bwb - what do employers want and how do you spot talent?

BWB

What do employers want? Can you spot talent?

Emma Bayliss

• Associate Director of Thatcher Associates for 5 years

• Manage a team of 7 – Construction and Property

• Background in Quantity Surveying

Phoebe Hookway

• Town Planning Recruitment Consultant for Thatcher Associates

• Been with TA for 8 months

• Degree in Architecture and Planning

Kate Clarke

• Founder of Artemis Clarke – specialists in financial recruitment

• Earlier career – chartered accountant and tax adviser at Andersens

• Mitie Foundation – pivotal in providing Eureka moment

Format of the evening:3 key areas:• Part 1: From a manager's viewpoint how to spot talent and retain

the good people in the workplace. How to be the number one business – will people want to work for you? Cover areas: what makes a good team, good management and company branding.

• Part 2: From an employee's perspective – how do I stand out to my company? What do I need to showcase? What will get me headhunted? What is my personal brand? Cover areas: the importance of Linkedin and having an online presence so you get notice.

• Part 3: Interview techniques and CV formatting

• Reflect and Questions

Part 1:Emma

What makes a great employee?

What makes a great employee?

• Someone who goes above and beyond their job description• Extra mile• Ideas person • Someone who can add value to the business• Works hard• Integrates with other colleagues• Embraces the company brand and vision• http://www.artemisclarke.co.uk/blog_post/five-ways-to-be-a-

great-employee/

Kate’s Blog!

How to retain the talented people?

• Recognise• Praise and reward• Promote• New areas of responsibility• Promotion• Build a team around them• Open up a new division• Investing time and money • Give development opportunities• Provide training• Side projects or tasks

Top Ten Reason for leaving?

Employees feel undervalued

• 58% of employees who aren’t happy with the way they are treated plan to change jobs within a year

Appreciate your employees!


A bad manager!

• 37% of employees reportedly have a poor opinion of their boss!

Be a nice boss, be approachable and empathetic


Poor Communication

• On average half of employees were dissatisfied with the information they received from management

Communication is a two way process!


Employees efforts not getting recognised

• 93.3% who are regularly recognised feel satisfied with their current job

Praise publicly and say thank you!


Not getting a promotion

• 36% of employees feel they have been overlooked for promotion

Support employees and train them to ensure they move up the ladder with the right skills


Lack of Training

• A lack of training leads to stagnation within an organisation

Even if your training budgets are small, look at imaginative ways to train your team yourself - weekly workshops?


There’s no way up

• People like to achieve through a journey, they don't want to go straight to the top.

• 22% of employees who can't see opportunities will look at other companies

Create a team, new job role or division around existing staff


Overworked

• 39% of employees are dissatisfied with their work/ life balance

Check in with your staff to make sure they are striking a balance


Lack of Trust or Autonomy

Most valued attributes at work are: • Trust • Honesty • Fairness

80% say that lack of trust is enough to make them leave - very interesting!


Employees didn’t know or connect to your purpose

• Every time someone new joins, ensure you communicate clearly to them your company purpose and they role they have in this

What makes a good team?

What makes a good team?

• Good and influential manager• Understanding the business • Clear growth plan for employees• Targets – working towards deadlines/common goal• Fun!• Achievements• Clear job descriptions• Room to grow• Clear vision and values of the company• Open environment• Complementary skills

What makes a good manager?

• Situational management – tailor your style to different staff members.

• Understanding how your employees work - their strengths, what do they respond to, when do they shine?

• Safe zone – openly talk about problems• Door is always open • Open and approachable• Understands their teams strengths and areas of improvements• Inspirational • Lead by example• Trust• Knowledgeable• Praises and recognises• Not afraid to develop and promote those above themselves• Acknowledges mistakes

Do people want to work for your business?

• Do you know your competitors?• Understand your market• Do you network?• How is your business perceived (Glass door reviews)• Can you be different?• Is your company website showcasing the benefits of the

company?

Part 2:Phoebe

From a candidate's/employeesperspective:

• How do I stand out as an employee?• What do I need to showcase and how

do I do that?• What is my personal brand?• What will get me headhunted?• Is my social media showcasing me in

the best way?

How do you stand out as an employee?

• Looking the part and dressing well• Personal brand• Self-belief• Professionalism• Business involvement• Going the extra mile• Passionate• Embrace company culture• Right attitude• Company ambassador – speaks highly of company and

advertises company all the time• Side projects• Good reputation with other colleagues• Good reputation with other industry professionals

What does an employee need to showcase?

• Volunteering• Side projects – showing personal passion• Extra curricular activities• Networking involvement • Ideas that will benefit the company• Showcase strengths

Examples: • Writing articles on current issues• Having input into company’s advertising strategy• Ideas about networking events

This would be documented on your LinkedIn profile, company website or company blog!

LinkedIn Profile

How to get headhunted?1. Be visible – Attend regular networking events,

industry socials and industry seminars2. Give your card out freely – don’t be shy to

introduce yourself to other professionals3. Be a well-rounded professional – the whole

package4. Employed by a company – Make sure you are in

work!5. Have a strong personal brand – people can

identify you6. Online presence – LinkedIn and company website7. Say yes! – Open’s more doors and opportunities8. Understand when you’re being head-hunted

What is personal

branding?

Do you know your personal brand?

Quick fun activity to wake you up!• Get into pairs with someone you

don’t know. • Write down 3 things you think your

personal brand is. • Ask the person opposite you to

write down 3 things about your personal brand.

• Compare between yourselves.

Part 3:Kate

CV and Interview TipsCV structure

• Header section - personal details• Name (plus any relevant qualification letters) as the title • Don’t call it Curriculum Vitae!• The next two sections are the most important points within

a CV:• Personal Profile – use adjectives to describe

yourself, give a brief overview of your career history and finish by saying what you are looking for in your next role.• Key Skills – bullet points making sure they match at

least some of required attributes within the job spec.• Work history (most recent first)• Professional qualifications.• Education (just headline details)• Other Interests

CV’s continued…

DON’T:• Include irrelevant detail regarding previous jobs• Exceed 3 pages (unless you have had a number of

contract/ project roles)• Exaggerate your achievements (E.g. responsible for a

budget of £20m)• Over-explain a well understood role - focus on areas

where you have added value or streamlined a process• Include your DOB, marriage status or full address• Give a reason for leaving (suspicious!)• Use too small or unreadable font – we advise

Arial/Times/Calibri size 11-12• Include a photo

Interview Tips• Prepare Scenario questions (called competency

based questions) • Tell me about a time when:

– You have dealt with conflict– You have gone above and beyond – Thought outside the box to resolve a problem– Brought together a number of people to work as a

team– You had conflicting priorities – how did you deal with

them• In all these situations it’s useful to remember the

STAR approach to answering:– Situation– Task– Action– Result

Competency Example:• Q: Give me an example of when you have gone above and

beyond what was asked of you?• A: As a first year audit assistant I was asked to do a stock take on

a Saturday at one of our clients manufacturing depots (Situation).

• I was asked to do spot checks on the client’s stock counting and pay particular attention to some items that were in the course of being constructed (Task).

• I noticed that the paperwork indicated two assets that were in the course of being constructed but could only see one item in the depot. I queried with the client where the other item was and upon further investigation it turned out that only one asset had been constructed and the other hadn’t even been started. I took photos of the one that had been started and made notes about how complete the site manager thought it was (Action).

• I didn’t think that I had done anything remarkable with my actions, but it turns out that this was a material and contentious item with the client’s accounts and so my thoroughness (rather than just noting down there was only 1 item instead of 2) resulted in the manager rewarding me with a special recognition form (greensheet) (Result).

Interview Tips cont..

• Research – not only company website but also:– Person interviewing (LI profile/Facebook)– Twitter/Facebook page of company– News articles/Google search company or

CEO/FD to see recent press– Google alert on company

• Take in prompts • When sitting waiting to be called in – read

something in reception • Be nice to the receptionist!

CV activity

If you could get into groups of 4: establish which is the best CV and why?

CV Activity - feedback

• Which CV was the best?• Why?• Comments on other CV’s

CV activity - CV analysis

Anne Small• Title – Curriculum Vitae• Use header for details• Key Skills section missing• Too long• Too much irrelevant info (IT/ HR)

and earlier jobs• Qualifications missing

CV analysis cont…Paul Charles• CV and header as per Anne Small• Date of birth• 9 out of 11 exams passed first time• Personal profile and Key Skills section

missing• Not tailored for role• Don’t need to put “promoted”• First person “Acted as” rather than “I

acted as”• Key achievements and hobbies/ interests

could be more succinct

CV analysis cont…David Spencer• Good layout• Qualifications after name • Profile tailored to role• Could have highlighted achievements

rather than just listing responsibilities.• Date error – finished at XYZ Ltd in

September 2013 but started at M Group PLC in March 2012.

Part 4:Questions and

Reflection

Reflect

What 3 things can you take away from tonight that will help you become a better manager,

better person, build a better team or perhaps strengthen

your personal brand?