5 simple steps to choosing the Right Recruitment agency

• Choose an agency who specialises in the type of work role you are looking for.
• Choose an agency who is transparent
• Speak to a real person
• Always check out the Testimonials
• A good agency will give you advice, support, and guidance. They will not pressure you into a single course of action.

We are still open for business!

We are still operating through the lockdown and are here to support with staffing solutions!

We have over 21 years’ experience in supplying staff to various different sectors including the food industry, industrial, transport, commercial, skilled and technical hospitality & Catering industry. If you need support with current staffing requirements or even just to cover a few shifts, Call us on 01225 776500 or email [email protected]

3 Top Tips to keep you motivated whilst working remotely! 

With most employees over the past few weeks having to work from home, it has certainly seen a lot of changes in the way we work, interaction with colleagues, clients and customers and the change in how a company has had to operate. 

In this difficult time, not having our normal routine of getting up and going to the workplace can leave us a bit out of sorts and de-motivated so we have come up with some tips to keep you positive and motivated through these unusual times. 

Having your own workspace at home: 

As easy as it may be to go sit on the sofa with your laptop and attempt to work while the TV is on, it can be highly distractive and often cause a lot of employees to be less motivated. 

If you are able to try and set up your own office space whether this is in a spare room, a corner of the kitchen table or somewhere quiet in your household, then do it. 

It may be simple but having somewhere where you can place your laptop, work gear, telephone etc away from where you would normally sit in the evening makes you feel more motivated, less distractive and not have that feeling that work is invading your home life. 

Keep in touch with colleagues: 

We often forget we spend a number of hours a week with our colleagues at work and its those conversations, team meetings and general support we miss whilst at home.

It’s important you keep in touch with colleagues whether this is by daily catch-ups on the phone, having a team meeting online using video chat and keeping each other involved in what you are doing day to day helps. 

With the number of digital tools we have at our fingertips, there is no reason why team meetings can’t happen, catching up with colleagues or having a good old team quiz to keep employees spirits high. 

A to-do list: 

Whilst being at home it is often hard to keep track of time and things to do like we normally would in the office, which is why it is handy to have a daily to-do list. 

Each morning set out what you need to get done for the day by writing a task or to-do list and let this support you throughout your day. This way it helps you keep on track, sets out what you want to achieve for the day and gives you satisfaction and that thought of accomplishment when completed. 

Remember it is important during these times you look after yourself and your mental wellbeing so keep in touch with colleagues, friends, and family and keep safe.

Recruiting new employees can be a costly and time-consuming process for many organisations; it often uses a lot of time and resources, but doesn’t offer any guarantees. No matter what size organization, a recruitment agency can help meet the changing needs of your business by finding quality candidates and assuming a variety of staffing needs.

There are a number of reasons why an employer may decide to outsource their hiring process; we have outlined some of the main advantages below:

1. Recruiters save employer’s time.

Hiring talent into your business can be long and often stressful. Advertising and screening CVs is often the most time consuming process and can be difficult to manage, as you can only tell so much from a CV. Working with a recruitment agency will help, as this would be taken care of and only the suitable candidates will be sent for you to look at. This means you have more time to get on with your actual job and it will also give you a peace of mind that you will be receiving only the right candidates for your vacancy. 

This is a great advantage that can significantly shorten the full recruiting process. In other words, you can hire the best candidate much faster!

2. Advertising made simple.

Advertising jobs can often be a frustrating process for companies, especially due to the skills gap in the current labour market. Firstly it tends to be quite expensive, as job boards tend to charge a lot more for job posting if you are not buying in bulk. 

Secondly, just because you have advertised your job on multiple job boards doesn’t mean that you will attract the right candidates. Sometimes when employers advertise vacancies, they do not receive applications with the skills they are looking for. They are recruiting for an experienced candidate with certain skill set, but the CVs they receive simply don’t hit the mark. Often, this is down to poor marketing; the high-calibre people they need simply don’t see the advert. And if they aren’t aware of the opportunity, they can’t apply for the job.

Also, working with a recruitment agency offers you the ability to reach a huge number of highly relevant and talented candidates through their database and existing relationships.

3. Good knowledge of the market.

Any great recruitment agency will have great recruitment consultants who have in-depth knowledge of the market. Firstly they will know the current recruitment trends. This will offer you insight into what competitors are offering for similar positions ensuring you are not setting yourself up for a difficult and sometimes impossible task of attracting talent into your business. 

Secondly, any great recruitment consultant will have a solid understanding of the professions and industries they are supplying. This really helps to target the right candidates for the position and means that when a CV is put in front of you it will most of the time be a quality and highly relevant CV. 

Employers don’t need to go alone, when it comes to hiring. The benefit of a recruitment agency, such as Direct Response is that we can help businesses and organisations access the skills and experience they need, in good time, without breaking the bank. If you are currently recruiting and would like to discuss the services we offer, then please don’t hesitate to contact one of our friendly consultants.

Many agency workers are not convinced they understand how the holiday is accrued and how many days exactly they are entitled to when working on temporary basis.  Please keep on reading if you would like to find out more on holiday pay and entitlement. 

How is it calculated?

As a temporary worker you should receive at least 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday a year pro rata. This is the statutory entitlement that all employers must provide as an absolute minimum.

As an agency worker, your hours and pay may vary considerably over time depending on the hours you have worked each week. If this is the case, your earnings over the most recent 12-week period are divided by the hours worked over the same 12 weeks to give you an average hourly rate and determine your holiday pay. If you did not do any work at all in one or more weeks, you simply discount that week and move to the week immediately before it, until you have a total of 12 weeks’ work and pay on which to work out your average hourly rate.

(Note that the government plans to change the law. From April 2020, holiday pay for workers whose pay varies will be averaged over 52-weeks instead of 12.)

If you are not satisfied and feel your holiday entitlement is incorrect, please speak with your consultant or the accounts team and they will be happy to investigate and look into the matter.

Possible changes after 12 weeks.

It is worth knowing that your holiday entitlement may change after completing 12 weeks of work. 

In addition to your statutory holiday rights under the Working Time Directive, agency workers have extra rights under the Agency Workers Regulations. In particular, since 1 October 2011, temporary agency workers have had the right to the same holiday entitlement (pro rata to their hours) as a comparable direct hire employed by the hirer to do the same job. This right applies once the agency worker has completed a 12-week qualifying period.

For example, if the hirer’s employees are doing the same job as you are and they are entitled to 35 days’ holiday a year, you will also be entitled to 35 days, once you have completed the 12-week qualifying period.

If you work part-time, your leave entitlement can be calculated on a pro rata basis. In other words, your entitlement will be proportionate to the hours you work. For example, if you only work six months rather than a complete year, you will be entitled to half the annual entitlement.

After qualifying for equal treatment (after 12 weeks), you should be treated the same as the hirer’s employees when requesting and being permitted to take holidays. You will also be entitled to equal treatment on enhanced pay for working on bank holidays or public holidays, and the right to time off on bank holidays or public holidays.

Please remember you must take your holiday in a period called a ‘leave year’. Your contract or Written Statements will say when that begins and ends. It might not be the same as the calendar year (e.g. April to March)

Help and Advice

Your recruitment agency should be your first point of contact if you are concerned about your holiday pay or benefits. At Direct Response Employment we explain all your rights upon registration and all workers who have joined Direct Response will have this information in writing in their Assignment Details and in the agency workers handbook.

You might have an impressive CV and engaging cover letter, but finding those roles and being invited to an interview is still a challenging task. Recruitment agencies might sound scary and unpromising, but they can seriously fast-track the recruitment process and help you find the perfect role! Many think that recruitment agencies are only for those looking for temporary, short-term positions, however depending on the agency you choose they provide services within different sectors.

As a recruitment agency we provide support to local companies within Wiltshire and Somerset. We work with a large selection of industries and can help find you a role within the following sectors: office, engineering, manufacturing, catering & hospitality, accountancy and driving. 

Working with a recruitment agency can be a great option for many job seekers. We have outlined some of the most important advantages of working with a recruitment consultant. 

1. In-depth job search.The advantages of using a recruitment agency are clear when you look at how they can help tailor your job search. Skilled recruiters will know their clients well – and the roles they have available. As a result, they will be able to target the vacancies they can put you forward for.With a recruitment agency helping you with your job hunt you will be put forward for roles that are right for you, as oppose to applying blindly to companies with only the job description to have a look at.
2. Variety of positions and duration.Depending on the recruitment agency, they can provide temporary, contract and permanent positions which offers you the flexibility whether you’re looking for a temporary role when in between of jobs or when you would like to move on in with your career in a permanent position. Also, you can find a job in almost every industry through an employment agency.
3. Support throughout.A recruitment agency is built on the skills of its recruiters – they know the job market, they’re experts in interviewing and skills assessments, they know their client’s requirements and they know how to help you shine in the eyes of the employers.A great recruitment agency will be able to help you strengthen your interview skills, tidy up your CV and focus on your career goals.  
4. Feedback.

Finally, a recruitment agency will help you go onwards and upwards by providing constructive criticism and feedback. If you didn’t quite get that job after an interview, recruiters will be able to help you understand why and then help you strengthen your interview skills or otherwise in time for your next attempt.

Recruitment agencies can turn a month-long search into one that lasts just a few days. Knowing when and how to use them effectively can not only reduce the stress of recruiting, it can help you guarantee a long-term hire. Don’t be scared – call one of our friendly recruitment consultants now for more information and advice. 

In this week’s blog we will focus on how recruiters (or future employers) can create a great candidate experience. What is candidate experience? In its most simple definition, it is how job seekers see your brand throughout the hiring process –from job description, interview through to final offer. Is the process easy and comfortable? Or is it difficult and frustrating? Their experience will not only inform whether or not they take the job, but also how they portray the company to their network of other prospective talent.

What are the biggest mistakes when recruiting? How to improve the recruitment process? If you want to find out then keep on reading. 

1. Time We all know that hiring new talent is a time-consuming and costly process, but you need to make the effort and be as responsive as possible. This is because the demand is higher than the supply. In other words, there is a shortage of talent on the market and candidates expect better treatment if a company wants them on board.55% of candidates will give up on a position if they don’t hear back from the company after two weeks of applying. It’s simple – there are lots of opportunities and jobs to apply to, and if you’re taking too long, the candidates will go to an employer that appreciates their time moreThere are plenty of ways to cut down on your time to hire, but the first step is to analyse your current processes and find out the biggest time drains, so remember time is precious for both you and the candidate! 
2. Application process60% of job seekers have quit an application in the middle due to its length or complexity. A lengthy application process weeds out the candidates who aren’t as invested in or committed to working at your company. But top candidates have plenty of choices, and they won’t jump through hoops just to apply.Do you know what your application process is like? Try going through it as if you’re a candidate. See how long it takes, and if you’re asking questions that you could easily find out later. A good idea would be to add a simple and relevant question whenever someone applies for your job e.g. Do you have your own transport? This will be a quicker way for you to shortlist candidates.  
3. Communication

At the center of providing a great candidate experience is good communication. In surveys, candidates rated communication as the number one way to engage talent. For example, significant numbers of respondents reported that:

• Not receiving a basic application confirmation email created a bad experience.
• If they did receive an email, the communication was weak and inconsistent.

So how can you up your communication game? The best recruiters provide candidates with consistent communication – whether the news is good or bad. What you might do is create a well-written confirmation and follow-up emails so applicants remain interested in your company, regardless of the outcome of their application.

Finally, remember that a candidate experience shouldn’t end the moment they become an employee. Provide new hires with resources to succeed on the job. Your current staff can help with referring other applicants, which can increase your talent pool. 

It’s that time of the year when people often start looking for new positions or a new career. The first step is to create an impressive and unique CV or to update and improve your current one.  Recruiters receive dozens, even hundreds of CV’s, so it is vital you make a great first impression with your resume.

A CV has to include both relevant information and be presented professionally in order to catch a recruiter’s eye. And although your formatting may change depending on your industry, there are a few simple rules which you should always follow – how your CV looks can dramatically change your chance of success. 

Have a look at our list of Do’s and Don’ts below:

DO’S

1. Use bullet points. This is a great way to break up text and make it more readable for employers. You don’t want to end up with long and detailed sentences that take half of the page, so use bullet points to outline your duties/responsibilities in a simple and neat way. 
2. Keep it to two pages.The most effective CVs aren’t just informative, they’re also concise. Try and get straight to the most important points, and ideally take up no more than two sides of A4. 
3. Include a personal statement. A significant number of people neglect to include this at the start of their CV which is a big mistake, as this can be the selling point. Write few sentences right at the top of the first page, illustrating your unique skills that make you a perfect match for the role. Ensuring you update this for every role that you apply for. Clearly outline the kind of role you are applying for and why and try to include the top three most relevant skills very briefly.  
4. Work in chronological order.

Whether you are writing about your experience or your education, the most recent information is the most important. Always put it first.

DON’TS

1. Choose inappropriate font and size.Times New Roman is one of the most commonly used fonts, but you may find that Cambria or Calibri are better options for you. The ideal font size is 11 – remember, the hiring managers will be scanning your CV, so it needs to be nice and easy to read. 
2. Include irrelevant person information.You don’t need to include your nationality and you definitely don’t need to mention your age. Although employers aren’t legally allowed to dismiss your application based solely on how old you are, you’ll never know if that’s the reason they rejected you, so it’s best to avoid mentioning these type of details.  
3. Include negative information.If you are thinking of putting on your CV reasons why you left your previous positions, or perhaps that you have driving licence points or that you failed exams – forget it now. This is something you can explain in a job interview, so make sure you don’t include any negative information that would discredit you.  
4. Forget to double check.

This may seem obvious but a mistake on a CV could be the difference between an interview invitation and not. A survey found that there are around 5 typical errors put on most CVs. Since any mistakes put you at an immediate disadvantage to other potential candidates, don’t forget to read through and ensure that there are no mistakes and that the style is consistent throughout.

Once you have finished reviewing your CV ask you friend of family to have a look and check for grammar or spelling mistakes. When done, you can send your CV and wait for employer’s invitation for an interview!

We wish you the very best of luck!