Saturday, May 30, 2020

Top 5 Business Benefits of Encouraging Charity Work

Top 5 Business Benefits of Encouraging Charity Work Corporate charity fundraising challenges are not only an important part of a company’s corporate social responsibility, they can have a significant impact on your employer brand. The time and effort involved in supporting charities can bring many positive benefits. In addition to supporting and contributing to a wide range of charities, it may also bring many positive business returns. It promotes an organisation as a socially responsible business, helps make it stand out as a good employer and can have a far wider impact on reinforcing a culture of teamwork and camaraderie. This could significantly improve an organisation’s ability to attract high-quality employees, a key factor in achieving business growth. What attracts talented employees to an organisation is also what is likely to encourage them to stay and retaining staff can save money and help businesses achieve their strategic goals with less disruption. Being able to demonstrate that an organisation is a socially responsible business is becoming more important than ever when it comes to attracting up-and-coming talent. Numerous pieces of research show that that the latest generations entering the workforce care more about company ethics and the opportunity to give back to their communities than ever before. Here’s our top five business benefits of charity participation, all of which help organisations to retain the talented employees they’ve worked hard to recruit and to make the business one which potential new recruits will aspire to join. Team building opportunities Completing charity initiatives together helps people to build strong relationships with their colleagues. It’s a fantastic way to bring different people and departments together, and for senior managers and directors to connect and share experiences with their team. Some of our team recently volunteered to help transform the gardens of two local residents supported by the Papworth Trust charity. One of the key things they all said about the experience was how much fun they had all had working together. Build and maintain a supportive culture A supportive and team-focussed culture is one which many businesses strive to achieve and creates a place where people want to work. One way to help maintain and develop a culture like this is to bring everyone together through the common ‘feel-good’ factor of charity activity. Even if only a few members of staff are involved in a fundraising initiative, it can still be used to unite teams. Share stories and updates on the staff intranet and encourage colleagues to cheer them on, for example organising an office-wide send off or a welcome back event to congratulate them. Fantastic PR Charity activities will provide excellent news content for your own website and social media and can also be shared with local and trade press. Being seen as an organisation which invests in its local community will also help to attract and retain customers and can help open doors to developing relationships with key stakeholders. Finally, charity initiatives can also play a significant part in helping organisations to win prestigious awards. The Directors at  our business judge ‘Employer of the Year’ awards and one of the key things we look for are organisations which have empowered their teams to make a difference for a charity or their local community. Extra training and development opportunities Offering clear development opportunities is an important element of keeping current employees engaged and making an organisation an attractive place to work. There are many aspects of charity initiatives which can provide employees with the opportunity to develop new skills that can be included within overall training and development plans. For example, managing charity events is a great opportunity for employees to develop communication, leadership and project planning skills as well as improving confidence overall. Volunteering placements can also provide the chance to develop new skills and the opportunity to lead different teams. Introduce healthy work-place initiatives Many fundraising initiatives often involve physical challenges which require people to do training in the lead up to the event. All colleagues, whether they are taking part in the event or not, can be invited to get involved in any training initiatives held during lunch-breaks. This can help to encourage more health and wellbeing initiatives in the workplace and happy, healthy staff are more engaged and productive. When some of our team took part in the gruelling 24-hour, National Three Peaks challenge to raise money for the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity and Thrombosis UK, lots of other colleagues joined the team on their lunchtime training walks. A spin-off pedometer challenge was also organised, with a team walking in their lunch breaks until they clocked up 500 miles between them.

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Recruiting Employees Who Win - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

Recruiting Employees Who Win - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career In business, the companies that hire the best employees are the companies that win. This concept sounds simple, executing on it is an entirely different story. Despite more efficient job ad targeting and increased usage of social recruiting, hiring “difference makers” is â€" and always has been â€" a tall sales order. It’s basic recruiting economics: the demand for intelligent, driven, passionate job applicants is consistently high while the supply is always too low. Regardless of the supply-side problems, companies can consistently source, engage and hire the most in-demand job seekers, no matter the firm size, industry, or hiring budget. Recruitment is Selling, It’s Just… Recruiting is about selling. In this case, the product bundle you’re selling is your company and the open position. The job applicant is your sales lead. The interviews are the sales calls. Your job is to stir up enough interest among the desired job seekers so they consider your organization their first choice for employment. Of course remember, interviewing is a give and take (for the other side of the coin, read my previous article, “The Golden Rules of Selling Yourself in the Interview”). While you want to be able to sell the job, you also want to ensure that you have enough information from the applicant to make an educated decision as to whether the individual will thrive once employed at your firm. Effective Salesmanship During the Hiring Process How do top organizations go about maximizing candidate interest while conducting a formal, thorough analysis of the job seekers? Below are some key insights that should help you properly close the deal. 1. Smart People Don’t Buy Stupid Products: If you are not passionate about the job, don’t expect anyone else to be. In order to effectively sell a position to an intelligent, capable candidate, the opening must have some allure. Before presenting the job to potential applicants, objectively look at the position. Ask yourself if you’d accept the job based on how you’re about to present it. If you wouldn’t, then reputable applicants are more than likely going to feel the same way. 2. Time is Money, Know What You Want: Before any sales representative can sell, they must choose their target market (i.e. their ideal customer). The same goes for selling a job. It’s recommended to list the desired traits, years of experience and skills the individual should have. This information should be written out and included in the job description you write. Remember, the more specific a background the candidate has, the more the candidate is going to cost. In most instances, you’re not going to be able to sell a $44,000 job to someone who is realistically worth $100,000. Make sure to factor in the likelihood or lack thereof that the individual would accept the position if given an offer. Our recruitment professionals stress that if there is little to no demand for the position amongst your desired applicants, you are selling the wrong product to the wrong crowd and alterations need to be made on one end or the other. 3. Know What You’re Selling: Since you are selling a job, it’s imperative to know everything possible about the position. In order to organize these thoughts, write out a thorough job description. The document should include a two or three paragraph description of your organization as well as highlight the duties of the job, your expectations and requirements. It’s important that you outline the compensation package and report it on the description. Include intangibles such as retirement benefits, health/vision/dental benefits, mileage reimbursement, vacation days and any other perks your firm may offer. If you are unsure of the job market and don’t want to list a number that is too high or too low, simply put “Compensation: Depends on Experience (DOE).” Prior to meeting with you, each applicant should be sent the description so they are well familiarized with the position. Essentially, think of a job description as your marketing brochure for high quality candidates. In the End Always make your best impression on an applicant. Take an interest in each candidate as an individual, make him or her feel welcome at your offices, showing appreciation for his or her time. Keep an open mind during the process. You can effectively sell your job.

Saturday, May 23, 2020

Company Perks Employer Vs Employee - Who Wants What

Company Perks Employer Vs Employee - Who Wants What Many people think they know whats best for you from your parents to your teachers and you the boss. And while companies may mean well in offering the kinds of perks and benefits they think their employees will love, that may not be the case. Now if we left it to employees to have free reign to choose which perks they can have from an unlimited list, it might give your company the popular vote amongst your staff but it might not be right for your business. But the good news, according to new research by Perkbox and Talentpool, they found that when it comes to perks, employers and employees are to a great extent on the same wavelength. Chieu Cao, Co-founder of Perkbox says: It’s promising to see employees and employers on the same wavelength for a significant number of perks. However, it is also clear that there is more work to be done. With the key to a successful perks and benefits programme being communicating and asking your employees what they would really value in the workplace, these results are very interesting and relevant to employers everywhere. After all, it’s a waste of both time and resources to provide perks that won’t be utilised or appreciated by your staff.” The top four perks according to employees were all linked to social events with extracurricular clubs ranking first (eg. arts and crafts, book clubs) followed by pool table, ping pong table and office sports teams (e.g. football and netball). For employers, on the other hand, social events like the above were the fourth most listed perk in the job descriptions studied. Similarly, flexible working ranked in a comparable position in both employer job specs and employee preferences. It ranked 11th in the list of perks that employees want, while for employers, it appeared 8th as the most listed benefit in job descriptions. However, this consistency in employer-employee preferences wasn’t visible throughout the entire findings. When it came to private healthcare, it was a completely different story. Private healthcare was highly promoted by employers whose jobs specs were analyzed, but it only ranked 15th in the list of top employee preferences. Similarly, Friday drinks only came in 38th place for employees but were advertised in 958 (41%) of the job descriptions studied. Finally, free tea and coffee, a simple perk for employers to provide which would help explain why it was mentioned in such a huge portion of the job descriptions analyzed (47%) was a perk appreciated by 84% of the employees surveyed. Surprisingly, the more ‘millennial-driven perks’ such as yoga and nap pods ranked nearer to the bottom of the list for both employees and employers in this research. Tom Davenport, Managing Director at TalentPool says:   “Companies today are working harder than ever before to stand out from the crowd by offering their employees the incentives that they think they want. However, what this research reveals is that theyre not quite hitting the mark yet. Employers need to be listening to what their prospective and current employees actually want. For millennials, in particular, the perks a company offers can determine whether or not they apply for their job, so its key for employers to be getting this right.” PERKS EMPLOYEES DESIRE MOST (Perkbox Data) PERKS EMPLOYERS ADVERTISE MOST (TalentPool Data) 1. Extracurricular clubs 1. Free Tea Coffee 2. Pool table 2. Training 3. Ping pong table 3. Private Healthcare 4. Office sports team 4. Social Events 5. Video games 5. Bonus 6. Birth-o-holiday 6. Free/ Subsided gym membership 7. Discounts on holidays, flights and hotels 7. Team Lunch 8. Discounts at supermarkets 8. Flexible Working 9. Free coffee and hot drinks 9. Friday Drinks 10. Discounts on restaurants and takeaways 10. Cycle to Work Scheme

Monday, May 18, 2020

Cheating with a co-worker without getting undressed

Cheating with a co-worker without getting undressed I founded a company with a guy who was single and good looking and everyone who met with us thought we were dating. We werent. He was almost twenty years older than I was, for one thing. But we did spend ten hours a day together, and at some point its hard to say its only business. Its not uncommon to feel like youre almost married to someone you work with. In fact, 32 percent of workers feel that way. The Des Moines Register reports that this is generally a common and positive workplace trend. I have to say that my experience of the phenomena was positive, also. We were very in tune with what each other was thinking because we were so emotionally connected. We handled meetings better as a team, and we grew the company more effectively because we were so invested in the other person as well as the company. This sort of relationship can go bad, though, according to this months Oprah magazine, (which, by the way, is really underrated by the intelligentsia. I love the magazine and recommend that you subscribe. After all, what other publisher has the power of Oprah to get anyone she wants in the whole world to be in her magazine?) So anyway, according to the magazine, when these relationships go bad its because the people are getting their emotional needs met by a co-worker instead of their boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse. Oprahs in-house therapist says thats cheating, even if theres no spit-swapping. And, she points out that if your marriage sucks, its a lot easier to fix it when it sucks than to fix it when it sucks and youve cheated. So really, this sort of workplace spouse relationship only works well if youre not in a relationship outside of work. Itll work well as a stop-gap measure to keep things interesting until you can either get something going outside of work or start having sex with that co-worker. (If youre going to do the latter, its tricky to not destroy yourself and/or your career. Here are four tips, along with the comforting fact that 40% of the working world has taken the same, insane risk.)

Friday, May 15, 2020

Resume Writing Tips For a Jewely Maker

Resume Writing Tips For a Jewely MakerWriting a resume for a jewelry maker can be quite difficult, especially if you do not know what you should put in it. As you write your resume it is important to focus on the particular attributes that will help you get a job with this company. While at the same time, you have to be sure that your resume is organized so that it does not look like a jumbled mess. That is the reason why a free resume writing tool should be used so that it becomes easier for you to get started.First of all, when you are ready to begin writing your resume, choose a page layout that allows you to customize the font and size. It is important to remember that this kind of resume is only meant to get you noticed so do not include a lot of information in it. Your objective in writing a resume for a jewelry maker is to make yourself stand out from the other applicants.Now, if you want to avoid any hassles then you can choose a standard format. The important thing here is t hat you follow the template given to you by the editor and start getting yourself recognized.If you have prepared your resume in a standard way then it is advisable to add certain phrases that make your resume look more professional. For example, you can use the word 'work experience'education' as a substitute for the word 'resume'.While the first means that you have had some work experience and the second means that you have finished some studies, this phrase is included in most of the resumes available online. While these phrases do not sound formal, they do tend to put people off so you have to avoid them.In certain paragraphs of your resume you may include a little information about your role in the company. In this case you have to add a paragraph titled 'On their behalf'.You have to be careful when including your personal info here because your name, age, address, contact number and job history may be on the market. So it is important to write them as they are and leave the re st to the editor.There are different kinds of forms available online that allow you to customize the form to suit your needs. While writing a resume for a jewelry maker, it is important to always make sure that it is professional looking.

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

How To Plan The Best College Tours With Your Teen - CareerAlley

How To Plan The Best College Tours With Your Teen - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. There is a good chance that youre going to send your teenage son or daughter to college. After all, theyll want to further their education in hopes of advancing their career. Just remember that choosing a college can be very difficult. Once your child chooses a college, theyre going to be stuck there for many years to come. With this in mind, you should take college tours to check out the universities in advance. Taking advantage of Junior Tours student packages could be a good idea. Stick around to learn more about planning tours with your teen. How Far? First and foremost, you should consider how far you want to go with your kid. Would you prefer that your child remain close to home? Or, does your child want to be further away? There is a good chance that youll want to be able to visit your kid at university. This will be much easier if you choose a college that is closer to home. Either way, this is something that you and your child will need to decide. Finding a college to send your teenage son or daughter to college can be challenging. With this in mind, you should take college tours to check out the universities in advance Tweet This Choosing A Motel The goal of your trip should be to check out the college. After all, youll want to determine whether or not the college is suitable for your child. This is why youll want to spend the majority of the trip touring the college in question. It is easier to choose a motel that is close to the university. This will ensure that you and your child can walk to the university without too much trouble. In return, youll get more done during the trip and youll learn more about the college in question. As students get closer to the final year of high school, their schedules are filled trying to balance school and a social lifeall while exploring potential college campuses. To lessen the stress, some experts suggest families begin discussing college as early as when a student is in elementary school. U.S. News World Report When? While youre at it, youll need to determine when you want to visit the university. It is best to wait until school is out. This is why its a good idea to visit during the summer. This will ensure that youre able to tour the school without running into a lot of people. You might be able to schedule a tour with the dean or one of the professors. Either way, you should try to visit during the summer. This is the best time to go. Manage Your Time Depending on the situation, you may be able to visit several schools at once. Some cities are home to universities and technical schools. This is a good thing and it will make your job much easier. All you have to do is visit both schools on the same trip. Just remember that youll need to make that happen. Youll need to manage your time to ensure that you can visit both schools in one or two days. Image by RitaE from Pixabay Eating Finally, you should remember that youll need to eat during the trip. You might feel the urge to get a fancy meal but you shouldnt. Instead, you should experiment with the schools food. Eating on campus will allow your child to experiment with the food. If they do not like it, they may want to choose a different school. Knowing what type of cuisine is going to be offered can help make the decision easier. What's next? Ready to take action? Choose the right tools to help you build your career. Looking for related topics? Subscribe and make meaningful progress on your career. It’s about time you focused on your career. Get Educated Contact Us Advertise Copyright 2020 CareerAlley. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy + Disclosure home popular resources subscribe search

Friday, May 8, 2020

Babies have an innate sense of right and wrong - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Babies have an innate sense of right and wrong - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog This experiment is absolutely fascinating not?to mention devastatingly cute :) Given that humans have an innate preference for those who are?nice and helpful, we should definitely value and celebrate those people in the workplace too and get rid of the jerks. Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related