Recruiters from ACR inspired by the Olympics

We may not be as fit as Jessica Ennis or as fast as Mo Farrah but there was a lot of Olympic inspired enthusiasm when I suggested to the team we came in early to work and walked to the local park and back one morning.

We’ve signed up to take part in the Starlight Hike in September – a 10km midnight walk in aid of Sue Ryder Care so this was the perfect training session.

This is all part of ACR’s 2012 Wellbeing Initiative, designed to encourage the team to make their health and wellbeing a priority.

We’re doing our bit as an agency, providing fruit baskets rather than biscuit tins in the office and introducing healthy eating days.

This was everyone’s chance to take their fitness into their own hands.

So we opened the office early for everyone to change into their trainers and then set off at a fair old pace down to Central Park, round the perimeter and back again.

Waiting in the office was an Olympic sized breakfast including fruit, yoghurt and muesli.

Walking isn’t a team sport but getting together to do it made it feel like one. We talked the walk away and came back full of fresh air and energy. I exercise regularly but that didn’t stop me feeling the benefits and everyone else said the same.

There has now been a commitment made to hold regular power walking sessions in preparation for the charity walk.

If you feel able to support our efforts financially, please visit our Virgin moneygiving page: 

Evening of excellence

Guest blog from Nel Woolcott

  

I was delighted to represent ACR at this year’s Peterborough Regional College award ceremony last night.

We have sponsored the business student categories for the last few years and it’s always an excellent evening.

There have been some first class guests at the awards in the past and this year was no exception. Peterborough’s own secret millionaire Mike Greene took to the stage and he was nothing short of inspirational. He’s a self made man and was one of those people who just naturally commands respect.

But of course the evening is about the students and their achievements.

It was fantastic to see so many enthusiastic, talented youngsters at the ceremony and to hear the glowing testimonials from their lecturers. From business to plumbing, accountancy to hairdressing, these are the people who are going to shape the future of Peterborough.

I was delighted to announce Justyna Sapeta, best full time business and management centre student and Martin Brunt, best part time business and management centre student. Both are, rightly, very proud of coming out top of their classes. They have lots of plans for their future and we’ve invited them to visit us at our Park Road offices to see if we can help them forward those. I shall certainly enjoy those conversations.

There were a lot of business people at the awards and, chatting to them afterwards, the overriding opinion was that with students like this entering the city’s workplaces the future looks bright!

Employment Law Briefing -Social Networking and the Workplace

I’m just back in the office following our Employment Law Briefing and I’m half way through drawing up a list of action points on the back of it!

The briefing, organised in partnership with Hegarty LLP Solicitors, was on the subject of Social Networking and the Workplace.

We know this is an area of concern for many employers in the city by the huge response we had to invitations.

From my point of view, it is the pace of change on the internet and of social networking platforms that creates so many challenges. And that was echoed by our speaker Martin Bloom, a very experienced employment law expert.

As he said, five years ago, the kind of cases tribunals are dealing with now were unthinkable. People dismissed for posting comments about clients on Facebook, issues over ownership of connections on LinkedIn, cyber bullying of former colleagues on Twitter… even that sentence would have meant very little a decade ago!

Martin touched a chord with many delegates – myself included – when he mentioned the importance of a company having a social networking policy. An internet usage policy isn’t enough.

Every employer needs to have a well thought out, detailed and regularly reviewed policy governing the use of social media at work. This needs to be written into contracts and – vitally – employees need to be trained in it.

The easiest solution may be to ban the use of social networking in work time on work equipment completely. You may also need to consider the rules you wish to set governing people using their personal mobile phones to access Facebook or Twitter, for instance, during their working day.

Of course, in some sectors, the use of such websites is necessary. In those cases, policies need to be even more specific. And again, training needs to reflect that.

Martin discussed a number of cases of inappropriate use of Facebook and emails out of hours – employees discussing clients, employees emailing former colleagues – which had resulted in employment tribunals.

Again, these issues are all relatively new and the law, courts and tribunals are having to evolve around them. Many employers are playing catch up with their staff on this but thought must be given to getting ahead.

I’d be interested to hear the stance other employers take on the use of social networking. Feel free to leave a comment.

Salary Survey 2012

The Salary Survey was one of the first ‘added value’ services we launched back in the early days of ACR. It is testament to its usefulness that it is still going strong 15 years later.

And the 2012 survey is being launched this week.

Our partners at Paydata Ltd are currently sending out the questionnaires to a number of companies in the region, big and small, from a wide range of sectors.

The data provided on the salary and benefits of hundreds of employees will be collated, analysed and used to produce a comprehensive snapshot of remuneration packages for use by recruiters and companies.

While the headline results will be published, participants will receive a detailed analysis enabling them to make a direct comparison with similar companies.

It’s this kind of information which is crucial for companies wanting to attract the very best candidates who will be looking for a competitive offer.

We have been working on this annual project with Paydata Ltd, another Peterborough company, for the last few years. They are national experts in the field so are able to see how Peterborough shapes up against other regions. Outside the public sector, they have reported seeing a modest rise in salaries across the UK so we shall wait to see if that is reflected locally.

It’s not too late to take part in this year’s survey. If you’d like further information, do get in touch.

CV lies: a lesson in why not to do it

Even the mighty aren’t immune – and what a lesson for anyone thinking they might just ‘tweak’ their CV.

We have been following with interest the case of Yahoo Chief Executive Officer Scott Thompson who, reports suggest, left the company after including a fake college degree on his CV.

He was hired in January, having previously worked at PayPal, for an annual salary of $1 million – with possible bonuses of $2 million this year.

But a discrepancy was discovered in Thompson’s educational background. In his biography he laid claim to a computer science degree which he didn’t have.

As a result of the revelation he was, it is claimed, pressured to give up his post. His experience, career, expertise and three months spent at the company proving his abilities counted for nothing when set against his lie.

This is a very real reminder of the importance of ensuring your CV is truthful. You may not be risking a $1 million salary but if you land a job and then get found out, you’re risking having to walk away in disgrace, and explain that on your CV in future.

Don’t claim to have a degree if you don’t have one; don’t claim to have a better degree than you have; don’t fill in missing gaps with jobs you haven’t had; don’t promote yourself in previous job titles.

Employers are becoming more savvy about checking CVs, by ringing previous employers, calling colleges or searching online.

When it comes to impressing future employers, honesty really is the best quality to have.

Stamford Mercury Business Awards

Guest blog by recruitment partner Karen Dykes

I was delighted to represent Anne Corder Recruitment at this week’s Stamford Mercury Business Awards.

Anne judged the Business of the Year category along with Robert Hinch from Greetham Valley Hotel, Golf and Conference Centre.

As usual the entries demonstrated perfectly the diversity of the business community in and around Stamford. They came from long established and family run firms to relatively new niche businesses making their mark both locally and nationally.

Anne and Robert spent a day visiting the short listed companies and were, as they have been every year they’ve judged the awards, incredibly impressed with the people they met. These are the entrepreneurial faces of our region who are working hard day in day out. They may be providing a service or manufacturing a product, all are creating employment and all are contributing to the economy. For all those reasons – and many more – they are to be applauded.

This year Anne and Robert just couldn’t separate two of the businesses they visited and so announced joint winners… MMT Digital and Simmons Optometrists.

While MMT Digital is at the cutting edge of web design, Simmons is a very traditional business serving the community.

MMT Digital’s success is easily seen in terms of levels of business, new clients and expanding workforce. Anne called it: “A little gem of a business now based in Rutland successfully working with very high profile clients.”

Anne and Robert were equally complimentary about Simmons. They said the couple who own and manage the business are not only technical experts in their field but commercially knowledgeable. They took over the business six years ago and since then have invested time and money in consolidating and expanding their client base.

Along with recruitment partner Nel Woolcott, I presented the awards to MMT Digital and Simmons Optometrists and it was a real honour to do so.

As usual Greetham Valley proved a wonderful venue for a very special evening of celebration marking some impressive achievements by the business community.

ACR notches up another Green Star

The Investors in the Environment scheme marked the end of its second successful year with an awards ceremony aimed at rewarding the achievements of those businesses which have demonstrated a commitment to an eco-policy.

We were one of the founder members of the scheme, organised and managed by PECT (Peterborough Environment City Trust) and were at last night’s ceremony.

There was an impressive turn out and it was incredible to hear of the impact the scheme has had. Tens of thousands of pounds have been saved by businesses through the adoption of eco-policies. Thousands of tonnes of waste have been diverted from landfill. Carbon footprints have been reduced. Recycling has increased on a huge scale. And the scheme has now become a franchise being adopted by environmental trusts as far afield as Yorkshire.

It was great to see how broad a spectrum of businesses have signed up to the scheme, from small owner-managed concerns to the Peterborough offices of Mars PetCare and Ikea.

We were delighted to once again receive not just the highest Green Award but also a Great Green Star Award. This particular certificate was given to the handful of companies which the auditors felt had embedded their eco-policy into the fabric of their business.

For us, our reduce, recyle, reuse policy has become second nature. We just do it. And that’s because as individuals and as an agency we have changed our habits. According to psychologists, it takes just a matter of weeks to change the habit of a lifetime. That’s not a long time. And as Kim Coley, the self-proclaimed queen of Investors in the Environment, said at the ceremony: “It’s about changing the world.”