Sirona Says

Innovation or Madness? New Recruitment company, Playfair and Noble, pay 50% of their fee to the successful candidate!

Do you ever get emails from companies looking to 'sell you' their company? Probably like you, I get a fair amount arriving in my inbox each week. So you could probably say that I am a little sceptical (too long in the recruitment world, I am afraid!!)

So it was a really pleasant surprise to see a recruitment platform (from non-recruitment people I might add) that is daring to be different and placing its big kahuna's right there on the middle of the recruitment table to be chewed at!! (Metaphorically of course!)

Now before you think I am over dramatising this a little, let me tell why it is so different - This company actually pays the successful candidate  50% of the fee they get paid from their clients!!  And before any of you recruiters say it won't work (like I did before I spoke to them), they have done their maths, and they believe it will.

Now that I have your attention let me tell you the company - Playfair and Noble - and with a name like that, and the offering they are proposing, it won't surprise you to guess that ethics are a HUGE part of what they stand for.
Basically they have a real issue with recruitment agencies.

Facebook is used to recruit a UK World Champion

Facebook, is now being used more widely as a recruitment tool. A recent success story shows just how effective Facebook can actually be for recruitment.

The UK is not renowned for its huge numbers of bobsledder's, so when recruiting for new team members, some creativity was needed, highlighting  the skills needed rather than the experience - please take note employers!
The No 1 women's bobsleigh driver Nicola Minichello, was looking for answers. She knew that her team needed boosting with new talent to challenge for medals, but since it was not forthcoming, she started her own talent search......on Facebook.

From her initial search, she shortlisted twenty candidates, that she felt met her criteria  then she got emailing. Following, some communications and subsequent trials, they found an absolute star, in the name of Edinburgh long jumper Gillian Cooke. She was so good that she went straight into the No 1 team.

After a series of top 3 finishes in various World Cup races, they capped it all with a Gold Medal, by winning the recent Bobsleigh World Championships in Lake Placid in New York.

So if anyone says to you that you can't use Facebook, to successfully find very specific skills, then let this story be a great example of how good Facebook can be as a recruiting tool. 

The Recommendation Age is well and truly here - give it the respect it deserves

While at the airport yesterday, I found a book that I have been wanting to read for a while (never got round to it!). It is The Long Tail by Chris Anderson, and I can certainly recommend it for all those of you that have an interest how the internet has changed selling strategies for ever.

There was a quote in the book that I just wanted to share, because they show exactly how our world has changed with the advent of the web and its phenomenal reach.

We are leaving the Information Age and entering the Recommendation Age. Today information is rediculously easy to get; you practically trip over it on the street. Information gathering is no longer the issue - making smart decisions based on the information is the trick! Recommendations serve as shortcuts through the thicket of information. (Frog Design Consultancy)

This book was written in 2006, and I think this is even more relevant now than ever before. It obviously applies to everything we do in life - if you get a good recommendation for something, then you do tend to take notice and may in fact make a purchase based on that recommendation.
The world of recruitment is based solidly on the power of recommendation - social networking sites liked LinkedInbeing a great example, as are recruitment agencies (picking the phone up to one of your clients and telling them how fantastic a particular candidate is, is usually enough to secure an interview) and, of course, word of mouth within your own network of people.
This is one area that many companies looking to recruit staff still don't get - they pay little attention to one of the best recruiting resources they have......their staff!! They may have a 'refer a friend' sign on the notice board, but that is about as far as it goes!

Much of this has evolved from the way we all share information on the web - blogs like mine are a good example of information sharing. The huge explosion of other sites like Facebook, MySpace etc have taken this Recommendation Age to new levels, and with the onset of this global crunch, where individuals are losing (have lost?) confidence in companies, the power of recommendation will just become stronger!!

As individuals, we all listen to recommendations from our friends and colleagues, about videos, music, new products etc, But in the corporate world, how many companies are joining the recommendation age, taking it seriously and using it to help them manage their workforce?

 

Do You Procrastinate? Of course you do......how to work out if you are likely to finish what you started!

Are you one of the 20% of the population that continually procrastinate about anything?  I would certainly stick my hand up to procrastinating on more than one occasion recently, and as someone that has a continually 'rolling' to-do list, it is something I need to work on.
If you are also like me then you will be relieved to hear that researchers have devised a formula for procrastinators, to work out just how much chance they have of overcoming their weakness! (Just what I wanted before the start of a new year!!)

So, if you work on the basis of, never putting off until tomorrow what you can put off until the day after then you need to take note of the "simple" equation by Dr Piers Steel, from his book The Procrastination Equation:

 

Personally, I think that formulas like these are just a waste of research budgets! If they wanted us all to use them then, they should insert more quantifiable figures that we can use!!!

Some people think that this 'problem' is reserved for everyday workers, but two world famous procrastinators show us that is not the case - it took 14 years for the US band Guns N’ Roses to finish their album Chinese Democracy and U2 fans have already been waiting four years for the Irish group’s next album!!

What would you do with a career break?

Don't you just love it when a company does something different and innovative? Well, while spending last week in Dublin with a client, I came across this piece of innovation from an Irish Bank.

Permanent TSB has come up with the innovative (and brave) move of offering paid career breaks to their staff. Now, there may well have been other companies doing this, but have they done it in a recession? No, the likelihood is that they would have simply gone for redundancies instead.
Obviously the intention of Permanent TSB is to cut spending while keeping skilled workers on standby, rather than lose all that well gained experience. And career breaks are more cost effective than redundancy:
Employees will be given half their salary up to 20,000euros to take a two year break, or 35,000euros to take a three year break. And it is open to staff of all ages and levels!

There will obviously be certain conditions imposed, and of course it won't suit everyone, but to have a career break with a guarantee of a job at the end of it is a step forward for those that are in need of a break.

Then the question comes......what would YOU do if you had a career break?

Mine is a simple one (once the children are self succient) - I would fly to Canada with my wife, buy a motorhome, and spend the time working my way down through many of the US states until we run out of land (ie the Keys)!

What would you do with a career break? (Please share your idea in the comments.)

Thought Twitter was a waste of time, Corporate World?

Many people don't get Twitter , the micro-blogging site. They just think it is a load of pants occupied by geeky social networking nerds. I must confess until 'The Sniper ' encouraged' me to give it a serious go, I was the same (you can follow me here).
But Twitter is working and now mainstream companies have realised what a good channel it can be, when used in conjunction with other methods of marketing. But the problem has been to date, that there was no way of tracking your tweets, and understanding their effectiveness.
But a new product called Twittertise allows you to advertise on Twitter and track the success of branded communications with your customers. It will also allow you to schedule your communications on Twitter and using URL tracking technology measure the effectiveness of your traffic driving techniques on the platform.

Twittertise Overview from whalewisdom on Vimeo.

So, has the penny dropped with all you companies out there, looking to reach out to the fast growing twitter population? You can build a scheduled marketing/sales campaign, and then track how well it has performed. Not bad for a micro-blogging site is it?

The possibilities are endless, and for a recruitment this tool will be a fantastic way to engage with all those gen Y'ers, as Twitter can be picked up on nearly every mobile platform with things like Twitterberry, Tinytwitter, twitter for the iphone etc etc and as we know gen Y'ers are never more than 3 inches away from their phones!!

So take the step and incorporate Twitter into your marketing and communication strategy today!!

"Get to work, or it will be the Cattle Prod for you!"

Over the last couple of weeks, there has been much talk in the press about the idiotic decision to use a TV presenter to help drive down the numbers of long term unemployed people. It seems that many of the writers agree with me that a self opinionated, arrogant and 'ratings focused' person is probably not the way forward, and that there must be a better more focused way to help this group of people.
Enter the Australians, with an idea of how they should approach their long term unemployed.

Recently, one of their new politicians, John Williams, made his maiden speech in the Australian Parliament. In it, he was a little outspoken(!!!) on the subject of unemployment......."There are many people living on employment benefits who were 'determined not to work'. The long term unemployed are simply getting a free ride on behalf of tax payers of Australia and it is about time they received a touch on the backside with a cattle prodder to get them off their butts and actually do some work!"

He continued, "Those who were capable of working should not receive a dole cheque unless they made some contribution to society." He continued, "I believe that if you are in good health and are capable of working, then you should work. However, I do believe that the genuine unemployed should have a safety net and should be helped through their tough times until they find employment."

Now, while I wouldn't disagree that there is probably a section of the long term unemployed in the UK that could probably do with a cattle prod, it is of course not the approach (shame, I hear you cry!!!). But the metephoric short sharp shock could be used.
I agree with John Williams, that a good number of them have no intention to work, and that something needs to get these people of their backsides!  The trouble is that we have gone so far down the politically correct route, that it would probably be against their human rights to make them work, if they don't want to!!

It got me thinking, what other methods - fair or foul - could be used to "encourage" the hard core "don't want to work" unemployed back to work?
I will start the ideas with something simple..........Fair - manditory community work projects, Foul - Chinese water torture!

Now its your turn, what would you do? 

Is choosing a Marketing Agency any different to selecting a Recruitment Agency?

I ready an article today that was titled, "What to look for in an agency (marketing)" and my curiosity got the better of me! I wondered what the comparison would be with looking to hire in a recruitment agency to do some work (for this example the comparison would need to be with a retained consultancy, so likely a search firm).

I have used Sally Durcan's - from Hotcow Marketing Agency - Do's & Dont's of choosing a marketing agency (MA) with my comparison of a company choosing a recruitment agency (RA) to do some work for them. Obviously this is more about the selection process than it is the detail of the assignments, but as there are many marketing agencies running recruitment campaigns, it does make you think.

The Do's when choosing an agency

1. MA: Look at and understand creative ability and project flexibility. You want a team that can be flexible and adaptable.
RA: Same as for an MA - just that you will need to understand their recruiting ability (and track record) in addition to any creative ability.

2. MA: Look at their work ethic - response times, approval methodology, reporting and KPI's. They should have a similar approach to you and your team.
RA: Exactly the same, although they need not have the same approach, but they will need to show genuine empathy with your approach and your team.

Web 2.0 will reduce your carbon footprint

Earlier this year, a survey showed that 69% of businesses banned social networks such as MySpace & Facebook from the work environment, yet networking and relationship building are vital aspects to any business.
But are these same companies missing a trick when it comes to web 2.0 technologies? I don't just mean loss of morale  or loss of business, but something more important for their future (and ours!) - their carbon footprint!

Last year over 12.2 million business flights flew in to and out of the UK's airports (Office of National Statistics).
Why aren't companies utilising the power of web 2.0 to reduce the time that their employees spend in the air? 
In today's climate, globalisation, home working and outsourcing are all growing rapidly, and at the same time we all need to curb pollution from travel and better use existing resources. So surely it would make sense to use all the online tools that people love using every day, to also enhance their business communications, wouldn't it? Certainly in our industry we are seeing more styles of interviewing taking place via online, telephone & video for example. There are companies that do use things like;

• Cloud Computing
• Instant messaging
• Social networks
• VO-IP
• Webinars
• Video conferencing
• Webcams
• Widgets

to communicate, but with 12.2 million business flights, my guess is that not enough are doing so. Informal communication is a real driver within business, and that doesn't have to be done around a physical water cooler. This can be moved online, whether that be instant messaging or internal social networks, to allow a shared and open communication between staff and their employers.

I accept that within business you do need to have a certain amount of face time, but with the advent of social networking, people have become more accustomed to virtual relationships - in fact gen Y'ers have become very skilled at it!
So while there may well be the need for initial meetings and 'bonding time' (just for the record that means having a few beers!) needed, how many meetings from that point do really need to be scheduled face to face? Just think how much money your company would save if they only flew you over the the US once a quarter instead of twice a month? And of course how many '000's of tonnes of CO2  would you save polluting the environment with by doing so?

Instead of fearing the advent of web 2.0, surely they should be analysing, learning and capitalising on them to aid their business efficiency (and costs) with the added benefit of saving the environment at the same time. Take the three biggest areas of cost within a business - time, resource and travel. Web 2.0 communication technologies could improve all three, but travel will be the most affected as the virtual world will take over. 

10 Traits of a UK Entrepreneur - How many have you got?

With so many entrepreneurs in the recruitment sector, I was particularly interested in a recent survey by the Alliance &Leicester Commercial Bank. They conducted some research which profiled entrepreneurs across the UK, and subsequently identified a number of traits which today's achievers have in common.

These surveys always interest me, because like many of you I run my own business, and have done for five years so it is always good to see what traits I am 'supposed' to have!! So with your entrepreneurial hat  (and hopefully a successful one!) see if you agree with these results. Here are 10 profile traits from the UK to measure yourself against:

1. 60% are the first born child, revealing their inner confidence and healthy self esteem.
2. 85% have one or more siblings, putting to good use leadership and teamwork qualities learnt at a young age.
3. 71% have a state school education.
4. 17% left school with O Levels / GSCE's.
5. 34% have degrees or equivalent.
6. 93% from a middle or working class background.
7. 33% started their business the age of 26-35.
8. 62% wanted the Independence of working for themselves.
9. 56% wanted control over their working lives.
10. 57% didn't want to answer to anyone else.

How did you score? Mine was 8 out of 10!