From small acorns…

We shunned our trouser suits and laptops in favour of wellies and anoraks for a morning – quite literally – in the field.

As an agency we have pledged to support the Forest for Peterborough initiative by planting a tree for each member of our team – and one for every candidate we place in a permanent position throughout the year.

And when we say ‘planting’ we mean actually planting.

Which is why a bunch of us found ourselves, spades in hand, at Thorpe Meadows, preparing to dig.

We were delighted to be joined by some of the candidates who have recently started new jobs through us – and the clients who employed them. It was a real team effort and while we didn’t quite plant an Anne Corder Recruitment forest we certainly added a good amount of saplings to what will one day grow to become a beautiful woodland habitat.

Anne Corder Recruitment scores green again

We’ve only gone and scored ourselves another environmental accreditation – and this one at the highest level possible.

After undergoing one of the toughest audits I’ve ever seen we achieved a ‘green’ level award from Investors in the Environment – and that’s even better than a bronze and silver in this instance!

When I say tough I mean tough – the auditor actually went through our bins and noted that some of the lids hadn’t been removed from bottles in the recycling waste! That makes our achievement even sweeter – it certainly wasn’t an easy win!

The scheme is led by Peterborough Environment City Trust (PECT) and has been designed to help businesses in and around the city save money and reduce their impact on the environment.

We had to meet a host of criteria – demonstrate an improvement in resource efficiency with utility bills to prove it, have a workable recycling system, adopt a green travel plan, take a carbon footprint test….the list was extensive.

Even so, the auditor told us we had exceeded the requirements in some areas.
So do forgive us if we allow ourselves a little pat on the back.

* We’re still keen to work with other businesses to help demonstrate how adopting even a strand of our paperless working strategy could improve your eco-credentials and efficiency. Please get in touch if you’d like to discuss this area of our work.

Sharpest rise for almost four years

‘Strong and accelerated rises’ – that’s a phrase we haven’t heard in relation to the job market for a long time. But, according to the latest figures, it is apt.

We feed information into the monthly Report on Jobs, published by the REC and KPMG and February’s figures are looking good.

Permanent placements increased at the sharpest rate in 10 months. Temporary billings fared even better with the greatest rise since May 2007 – that’s almost four years.

And it wasn’t just appointments that scored robust growth. The overall level of vacancies showed the strongest rate of increase since last April. There are more candidates in the market too – especially those looking for temporary work.

Of course, any positivity these figures generate – and they certainly should generate some – has to be tempered by what is happening in the public sector. While the private sector is hiring, the public sector is shedding jobs. The Report on Jobs shows that while the IT and computing sector saw accelerated growth over the last 12 months, nursing, medical and care sectors have declined.

The REC’s chief executive Kevin Green described the situation in the UK as a ‘two speed labour market’. He also anticipates unemployment will continue to rise until the end of this year before starting a slow decline into 2012.

We certainly believe the overall findings of the latest national figures are reflected here in Peterborough and hope the positivity generated helps push the local economy forward over the coming months.

ISO accreditation – done!

Although we work hard to ensure we operate within all the industry guidelines and have in place all the processes we need to be compliant – there’s always a few nerves when the ISO inspectors are due in to our offices in Park Road.

It’s probably because we’ve been compliant for the last 15 years and held the ISO 9001:2008 since the business started – we’d hate to spoil such an impressive run of success!

Anyway, there was no need to worry. As we hoped, our processes, systems and procedures came up to scratch and the inspector was happy to sign off our ISO accreditation for another year.

We work hard to ensure we deliver best practice in every aspect of our business. Despite having achieved the standard for so many years, things do move on. Standards change to reflect new regulations and procedures and new checks are introduced.

Recruitment partner Karen Dykes oversees our compliance programme and her eye for detail ensures the business keeps apace with those changes. That, in turn, provides our clients and candidates with the reassurance that they will receive a professional service at all times across all aspects of our business – a reputation we’re proud of.

ACR backs Forest for Peterborough

All the candidates we place in permanent roles this year won’t just land a job – they’ll get a tree!

As an agency we’ve take n on the challenge issued by Peterborough Environment City Trust (Pect) to help create a ‘Forest for Peterborough’.

The idea isn’t to actually create one forest but to plant pockets of a variety of trees, creating ‘green corridors’ to improve the surroundings for residents and give wildlife a welcome boost.

We’ve worked closely with Pect on a number of projects over the last couple of years – and this one, launched by tv personality and eco campaigner Clive Anderson, falls in perfectly with our eco-credentials and strategy of community involvement.

So, each time we place a candidate in a permanent role this year we will plant a tree. It doesn’t matter whether it’s an entirely new role, one where a temp has been made permanent or where a contract role becomes a permanent position. The candidate will receive a certificate and be offered the chance to plant their own tree – or we’ll do it on their behalf.

We’re looking forward to the next official tree planting in February when we’ll start planting for those candidates we’ve placed in new jobs.

Facebook – check us out!

We have a big library of information and help guides which we have produced over the years – mainly for printing in newspapers, magazines and as leaflets.

The beauty of the Internet is that we can make that available at a click of a button – well…mouse.

Check out our Facebook page where we will be uploading our top 25 Workplace No-No's and A-Z Guide to Job Hunting covering everything from actually searching for likely vacancies to your exit interview.

AWR: Impact Assessment

We have stepped up our initiative to help clients introduce the necessary measures to ensure compliance with the Agency Workers’ Regulations – set to be fully implemented this October.

Demand for information about the Regulations – and how they will affect individual businesses – has been high.

Our recruitment partner Karen Dykes has been working closely with our industry body the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) to make sure the information we have is the most up to date possible.

The regulations are far-reaching affecting the pay and some benefits of workers on assignment with the same company for more than 12 weeks. But while they include a lot of detail, there are exclusions too – some of which are still being ironed out.

Through Karen – and our close relationship with the experts at the REC – we have been able to help many businesses understand more about the Regulations.

Now we’re offering to work with each employer to produce an Impact Assessment. This will not only answer specific questions and resolve issues but will help plan each businesses’ strategy for ensuring procedures are place, staff are briefed and compliance is assured. Each assessment will be bespoke and take into account the businesses’ reliance on temporary staff.

The Regulations stipulate that it is, ultimately, the recruitment agency’s job to ensure a worker receives the pay and benefits they are entitled to. But the help of the client is imperative. So joined up thinking is vital to ensure agencies maintain their reputations and businesses remain employers of choice among temporary staff.

Businesses interested in finding out more about our tailor-made Impact Assessment should call us on 01733 319888 or email.