Tag: Productivity

1. Live well work well

   April 6, 2022 4:10 pm

   The rising cost of living is affecting us all (and our bank balances), and it’s also having a marked impact on the employment market; driving more people to look for a new job.
   With more candidates looking to change jobs, employers are having to do more in order to attract the best candidates and retain current staff.

   Benefits packages
   Job hunting isn’t simply about salary and take home pay. Employers are looking for new and innovative ways to improve quality of life for their staff; from offering home and hybrid working options to free food and coffee, healthcare and gym membership. The list of ‘extra benefits’ on job adverts is escalating as organisations compete to attract and retain the best people.
   Supplying employee benefits packages is a growing sector in itself. Perkbox – a global benefits and rewards platform – claims this helps to keep each employee happy, healthy and motivated, and that employee experience and wellbeing is now more critical than ever.
   Promoting mental and physical wellbeing at work have long been recognised as the foundations for a successful business as happy workers are more productive and less likely to leave their jobs or take time off sick.

   Financial wellbeing
   However, in today’s cost of living crisis, organisations are also looking for ways to support the financial wellbeing of staff. With more people worrying about money (and bringing those worries to work with them) it makes perfect sense to extend wellbeing strategies to help staff cope with today’s tough economic climate. The CIPD even suggest that all employers should consider implementing a financial wellbeing policy to let staff know where they can seek help if needed.
   Home working options certainly reduce petrol and travel costs, but may in turn increase utility bills or create the need for a better home broadband connection. Some employers are even offering to contribute towards these costs.
   Many organisations are waking up to the fact that financial wellbeing amongst staff makes good business sense. Providing employees with access to free or discounted professional financial advice helps people keep control of their household budgets as the cost of living spirals. It’s all about equipping staff with the tools to deal with concerns around debt, savings or expenses; daily worries we’re all experiencing that could affect performance at work.

2. Feeling stressed?

   May 19, 2020 1:47 pm

   Its mental health awareness week, and there’s probably no one on the planet who hasn’t felt stressed at some point in recent weeks. No one knows what the future may hold and that means many people are feeling under huge strain at the moment.

   Financial pressures and concerns about job security are causing many to feel worried and anxious. Yet, despite the lockdown and the resulting uncertainty we’re all feeling, now may be a good time to consider your future career options. You’ve got time on your hands to research the market, hone your CV and take stock of where you want to go and what you want to achieve. Organisations are still hiring even during the lockdown so try and see this time as an opportunity rather than a reason to get stressed.

   Changing your mindset will help to change your stress levels too and hopefully result in an improvement to your general mental health.

   We have outlined some ideas and recruitment advice below that we hope will be useful in the current situation and will help you to turn your worries into positive actions.

   Consider your transferable skills – Many of the organisations we work with are looking for people who can hit the ground running at this time. If you’re looking to move departments or even careers, think about how your workplace skills and experiences can easily transfer to other areas.

   Hone your CV – there’s a lot of people looking to move or find a new job at the moment so that means every advert receives more than the usual number of applicants. Make your CV stand out from the rest with our advice articles on creating an outstanding CV.

   Use the time to learn – if you want to plug any skills gaps in your CV now is the perfect opportunity to undertake online training and research. Keep an eye on the industry and keep your eyes open for new opportunities, sign up to our jobs alert and receive all our latest roles straight to your inbox.

   Struggling to cope with home working? – read our useful guide on how to get the best from your home working experience.

   Don’t be afraid to move to the next level – the lockdown isn’t an excuse to stay in a job that isn’t fulfilling or enjoyable. We are still actively recruiting for clients at this time, so if you’re considering a move talk to us and see how we can help move your career to the next level.

   Choose to be positive – don’t dwell on the negatives, even if it feels like nothing is going your way. Take time to think about the positives in your personal and professional life. Consider your achievements and think about how your skills, experiences and personal attributes could be of value to a potential employer and could help secure your next promotion.

3. Empower your employees: tips and tricks to encourage productivity

   October 16, 2018 2:05 pm

   It’s a rainy afternoon and you notice that your employees aren’t firing on all cylinders; some are slumped at their desks, others are looking out the window and many are looking generally uninterested. Sound familiar?

   If you have ever been in this situation, you have probably asked yourself why this often happens. Every manager wants a team of driven, motivated individuals in order for maximum business output. However, the reality is that unless there are key motivators in place for your team to want to work hard, you will not have the desired workforce. Office productivity is hard to measure on a daily basis, however, if you feel your business could be doing better you may want to take a closer look at your under-stimulated employees and address the problem.

   In order to understand how to motivate your team, we need to understand what drives an individual. In many cases, employees feel that the office is a dull and uninspiring place to be, which can impact their willingness to work hard and stay alert. Not only does this result in an unproductive workforce but often leads employees to stray. In other words, to help you retain the top talent the workplace needs to become a more stimulating and fun environment.  Employees will generally thrive in an office where there is an upbeat environment.

   An excellent way to bring more excitement into the office is to organise team events both inside and outside of the workplace. This is a sure way to increase employee morale. You may wish to start by organising outings, these could be meals out or team building days. These activities don’t have to cost the earth; if your business is on a budget consider organising fun in-house team events such as fundraising days (where you can show support for charities) or provide team lunches, picnics and coffee mornings.

   Another way to ensure your team enjoys coming to work is to show employee appreciation. Workers will be much more satisfied and willing to do a good job if they know you appreciate the hard work they have put in and you are interested in them as a person. Gather your employees together for a meeting once a month to discuss their personal achievements (and if appropriate, chat about non-work related events such as personal accomplishments, birthdays or anniversaries).  Sending personal thank you notes to employees for exceptional efforts that have helped the business is a great way to show your staff you care and that you really appreciate their hard work. If employees feel valued they are more likely to want to work harder.

   Lastly, think about the things that you would enjoy in the workplace, whether they be team games, non-work related targets, incorporating humour into emails and meetings or even daily workplace discussions about current events or popular culture. If you are stuck for ideas ask for input from employees to see what they would like or assign a willing volunteer the task of injecting some fun into the workplace. However, you tackle it, putting even just a couple of these suggestions in place could result in a much more productive workforce and even put a smile on your face.