Everywhere I go people are talking about social media – twitter, facebook, LinkedIn, blogging etc etc. It’s a hot topic for networking events and it is sure to get a good attendance as people flock to hear how they can make the most out of using Social Media for business and personal benefit. Having recently moved jobs to specialise within IT recruitment I have discovered so many benefits already. Previously I had dabbled with Linked In and also used facebook to connect with friends primarily however more recently I have been introduced to twitter.
Should we go Green? Should the government start investing more in R&D, should business invest more? We are an island with abundant Wave power, wind power etc; could we not become a global leader in this area and be an example for the rest of the world to look at? Become a knowledge based economy in Sustainable energy? There has been plenty discussions in this area within the last 1-2 years; we have seen numerous engineers from all sectors, R&D Engineers, Electronic Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, Electrical Engineers, Quality Engineers, Construction to name just a few lose their jobs...where can they go from here? If they all emigrate we risk losing highly qualified individuals to other countries, by focusing on becoming a global leader in sustainable energy we could not only keep these skills in Ireland but also work on developing new sectors of employment. A new Five year plan from Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland SEAI, announced last week, [ http://bit.ly/bBsNqC and http://www.seai.ie/ ] might bring some hope to not only the unemployed, but to a number of SME that have set up throughout Ireland on the Renewable energy side. Their plan is focusing on saving 6 million on fossil fuels and creating up to 10,000 new jobs. They are looking to focus on the following areas, electricity supply, heat supply, energy in buildings, energy efficient products and behavior, energy in transport, research and innovation, and policy development and analysis.
Following a recent talk on ‘Staff Retention and Motivation’ conducted by Cpl at The Senior Management Forum Europe (SMFE), an interesting discussion ensued which involved interesting observations from delegates from various companies, large and small.
As specialists in the Accountancy/Finance and Banking & Financial Services arena we have certainly seen an improvement in market conditions since March 2009 but it would be too early to say that we’ve turned the corner. As there are less opportunities available to employees in the market, does this mean that they’re more likely to stay put in their current role regardless of how happy they are?
One of the first observations raised was that in larger organisations particularly, there can sometimes be an unhealthy paranoia at all levels of staff including management about potential redundancies that may or may not arise. As this is something that may only be decided at the top table there are often intense efforts to ensure that you’re seen to be proving your value and adding to the bottom line constantly. This may sound healthy but the challenge is where a Manager/Team Leader, concerned about their own standing in the bigger picture, begins to remove accountability and responsibility that had previously been entrusted to the team below. The result of which can have negative effects to morale throughout the team.
A popular point raised was raised was that the first 6-9weeks is the most crucial period in an employee’s life within a company. This is the period in which he/she will decide on their opinion of whether or not they like the organisation and they will spend the rest of their time in their role justifying this decision to themselves. One of the critical points raised in ‘The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels’ is to ensure that the new employee secures ‘early wins’ – thereby encouraging buy in and motivation to the bigger/better/bolder challenges that lie ahead.
There has never been a greater level of talent available for hire and a major challenge discussed was the frustrations hiring managers during the Celtic Tiger period faced when interviewing. It was cited by many of the helplessness felt when sitting opposite an interviewee who was unconvincing, under qualified with excessive salary expectations but often had little choice but to hire as a reflection of the marketplace. Certainly in stronger economic times, a Newly Qualified Accountant could line up dozens of interviews within a short space of time without having to stretch themselves too much at interview. It’s a different world now in that it’s now the interviewers/employers who have raised expectations.
Ultimately staff satisfaction, commitment and motivation is unlikely to vary and what is as key to an employer now as it was three years ago is keeping top talent competitive and motivated. The best will always attract the better opportunities in the market and regardless of what is discussed at an exit interview, it is ‘Boss Quality’ that is key.
Paul McClatchie, March 2010
Careers Register, part of the Cpl Group.
paul.mcclatchie@careers-register.com
We are facing into the unknown in 2010, we are hopeful and positive that the worst is over but each day presents us with a new challenge and often those challenges leave us wondering are we out the other side of this “recesssion” or is it going to be a slow painful climb of one step forward two steps back. Lately the papers are full of bad news with regards to companies closing down and companies going into receivership. This is very very tough on employees who will lose their jobs in a time where there is such uncertainty about finding a new one. When I was considering what I would write for our newsletter this quarter I thought I will write what I would like to read… some tips, ideas, proven tactics on how we can cope with whatever challenges come our way in business in 2010.
First and foremost we have to remain positive,
The power of positive thinking is underestimated. Both our clients and candidates require us to be positive and Im sure most people in business find this is a necessary trait to adopt. When you think about it, be it in our social lives or otherwise, we gravitate to positive people. Naturally in life people need to vent and moan, we are only human and its healthy to be able to shed your worries with someone you trust! The bottom line in a strong character is that they have a positive attitude to life and are believers. If we believe we can recover, then we will never give up and we will keep the show on the road. So perhaps a good exercise would be when asked a question or in conversation we adopt a more positive outlook and respond with a cup half full attitude! For a start you feel much better at the end of a day where you have done all you can to remain positive.
Get proactive, take responsibility
If you were watching the Frontline in early March, most of the audience (primarily job seeking young people) were seeking someone to blame for the state of our economy – yet the most powerful voice to my mind was that of Bill Cullen who said its up to us to get up and be positive and do something about it, even if it means working for nothing, just get that experience under your belt. Face the music, if you are up to your neck in debt, go directly to the bank, negotiate, change your payment terms. He was not saying its all a walk in the park but he was saying that one cant lie down and let it all be, one has to be proactive and responsible for any changes that you need to make to ensure your life is easier and your debt more manageable. Blaming others whilst human nature is not going to bring you the results and changes you need.
Plan, plan, plan It always surprises me when I say to someone well have you got a plan? and they say not really… If you are in a situation where you need to make a change, write it down and I don’t mean in a “visual way” I mean set a plan in action, put down dates, targets when something has to be achieved and then when you look at that date you can see have you achieved it and if not why not? It’s a good idea and it works. It takes effort and repetitive concentration. You must check your list and deadlines regularly to see how you are getting on otherwise time will be against you and you will get disheartened.
Engage with people
Whilst talking to people, be interested, engage and be enthusiastic in your listening, sometimes you will have to try harder at this than other times. This is not to say that you waste time with someone who just wants an audience and is effectively taking up precious time but in a nutshell whilst you are communicating with people be it in an interview or a communication or sales forum deliver your message strongly, ensure eye contact is maintained and lift your head up high whilst you relay your message. People want to be addressed by strong conviction and belief in the message they are receiving, they don’t want a wishy washy waffly message. So practice if you need to, speak to yourself before you have a serious conversation or make a pitch to a client but whatever you do believe what you are saying and make it clear.
I found this tip on a US website which whilst very simple – could be extremely powerful.
Robert Graham, a business services consultant in Chicago writes some very interesting blogs…
Celebrate Diversity
Celebrate diversity and accomplish more! I have noticed in many business settings there are individuals who want the credit. Put my name on the plaque high above everyone in the group because I did all the work. What a shame. This individual is missing the boat. A team wins championships, an individual win trophies. You will soon find that acting as a uniform team diversity, meaning each individual, working in his talent to do the best possible job.
Acted out, every member has a role on a team--you can only accomplish the best result of your worst member! Even if you have a substantial trophy winner.
Build teams with diversity. Look around in each area of you life and influence those individuals to their talent. Reach out to build a structure of people to enhance your weaknesses, even your strengths. Then give recognition to the individual--but most of all praise to the TEAM!!
A cross-border programme has been launched to boost small businesses in Northern Ireland and the border counties of the Republic.
According to www.contractoruk.com new research from a UK computer jobs agency confirms what many IT contractors have suspected since the onset of the downturn – that freelancers have been hit the hardest.ReThink Recruitment says 98% of IT contractors saw their rates cut or frozen in 2009, compared with 71% of IT staff who suffered the same fate with their salaries.And although more contract IT jobs are emerging, the agency said, such roles are unlikely to compensate the pay dip, as 83 per cent of clients plan to keep rates steady.Permanent IT staff appear better placed, given that the proportion of clients set to freeze wages in the IT department is slightly less, at around more than half of respondents.But following two years of cuts in IT rates and salaries, pressure on end-users to peg back pay is beginning to abate, said ReThink director Michael Bennett.According to the firm, although IT directors will keep a tight rein on pay, only five per cent of IT contractors will see their hourly rates downgraded again in 2010. The outlook signals a significant improvement since 2009, when one in four IT departments cut the pay of contractors, in some instances by as much as 25 per cent.“Contractors are more vulnerable to market fluctuations, so it’s no surprise they have been hardest hit by the recession,” Mr Bennett said.“That said, with the job market now tightening rates for contractors should rise ahead of pay increases for permanent staff.”However, any pay increases for IT staff, contractor or perm, will be “subdued,” as the computer jobs market has only just finished bottoming out.Those measured pay rises are most likely to go to candidates skilled in C#,.Net, Java and LINUX, as demand for such expertise has leapt over the last quarter, the agency said.“Good quality candidates with the right skills are already difficult to find,” Bennett reflected. “As IT departments begin hiring again they will increasingly have to poach personnel from rival organisations, which will fuel rapid pay rises.”
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There is alot of mystery that surrounds the issue of salaries. People like to play their cards close to their chest in relation to their salary especially in Northern Ireland. Sometimes Chinese whispers can inflate the real figures creating a very different perception in the market place. This is something which has become apparent in my first few weeks as IT Business Manager with CPL IT Northern Ireland. Last week I was out with a number of clients who both asked for my opinion on salaries for their sector throughout NI. One commented that their organisation had previously been mentioned as having higher than average basic salaries however upon further inspection this was quite clearly not the case. There are mixed opinions out there. In my mind the majority of companies are focused on offering competitive salaries with most staying within the ‘accepted’ range. You will of course always get those companies who want to pay lower however with skills such as Java and .Net not overly abundant in the market place a fair salary is a pre requisite. Often its not solely the salary which is important but the technologies utilised, benefits offered, team, work/life balance and flexibility of the organisation.What is your opinion of salaries for Software Engineers in Northern Ireland? Is salary still the primary motivator or are candidates interested in other things as well?
With Ireland in the grips of a recession there are many people out of work, whether it's through redundancy or contracts not being renewed, or a graduate just finished college. One thing is for sure, if you're out of work, you're not alone. Working in recruitment I'm faced with it every day but I'm also surrounded by it in my personal life. And what I see is embarrassment, anger, resentment , desperation and fear, in no particular order. At this difficult time, the most important thing is attitude. As hard as it is, staying positive is critical to getting back into the workforce (or entering it for the first time). I've seen candidates turn down opportunities to interview because they can't face any more rejection - unfortunately, rejection is usually part of the job hunt, boom time or recession time. If you're not willing to even try, it's going to be a long wait. Below are a my top 10 tips and hints for job hunting. These are quite general and obviously will vary depending on sector and industry but hopefully they will be of some benefit.
With the dynamic recruitment market over the past 18 months we have been hearing more and more about recruitment and job opportunities in Eastern Europe. One of the cities where major investment has taken place is Krakow (or Cracow) in Poland. Krakow is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland and a popular tourist destination. The city dates back to the 7th century and has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural and artistic life, and is currently one of Poland’s most important economic centres. Recently a number of Shared Service and IT Centres have established a presence here, these include: CAP Gemini, PWC Polska, IFS Poland, Airline Accounting Centre (Lufthansa Group), IBM BTO Business Consulting Services, Centrum Finansowe Tesco, Electrolux, Shell, Google, Motorola and Delphi Polska. These multinational companies offer a variety of opportunities including: technical support, software development, customer service, accountants, teamleaders, account administrators with a large proportion of the roles requiring multilingual candidates. Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish and German to name a few. Krakow offers an excellent opportunity to gain both work and life experience, it is a thriving city with an active social scene and for jobseekers with a second language offers career opportunities that may not be possible in their home country. Lets take an example; a Dutch speaking candidate with a financial qualification and maybe 3 months work experience. In Krakow, they could be offered a role of Accounting Assistant with one of the worlds leading IT companies. The role involves processing transactions and supporting experienced accounting professionals as well as providing input into improving processes and procedures. This type of position is just a starting point and with time it is possible to progress and develop their career within this company either locally or internationally. But aren’t salaries in Eastern Europe at a much lower level to the rest of Europe? Yes that is true. HOWEVER cost of living is a lot lower. Lets look at the above example; for this role you would be looking at an average salary of 5000pln before tax, sharing a 2 bed apartment in Krakow city centre would cost approximately 700 pln, so for your rent you are paying approx 15% of your monthly salary. For a similar job in Dublin you would maybe be looking at a salary of €1800 per month and for a similar apartment €600 per month. In this case you are paying 30% of your monthly salary. As you can see your disposable income is proportionate to the expense of living in a city so take a second look when you are evaluating a job! For more info contact Anne on 0035316146084 or anne.lavelle@cpl.ie
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