Tag Archive: graftonhaymes

1. The Covid-19 pandemic accelerates migration out of London

   August 24, 2020 11:16 am Comments Off on The Covid-19 pandemic accelerates migration out of London

   New research from Totaljobs highlights that the Covid-19 pandemic has driven more people, particularly young workers, to consider moving out of London and other UK cities. For businesses able to embrace remote working, this opens up broader talent pools where location is no longer a barrier

   With the pandemic and government restrictions causing many to reconsider their careers, and assess what they need in their work and personal life, 38% of Londoners are now reconsidering where they live as a result of Covid-19.

   Even before the impact of the pandemic, net migration out of London was already increasing. Totaljobs research in March 2020 showed the capital loses 83 workers every day, with net outbound migration at 30,000 adults.

   This indicated the beginnings of the reversal of the brain drain – the migration trend that sees one in three graduates move to London in pursuit of jobs – as more people look to move out of the capital.

   

   The historic brain drain

   Research from their sister company and graduate site Milkround shows that 77% of recent graduates feel there’s more job opportunities for those able to afford the cost of moving to a big city, one driver of the brain drain from other regions of the UK to the capital.

   Better job opportunities (36%), a job offer (30%) and the London lifestyle (27%) were top factors for people moving to the city, according to Totaljobs research prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

   

   Remote work means more mobility

   Before lockdown, only 27% of Londoners intended to live in the London for the rest of their lives. Following the pandemic, this desire has dropped further, to 20%.

   In fact, 26% of Londoners now want to move out of their city earlier than they had originally planned, as a result of Covid-19. With offices across the UK sitting empty with many workers swapped the daily commute for home-based offices, remote working has meant 1.6m Londoners (26%) who have worked outside of the city during lockdown want to continue doing so.

   A third of people say that long-term flexible working would encourage them to move, rising to 37% of 18-24 year olds nationally. For Londoners, this is even more of a gamechanger. 43% state that if their London-based employer offered them flexible or remote working, they’d be encouraged to move out of the capital. Moving plans have previously been put on hold for 38% of Londoners, due to job commitments.

   More broadly across the UK, 27% of people living in urban locations have been working from home since the outbreak, and don’t want to return to working in their city office. 18-24 year olds across the UK are the most likely age bracket to be reconsidering where they want to live (32%), with 25-34 (31%) year olds following closely behind.

   With the Government cutting announcing a Stamp Duty holiday and subsidised jobs for young people across the UK to aid economic recovery following the pandemic, there’s potential for these accelerating migration trends to reduce the North-South divide, as well as benefit workers and employers across the UK.

   Steps employers can take

   Totaljob’s March 2020 research highlighted the opportunity for regional businesses to attract talent looking to move out of London. Now, widespread homeworking during the pandemic has inspired many workers in jobs that can be done remotely, to fast-forward plans to move.

   For businesses able to utilise flexible and remote opportunities long-term, employees who intend to move out of big cities including London can now be retained. Plus, across the UK, businesses can hire people from outside their local talent pool as location becomes less of a restriction for some roles.

   Of course, not all jobs can be done remotely. Key workers in health and social care, logistics and food retail, plus the millions of people who were on furlough during lockdown, might well be among those who want to relocate.

   For businesses looking to attract people to fill these roles, the relocation allowance is a tax break which means relocation costs up to the value of £8000 are exempt from national insurance and income tax. This could help to retain and support staff who are looking to move.

   Totaljobs’s research also shows that those considering relocating can be persuaded to remain with their existing employer. 42% of millennials say salary benchmarking could encourage them to stay in London, while 28% would need support with travel costs, to enable them to still move out of the capital but stay with their employer. Greater childcare support would mean 22% of under 35s would be less driven to move further afield.

    

2. Employee Engagement In The Virtual World

   July 29, 2020 2:14 pm Comments Off on Employee Engagement In The Virtual World

   With virtual on-boarding the norm and more candidates detached working from home, follow-ups with new employees will become more important.

   After you’ve hired your employee and have conducted the first 30 day review, you’ll want to conduct another review at the 60 day mark to measure progress and engagement.

   60 day reviews help ensure that the new hire’s performance hasn’t dipped. This second review also ensures the new hire isn’t experiencing any challenges that make them a flight risk, helping you avoid repeating the time consuming process of finding and hiring for the same role.

   What is the 60 day review / evaluation?

   A 60 day review or evaluation is a performance review (also known as a performance appraisal) that measures the new hire’s happiness with their work environment and the current culture, as well as learning what has been most effective in their onboarding experience. By asking your new hire for advice on improving the onboarding experience, you can make improvements to your process while simultaneously increasing new hire engagement when he or she sees how the feedback is helping to shape the company.

   60 Day Review Questions

   With these 60 day new hire check in questions, you’ll get an idea of how your new employee is performing, what support they need, what challenges they’re experiencing and how they’re acclimating to the new work environment.

   Remember: The goal of the 60 day review is to determine overall job satisfaction, see if they still have a positive attitude, and confirm that there aren’t any obstacles blocking the new hire from reaching peak performance.

   You can use these 60 day new hire check in questions, or they can be inspiration for coming up with your own:

   It’s been 2 months, is this job what you expected it to be?

   Have you experienced any issues or roadblocks with regards to meeting your job responsibilities? If so, what?

   What have you enjoyed most about your current team? Our company?

   With regards to communication, have you experienced any challenges?
   Has your team been helpful during your onboarding? What specifically has been best in getting you up to speed?

   What from your current onboarding experience would you recommend we replicate with future hires?

   What from your current onboarding experience would you change to better help new hires get acclimated?

   Do you feel like your training in the first 30 days set you up for success in the following 30 days? What could you have been better prepared for?

   Are you currently feeling challenged by your role? Are you becoming bored with any aspect of this job?

   Do you feel like you’ve received access to all of the information, tools, and resources you need to perform your responsibilities?

   Are there any tools or additional resources that would be helpful to provide to new hires for their onboarding experience?

   For your role, do you feel like you’ve been given all the support you need to be successful? If not, what would help?

   Final Thoughts: 60 Day Review Questions

   Performing 60 day performance reviews with new hires is essential to ensure that they’re engaged and off to a good start at your company. Leverage these 60 day evaluation questions to discover if your new hire is experiencing any challenges and to solicit recommendations to help improve the onboarding experience for future hires.

3. How To Deal With Those Recruiters!

   2:08 pm Comments Off on How To Deal With Those Recruiters!

   Some useful tips when working with recruiters (both agency and in-house). It’s not an easy time for anyone at the moment, but hopefully a few of these pointers will help.

   As a working professional, you’ve probably considered looking for new job opportunities at one time or another. When you hear talk of how amazing certain companies are to work for, it can definitely seem like the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. However, getting over that fence can sometimes feel insurmountable.

   Having a good relationship with a recruiter can be the ladder you use to make it over into those greener pastures. By connecting with recruiters and sharing what you have to offer, youll be on their radar if and when the right opportunity does arise.

   When you’re reaching out to a recruiter by email, the following tips can help you put your best foot forward.

   Reaching out to a recruiter is important and shouldnt be taken lightly. If you intend to connect with a recruiter, be prepared, and dont send them a vague email request thats hard to say yes to.

   Instead, give them a reason to connect with you and make it easy for them to do what you want. If you want to be considered for/placed in specific roles, to get information about a position, or to be added to their ongoing database, ask specifically. Demonstrate, via your resume and communications skills, why youd be an asset and why it would benefit them to do what you’re asking.

   Emailing someone you dont know can definitely be nerve-wracking, especially if you feel like you’re asking for a favor.

   Remember that you have a lot to offer, and reach out to recruiters with the mindset that your connection could be mutually beneficial.

   Writing your email in a thoughtful manner and with a respectful tone can go a long way. Dont be too casual when you’re drafting your message, and take the time to show that you have value and why you believe their opinion and a connection with them is important.

   Its extremely annoying when you get a phone call from someone asking if its a good time (obviously, you’ve already interrupted your day to answer, right?). With email, thankfully, theres no real ask like this involved, since you cant dictate when (or if) your recipient will read your message.

   However, sending an email at the right time can make it a little more likely that your message will be read, and that youll be noticed. Research shows the best time to send an email is 2 p.m.

   That may or may not be the case for the field or industry you’re targeting, so you should do your own research to determine when your recruiter might be in the office.

   If a company holds summer hours, for example, then emailing on a Friday afternoon in July might not make the most sense. Or, if you’re reaching out to an accounting firm and you know theyre frantic during the busy tax season, you might be better served saving that message until theyve had a chance to slow down and catch their breath.

   Once you’ve selected an optimal time, you can use email productivity tools to schedule your message and land it in their inbox, instead of waiting around to manually send it on your own.

   When you’re sending a message to a recruiter that you dont have a personal connection with, this email is your one shot to impress them, so take time to do some research.

   Your email message should show that you understand the recruiters role at the company and that you’ve done your due diligence before emailing.

   If you’re reaching out to multiple recruiters, an enrichment tool can help you collect information about recruiters online so you have a fuller overall picture of their company and role. Then, you can customize; personalization works, in both large campaigns and individual messages.

   If you’re sending an email, you want your grammar and style to be impeccable. However, crafting a perfect email doesnt mean your message has to be bland; use this as an opportunity to show what makes you special.

   If you’re trying to land an email marketing job, for example, your email message to the recruiter should be on point. If you cant sell them on you, why should they believe you can sell their product convincingly?

   You cant proofread too often. Make sure that your email is both proofread and spellchecked thoroughly.

   Proofreading means catching grammatical errors, smoothing out your content, and making sure your message is on point. Spellchecking, on the other hand, catches those random typed-too-fast mistakes.

   While you could analyze your own writing all day, it also makes sense to ask a friend for help with this task. They can read without a sense of familiarity that may obscure errors, and they can also give qualitative input on how to make your message more compelling, where you might need to elaborate more, or where you might need to be a bit more strategic with your messaging.

   Recruiters typically spend less than 30 seconds reviewing resumes, so you want to make sure both your resume and your introductory email are meaty, not fluffy.

   Create a draft message that you can use for all recruiters, something that showcases your successes and makes you seem imminently hireable.

   Once you have a great template to work from, add in the little things that show you’re on the ball and paying attention. For example, if you see that a recruiters company has been highlighted for reaching a milestone, or if the recruiter has received recognition for something, make mention of that as a reason for your interest in the company.

   Personalization increases your chances of success everyone likes hearing that what theyre doing makes an impact. The recruiters you connect with are no different.

   Eighty-five percent of all positions are filled through some sort of networking connection. Referrals and using names of friends/colleagues can help you catch the attention of the recruiter and make them more likely to be willing to connect with you.

   Since someone they know is virtually vouching for you, theyll feel more comfortable giving your email and resume a second look (check out this article for some subject line ideas).

   One other caveat on this topic if you’re going to use the name of a friend or colleague, you should definitely run it past them first. You dont want them to be caught unawares if the recruiter reaches out and asks for their feedback on your personality, background, and skills. For more information on this topic and other high-quality business feature articles, please go to California Business Journal.

   Its okay to send a follow-up message. Make sure its polite, friendly, and to-the-point.

   Its even better if you can provide something of value in the follow-up like an article or whitepaper that pertains to their industry, or a link to a webinar.

   Just dont be annoying about following up. Its okay to send a follow-up message, but more than one or two messages is overkill and will not endear you to a busy recruiter.

   And whatever you do, dont use the phrase just following up. You want to sound upbeat and interested, not scolding or passive-aggressive.

   Building relationships with recruiters can take time, and every pitch will not be successful. However, with these connections, you can start to create a network that will serve you throughout your career, even during the times when you’re not specifically looking for a job.

   Hi, I’m Norbert! when I’m not searching for 10+ million email addresses per month, I’m writing articles that help sales, marketers, and recruiters help get their emails read and increase their response rate.