The Works Blog & Events
The Works go National (again)
We have started the New Year with some more great PR. This time though it isn’t the French speaking dog that has got people talking.
We supported Marie Curie’s Wear Yellow To Work Campaign by dressing yellowing-up our Leeds Offices and asking staff to show their support for the charity. We even got Henri the Hound in on the action.
The Works Launch Health Campaign
During January The Works are launching their Health, Wealth and Happiness Survey.
Providing insight on healthy hiring, employee rewards and happiness in the workplace have never been so crucial to great business performance.
All participants receive a Free E-Book : 21 tips to get the most from our recruiter.
Also, one person will be selected at random to win a touchscreen tablet.
Jobs in the balance as administrators called in..
Staff at a chain of popular North West hotels yesterday were waiting to hear about their future after administrators were called in.
Specialist accountants firm Baker Tilley confirmed they had been appointed administrators to the Venture Hotels Group, whose titles include the Monton House Hotel in Salford, the Paddington House Hotel in Warrington and the Comfort Inn in Chester.
A spokesman for the firm said they were very hopeful of securing a future for the group by selling the three venues which had a joint turnover of £2m. The spokesman confirmed that the titles would continue to trade in the meantime. It’s thought the administrators were called in as the businesses had not been able to generate sufficient income to meet it’s debts.
It’s doubtful whether a buyer will be found this side of Christmas and it could be well into 2012 before staff know whether they have a secure future or not.
be sought
Mr Cash, north west restructuring and recovery partner at Baker Tilly, said: “There was no one outstanding issue. The administration is a symptom of the last couple of years being quite tough.
Supporting Prostate Cancer this November
The Works Recruitment Movember Team – DONATE HERE
The Works have been supporting Prostate Cancer Awareness since 01.11.11 and the evidence of our dedication is at large.
So far, 5 people have crumbled under the pressure of growing facial hair on demand. They have been disciplined by our Movember followers and will be paying there fines on our Movember page.
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Roundtable event to get women on board..
Event : Monday 12th December
Why you should have a woman on board..
Every successful company recognises the importance of a board which represents a diverse cross-section of knowledge.
The Association of Executive Recruiters (AER), the REC’s specialist sector group for executive search and selection consultancies, has announced a new roundtable event focussing on attracting women on to boards.
Commenting on the value of the roundtable session, David Winterburn, Chair of the AER said:
“Most clients know the proven business benefits of having a more diverse board. As a professional head-hunters, members of the AER share this view but the stark reality is that many companies have not trained or sufficiently mentored women as they progress in their career. As a result, the executive search community is finding it difficult to identify female candidates who have the required skills and experience for board level positions.
“However, simply retorting that this is a supply issue does not address the fundamental problems. We need to break down the structural barriers holding women back. We need to examine policies to support women with young children and explore networks to help women navigate their careers. I believe there is a role that AER members can play and this is why we are holding a roundtable which will look at improving opportunities for senior women, thereby boosting the talent pipeline.”
If you are an AER Member, or from a group interested in the promotion of women on boards, please click here to register to attend. The event will be taking place on Monday 12th December from 4pm to 6pm.
Recruiters called to bridge huge IT skills gap
New research out last week from the REC shows a continuing critical shortage of new candidates in Information and Communications technologies.
The paper Skills Shortages in the ICT Workplace published by REC Technology, the dedicated group for recruitment agencies working in the ICT sector, highlights the key role recruiters can play in helping to bridge the skills shortages gap.
This includes working more closely with schools, colleges and employers to paint a more positive picture of what working in a modern IT and technology environment now looks like.
It also spells out a very real need to address the current shortage so that the necessary skills are in place to help the UK maintain its global competitiveness both in the short term and in the technology-driven markets of the future.
“While the demand for more advanced technology-based skills is not new, the recent economic crisis has increased the urgency of addressing the gap between available skills and what the market demands,” the report states.
The research paper puts forward a series of recommendations on how recruitment agencies, in tandem with schools, universities and employers can work together more closely to address the current shortage of young people either taking ICT-related courses and qualifications.
These include:
- Offering expert careers advice to students at events such as school open days, careers and graduate conventions to provide positive real life examples of what it is like to work in IT and to debunk some of myths surrounding working in this sector
- Provide in-house agency services to candidates which are based on expert knowledge of both local and national employment needs
- Share recruitment expertise with employers to build loyalty and develop the IT talent pipeline. This can include research into identifying the universities which are best for specific IT roles.
The report stresses that employers and their recruitment agencies both have a key role to play in addressing the issues which have led to the IT skills shortages.
Commenting on the findings of the research, Craig Burton, MD of The Works Recruitment, said:
“I think the report highlights the very real fact that people are not moving jobs as readily, due to the economic climate and fears over job safety. This has lead to an IT skills shortage, coupled with the fact that more employers are building automated systems into their manufacturing processes in a bid to be more cost-effective”.
Copies of the report are available by visiting the REC website .
Get ready for Movember!
Grow your thang for charity
November is almost upon us and in the world of charity fundraising that means your latest must-have is a moustache. Renamed Movember, the month is an annual, month-long celebration of the moustache, highlighting men’s health issues, specifically prostate cancer.
Since it’s humble beginnings in Melbourne, Australia, the Movember Foundation has raised over £106 million for cancer charities. The funds raised in the UK support the number one and two male specific cancers – prostate and testicular cancer. In 2010, over 112,000 UK Mo Bros and Mo Sistas got on board, raising £10.3 million.
How to get on board
Style advice is available for the fashion conscious...
Mo Bros, supported by their Mo Sistas, start Movember (November 1st) clean shaven and then have the remainder of the month to grow and groom their moustache.
During Movember, each Mo Bro effectively becomes a walking billboard for men’s health and, via their Mo, raises essential funds and awareness for Movember’s men’s health partner, The Prostate Cancer Charity. At the end of Movember, a series of Gala Partés are held to thank Mo Bros and Sistas for their support and fund raising efforts.
Get creative with your facial hair
Movember has continued to grow each year, both in terms of participation numbers and funds raised. In its first year 30 Mo Bros took part in Movember and last year, across the globe more than 447,000 Mo Bro & Sistas got on board, raising more than £48.6 million across the Movember’s men’s health partners globally.
There are competitions and prizes galore on offer, from a “Best of Mo Space” award, for the best My Space page to “Brushes with fame” for the best photo of you, your moustache and a celebrity, culminating with the “Moscars”, an award for the best video of your new hairy friend.
We’re hoping everyone at The Works is going to get on board – some of the girls are already there (joke, ouch!)
Do your bit this Movember by registering now at the Movember website, where you’ll find handy style guides for the fashion conscious and full rules of engagement. Then all you have to do is sit back and wait for the hair to grow!
The customer is always right..
You’ve probably heard that one before.
And for the most part it’s true. But I remember a friend once telling me of a dilemma she had in her business regarding her customers. She ran a house party business up and catered for groups of people who would descend on her 5 acre pile on a Friday and depart on a Sunday, having been fed and watered all weekend whilst letting their hair down and thoroughly relaxing. You could get up to pretty much whatever you wanted, and nothing was too much trouble for my friend to ensure her guests had a good time.
Most groups were great fun – they had their party and didn’t let a good time get in the way of good manners. One particular group however (including a couple of Division 1 footballers) abused the hospitality greatly – a few too many sweet sherries and before you know it there is a tell-tale smell next morning. No-one wanted to fess up (to the throw up), and the least said about the ensuing search the better, but the upshot was that the group wanted to rebook and my friend wanted to politely decline the offer of entertaining them again.
The next group to pitch up for accommodation were security guys for Billy Connolly (he lived just up the road) and the boss, a lovely chap called Mark Hamilton who used to be Paul McCartney’s personal bodyguard for many years (I’m told Stella called him Uncle Mark). On discussing business with Mark, my friend asked him his advice as to what to do about the undesirables who were keen on returning.
Mark had some words of wisdom. “I was once told by a very successful American businessman that the customer is ALWAYS right. Until they’re wrong. That’s what I’ve lived by in my business ever since, and it’s done me no harm. Tell your guests that you are sorry, but you feel there are other venues better suited to their party, that you are glad they had a good time with you and flattered that they want to return but that it won’t be happening”.
So that’s what she did. The group were disappointed (and I suspect, a little ashamed) but they realised that they had crossed the line and that was the end of that.
The Works are absolutely behind this theory. Customer service is one of our real strengths and we take every opportunity to guide, train and develop our staff to be market leaders in this area. We are thrilled therefore to be once again sponsoring the Best Customer Service Award at the forthcoming Leeds Retail Awards, to be held at Leeds Armouries on October 2nd 2011. Voting has now finished, but keep a look out in local press and on the Leeds Retail awards website for details of the winners
And the award for best customer service goes to...
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