Recruitment Matters International December Newsletter

Only eight more sleeps to Christmas! Another year has whizzed by and, again, our heartfelt thanks go to all of you who supported and worked with us during the rollercoaster year that was 2021. We take nothing for granted and very much look forward to building on our relationships and working with you in 2022 and beyond.

Before you settle down to enjoy the festive season, do have a look at our Q1 2022 training schedule .

In this month's newsletter:-

In Warren's article, he provides two more of his top ten tips on how to get ahead in your recruitment career.

Networking guru, Will Kintish discusses the benefits of arriving early and staying late as tactics to make the most of participating in networking events.

This month, I have some suggestions on how to make your New Year resolutions a little bit more productive than perhaps they may have been in years gone by. 

JMW's Simon Bloch and Nathan Pavitt look at some of the implications of the government's current consultation exercise on the role of umbrella companies in the labour market.

Lastly for news of our full range of recruitment services, including upcoming training courses, check out "What's new?" Oh, and as you will see, we have a question for you..
 

Contributor: Warren Kemp, CEO and Trainer, Recruitment Matters International. Warren is also a qualified Mental Health First Aid Instructor
 
Following on from last month, here are Warren’s tips 4&5 on how to become a great recruiter below:-

Don’t work with negative people

Negative colleagues almost literally suck the enthusiasm out of you and drain your confidence. What’s even worse is the know-all negative recruiter whose own results are average at best. Move desk to get away from them. If that negative person is your boss, move company.
 
You need to be in an environment where failure is welcomed as a step along the way to success.
 
Negative people seem to tell you in advance why something won’t work. The reason it doesn’t work (for them) is they have already programmed themselves to get a negative outcome. “I don’t suppose you have any vacancies?” and “You don’t know any good quantity surveyors, do you?” are styles of questions that prompt a negative outcome.
 
“Your company is doing well. You must have a fair few vacancies right now?” and “So who would you say are the best quantity surveyors you know?” aren’t just better questions. They come out of the mouths of positive people.
 
And, by the way, don’t hang out with negative people outside of work either. They will be telling you that you picked the wrong career, that you could do much better than be a recruiter, what was the point of you getting a degree and get jealous and resentful when you are being successful.

Only compare apples with apples

Comparing your results after three months in recruitment with that of a colleague who has been in recruitment three years is comparing apples with oranges. Even worse, throw different markets into the mix as well and that’s like comparing New Year with New York.
 
It would be better to compare your own results in Month Four versus your results in Month Three and so on. So use key performance indicators (KPI’s) to better your performance and focus on what is working and change or stop what isn’t. Take stock on a quarterly basis and make a list with just four headings - Stop, Start, More, Less. Then ask yourself based on the previous period’s results what you should stop doing, start doing, do more of and do less of.

That's my next two of ten - more to follow soon!

Are you a network straggler?

 

Contributor: Will Kintish – networking guru.
 
Over my 20+ years supporting my clients with their networking skills I now know most people are somewhere between a bit anxious and petrified when attending events. So, the advice I offer is GET THERE EARLY

I will let you into a secret. I hate walking into a room which is ‘mature’ i.e. people are already in groups and you feel a complete outsider. As a consequence I take my own advice, plan my diary to get there early.
 
Getting there early means I don’t have to face that scary scene but also it means I am making the most of my time. It often happens that travel times getting there and back can be longer than the time spent at the event. Some people like that idea when they only attend to tick a box to say they have been! But for those of us who actually love meeting people, building and reinforcing, relationships, exchanging information and generally having fun, we should maximise our time.

This now takes me to the other end of the event- staying late. Staying late is a good tactic I find. I often have valuable and insightful conversations with "stragglers" as I find serious networkers are making the most of their visits.

WHY I ATTEND EVENTS

I attend events for one focused reason - to spot the AHAA! or light bulb moment. The AHAA! moment is when someone says something which makes you think “AHAA!, this could be useful or it’s an opportunity to support others.” At the closing stages of an event people are more relaxed and often share information which may not have happened during the early parts or mid points.

In terms of sentences I love to hear.

• We have a problem with our team not attending events
• That’s interesting, we didn’t know that (after I have shared some useful information)
• The training company we are working with now aren’t giving us good service
• We might be interested in talking to you further about working with us
• We’re looking to expand, so need to become more proactive

When I hear comments like those it is a signal to follow up. I suggest we exchange cards (yes they still exist) and ask if I may call a few days later “to continue the conversation.” The objective of that call is to arrange a meeting (virtual or F2F) to see if we can do business at some stage later.

PERSONAL BITS

1. I have moved from the north of the UK to the south (Manchester to Elstree in Hertfordshire). For 25 years I ran a hiking club in Manchester which became a netwalking group. I have set up a new one ‘here’ and we already have 10 walkers signed up for our first walk. The gentle walks are midweek and generally last 4-5 hours with stops and a final stop at a café or pub. You never know who you might meet! Contact me for details.

2. The level of service I have found “down here” has been very high. We had to start afresh for all our needs. We have used GP’s, plumbers, curtain suppliers, decorators, kitchen suppliers, an odd-job person, opticians, people in the NHS and they have all turned up when they say they will or warned us in advance if they are delayed.

Isn’t this how we judge people? Initially not on their technical abilities, but on how they treat us with courtesy and respect.

And you may have heard ‘the Southerners’ are not as friendly as ‘the Northerners’. We haven’t found that at all.

I have a bit of an obsession - it’s about trustworthiness and reliability.
Generally, I find many people don’t fulfil their commitment. I am human, so don’t always get it right but I do my very best about following these two guidelines

1 Do what you say you’re going to do
2 Do it when you say you are going to do it.

It’s not hard! 
 
For more information on Will’s networking services, visit https://www.kintish.co.uk , call +44 (0)7939 205719 or email will@kintish.co.uk.

 

New Year resolutions - are you going to make any?

1. What have I achieved this year?  List absolutely everything, big or small, month-by-month.
2. What did I set out to do, but haven’t completed?  Is it still important to me?  What do I need to do to complete it?
3. What have I learned from this?  What are the keys to my success?
4. What do I want to achieve in 2022?  Don’t just write it down - post it up somewhere you’ll see it regularly.
5. What do I need to do in order to achieve it?
6. What’s stopping me?  How can I overcome this?

 

• Non-payment of wages and payroll skimming
• Non-payment of holiday pay

• Disguised remuneration schemes using loans schemes.
• Mini Umbrella Companies (MUCs) – the document repeatedly calls these arrangements tax fraud and says MUC fraud is perpetrated by "organised criminals" and involve NIC evasion and flat rate VAT fraud.
• Payroll company fraud – failure to declare or remit money deducted for tax to HMRC.
• VAT exemption misuse, for example in medical staffing.
• Joint employment schemes – which the government can see have been on the increase and which the government wants to learn more about.