Recruitment Matters International February Newsletter

At last we have a roadmap to lead us out of lockdown - and, according to emerging reports, it seems that Rishi is planning a number of measures to further stimulate the UK economy in his upcoming Budget on March 3rd. All going well, exciting times are just around the corner! 

 
What do you think of this? Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon has rejected remote working as a “new normal” and labelled it an “aberration” instead. “I do think for a business like ours, which is an innovative, collaborative apprenticeship culture, this is not ideal for us. And it’s not a new normal. It’s an aberration that we’re going to correct as soon as possible,” he told a conference on Wednesday. Does he have a point or is he a bit off the mark?
 
Whatever your perspective, it's clear that working from home is the norm right now for many of us and is likely to remain a big part of our working practices for the foreseeable future. With that in mind, our interactive online training programme is certainly an integral part of the services that we offer here at RMI. To find out more, do have a look at our latest 2021 training schedule.

You may recall from last month's newsletter that our Lead Trainer & CEO Warren Kemp is running a series of MHFA accredited two day Become A Mental Health First Aider courses which are being offered on a monthly basis. Our next course is on March 25th & 26th - if you think this could be for you, for more information, please click MHFA Course details.

For news of our full range of recruitment services, check out “What’s new?” later in this newsletter.
 
Are visitors to your website exploring it as you would like them to? Are they just visiting one page then leaving again? For tips and advice on how to improve your website retention performance, see Becky Fox’s article on 6 reasons why your bounce rate is so high.

How often does a candidate mess you about and, deep down, did you actually expect it? This month, Warren emphasises the importance of staying objective throughout the recruitment process.

In this month's contribution from JMW's Simon Bloch and Lauren Scott, they look at the importance of dealing with grievances and disciplinary procedures in constructive dismissal situations.

I also chip in with a short piece on the benefits of making instant notes when, for example, an idea pops into your head or you have just remembered something that you were supposed to do.

If you have any requests on what you would like to see covered in future newsletters, please let us know. Also, please send your own potential editorial contributions to ken@recruitmentmatters.com. 


6 reasons why your bounce rate is so high
 
                                              
Contributor: Becky Fox, The Ideal Marketing Company
 
Your website has reams of engaging content, stunning imagery and a Pantone worthy colour palette… so why are visitors leaving in droves?
The past few years have seen the introduction of a heavy focus on user intent, fast loading pages and mobile usability. This means websites need to adapt to keep up with these expectations.
We’ve delved into 6 specific reasons why your bounce rate could be so high and what you can do about it.
 
What is a bounce rate?
A bounce is when a user visits a single page on your site and then exits without visiting another page or interacting. Bounce rate is the percentage of all sessions on your site in which users bounced.
Is a high bounce rate always a bad thing?
Not always! You should consider the type of website content you have before becoming concerned over a high bounce rate.
For example, a blog with the sole purpose of providing information could be performing well – users are visiting, getting the information they need and leaving the page satisfied.
On the other hand, if your goals involve visitors interacting with your website and doing more than reading a single page, a high bounce rate could be indicative of problems.
 
How do I check my bounce rate?
You can find your bounce rate in various places in your Google Analytics account.
One of the best views is under the ‘Landing Pages’ section of the ‘Behaviour’ area. This is because you can see both the bounce rate of all pages combined, plus the bounce rate of individual pages.
Reasons why your bounce rate could be high
 
1.    Your site is too slow
Speed is a big deal! It’s not just search engine algorithms you have to think about, users should also be a primary focus. According to research from Google, 53% of people will leave a mobile page if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load.
 
“A one second delay in webpage time equals a 7% reduction in conversions, 11% fewer page views and 16% reduction in customer satisfaction." machmetrics.com
 
So, what does a good site speed look like? 47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less but realistically that is not always achievable.
 
How to test and improve your site speed
There are some fantastic free site speed tools out there. Both GTmetrix and Google’s PageSpeed Insights are great options.
Improving your site speed can actually involve some fairly technical work, so you may want to consult a specialist if this is not something you are familiar with. They will check certain factors involving things like caching, CSS and requests to see where optimisations can be made.
One thing almost anyone working on a website can do is ensure any images uploaded have a fairly small file size as huge images do slow site speed! We recommend a size under 200kb per image at most, but less than 150kb is even better.
 
2.   Your site is not optimised for mobile
Mobile is now officially the most popular browsing device, with over 50 percent of website traffic coming from a mobile device.
If your site is not optimised for mobile you could be alienating a huge chunk of your visitors.
One way to check if your website is seeing a loss of traffic, specifically from mobile, is to look at the report found in your Google Analytics account under the ‘Mobile’ section of ‘Audience’, where you can see bounce rates by device type.
 
Ensuring your site is mobile friendly
If you’re unsure if your website is mobile-friendly there are free tests you can carry out online including Google's mobile-friendly test. If your website is mobile friendly, great news! If not you may need to look at the design and technical aspects of it.
  
3.   Navigation is a nightmare
If a user lands on your website, enjoys the initial content they come across and decides they want to see what else you have to offer, the likelihood is they will click on a link from the current page, or use your menus to find what they are looking for.
If your menus are difficult to navigate and there are no links to other pages from this initial page your bounce rate could skyrocket for both mobile and desktop.
“67% of mobile users will leave a website if they are frustrated with the navigation”
Reusser Design 

Making navigation easy
There are a number of ways you can build an effective and user friendly navigation system. As a general rule, the following are good tactics to employ:

• Only put what is important into the menu to avoid it becoming messy and difficult to use.
• Use descriptive labels in your menus so people can find exactly what they are looking for.
• Link between pages in a useful and relevant way (this is great for pointing both users and Google in the direction of other relevant pages on your site).

• Headings
• Lists (both bulleted and numbered)
• Short paragraphs where appropriate
• Images (including gifs and diagrams)
• Videos

  
6.   Too many calls to action (or too few)
Call now, sign up for our newsletter, send us a message, speak to an expert… on their own these are all great calls to action but, when numerous different CTAs are spread throughout a page, it’s just a recipe for confusion!
 
Choosing and differentiating your CTAs
As a rule of thumb, try to avoid using more than 2 or (at most) 3 CTAs on one page. Decide on your primary CTA, the goal you most want visitors to complete, and any secondary CTAs that you think are also needed. For example, a primary CTA may be to contact us and a secondary CTA to sign up to our newsletter.
The placement and frequency of CTAs is a bit of a balancing act. Don’t be afraid to use them in more than one location on each page, especially if your content is long, but try to avoid overuse.
 
For a free consultation about your marketing needs, from branding to PR to digital marketing, visit idealmarketingcompany.co.uk or call 01858 44 55 43.


"You'll never guess what happened..."



Contributor: Warren Kemp, CEO and Trainer, Recruitment Matters International. Warren is also a qualified Mental Health First Aid Instructor
 
Ever had a candidate text you, email you or leave a message (way too early for you to be at your desk) and start the message with “I’m really sorry but you’ll never guess what’s happened?”
 
I bet you have.
 
And after leaving the message that their car has been broken into overnight or the upstairs neighbour’s bathroom is flooded or they have had their day off cancelled and they can’t attend the interview, you sit there deflated. Later you say to a colleague while still slightly angry or disappointed or both “Do you know, I had a gut feeling about that one.”
 
You didn’t have a gut feeling. You had evidence! And here’s why. … As human beings we are all predictable and consistent. No doubt you know someone who is always on time, and someone else who is always late. You know someone who is always first to the bar and another one who hardly ever buys a round until put on the spot.  And that’s because, as human beings, we are all predictable and consistent.
 
So why do we put up with candidates who are not there when we have arranged to call them tomorrow at 6pm sharp? Why do we allow “for the traffic” when they are 20 minutes late for their first face to face meeting with you? Why do we accept the updated CV two days later than expected and agreed?
 
It’s because we want them to be the star candidate. It’s not that we believe they are. It’s because we hope they are. Because we need “The One”. One trickle doesn’t make a waterfall. But two or three waterbursts might make a hell of a puddle. The candidate who turns up late after three or four other hurdles have been cleared cleanly, has had a blip. The candidate who has failed to hook up on the phone despite two or three or attempts is showing consistency and predictability of action – and lack of commitment.
 
So stay objective in the recruitment process. Put forward the predictable ones. Keep your rose coloured spectacles off and look for consistency. Someone who has taken a counter offer might do it again. Be ready. Someone who has job hopped two or three times will do it again. I’ll take your bet on that!
 
Warren Kemp is CEO and trainer with Recruitment Matters International. For more tips, advice and information on RMI, visit https://recruitmentmatters.com/  telephone 0800 0749 289/ +44 (0)1529 410375 or email info@recruitmentmatters.com.


Capture your thoughts


 
Contributor: Ken Kemp, RMI MD
 
How many times have you had an idea while sitting on a train or out on your travels and done nothing about it?
 
It might be something as simple as reading an article and thinking a particular contact would like to see it. You may have remembered that you haven’t got back to a colleague or a member of staff with an answer to a request they had.
 
Commit your thoughts, ideas, personal reminders to paper (or your phone, laptop or tablet). Put them all down in the one area. This isn’t a ‘to do list’ - it’s one area for all of your thoughts, ideas, a few personal action points. Keep a pad (or equivalent) by your bed, by the sofa and get everything into print while you think of it or remember it.
 
I believe around 60% of a recruitment firm’s intellectual property is in the heads of its staff. That’s a lot of wasted company information. Treat your brain as your own IP. Commit it to print and commit the best bits to action.
 
Ken Kemp is MD of Recruitment Matters International. For more information on RMI, visit https://recruitmentmatters.com/  telephone 0800 0749 289 / +44 (0)1529 410375 or email ken@recruitmentmatters.com.
 

Constructive dismissal and the importance of dealing with grievances and disciplinary appeals in accordance with company policies and procedures
 

 

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