Category: planning

Are you on the right road and your systems fit for the recovery?

Paul EganLeave a comment

Greg Savage always gives excellent advice to the Recruitment industry and is now sharing some bright and encouraging news. 

Greg’s latest blog post showing data from Represend’s integration partner, JobAdder, gives a glimpse of what is happening in our market.  With the bright forecast covered in Greg’s own words – “….this data shows that as soon as even a modicum of confidence returns, hiring will rebound. And when that happens, the sun will shine on recruitment again.“

Whilst we are not out of the woods, the forecast is that we are heading in the right direction.

The question I have for you is; “are you ready for the improvement?”

This simple inquiry covers a lot of ground.

  • Have you tried any new procedures and processes to ensure that your methods are the most efficient? 
  • Have you prepared your staff for any increased activity and given them the right tools?
  • How are you going to operate over the short and longer-term?
  • Are you ready to operate on changed terms with your staff?  The Covid workplace has changed the office and WFH picture, and do you know what is best for you and your team?

I want to say that I have the answers.  The truth is that we at Represend are still exploring the technologies available and availing ourselves of whatever education and trials are available.  We still have a lot to learn. 

Then, on the flip side, I received this invite to download an ebook from Smart Company.  This gives insight into how you can build your company to future proof your workplace culture.

To quote the author in the brief introduction “As businesses grapple with the economic uncertainty of a recession and the forced transition to remote work, the challenge is to maintain a strong company culture while managing your employees’ productivity and mental health”.

You can never get enough information to assist you in your path forward.  Now is the time to act!

I invite you to visit us at represend.com to see how we can assist your productivity.  Have a look at this comment kindly offered by Sam Elderfield “I use #represend daily and it’s changed my life“. See his full remarks here.

I leave you with Greg’s words when he poses two questions “Has the recovery really begun? Are you falling behind?”

Are you making dumb decisions?

Paul EganLeave a comment

“Short-term thinking is leading to “really dumb decisions,” says Jamie Dimon. The JPMorgan Chase C.E.O. told a CNBC-moderated panel that governments aren’t taking steps to bring about healthy economic growth, including addressing income inequality. “What we focus on is blaming each other and we stifle ourselves, because we are unable to do very basic stuff,” he said.” Quote courtesy of The New York Times.

Some quotes apply across more than the industry that they are targeting.  This quote, taken in its original context, is both a financial and political comment.  And I think we can also use it to look into our mindset in the Recruitment industry.

Are we as individuals and companies, forgetting long term gains for short term thinking? Are you blaming the environment and not getting on with planning for the improvements that will certainly come?

We need to ask the questions and understand that what was is no longer.  We are back to real recruitment principles, where relationships matter. Where jobs do not just walk in the door. Where we have to develop our business and provide service levels our clients need in these challenging times.

There are more and more tools available to assist our moving out of the COVID economy. Tools that help with ensuring that we can achieve the service and relationship building that we know we are good at doing.  In addition there are lots of great people offering positive solutions. (For example have you seen Greg Savages latest gift to the industry with the library of his podcast series – https://gregsavage.com.au/2020/09/17/the-savage-crisis-podcast-and-webinar-collection/.)

What about trying out the various business development and productivity tools available that are offering free trial periods.  Now is the perfect time to see what can work to assist you in becoming a much better recruiter. Are you taking advantage of what is on offer? What have you to lose?

See us at http://www.represend.com for more information about how we can help you.

Change and are you ready

Paul EganLeave a comment
A memory and now you can still celebrate but only with your household – social distancing and isolation applies for the time being.

Hi guys

I hope you had a good weekend – plenty of rest and exercise and a little party time with your household and closest video friends. This is the new norm for socialising for the time being.

Here are some thoughts for you to ponder – I was listening to an investment guy the other day and he was able to relate a story told to him by his mentor – this mentor is a very wealthy guy who has been through a number of financial downturns.

His advice was to look at what is happening – determine what has changed and try to figure out what will be the new normal. He learned to adjust to the changes and profit from them.

For me this means a number of things – not only for the investment perspective but from ways of working – travel – socialising and looking at how that will affect the way we work and go about our daily lives over the next few years – it gives us a lot to think about and a lot more to plan for possibly a new way of looking at our friends and family, the way we work and interact with our world.

When we review some of the data from the Spanish flue pandemic we can see some parallels – social isolation became important and stayed with the population for several years after the pandemic had abated – and remember that a flu injection was not available till around the start of the second world war – some 20 years after over 50 million people died of the Spanish flu.

If you are a leader of your family, company or community, or just a member of one of these groups, are you thinking a little beyond the current situation?  Are you planning for the changes that will come from the new “normal”?

The situation we find ourselves in will pass – our task is to understand how to cope with our current circumstance and at the same time learn to look at what is changing and work out how to adapt from what we are learning today. Plan for the future as there will surely be one.

I highly recommend a book Who Moved My Cheese? – written by Dr Spencer Johnson published in September 1998.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Moved_My_Cheese%3F

Stay well and welcome to the future.