Eloise’s March 2023 News – Team Sport, Recruitment Trends, Office Refurb, Temp Survey
Hello and welcome to March 2023
I say it every year, but for me March is the main transitional month of the year, it brings about gradual growth and change. We start emerging from our winter hibernation phase. The days get longer, snowdrops and daffodils show their pretty faces. And we start to see lambs in the fields.
Although Spring doesn’t officially begin until the very end of March, it’s now that the way is paved for its arrival. The clocks also ‘spring forward’ towards the end of the month; on Sunday the 26th. But ahead of the time change, we’ll officially gain almost 2 extra hours in our days between 1st and 25th March – sunrise moving from 6:47am to 5:53am – a day length of 10 hours 52 mins, and sunset moving from 17:39pm to 18:20pm, a day length of 12 hours and 26 mins.
This also brings a change for a lot of us too. There is plenty of scientific evidence about Seasonal Affective Disorder and how our bodies use daylight to influence our body clock. We produce more of the natural hormone melatonin when it’s darker, which makes us feel lethargic. When we’re exposed to more daylight our bodies suppress some of this hormone to make us feel more alert and energised. And, of course, sunlight is also a natural source of mood-boosting vitamin D.
Having said all of this, the weather forecast for mid-March is predicting a return to sub-zero temperatures and talks of a possible ‘polar vortex’ and a ‘snow bomb’ coming from the North Pole. So don’t put the blankets and hot water bottles away just yet.
Six Nations business insights
On the 1st of March it was St David’s Day, being married to a proud Welshman, this is an acknowledged day in our household. And, of course, with him being a big rugby fan, the Six Nations is also a big thing in our house – although don’t talk to him about the results table!
If you remember from previous blogs, I am very keen on drawing comparisons with the management of business and sport. And rugby is one of the best examples of a true team sport.
Rugby isn’t a sport where you can have a single player seeking glory. The team is only successful if every player is committed to the game and each other.
The main areas they focus on are:
- Teamwork – team ties, trust, and communication are vital for success. The foundation for any strong team.
- Leadership – strong leadership on and off the pitch will make or break a game. They need to guide the team’s energy and tactics at every moment.
- Respect – rugby is physical, without respect on the pitch it would be dangerous. Players don’t always have to agree with the referee and touch judges, but they always exhibit respect for them. The respect on the pitch is also exhibited in the crowd by the mixed supporters in the stands.
- Perseverance and care – rugby is a tough sport; teams must care and look after each other. They must build resilience and work hard in the face of adversity.
- Taking success in stages – the Six Nations is a long championship; it’s not won or lost in a single game. And within a game, play is built in phases, points are won and conceded, change can happen quickly, and hard work pays off.
- Learning from defeat – defeat is an inevitable part of success. And success isn’t as clean-cut as simply winning or losing a championship. Every moment is a learning experience. How you pick yourself up is very important.
But these are not just rugby insights, they are life lessons and business lessons. Elite sports teams are the ultimate businesses. In sport, nothing is plain sailing, and nothing is achieved without hard work. In business, we know only too well, that the same is true.
Recruitment trends
The KPMG and REC Report on Jobs, reports that permanent and temporary job listings are still high, although permanent listings have dropped for 4 months in a row, but picked up slightly in February. This highlights employers’ ongoing caution in the market considering the financial uncertainty. It’s further compounded for employers by ever-increasing starting salaries.
And there is no let up with increasing starting salaries as companies fight to attract talent, experience candidate shortages, and with candidates demanding higher wages due to the cost-of-living crisis.
However, temporary placements are still booming. This is attributed to companies choosing short-term staffing arrangements and having to fill unfilled permanent vacancies.
The report comments that ‘Temporary workers helped keep many companies in business in 2022 and continue to be the backbone of our economy in 2023’.
What does all of this mean for you? It’s about making sure your company stands out in your job descriptions and job adverts. Get your culture across, how you treat and value your people. Show your brand personality. And as I always say, act quickly. Still too many recruiting managers are taking too long to decide on candidates and then miss the boat when they do make an offer.
And of course, don’t forget that we offer a temporary recruitment agency service here in Market Harborough, covering predominantly Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland.
HR Huddle date for your diary
Our next HR Huddle session is on:
Wednesday, 8th March at 2pm
Our guest speaker is our long-term legal partner, Keeley Baigent. She is going to be updating us on the latest employment law changes.
Book your FREE place here
This session will cover general employment law updates and some recent court and employment tribunal decisions that have been made with a focus on discrimination and harassment. Keeley will also cover notable legislative developments and potential new employment legislation that may come into force this year.
In this session:
- Case law developments in the last 12 months
- Discrimination
- Harassment – including the protected characteristics of disability and age
- Bullying
- Holiday pay
- There will also be time for a live Q&A with Keeley. Please come armed with your questions or email them to me prior to the event.
International Women’s Day – 8th March
As a female business owner with a majority female recruitment agency team, I want to acknowledge and celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD).
It’s on Wednesday, 8th March. This interestingly and fittingly also happens to be our next HR Huddle event, where we often discuss the types of topics IWD champions. It also seems fitting because according to stats from CIPD, 60% of HR professionals are women – with 61% taking up senior roles.
This year’s IWD theme is #EmbraceEquality. And we can all play our part; you don’t just have to be a woman. Let’s challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, draw attention to bias, and seek out inclusion.
It’s collective activism that drives change.
How are you embracing equality?
Spring brings change at Vanilla
After 8 years in our lovely Vanilla HQ on Coventry Road in Market Harborough, we are making some changes…
Post covid and with more hybrid working and online meetings, we’re not using our beautiful building in the same way we did pre-2020.
Currently, we take up one and a half floors (the ground and half of the first) and we rent out an office on the other half of the first floor and an office on the top floor (second). On our ground floor, we have a reception area, boardroom, and 2 meeting rooms. Then our office space overlooks Coventry Road on the first floor.
But we’re just not using the ground floor how we used to. So, we’ve had a rethink, a refresh and a whole new renovation of our working space.
The ground floor has had some walls knocked out to become a large open-plan workspace, that used to be the boardroom and reception area, and will become our new Vanilla workspace for consultants. We’ll also have 2 meeting rooms, a small kitchen area, two new toilets and most exciting of all (for me anyway) we have a new gym!
We’re currently just getting through that messy noisy stage and then we’re moving on to the decorating.
After this stage has been sorted the first and second floors will then become office space for other businesses. This will create more of a business centre type set up and feel with a shared kitchen and meeting room.
It’s an exciting change and one that will better utilise the building in a positive way for the future.
You can see some pics of the work we’ve been doing and we will post some final pics when it’s all finished. If you’re looking for office space in the centre of Market Harborough, drop me a line if you’d like to come and look at what we’ll have available.
Temporary Recruitment Survey – we would love to hear your thoughts
Did you know temporary recruitment is on the rise? But why is this and is it the same across most sectors or geographical locations?
We are carrying out some market research on the current economic / business climate and the overall effect on the temporary employment market on a more local level.
And that’s it for another month
As I cross my fingers for the weather forecasters to have got it wrong, I hope we can all enjoy this transitional month as we gradually move out of hibernation mode.
Our temps do an amazing job for a wide range of clients in the area. They are some of the most flexible and hardworking people and we want to recognise that every month.
So, if you have a Vanilla temporary worker on assignment, or who has just completed an assignment, who you think has gone above and beyond or exceeded expectations in any way. You can nominate them to receive our Temp of the Month Award.
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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