It is hard to believe that it has been almost a year since the first mention of lockdown. We think that if you told us in March 2020 that we would still be facing some of the same challenges now, we wouldn’t have believed you. Yet, here we are. Like many companies, Recruitment Plus spent a lot of time restructuring work processes and learning to maintain a business, while maintaining our family and personal lives. So much has changed and it can be easy to get caught up in the negatives. Focusing on the bad hinders us from being able to enjoy those silver linings, which are everywhere if you look hard enough.

Now that we are all very much used to working from home, we wanted to compile what we think are the silver linings of working from home. This list was put together by the whole team who thought long and hard about what they’ve enjoyed most about remote working. 

1. Commuting 

This has to take the top of the list. Commuting is undoubtedly one of the biggest pain points for workers. Normal life was sitting in traffic on the motorway, standing on packed buses or trains and being caught in terrible weather all before you sit at your desk in the morning. Now that we all work from home, our biggest commute is from the kitchen table to our make-shift office or work desk. When returning to offices, if that day is to come, we can see this being an aspect of 2020 and 2021 that we all will miss! 

2. Saving Money 

The morning office coffee runs really add up! Working from home has allowed us to cut back on all of those weekly expenses. With so many of us working in areas with lots of food and drink options, it can be difficult to resist the temptation. Eating out for lunch, the multiple coffees, the “quick run to the shop” for a snack or drink end up costing a lot more than we anticipate. We have the opportunity now to save money and choose to eat at home. Now, whether you do this or not is up to you, but at least the option is there! Not only that, there are other areas in which we have been saving money. Petrol and commuting costs have been drastically reduced along with parking fees and new office clothes. You may have, however, found other things to spend that money on. Your local Postman or DPD driver probably knows you pretty well at this stage. 

3. Changes in Work Attire 

Something that was really appealing and quite the novelty last year was this idea that we could work in our sweatpants or pyjamas. It sounded wonderful. However, this novelty probably wore off rather quickly. We found that there is a nice happy medium between your normal office attire and what you wear to bed. The luxury of wearing comfy and casual clothes is something that a lot of us still enjoy. The only time you’ll have to take note of your appearance is for team and client meetings. We saw plenty of fancy dress costumes last year of “The 2020 Office Worker” which consists of a work shirt and a pair of O’Neill’s tracksuit bottoms. As mentioned above, an added bonus of this is that you can cut back spending on new office clothes. 

4. Spending Time With Pets

We just had to include this one. A lot of us at Recruitment Plus are big animal lovers. The hardest part of our morning (apart from the commute) was leaving our beloved dogs and cats home alone all day. Serious owner guilt would set in. Working from home has allowed us to spend more quality time with our furry friends. It would be hard to tell who enjoys this new set up more, the animal or the owner. Spending time with your pets has been proven to make you happy, too. Win, win! 

5. More Hours for You 

Without having to leave the house and make the commute to work, we will inevitably gain back more hours in our day to spend on ourselves. Finishing at 5 pm and getting home at 6 or even 7 pm was the norm for a lot of us. Now 5 pm means 5 pm and we’ve just added more time to enjoy with our family and friends (or alone watching Netflix). With the evenings getting longer, we are going to really notice the difference in the spare time we have after working hours.

6. Work Environment

Now that you’re working from home, you have so much control over your work environment. You can have your desk or workspace exactly how you want. You can have ten plants all over the place if that’s what makes you happy. Does blaring Boyzone all day make you a super productive worker? Go for it! This was a huge benefit for a lot of people when switching to remote working. They could create a space to work in that was perfect for them but that wouldn’t be suitable in an office setting. 

7. Lunch-Break Options 

Lunch-breaks notoriously disappear in a flash, especially if you are heading out to grab a sandwich. There is no time left to do much else but eat and perhaps take a quick walk around the block. Working from home means that you have so many more options for your break. You can fit in a quick yoga or HIIT workout, go for a scenic local walk, play with your dog or even have a nap! Will your break still fly by? Probably but you’ll feel that you got a lot more out of it than if you were in the office. 

8. It’s Safer 

You may be slightly sick of being told how to keep safe over the past year. Even though we all understand the importance of it, it can grow tiresome. Even still, it is important for us to include that working from home is without a doubt the safest way to work now. Perhaps in the future, this will change. However, for right now we must continue to do our part and do what’s best for us all. 

Having spoken to so many of our clients, colleagues and customers it’s clear that there are a lot of different feelings regarding working from home. No matter what your point of view, I think we can all agree that we’ve enjoyed some of the silver linings listed above. 

Are you looking for advice on hiring staff in 2021?  Or perhaps you’re a candidate in search of a new position. Contact our office to speak with one of our experienced consultants. 

Recruitment Trends in 2021

What Employers Should Know

Staying on top of trends and industry changes is necessary for the growth and retention of any business. As we reflect on 2020 and look forward to the year ahead, we can see that some recruitment trends are developing as a direct result of the changes and disruptions experienced across all industries last year.

Understandably, many of us thought the new year would bring some drastic changes and improvements to not only our industries but our way of life overall. I think we’ve come to realise that it’s going to take more time. However, rather than focusing on things that are out of our control, Recruitment Plus have been reflecting on the positive effects that 2020 had on all industries across Ireland from company focus to recruitment processes.

Our consultants have put their heads together to provide a combined expert opinion and prediction of recruitment trends in 2021.

Remote Work in Demand

In Q2 of last year, at the beginning of what would be a turbulent year, we saw resistance from both the employer and candidates to remote working. For most, this was a completely unfamiliar idea and something difficult to get one’s heads around. How could a team, work together, without actually being together? This was a question on so many minds in March and April of 2020. However, it was an answer that would soon be answered from trial and error and experimentation.

A change that we started to see towards the end of 2020 and continue to see is many more candidates are seeking permanent remote work. As before they may have only considered it in the short term, if at all.

Recruiters and employers alike spent much of last year updating their processes to accommodate for necessary shifts in the workplace such as onboarding and online interviews. With these changes firmly in place and working well, it is evident that employers are more willing to consider hiring remote staff for the long-term. This is one of the most prevalent trends we have seen as a direct result of COVID and one that we don’t see going anywhere, anytime soon.

The Vaccine Rollout & Recruiting

With the vaccine distribution well underway, many employers are looking to a future where business can return to some form of normality. Although there is a widespread demand for remote work, many businesses are eagerly awaiting a time where they can return to their offices and continue as normal. We must remember that although numerous companies operate proficiently in a remote setting, some businesses have been hindered by it or have at least found it particularly difficult.

As a nation, we can finally see some form of light nearing. Employers will be more confident to start the recruitment process again and prepare now to recruit the right employees when the time comes.

Large Focus on Company Branding

Businesses will continue to emphasise their brand identity and the message and impression they give to prospective candidates. Impactful branding can provide insights into your company’s culture, reputation, values and work environment within the company. Providing a clear message can attract valuable and relevant candidates and also deter those that may not be a good fit.

Companies will start to push a more personalised approach. Compassion and understanding was something that employees were not only looking for but needed last year. Showing as a business that each member of the team is cared for and understood not only will benefit the employee but can also help retain staff in the long-term.

Social Media Recruiting

To ensure that company branding efforts are maximised, businesses will keep working at building a strong and consistent online presence. It has now been accepted that social media plays a leading role in attracting the right audience and building positive brand awareness.

Companies will continue to focus on their online presence to strengthen their brand and company reputation. This presence will help to build candidate trust and establish your brand as a reliable and trustworthy establishment.

Understanding your audience is vital to any social media strategy especially when you are present among multiple different platforms. Where candidates and other businesses spend time online may be quite different.

Improved Processes

One thing that has been learned over the last year is that there are alternative, more effective ways to run a business. With new processes tried and tested last year, businesses are now running and operating smoothly and efficiently. This is something that we’ll continue to see and we predict that when the world returns to normal, many of these new systems will stay put for good.

Recruitment Scope Expanding

Work location used to be one of the most important determinants for recruiters, employers and job seekers.

When this factor is removed, a larger scope of candidates become available and interested in hearing of new positions. This can provide job-seekers with more options and employers more relevant and qualified candidates from which to choose.

Final Thoughts

Often our immediate reaction to change is resistance. However, these recruitment trends show that with change comes more opportunity and a chance to grow and progress.

Whether you know where Business will take you this year or not, understanding your options can make all the difference.

Chat with one of our expert consultants today for advice and peace of mind.

Transition into Working Remotely

The transition to working remotely was surely a challenge for us all. Many companies never imagined that such upheaval was possible or feasible. We have seen a lot of emphasis on the ways employers can support their staff who are now working remotely. Recruitment Plus has tried to provide their own expert advice on the topic.

What we have seen to be lacking is advice for field-based workers and how they can cope with the complete change of their routine, environment and work process. Those working in field sales have had to make some challenging adjustments this year.

You can support your employees in many ways as they settle into their new role. We also have a helpful checklist for employees making this transition, which can be found at the end of this article.

Be Compassionate

Exercise understanding and empathy with your employees. They are most likely trying to navigate their new position. Often those working in field sales are most comfortable working on their feet. They enjoy a face-to-face conversation. They often thrive in this environment and are motivated by meeting new people and having real communication. Giving some well-needed grace at this difficult time will show that you understand what they are going through and are there to support them.

Remember that your field-based workers are not used to sitting still at a desk for the duration of their workday. This alone will take some getting used to. Find a way to support them through that.

Tech Training

Your inhouse and field-worker employees will likely have completely different processes and use different systems. It is important to take the needed time to train your employees so that they are equipped to achieve their work goals. Schedule in a Zoom training meeting with them or ask tech support to organise a call. Walk them through any CRMs, company applications and any other piece of tech they wouldn’t be privy to using in field sales.

Why not assign an experienced “work buddy” to each employee? It may prove comforting and reassuring to have someone they can ask questions of or voice any concerns to, that isn’t management.

Phone Etiquette / Change in Sales Style

Field-workers are used to using eye-contact and body language to engage with customers. It will be a huge adjustment for them to translate what they know and how they communicate into only phone communication. Give them time to adapt and provide support in any way you can by providing scripts and have them listen to calls by other employees.

Work Environment

Field-workers aren’t used to having colleagues in the same sense as office workers. Introduce them to the team and provide all relevant information about how they can contact members of the team and if they use any system to communicate such a Slack.

It is important to understand and remember not to assume they’ll know something. They will in many respects need to be considered as a brand new employee. Check through your protocol for onboarding to see if there are any areas that apply.

Appointments

It is not uncommon that a lot of field workers will have a diary which is predetermined before they begin their day. However, this rigid schedule isn’t always feasible as the fieldworker will be at the mercy of the client’s time (or lack of). Regularly these interactions and sales calls will take place in an impromptu manner and will often be conducted whilst walking and talking. This is particularly true for medical and healthcare representatives who are relying on engaging with their clients when they have a couple of minutes to spare.

Desk salespeople work in an entirely different fashion. These appointments are transferred to Zoom or phone calls which will open up new challenges for the sales representatives. Therefore an evaluation of call rates may be needed by employers to take this into consideration.

Showing compassion and understanding will not only have positive effects on your employee’s health and overall morale, but it will also help with retaining staff in the long-term. Here is a useful checklist that can be passed onto your staff to further support them in this transition.