Workspace Spring Clean

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Minute by minute, the days are getting longer. Day by day, the birdsong grows louder. After what feels like a 2-year long winter, spring is around the corner. Get ready for this hopeful time of year by organizing a spring clean of your workspace!

 

Define your workspace(s). 

Are you working from home in a spare room? Do you have a desk in your company office? Do you make business calls from your car between sales visits? These can all be defined as your workspaces. You may use one or a variety of these spaces. If you use more than one of these spaces, make sure to “spring clean” each one!

 

Throw out rubbish/ bring coffee cups to the kitchen. 

Some people are tidier than others, so you’ll know if this applies to you. If you’re the type of person who brings their second – or third- mug of tea to their workspace without clearing up the mug(s) already there, or if your rubbish bin is constantly overflowing, this tip is for you. A cluttered space leads to a cluttered mind. You will be able to focus much more clearly when you’ve cleared your space. Each time you leave your workspace, have a look around to see if there’s anything you can clear from your space. Soon this will be a habit and your desk will never look better.

 

File away documents and shred what’s no longer needed. 

A place for everything and everything in its place! Now is a good time to set up files for 2022 (if you haven’t done so already) and file paperwork away accordingly- whether you use paper or digitized methods. When you know where all your important documents are located, it saves you time and worry. You should also take the time to see if there is any documentation containing data you should no longer hold on to. Check with your company’s Data Protection Officer and make sure you are up to date with GDPR requirements.

 

Clean your desktop, keyboard, phone, and more. 

This is probably something you’ve gotten into the habit of over the past couple of years. Even if you wipe off these spaces daily, you’ll want to do a more thorough job for your spring clean. Take note of every surface that you touch in your workspace. Get a soft cloth and an antibacterial cleanser and get to work! Don’t forget places like the armrests of your chair or the switch on your desk lamp. Use caution when cleaning electronic items. You can purchase tech-specific antibacterial cleaning kits online or through most stationery supply companies.

 

Make this space your own. 

This is the fun part. Some offices may have rules on what you can and cannot put in your workspace. Please keep those rules in mind! Having said that, most will allow you some personal items. Does a certain colour pen inspire you to write better proposals? Then get yourself that pen. Are you more likely to keep a handwritten diary than a digital one? Then make sure you have a diary on your desk. Are you working towards a specific goal? Then maybe hang up a picture of your dream house to remind you why you’re saving up for a deposit. Do you have a dream holiday location? Print out an image of that beach scene or cityscape. You need items that encourage you to work at your best level as well as reminders of why you’re working so hard.

 

Spring Clean the mind!

Now that your physical space is cleared, time to clear any issues going on in your mind. Are you worried your company won’t offer you a hybrid work scheme? Have you noticed that your salary isn’t quite keeping up with inflation? Are you perhaps ready for a completely new challenge? Contact the consultants at RecruitmentPlus today. The answers to your workplace worries could be just a phone call away.

Supporting Employees Remotely

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Supporting Employees Remotely

There is no denying that we’ve all experienced both professional and personal challenges this year. Continued ambiguity hangs like a cloud over our heads. Providing adequate support, having a proactive approach and ensuring the correct procedures and plans are in place, no matter what happens, is going to be vital to ensure overall employee well-being and business success. Whether you are looking to hire new team members or looking for ways to support and encourage your existing employees, keep reading.

REMOTE ONBOARDING

Does the thought of hiring new staff in 2020 make you a tad anxious? It’s understandable. Most companies have a tried and tested onboarding process which HR and employers are used to and are confident in implementing. Onboarding is a vital stage of the recruitment process which shouldn’t be overlooked. Onboarding remote staff doesn’t mean that hiring new employees remotely can’t run just as smoothly as before. Here are some ways that you can make the process a little easier.

Welcome Your New Employees

Make new employees feel welcome even before they start. Send an email introducing the new team member to the rest of the company, encouraging them to say hello. It can be a daunting experience starting a new position, so breaking the ice before they start can be a positive gesture. Suggest 1:1 Zoom or team calls with the new employees closest working colleagues so they get to make a connection with them initially.

Share Essential Information

Here is a list of some important material that you should share with your new team member. We recommend using a file-sharing tool such as Dropbox or Google Drive.

  • Usernames and passwords
  • New email login
  • Communication tools
  • Documents (how-tos)
  • Company staff contact sheet
  • Company policies

It is going to be more difficult for new staff to ask questions remotely, so be comprehensive in the information you provide to them.

Tech Set-Up

It may be tempting to skip or hurry in aspects of the onboarding process to save time. Make sure that technology set up for new staff is not one area you skip. Valuable time could be lost if new staff aren’t properly trained to use the essential tools and technology required. Whether it is you or a tech support employee, make sure to allocate time to run through all the technology needed to fulfil the job.

Outline Clear Objectives and Goals

It has been proven that it takes 90 days for a new employee to learn the “ins and outs” of a company. Take this time to set clear objectives and goals which can be monitored. Having clear communication about expectations will help your new employee stay on track and feel supported.

Provide an Open Channel for Communication

Create a community environment, even when your staff are working remotely. Using tools such as Slack or Asana can help all staff feel connected. Be sure that new employees are aware of how they can contact their line manager or fellow employees, this is vital particularly in the early days in their new position.

MOTIVATING YOUR STAFF REMOTELY

As employers, we must always be thinking about our staff’s well-being. Happy, motivated and focused staff are what keep businesses going. We all know this year has been tough. Showing your staff that you understand and that you care about them is going to boost morale as they’re going to feel supported. Here are some ways to continue to keep staff motivated.

Proactive Adaptability

As employers, you need to be ready for whatever is thrown at you. With forever changing restrictions and guidelines, it is vital that a business is seen to be rolling with the punches and doing whatever is necessary to adapt. Keep employee trust and faith by using a proactive and communicative approach – no matter what.

Stay Connected

Ensure there are open channels of communication with the entire team. It can be easy for staff to feel disconnected as they’re not physically in the office. There are many platforms available that are specifically for team management. A popular option is Slack which allows you to have different “channels”. Each channel can be for a different topic such as a project update or something more casual so that all staff has somewhere to go to chat.

Be Sensitive & Understanding

All employees are without a doubt going through their own experiences and challenges. Showing compassion and patience to all staff will help to improve overall morale and well-being. It may also boost motivation and overall job satisfaction if your employees feel supported.

Goal-Oriented

Create clear and obtainable goals for each employee. These goals should be tracked and monitored weekly. This will not only keep staff motivated and focused, but it will also provide them with a sense of achievement. Without clear task intention, employees may lose their drive and interest which are both so important to keep a business going.

Suggestion Box

Why not create an anonymous suggestion box? There are free online tools that you can use to facilitate this. Not all employees are outspoken or confident enough to bring up issues and woes. This is a perfect way to not only show your staff you care but to also improve in areas that are needed.

 

A happy and supported workforce will only benefit the company and helps to create a great reputation as somewhere that employees are listened to and respected.

 

Do you need 2020 recruitment advice? Contact our offices here.

The New Normal

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On Friday 1st May our Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, announced a 5-phase plan which has given the nation hope and a focus for the coming months.

However, from a work perspective, the majority of employees can expect to work from home for the foreseeable future. So, is working from home the new normal? This type of work is presenting its own issues and challenges for employees. At RecruitmentPlus, our employees have had the option to work from home 1-2 days per week for over a decade and currently all of our employees have been working from home since 16th March. Using this experience, we want to share some of our ideas and top tips that might help you in your new daily working from home routine.

We’ve found the following works best for our team:

  • Agree core hours each day and learn to switch off after your finish time by turning your phone either to silent or off.
  • Create a daily To Do List so you can look back on what you accomplished for the day.
  • Aim to get some daily exercise. Whether it’s a short stroll in the morning, an online yoga class at lunchtime or a more physical workout, daily movement will help clear the head.
  • Arrange a virtual face-to-face meeting. Zoom meetings with teams or a one on one FaceTime with a work colleague help us to stay in touch with one another and to remind us that our colleagues are also trying to come to terms with this new working from home practice.
  • Find your own space to be able to concentrate on your work without interruptions. You’ll find you will be far more productive and your family will learn to understand not to interrupt your new working day.
  • Dress for work each day. Whilst it may be tempting to wear your comfy PJ’s and slippers all day, recent surveys agree that dressing each day does make for a more structured and work orientated mind-set.  Keep it casual if you prefer, but leave the PJ’s in the bedroom.

 

RecruitmentPlus celebrated 20 years in business in 2019 and was awarded Great Place to Work along with Best SME Louth 2020 and we’re still open for business, albeit working remotely to safeguard our employees and adhere to government guidelines.

We have vacancies across Dublin and the North-East so please continue to reach out to us on 01 2788610 or 0429356910.  Alternatively you can contact us on jobs@rplus.ie or www.recruitmentplus.ie

I’d like to say Thank You to our clients and our candidates (Temp, Contract and Perm) for your ongoing support.  A very special heartfelt Thank You to all our front-line and essential workers for the amazing job they are doing on behalf of the whole country in our fight to beat the Coronavirus.

Let’s continue to work together to beat this pandemic and demonstrate to other nations that Ireland will continue to adhere to C19 guidelines and we will soon “reopen for business” and work together to get our economy back on track.

Social Media Mistakes

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Over 90% of adults in Ireland have at least one social media account. However many people are not aware of how their social media personality can affect their careers. Even if your account is set to the highest privacy settings, there is still the chance of a friend of a friend seeing your posts or even someone in your network taking a screen shot of something you thought was private.

 

How can you prevent social media from damaging your career prospects? Here is a list of 5 mistakes to avoid.

 

  1. Complaining about your company and/ or boss. Everyone has bad days and sometimes it helps to vent about what’s bothering you. Having said that, avoid hitting that “post” button and go for a coffee with a trusted friend instead.
  2. Using text-speak. It may be quicker to type out “Had gr8 time 2nite”. However, considering that 66% of employers look unfavourably on poor spelling and grammar, it’s probably best to spell everything out.
  3. Posting photos with alcohol. Yes, even if you’re nearly 30 and it’s a photo of you sophisticatedly drinking a 2004 California Cabernet, this is one to avoid. Such photos can be taken out of context.
  4. Forgetting about “zombie content”. You might be social media savvy now, but what about 10 years ago when all this technology was new? Check search engines using a phrase like “your name facebook” or “your name myspace” and see what forgotten content is out there.
  5. Posting at the wrong time. Are you guilty of blogging or facebooking during work hours? Because most online content is time stamped, it won’t take long for your boss or a vindictive co-worker to figure out you’re wasting company time.

 

 

Do you have your social media personality up to scratch? For more information, contact RecruitmentPlus on 01 2788610 or visit www.recruitmentplus.ie  .