Clients

Will Coronavirus change working patterns for good?

Until now, unless you have been a senior manager, flexible working for many employees has merely consisted of flexing start or finish times. I have wondered in the past week, whether the advent of the coronovirus will start to change this. If whole swathes of the workforce are forced to self isolate in case they have Coronavirus but in reality just have a cold, will companies insist that they continue working but from home in order to keep the economy moving. Once companies realise that their workforce is no less productive working from home, will this then change the way companies decide to engage with their workforces in the future. There is no doubt that technology enables staff in many occupations to work from anywhere but businesses have to date in many cases insisted on sticking to traditional models of employment. Seismic events like bad recessions or in this case a worldwide virus, make businesses reconsider their business models and make changes to them. It will be certainly be interesting in the forthcoming weeks to see how much disruption there will be if people are made to stay at home at the sign of the slightest sniffle or whether much will continue as normal using technology to achieve that. Have a good week. Jeanette Robinson

The points related work scheme - how effective will it be?

Today, the government has announced the details of the points related system for people wishing to come and work in this country. Some of the main points are as follows: UK borders will be closed to non-skilled workers Migrants need to be able to speak English Anyone wanting to come to the UK must have a job offer of £25,600 or in special cases where there are shortages eg nursing, an offer of £20,480 The cap on skilled workers will be scrapped and some will be allowed in without a job There has natually been an outcry from business associations, which have got used to endless supplies of cheap labour from the EU and as a recruiter, reading the bare bones of these plans, I understand their concerns but there is another side to this, which I have seen. I think for too long the potential of our own young people has been overlooked in favour of cheap labour from outside. In addition, wages have been held down by the excess supply of labour, particularly at the lower end of the job market for too many years whilst the people at the top have continued to benefit. This is not to denigrate those who have come and worked in the UK. Most of the people I have had dealings with are incredibly hard workers and do a superb job and as a recruiter, I shall miss their contribution. However, it is time to develop the UK workforce and I believe that this points system will only work if we do that. We need to invest and train our young people like never before and make them realise that there are lots of opportunities for them to be a success. We also need to have ways to encourage those currently at the bottom of the pile to take up training opportunities and show them a pathway to greater things. At the same time, young people need help to develop resilience and a collective backbone to deal with what life throws them and a realisation that we all do a stint at the bottom of the ladder as part of a climb to the top instead of expecting to be fasttracked to the top. If we get these things right, we have a bright future. If we don't, we shall struggle to grow our businesses and be the economic success which we can surely be. Have a great week. Jeanette Robinson

How to leave a job well

This is a time of year when many people job hunt and face the sometimes daunting prospect of handing their notice in. The worry that people can feel having to do this can mean that they handle it badly and whilst employers won't give you a bad reference because of this, they may just give you a very standard one with no glowing comments. It is therefore worth considering how to depart and yet not leave your employer feeling bitter or angry. Here are a few things to avoid and some things to do: Don't spring your notice on your employer when they are ill Don't spring your notice on your employer when they are in the middle of their holiday or the morning they return. Don't go round the office bad mouthing your employer to fellow employees Hand your notice in in person. This is not something that should be done by text or email. Be prepared to explain why you are leaving but always try and be polite about this. Don't see it as an opportunity to attack your employer personally because you are leaving. Remember that in some cases you may bump into your employer at some stage in your professional life, so it is always worth trying to leave them on good terms. Do work your notice if it required. Do try to leave your work station clean and tidy when you leave Do try to wrap up any work you have been doing before leaving Do leave notes for the person who comes after you on how to do the job Work with your employer, if they ask you to, to help recruit your replacement. In short, treat your employer as you would wish to be treated yourself if you were in their shoes. If they have behaved badly towards you, rise above it. You don't have to stoop to their level Have a good week and happy job hunting Jeanette Robinson.