• Respect confidentiality. Remember mental health information is confidential and sensitive. Don’t pass on information unnecessarily – not least because this breach of trust could negatively impact someone’s mental health.
• Offer flexibility or a free space employees can go to and take some take away from the workplace to have a breather and gather their thoughts.
• Offer a 24/7 employee assistant program, which is an outside service which employees can access for a range of advice or support.

It is important to remember that an employee who is struggling can feel vulnerable or may be embarrassed to ask for help, so its important to raise as much awareness within the workplace.

Create a supportive and open environment and ensure mental health is not frowned upon and that your door is always open.

If you would like to take a look further about what training or work shops surrounding mental health which may health your organisation, then check out the links below.

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/publications/how-support-mental-health-work

Is it all about the Salary?       

The ball is very much in the candidate’s court at the moment as we are in a candidate driven market, so you may be wondering what you can do to keep current staff engaged and attract new talent?

There once was a time where it was very much all about the salary, candidates went where the money was and even though this is still high on a candidates list, there is so much more to it.

With the ever-changing market, working from home and the increase in the desire to have that work life balance, candidates are looking at the overall package as opposed to what they would take home at the end of the month.

So, what exactly are candidates wanting and view as high or musts on their check list when looking for a new position?

We have asked the question and created a list of what candidates have said are important when looking at their next role.

Number one on the list…… Flexibility!   

Work life balance is key and what was the norm a few years back, working 5 days a week 9-5 has changed, having that flexibility is a must, especially when it comes to the working family.

So what flexibility are they looking for?

Working 4 days a week.

Having school hours or the flexibility to start a bit later or finish early.

Early finish on a Friday.

The flexibility to work from home if they have the technology / capacity to do so.

For the working parent having a company that is understanding when it comes to childcare, such as doing the school run, having time off if the child is poorly or generally being flexible with working around school holidays, school performances is a real must.

If it has been a while since you looked at how the company views flexible working, it may be worth having a look at what your company can do to support your workers.

Company Culture:

That’s second on the list. What is your company culture like? Do you have an open-door policy? Are employees made to feel they can express feelings / ideas and do you offer a friendly working environment?

The last thing you want is an employee that dreads coming in to work, so what can you do to build that team spirit and ensure employees are happy?

Listening is key, try not to micromanage and let employees have the freedom to complete their job knowing they have support if needed.

Create team building exercises, make the office / workspace fun and have a laugh while you work. Yes, get the job done but nobody wants to work in strict environment.

We spend a lot of time with our colleagues so having a team which feels friendly and supportive makes employees enjoy being in work.

Salary:

Here it is, Salary! Third on the list as being the most important when looking for a new opportunity.

Candidates need to feel they are being paid what they are worth and offering a fair salary for the job is just as important as the other added additional benefits.

There are a number of points that companies can do to make sure they are remaining competitive.

• Regular bench marking, have a look at what your competitors are paying.
• Regular salary reviews, if a candidate is doing well then why not show appreciation and offer that pay rise.
• Bonuses and commission, is this something you could offer employees?

At the end of the day, if an employee feels valued they will go the extra mile and productivity is key with business performance.

Holiday Entitlement

Fourth on the list is Holiday entitlement, a lot of companies are still offering the standard 28 days (Normally 20 days plus 8 bank holidays) holiday, which is the minimal legal entitlement. So, can this be classed as a benefit when you are offering the standard, as let’s face it, legally you have to give this amount to candidates, so where is the added benefit?

While most companies will offer an increase with years of service, perhaps it is worth looking at offering an increased entitlement from the very beginning of the candidate staring work.

Having enhanced holiday, is a must for companies to look into, along with some companies offering the option to also buy or sell additional holiday.

Additional Benefits:

We have also listed some additional benefits below which may make the package a little sweeter for your employees.

• Enhanced pension contributions.
• Health Insurance / Free Gym membership.
• Discounts on products / vouchers / money off on the high street / perk box.
• Rewards for service / performance such as money, holiday vouchers etc.
• Training and Development.
• Enhancing skills and qualifications with paid courses.

So, whilst salary is an important factor when a candidates employee looks at another job or is considering leaving, Employers need to be looking at the whole benefit package.

 The job market is changing. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS)*, job vacancies are reaching record highs.

With employers recruiting again following the impact of COVID-19, many employers are leaving the recruitment process in the hands of the recruitment agencies. This means it is a great time to register with a recruitment agency so that you’re first in line to hear about a new job.

Direct Response Employment Services is your local recruitment agency, finding the right people for the right jobs in Wiltshire, somerset and nationally. We recruit for permanent and temporary positions from warehouse, production, and industrial, transport and office and technical jobs.

With lots of people realising that recruitment agencies are the best way of job searching, how can you make sure that you are the first person that springs to mind for a recruiter?

The key is in a successful registration.

 A registration with Direct Response Employment services includes a 45-minute appointment with one of our friendly Recruitment Consultants. We also need some necessary details to be able to help you on your job search like your personal details, ID check and GDPR form so that we’re complying with our legal requirements. It doesn’t take long to complete online.

This is an opportunity for us to meet you face to face and have an informal conversation with you. This enables us to get a better feel for the types of jobs and employers that would be the best fit for you and your interests and skills. We are looking for the right person for our clients and a job for you that you will be happy in.