Eloise’s June 2022 News – Big Balance Theory, Managing Overwhelm, Recruitment Market, My Macmillan Hike
Hello and welcome to June,
The halfway point is upon us. And with life feeling pretty ‘normal’ again, I’ve even ventured abroad for a family holiday.
But, what I’ve started questioning lately is, have we free wheeled back into the old ‘normal’? Do you remember in lockdown and when restrictions were in place, we all made comments and promises to ourselves about what we wouldn’t go back to, what we’d keep, what changes we liked and would fight for to become the ‘new normal’.
What did you want to keep? Have you managed to? Have you been able to?
I’d be very interested to hear how you’ve managed, balanced, and potentially, carved out a new way.
Big Balance Theory
A catalyst for this thought process has been listening to The Big Balance Theory podcast. A friend of Vanilla’s and mine, Sarah Cripps of apprenticeship recruitment company Salad Skills, conducted some professional research during the early stages of, and then throughout, the pandemic. It has led her to create The Big Balance Theory and now a podcast.
In the podcast, Sarah interviews some of the business people who contributed to her research. It covers lockdown discoveries they’ve made, small changes that have led to happier lives and more balance, as well as big changes that have come about.
An overwhelming theme from the podcasts so far, is that people are very keen to keep some of the slowing down they experienced during the height of the pandemic. But has this always been possible? I would recommend having a listen.
You can check out the podcast on both LIBSYN and Spotify via this link: https://linktr.ee/bigbalancetheory
Managing overwhelm
This leads nicely into another topic I am hearing discussed a lot again, overwhelm. With staffing issues, increasing workloads, and endemic recovery pressure, there is a lot of people feeling the stress.
I have just read a really good blog post about how to deal with overwhelm, and I wanted to share it with you:
https://blog.rescuetime.com/its-not-as-bad-as-you-think-it-is/
The article was written by California based freelancer Robin Copple, but the message and tactics are relevant for employees as much as freelancers.
The recruitment market
The news has broken this week that for the first time since records began ONS data shows there are more job vacancies than unemployed people in the UK. This is obviously positive news for lots of reasons, low unemployment is a good thing. But the flip side is making it hard to recruit, in an already tough market.
The main takeaways from the REC Report on Jobs are:
- Starting salary inflation holds close to a record high
- Labour shortages lead to a slower rise in staff placements
- Demand for staff remains robust
Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC, comments:
“The labour market has been tightening for months on end, driving near-record growth in starting salaries for new staff. With vacancy numbers also historically high, this is a great time to be looking for a job – and a pay rise to help meet the rising cost of living.”
“The number of job placements being made is still growing, but at a more stable rate. Growth is now at its lowest level for a year. This is no surprise, given how hot the market has been. Employers need to get their offers to candidates right if they are going to succeed in this market. Enhancing diversity and inclusion, and effective early career hiring are also important elements of a winning approach – consulting a recruitment expert can help with all of this.”
The key message from Neil is to focus on ‘enhancing diversity and inclusion’ and getting your ‘offer to candidates right’.
Plus, the cost of living crisis is also likely to drive up the number of people open to moving jobs for the right package.
If you’re recruiting at the moment you need to do your homework. Research what other employers locally are offering in terms of package, benefits, and culture. You also need to research your industry and job type competition. You need to be able to compete to succeed.
My Macmillan Mighty Hike
Well, we did it, and it was an absolutely glorious day walking 26.2 miles of the Norfolk coastline. We experienced a great atmosphere with all the volunteers and the public cheering us on along the way.
There were a few tired feet, some blisters and sore hips but it was all very much worth it.
Fantastically we were able to raise £1,500 for Macmillan! So, a massive thank you to all of you who sponsored us and donated to this great cause.
In Vanilla news…
We are very excited to announce we have a new team member joining us at Vanilla…
Juliette Cox is joining the team. Juliette is an incredibly experienced consultant and CIPD qualified recruitment professional. She is going to be heading up our HR division.
We are extremely lucky to have her and look forward to introducing her to you more over the coming weeks and months.
That’s us for another month
And that’s another month’s post done. I hope you have a fabulous June and manage to find your own balance and ‘new normal’.
We recruit throughout the East Midlands covering Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Rutland and the surrounding areas, especially Market Harborough, Lutterworth, Leicester, Corby and Kettering. We help people find their perfect job and match suitable jobseekers with businesses looking to hire the best candidates across our five specialisms – Sales, Marketing, Accountancy & Finance, HR and Office
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