business i - Business Link in the South West

Graduate vacancies set to rise in 2008 

A survey from the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) reports that graduate recruitment vacancies are set to rise this year, and warns that employers may have a hard time finding the right candidates.

Although vacancies are up this year, by an estimated 16.4 per cent over 2007, so are the expectations of graduates. So called ‘generation Y’ graduates (those born after 1982) are, the report suggests, perceived to be more ‘choosy’, ‘demanding’ and ‘ambitious’ than those graduating in previous years.

The survey states that 67 per cent of employers feel they might struggle to fill new positions, not just due to the higher expectations of graduates, but because often graduates are not perceived to hold the right skills for many positions.

This disparity between the expectations of graduates and the needs of their potential employers should be considered by those looking to recruit new talent. Expectations may need to be managed on both sides. Specifically, employers may need to review their own demands, whilst at the same time manage the expectations of new graduate recruits. Otherwise, employers may either struggle to find the right recruits in the first instance, or risk losing them when high expectations fail to be realised.

Employers should also review their approach to recruitment, making sure that new vacancies are promoted effectively and robust shortlisting and selection procedures are in place to track down the right recruits.
Recruiting and interviewing

Before recruiting and interviewing, it’s helpful to explore the options for taking on staff and outline your requirements in a person specification and job description. Once you have taken these steps, you can confidently enter the marketplace to attract the right applicants for shortlisting and interview.

Attracting talented employees is a competitive business, so you need to promote your job vacancy effectively. In a sense, you are competing against other employers just as much as potential employees are competing against each other. It’s therefore important to ‘sell the benefits’ of your vacancy and the positive aspects of working for your company. Once you have defined your ‘message’, you need to get it out there, ensuring you reach the right audience.

You can advertise directly - in the local or national press, on recruitment websites, or by placing ads on local notice boards. Or, you might ask employment agencies to source candidates on your behalf. This approach takes much of the legwork out of the recruitment process, and employment agencies could (sometimes) be more experienced in attracting and selecting the right people. Of course, in exchange for this service, you will have to pay a commission to the agency that finds your successful candidate. An alternative to commercial agencies is Jobcentre Plus - which provides a similar service but at no direct cost to employers - and can also offer further advice and support during the recruitment process.

How you decide to promote your vacancy could depend on your own personal preference or experience of what works best for your business. The type of vacancy - for example if it’s a temporary, specialist or senior position - may also influence your methods of finding candidates.

Once you have defined your message and chosen your approach to spread the word, you need to move on to manage the application process, shortlist candidates, conduct interviews and possibly even consider alternative selection methods. Click here to find out more

More info - Recruiting and interviewing
 
New measures to prevent illegal working 

From 29 February 2008, employers who employ illegal migrant workers will be liable to a new civil penalty.  By checking specified documents from every prospective employee, you may establish a statutory excuse against payment of a civil penalty for employing someone not entitled to undertake the employment you have available.
Find out more about the new measures

We all do it. To let off steam or because we feel passionately about something. But usually it doesn’t get us very far. Moaning is perceived as trivial, and as a consequence our moans are not taken that seriously by others. Moan too often, and you may not be taken seriously whichever way the conversation turns.

But then - if we didn’t criticise anything - there would be no motivation to change things for the better. We would suffer quietly in silence, acting like nothing was wrong with the world. Thankfully, there happens to be a happy middle ground.

The best type of moan is really not a moan at all, it’s a constructive criticism. In a sense, constructive criticism is moaning with a purpose. Rather than seeking to criticise in an overbearing or trivial way, a constructive criticism is a more diplomatic and productive approach which seeks to offer solutions to the problems at hand.

It is of course true that sometimes there are problems which have no obvious solutions, making it difficult to offer any kind of truly constructive criticism. Also, a problem or issue may exist where it isn’t your responsibility to find a solution, leaving you unable or unwilling to devote your time to generating constructive suggestions. In such cases, we might be left wondering what else we can do but moan or keep quiet.

Regardless of these issues, making the distinction between moaning and constructive criticism can be helpful to an individual or a business on several levels. On an individual level, an emphasis on constructively criticising a person or their way of doing things could minimise the potential for confrontation or bad feeling. Instead, the recipient of your criticism may actually find your feedback useful. Such an approach can foster stronger relationships when working with others, especially when managing people, where personal development is part of your responsibility. On a broader level, a company culture in which constructive criticism is acceptable - and when deemed valid is considered and acted upon - could help an organisation improve its products, services, processes or operations.

An open and constructive atmosphere is, at worst, better than the cloak and dagger approach of moaning. At best, it could improve communications and foster a more collaborative and creative approach to solving your business’s most challenging problems.

More info - Inform and consult your employees