Just before Christmas, David Woods wrote an article for HR Magazine stating that "Managers have vowed to put the development needs of their teams a top priority in 2010, ....."
When I was employed as a sector director in a building consultancy, I tried very hard to encourage the right development of staff, but found the process to be very hard going due to the resistance of HR and more senior managers, which resistance was basically caused by cost.
The cost never seemed to be seen as an investment.
Now that I am not employed, and looking at staff development from a different perspective, I have come to realise, as other managers seem to have done, that investment in the development of existing staff will improve long term income through several factors; e.g. reduced churn, more efficient use of resources, better understanding of client needs, and a more focussed approach to value for money.
The biggest problem that employers have is assessing the baseline from which development is to start. Speaking from my own experience of being assessed, most assessments are carried out subjectively, with no baseline, and no defined objective. Any development of me was through my own requests. No assessor ever suggested that I should attend a Presentation Skills seminar, I had to suggest that myself. Other development requests were ignored, year after year, even though I knew the particular training was vital to my success, and therefore my employer's.
The main problem is a complete lack of role definition. I was employed as a project manager. When I started there was no definition of that role, nor was there any definition of what sort of person made a good project manager and a good employee. The only definition was a list of the services a project manager had to provide to the client. The Quality Assurance Certification produced tick boxes of what had to be done to satisfy the services, but, until now, there was no system in place that allowed an employer to specifically define not only the qualifications and experience of a potential employee, but also the "fit" into the ethos of the company.
Now there is such a system, that allows the employer to precisely define the sort of person they wish to have as an integrated part of the company. That definition is used as a baseline for the development of any employee through appraisals, it can be used to promote staff, to recruit staff, or, in these horribly difficult times, to terminate staff. The beauty of this system is that it is objective, rather than subjective, and meets all equal opportunities requirements.
Details of the system can be found at www.pariprofile.com.
The report that David Woods referred to was issued by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI). This report also highlighted three key barriers which may prevent managers from doing what they know they need to do. These were; lack of time (75%); reduced budgets (42%); and a reduced workforce (33%).
I would have thought that a reduced workforce would have made it easier to set up a good system, and I know that the system I referred to takes very little time to produce each definition, and the cost of doing so can only be measured in time, as there is minimal money involved.
I really hope, for the sake of employees throught UK, and for the sake of each and every employer, that this resolution to develop staff is pursued vigorously.
Tuesday, 29 December 2009
Thursday, 17 December 2009
Has any one considered SRP for the Government
The Government is facing legal action by the European Commission for alleged failure to properly implement certain aspects of European directives supporting equal treatment.
According to law firm Eversheds, this may give the Equality Bill further momentum as it approaches its second reading before the House of Lords this week and could see it take a step closer to the statute books and potential implementation in the spring.
Audrey Williams, partner and head of discrimination law Eversheds, said: "The UK Government will clearly not wish to be on the receiving end of legal proceedings and may wish to take steps to placate the European Commission.
"One way of doing so might be to ensure the relatively smooth passage of the Equality Bill but the two-month timescale for responding may not allow for that. The practical reality in any event is that infringement proceedings are known to take months, if not years, by which time the Equality Bill or any subsequent legislation may be concluded.
"What may be more interesting is whether the Government will opt to make further changes to the Bill in light of the threat from EU. Despite a favorable response to the introduction of claims by representative bodies on behalf of groups of individuals in 2008, the Government is still considering the options here and had planned to revisit this issue after the Equality Bill as a separate measure.
"As far as the infringement proceedings are concerned the Government now has two months within which to respond or it will face defending legal proceedings in the European Court of Justice. Whether in the meantime the Bill receives more impetus remains to be seen."
The news comes as women and equality minister Harriet Harman reportedly announced the Equality Bill could be watered down, with equal pay audits only being applied to employers with more than 500 staff.
Article source: http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/news/bulletin/weeklyupdatebulletin/article/974008/?DCMP=EMC-Dailynewsalert
According to law firm Eversheds, this may give the Equality Bill further momentum as it approaches its second reading before the House of Lords this week and could see it take a step closer to the statute books and potential implementation in the spring.
Audrey Williams, partner and head of discrimination law Eversheds, said: "The UK Government will clearly not wish to be on the receiving end of legal proceedings and may wish to take steps to placate the European Commission.
"One way of doing so might be to ensure the relatively smooth passage of the Equality Bill but the two-month timescale for responding may not allow for that. The practical reality in any event is that infringement proceedings are known to take months, if not years, by which time the Equality Bill or any subsequent legislation may be concluded.
"What may be more interesting is whether the Government will opt to make further changes to the Bill in light of the threat from EU. Despite a favorable response to the introduction of claims by representative bodies on behalf of groups of individuals in 2008, the Government is still considering the options here and had planned to revisit this issue after the Equality Bill as a separate measure.
"As far as the infringement proceedings are concerned the Government now has two months within which to respond or it will face defending legal proceedings in the European Court of Justice. Whether in the meantime the Bill receives more impetus remains to be seen."
The news comes as women and equality minister Harriet Harman reportedly announced the Equality Bill could be watered down, with equal pay audits only being applied to employers with more than 500 staff.
Article source: http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/news/bulletin/weeklyupdatebulletin/article/974008/?DCMP=EMC-Dailynewsalert
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Marketing Site With Really Good Information
I have followed Sean D'Souza's site http://www.psychotactics.com/ for a few years now, not always reading his newsletters but when I do there is always alot of interesting and very useful information. I have just been following this up again and I think it is well worth a look, and to sign up for his newsletter.
Monday, 14 December 2009
HR Depts are increasingin size
HR struggle to cope with the increasing demands of staff reduction and incentivisation - that's because they don't have the systems in place to assist
HR departments have weathered the economic storm of 2009 - with a quarter taking on new staff, new research reveals.
Only 35% of HR departments have had to decrease the size of their department in the past year, while almost a quarter (23%) increased the number of staff and 42% reported no change in their HR staff numbers. But 20% of companies have had difficulty recruiting for HR roles in the past year.
The report, The HR Function - a Survey of HR Structures, Pay and Conditions, from employment information and research provider Incomes Data Service (IDS), is based on the responses of 178 organisations, with more than 7,000 HR staff and almost 600,000 employees.
The average (median) salary for an HR director in the UK is £91,350. And according to IDS, compensation and benefit specialist roles tend to be the highest paid. At manager level the median salary for a compensation and benefit specialist is £50,000, 7.3% higher than for a generalist HR manager - whose median salary is £46,335.
Graham Brown, author of the report, said: "Despite fears that the recession would bring sweeping job cuts to support functions within companies, staffing levels in most HR departments have remained robust."
"With almost a quarter of HR departments actually taking staff on over the past year, it seems like they have managed to avoid the worst ravages of the post credit crunch job cuts.
"Some HR departments may even argue that a recession actually creates more work for them. They may have to run complicated headcount reduction programmes or find cost savings through the introduction of new incentive packages.
"During a recession, pressure from their day-to-day tasks, such as managing performance and dealing with potential employment disputes, may also increase."
The IDS report finds that the most senior person in HR reports directly to the CEO at only 48% of organisations. HR is represented at board level in 67% of SMEs but only 55% of large organisations.
Brown said: "For many years HR has been seeking a seat at the ‘top table' - and it appears it still has much work to do.
"HR is still often seen in a support role - providing metrics and statistics to the finance or operations departments, rather than advising on strategy."
Source: http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/news/bulletin/weeklyupdatebulletin/article/973782/?DCMP=EMC-Dailynewsalert
HR departments have weathered the economic storm of 2009 - with a quarter taking on new staff, new research reveals.
Only 35% of HR departments have had to decrease the size of their department in the past year, while almost a quarter (23%) increased the number of staff and 42% reported no change in their HR staff numbers. But 20% of companies have had difficulty recruiting for HR roles in the past year.
The report, The HR Function - a Survey of HR Structures, Pay and Conditions, from employment information and research provider Incomes Data Service (IDS), is based on the responses of 178 organisations, with more than 7,000 HR staff and almost 600,000 employees.
The average (median) salary for an HR director in the UK is £91,350. And according to IDS, compensation and benefit specialist roles tend to be the highest paid. At manager level the median salary for a compensation and benefit specialist is £50,000, 7.3% higher than for a generalist HR manager - whose median salary is £46,335.
Graham Brown, author of the report, said: "Despite fears that the recession would bring sweeping job cuts to support functions within companies, staffing levels in most HR departments have remained robust."
"With almost a quarter of HR departments actually taking staff on over the past year, it seems like they have managed to avoid the worst ravages of the post credit crunch job cuts.
"Some HR departments may even argue that a recession actually creates more work for them. They may have to run complicated headcount reduction programmes or find cost savings through the introduction of new incentive packages.
"During a recession, pressure from their day-to-day tasks, such as managing performance and dealing with potential employment disputes, may also increase."
The IDS report finds that the most senior person in HR reports directly to the CEO at only 48% of organisations. HR is represented at board level in 67% of SMEs but only 55% of large organisations.
Brown said: "For many years HR has been seeking a seat at the ‘top table' - and it appears it still has much work to do.
"HR is still often seen in a support role - providing metrics and statistics to the finance or operations departments, rather than advising on strategy."
Source: http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/news/bulletin/weeklyupdatebulletin/article/973782/?DCMP=EMC-Dailynewsalert
Friday, 11 December 2009
6 Aspects of a Social Media Recruiting Strategy Every Company Should Know
For 6 Aspects of a Social Media Recruiting Strategy Every Company Should Know, follow the link
Top 3 Facebook Mistakes
Top 3 Facebook Mistakes
1. Market all the time - Why do people do this? In a social setting, would you walk in carrying a giant billboard? Can you imagine what the reaction would be?
Yet it happens all the time. Someone sets up a new Facebook account and begins to flash their marketing messages all over the place. This is the quickest way to get ignored.
What to do instead - Follow the 80/20 rule of Social Marketing - 80% conversation & relationship building and 20% marketing. Share the parts of your life you are willing to share. Respond to what other people share. Help out when you can by answering questions and referring to any resources you know about that could help. Sometimes these can be your resources. Now you are able to market while being social. Which is the point.
2. No Regular Updates - Another big mistake I see is failure to be involved and update regularly. It only takes a few moments to update your status. And by update your status I do not mean your latest adventures in Mafia Wars or what you have added to your Aquarium or Farmville. This does not help your marketing and just makes you look like someone with too much time on their hands.
What to do instead - Follow my LIFE model of Social Marketing. You can update with Links, Information, Fun, and Events. Links can be information you have found or information about you. Information can be tips and tools about your niche. Fun can be sharing your life with your followers, to the extent with which you are comfortable. Events can be events you are attending or events you are holding.
3. No Fan Page - Lots of people try to have both their friendship world and their marketing world on the same page. I admit I made this mistake when I first started out. It gets confusing for your followers and for you. At the time of this writing, I'm in the process of moving my business followers to my Fan Pages and using my Facebook Profile for my longtime and new friends.
What to do instead - Create a Facebook Fan Page. Some of the advantages are:
1) Your updates are indexed by Google which helps you build your online visibility.
2) On your Profile Page you are limited to only 5000 followers. On your Facebook Fan Page there is no limit to the number of Fans you can have.
3) You are allowed to treat your Facebook Fan Page as a marketing tool, inviting followers/fans to sales pages and opt in pages.
And to learn more about how to leverage the Social Networks for waves of traffic and more, get your FREE Instant Access to our Social Marketing Video Training Series when you visit http://SocialMarketingBlueprint.com/7laws
The source for this article is: http://ezinearticles.com/?Facebook-Tips---Are-You-Making-Any-of-These-3-Deadly-Social-Marketing-Mistakes-on-Facebook?&id=3399337
1. Market all the time - Why do people do this? In a social setting, would you walk in carrying a giant billboard? Can you imagine what the reaction would be?
Yet it happens all the time. Someone sets up a new Facebook account and begins to flash their marketing messages all over the place. This is the quickest way to get ignored.
What to do instead - Follow the 80/20 rule of Social Marketing - 80% conversation & relationship building and 20% marketing. Share the parts of your life you are willing to share. Respond to what other people share. Help out when you can by answering questions and referring to any resources you know about that could help. Sometimes these can be your resources. Now you are able to market while being social. Which is the point.
2. No Regular Updates - Another big mistake I see is failure to be involved and update regularly. It only takes a few moments to update your status. And by update your status I do not mean your latest adventures in Mafia Wars or what you have added to your Aquarium or Farmville. This does not help your marketing and just makes you look like someone with too much time on their hands.
What to do instead - Follow my LIFE model of Social Marketing. You can update with Links, Information, Fun, and Events. Links can be information you have found or information about you. Information can be tips and tools about your niche. Fun can be sharing your life with your followers, to the extent with which you are comfortable. Events can be events you are attending or events you are holding.
3. No Fan Page - Lots of people try to have both their friendship world and their marketing world on the same page. I admit I made this mistake when I first started out. It gets confusing for your followers and for you. At the time of this writing, I'm in the process of moving my business followers to my Fan Pages and using my Facebook Profile for my longtime and new friends.
What to do instead - Create a Facebook Fan Page. Some of the advantages are:
1) Your updates are indexed by Google which helps you build your online visibility.
2) On your Profile Page you are limited to only 5000 followers. On your Facebook Fan Page there is no limit to the number of Fans you can have.
3) You are allowed to treat your Facebook Fan Page as a marketing tool, inviting followers/fans to sales pages and opt in pages.
And to learn more about how to leverage the Social Networks for waves of traffic and more, get your FREE Instant Access to our Social Marketing Video Training Series when you visit http://SocialMarketingBlueprint.com/7laws
The source for this article is: http://ezinearticles.com/?Facebook-Tips---Are-You-Making-Any-of-These-3-Deadly-Social-Marketing-Mistakes-on-Facebook?&id=3399337
Be careful how you use facebook
It is no surprise why Facebook has grown so much and is passing by MySpace to quickly become the leader in social networking, it is clean. From day one Facebook has been strict on how people use their social platform. Obvious self promotion is severely frowned upon and could quickly get you banned from their website.
Facebook has very strict guidelines on how they want people to use their social networking tool and they will not hesitate to pull the plug on your profile. Launching a profile under your business name is a huge nono. Many people still try to launch personal profiles under their business name but be warned that you could spend a great deal of time and effort building up that profile only to have it shut down. You will still see friend requests coming from businesses because Facebook has not caught up with those profiles yet but it is only a matter of time before they do. In order for things to work out nicely you must launch a profile from an actual persons name. Then you can reach out to the community and try to express what it is that you offer but you must do it tastefully. Sure it makes it a bit more difficult to send someone a friend request from a person rather than a business but this is how Facebook keeps things as clean as possible in order to receive additional rounds of funding. If you want to target your business on Facebook you must create a business page located in the advertising section. You can then direct traffic to your business page through your personal profile to build awareness around your business.
Source for this article: http://socialmarketingjournal.com/category/facebook/
Facebook has very strict guidelines on how they want people to use their social networking tool and they will not hesitate to pull the plug on your profile. Launching a profile under your business name is a huge nono. Many people still try to launch personal profiles under their business name but be warned that you could spend a great deal of time and effort building up that profile only to have it shut down. You will still see friend requests coming from businesses because Facebook has not caught up with those profiles yet but it is only a matter of time before they do. In order for things to work out nicely you must launch a profile from an actual persons name. Then you can reach out to the community and try to express what it is that you offer but you must do it tastefully. Sure it makes it a bit more difficult to send someone a friend request from a person rather than a business but this is how Facebook keeps things as clean as possible in order to receive additional rounds of funding. If you want to target your business on Facebook you must create a business page located in the advertising section. You can then direct traffic to your business page through your personal profile to build awareness around your business.
Source for this article: http://socialmarketingjournal.com/category/facebook/
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Disquieting trends in the psychometrics industry
This is blog item at the following link - this is just the sort of conversation we should be joining - so who and how many of you are going to:
http://community.hrmagazine.co.uk/forums/t/582.aspx?DCMP=EMC-Dailynewsalert
http://community.hrmagazine.co.uk/forums/t/582.aspx?DCMP=EMC-Dailynewsalert
Wednesday, 9 December 2009
Re-inventing the wheel - not
This guy is an Internet Marketeer - which means he sells stuff through the internet. As such he has to attract all his customers that way and he has lots of tips about how to do that. You can follow his tips and blogs, as well as lots of stuff you may be less interested in, at http://fromthedeskofjeffherring.com/. You can also follow him on Twitter, his id is JeffHerring.
Personally i think if folk out there have proven methods of social/internet marketing and are happy to share them why try to re-invent the wheel so to speak
Personally i think if folk out there have proven methods of social/internet marketing and are happy to share them why try to re-invent the wheel so to speak
Presenting to you rclients from the comfort of your office
Here's a cunning idea. Why not save your time and the planet by presenting RMP or SRP to your potential clients without leaving your office or spending any money. How do i do that i hear you ask - the answer is "Webinars"
Webinars are a bit like conference calls only they allow you to provide a presentation as well as talking. This can be done on a 1 to 1 basis or 1 to many depending on what you want to do and what interest you get.
I searched for Free Webinar Software in google and got at least 2 options to download free programmes to enable you to do this. I will be downloading one of them myself when i get time but as the PARI tools are all browser based i thought this might be quite a clever way of demonstrating it whilst reinforcing the capability and benefits of online working.
Just a thought!
Webinars are a bit like conference calls only they allow you to provide a presentation as well as talking. This can be done on a 1 to 1 basis or 1 to many depending on what you want to do and what interest you get.
I searched for Free Webinar Software in google and got at least 2 options to download free programmes to enable you to do this. I will be downloading one of them myself when i get time but as the PARI tools are all browser based i thought this might be quite a clever way of demonstrating it whilst reinforcing the capability and benefits of online working.
Just a thought!
Monday, 7 December 2009
How to be Successful on Twitter
I get asked a lot, how can I increase my chances of being successful on Twitter? So I thought that I would write down what I consider to be the four most important things you can do on Twitter, which when done properly, will give you the greatest chances of success.
What do I mean by Success?
That in itself is an important question, as to each person, success can mean different things. So before you start on Twitter, I would suggest that you think through exactly what success may look like for you, and how you are going to go about measuring it.
Success, may mean more sales, more website traffic, more sign ups to your newsletter, more people to collaborate with, more PR about you or your company… It may mean a combination of the above, or simply may mean more people to talk to.. Thats 100% up to you..
I have broken down the 4 things to do to achieve success:-
1. Commitment - this means adding a good photo, perhaps adding a bespoke background, adding your website URL, and writing an interesting Bio. Try and differentiate yourself from so many others in the same line of work as you, and make sure that the Bio, contains keywords, so that others can find you.
2. Consistency - this means showing up each day, and tweeting. Whatever time is available, it is far more important to do a small amount each day, than doing loads 1 day, and then nothing for a week or so. Twitter is a long term thing, much like any forms of networking. Very little will be acheived in days, when thinking about Twitter, you really need to be thinking long term strategy, rather than quick fix win..
3. Be Interesting - this means what you are tweeting about.. Try and tweet 3 types of messages. Social chit chat, the sharing of: resources, links, tools, info, ideas, opinions, use of photos, being humorous, and adding value and the tweets that answer peeps questions, which demonstrates your knowledge, which in time will build your brand and credibility … aim for a nice balance.. too many of 1 category is not recommended….
4. Be interested - this means engaging with others. Adding value, answering questions, joining into conversations. Find conversation to enter into via http://search.twitter.com and then engage with those people where you can help, or have the ability to answer their issues. This is not about selling things.. It may well be that many of the answers, are on your website / blogsite.
What do I mean by Success?
That in itself is an important question, as to each person, success can mean different things. So before you start on Twitter, I would suggest that you think through exactly what success may look like for you, and how you are going to go about measuring it.
Success, may mean more sales, more website traffic, more sign ups to your newsletter, more people to collaborate with, more PR about you or your company… It may mean a combination of the above, or simply may mean more people to talk to.. Thats 100% up to you..
I have broken down the 4 things to do to achieve success:-
1. Commitment - this means adding a good photo, perhaps adding a bespoke background, adding your website URL, and writing an interesting Bio. Try and differentiate yourself from so many others in the same line of work as you, and make sure that the Bio, contains keywords, so that others can find you.
2. Consistency - this means showing up each day, and tweeting. Whatever time is available, it is far more important to do a small amount each day, than doing loads 1 day, and then nothing for a week or so. Twitter is a long term thing, much like any forms of networking. Very little will be acheived in days, when thinking about Twitter, you really need to be thinking long term strategy, rather than quick fix win..
3. Be Interesting - this means what you are tweeting about.. Try and tweet 3 types of messages. Social chit chat, the sharing of: resources, links, tools, info, ideas, opinions, use of photos, being humorous, and adding value and the tweets that answer peeps questions, which demonstrates your knowledge, which in time will build your brand and credibility … aim for a nice balance.. too many of 1 category is not recommended….
4. Be interested - this means engaging with others. Adding value, answering questions, joining into conversations. Find conversation to enter into via http://search.twitter.com and then engage with those people where you can help, or have the ability to answer their issues. This is not about selling things.. It may well be that many of the answers, are on your website / blogsite.
Avoid the three deadly mistakes of tweeting
Do you make any of the top 3 deadly Twitter marketing mistakes? Read on to discover these mistakes and what to do instead so you can become a Twitter Rock Star.
Twitter is a great way to use Social Media Marketing to build visibility, grow your list and make profits. But you gotta know how to do it right.
I see newbies and even experienced marketers alike making the same three deadly yet avoidable mistakes. Let's take a closer look at these mistakes and what to do instead. If you see yourself in any of the 3 avoidable deadly mistakes, don't panic. Be glad you discovered the mistake and what to do about it, and then change your course. Don't sit around pining over your mistakes and get stuck there. Just change your strategies and move forward.
Mistake 1 - Begin with marketing - This applies to those who are just starting out on Twitter as well as how to start every day on Twitter. When you are just starting out, focus on relationships and building connections, as well as being visible. Think of it this way: you have to earn the right to market. You earn the right to market by being sociable. After you have spent time building relationships, then you can market, drive traffic, build your list and even make sales from Twitter. Always think relationship first.
Start out each day on Twitter by being sociable. How would you like it if your spouse started to market you first thing in the morning before ever saying good morning? Exactly.
Mistake 2 - Being serious all the time - I see so many people tweet like they are presenting a paper at an international conference. While you do want to be serious about what you do, you also want to add a little fun as well. Let your personality show. This goes a long way it helping people to know, like and trust you. Who do you like to be friends with? Those who are serious all the time or those that have an engaging personality and are not afraid to show it in any situation?
Mistake 3 - Don't get involved in conversations/community - I call this being a "hit & run" tweeter. These folks come in, dump their message, (usually a marketing message) and then they are gone. Big mistake. Become involved in discussions, answer questions, become a recognized part of the community.
You can take about anything. Recently I used a quote from M*A*S*H and got into a coversation with someone about the characters from the show. Simple relationship building.
And you don't have to get on a plane or drive across town to do it.
To learn more about how to leverage the Social Networks for waves of traffic and more, get your FREE Instant Access to our Social Marketing Video Training Series when you visit http://SocialMarketingBlueprint.com/7laws
You'll get a series of videos, audios and pdfs all about Social Media Traffic & Profits
From Jeff Herring and the SocialMarketingBlueprint.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Herring
Twitter is a great way to use Social Media Marketing to build visibility, grow your list and make profits. But you gotta know how to do it right.
I see newbies and even experienced marketers alike making the same three deadly yet avoidable mistakes. Let's take a closer look at these mistakes and what to do instead. If you see yourself in any of the 3 avoidable deadly mistakes, don't panic. Be glad you discovered the mistake and what to do about it, and then change your course. Don't sit around pining over your mistakes and get stuck there. Just change your strategies and move forward.
Mistake 1 - Begin with marketing - This applies to those who are just starting out on Twitter as well as how to start every day on Twitter. When you are just starting out, focus on relationships and building connections, as well as being visible. Think of it this way: you have to earn the right to market. You earn the right to market by being sociable. After you have spent time building relationships, then you can market, drive traffic, build your list and even make sales from Twitter. Always think relationship first.
Start out each day on Twitter by being sociable. How would you like it if your spouse started to market you first thing in the morning before ever saying good morning? Exactly.
Mistake 2 - Being serious all the time - I see so many people tweet like they are presenting a paper at an international conference. While you do want to be serious about what you do, you also want to add a little fun as well. Let your personality show. This goes a long way it helping people to know, like and trust you. Who do you like to be friends with? Those who are serious all the time or those that have an engaging personality and are not afraid to show it in any situation?
Mistake 3 - Don't get involved in conversations/community - I call this being a "hit & run" tweeter. These folks come in, dump their message, (usually a marketing message) and then they are gone. Big mistake. Become involved in discussions, answer questions, become a recognized part of the community.
You can take about anything. Recently I used a quote from M*A*S*H and got into a coversation with someone about the characters from the show. Simple relationship building.
And you don't have to get on a plane or drive across town to do it.
To learn more about how to leverage the Social Networks for waves of traffic and more, get your FREE Instant Access to our Social Marketing Video Training Series when you visit http://SocialMarketingBlueprint.com/7laws
You'll get a series of videos, audios and pdfs all about Social Media Traffic & Profits
From Jeff Herring and the SocialMarketingBlueprint.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Herring
Friday, 4 December 2009
Become a fan of the RMP facebook fan club
Guys
Paul Jones has created a Creative Wisdom fan club on facebook to start getting RMP talked about on this site. It would be great if you could all join his group and start some conversations.
The link to this page is http://www.facebook.com/pages/Creative-Wisdom/89895381434?v=wall
Paul Jones has created a Creative Wisdom fan club on facebook to start getting RMP talked about on this site. It would be great if you could all join his group and start some conversations.
The link to this page is http://www.facebook.com/pages/Creative-Wisdom/89895381434?v=wall
Recruitment is on the increase
The short and medium-term outlook for growth in recruitment is continuing to improve, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).
The REC reports one in 10 employers anticipate an increase in their permanent staff levels over the next three months, an uplift of 5% on the previous month, while 16% expect their permanent staff numbers to rise in the next 12 months compared with 13% last month.
Five per cent of employers expect to increase their temporary workforce in the next three months and 72% expect to maintain the same level of agency staff over the next year.
Although four out of 10 employers said there had been no impact on their workforce as a result of economic changes but 22% of employers are making staff redundant.
Slightly more employers (3%) are now reducing hours or cutting pay in response to the continuation of the recession.
While the jobs market remains largely static, employers' hiring intentions and overall optimism grew again, according to the report. Commenting on the figures, REC director of research Roger Tweedy said: "It is encouraging that employer confidence is slowly but surely starting to manifest itself in terms of hiring intentions. However, it is very early days and a number of employers are still making redundancies or cutting working hours. Regular data on how employers are reacting to subtle changes in the jobs market is essential and we will continue to monitor the outlook for both permanent and temporary employment."
Source: http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/news/bulletin/weeklyupdatebulletin/article/972133/?DCMP=EMC-Dailynewsalert
The REC reports one in 10 employers anticipate an increase in their permanent staff levels over the next three months, an uplift of 5% on the previous month, while 16% expect their permanent staff numbers to rise in the next 12 months compared with 13% last month.
Five per cent of employers expect to increase their temporary workforce in the next three months and 72% expect to maintain the same level of agency staff over the next year.
Although four out of 10 employers said there had been no impact on their workforce as a result of economic changes but 22% of employers are making staff redundant.
Slightly more employers (3%) are now reducing hours or cutting pay in response to the continuation of the recession.
While the jobs market remains largely static, employers' hiring intentions and overall optimism grew again, according to the report. Commenting on the figures, REC director of research Roger Tweedy said: "It is encouraging that employer confidence is slowly but surely starting to manifest itself in terms of hiring intentions. However, it is very early days and a number of employers are still making redundancies or cutting working hours. Regular data on how employers are reacting to subtle changes in the jobs market is essential and we will continue to monitor the outlook for both permanent and temporary employment."
Source: http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/news/bulletin/weeklyupdatebulletin/article/972133/?DCMP=EMC-Dailynewsalert
Thursday, 3 December 2009
An article copied from http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk
Why is Social Marketing so effective? The article below is one that i have copied from an HR forum. This is the perfect sort of comment to start a forum or blog conversation regarding effective and targeted appraisals.
Business success depends on good managers
Jack Wiley, 03 December 2009
Be the first to comment on this article
A global survey of 22,000 workers in 18 countries shows that UK employees are below the world average when it comes to rating their managers as effective. The study is relevant for HR because it highlights that 'good' management has a significant impact on the engagement levels of employees and on their overall perception of the organisation.
Our study found that India tops the global league table of managerial effectiveness. 68% of employees in India rate their manager as effective, followed by Brazil (61%), the United States (60%), Russia and the Gulf countries (57%), Canada (56%), China (53%), Germany (51%), the UK (50%), Spain (46%), Italy (44%), Japan (43%) and France (41%).
While these rankings may be of interest, it's more important that organisations recognise the benefits that come from having effective managers. Of course, a good manager is more likely to get the best out of employees, in terms of their performance. But good management has benefits that extend much further than productivity.
In our study, those employees who are satisfied with their manager state a much higher intention to stay with the organisation than those who are dissatisfied. Those who rate their managers as good also feel they have promising prospects within the company as well as confidence in the organisation's future.
In fact, those employees who regard themselves as working for a good manager have three-four times higher engagement scores than those who work for managers they regard as ineffective.
So, good management means employees are more engaged, more committed and more productive. For organisations, this means higher employee retention, reduced absenteeism and improvements in service quality, customer satisfaction and overall performance.
What make a ‘good manager'?
Employees' evaluations of their manager are driven by the extent to which the manager displays the fundamentals of managerial competence: doing a good job at managing the team's work and the team itself, and being perceived as a leader.
In other words, a good manager is someone who keeps his/her commitments, evaluates employees' performance fairly, makes use of employees' ideas, quickly solves problems and practices open, two-way communication. Their behaviour should be consistent with the mission and values of the organisation, they should provide opportunity for employees to improve their skills and they should reassure employees that they have a promising future.
HR implications
Each of these aspects of managerial effectiveness will be influenced by further factors. For example, to be an effective problem solver, a manager needs an awareness of the issues, a sense of urgency, knowledge of how the workplace operates and an understanding of how to create and communicate a plan for how the problem will be resolved.
By analysing the different aspects of managerial effectiveness, HR practitioners should be able to create a framework of skills (such as communicating, giving feedback and problem solving) and behaviours (such as acting in a way that's consistent with the vision and values of the organisation) that managers need in their organisations. The framework should also include the knowledge, competencies, abilities, values and attitudes that managers need to be effective in their role (such as being respectful, considerate, fair, open, encouraging and organised).
This framework can then be used as a benchmark when recruiting managers. It can also form the basis of management development programmes and the organisation's performance management and succession planning processes.
Of course, other factors will influence whether or not employees feel engaged. For example whether leaders inspire confidence in the future; whether employees feel their work is exciting and whether the organisation demonstrates a genuine responsibility to its employees and the communities in which it operates.
However, as our study shows, when ‘good management' prevails in an organisation, employees become more motivated to contribute to the organisation's success and more willing to apply discretionary effort to accomplish tasks that are central to the goals of the organisation.
By making a concerted effort to improve management practice, HR teams can not only influence employee engagement levels, they can also directly enhance the performance and productivity of the business.
Dr Jack Wiley is Executive Director of the Kenexa Research Institute which is a division of Kenexa, the global provider of business solutions for human resources.
Business success depends on good managers
Jack Wiley, 03 December 2009
Be the first to comment on this article
A global survey of 22,000 workers in 18 countries shows that UK employees are below the world average when it comes to rating their managers as effective. The study is relevant for HR because it highlights that 'good' management has a significant impact on the engagement levels of employees and on their overall perception of the organisation.
Our study found that India tops the global league table of managerial effectiveness. 68% of employees in India rate their manager as effective, followed by Brazil (61%), the United States (60%), Russia and the Gulf countries (57%), Canada (56%), China (53%), Germany (51%), the UK (50%), Spain (46%), Italy (44%), Japan (43%) and France (41%).
While these rankings may be of interest, it's more important that organisations recognise the benefits that come from having effective managers. Of course, a good manager is more likely to get the best out of employees, in terms of their performance. But good management has benefits that extend much further than productivity.
In our study, those employees who are satisfied with their manager state a much higher intention to stay with the organisation than those who are dissatisfied. Those who rate their managers as good also feel they have promising prospects within the company as well as confidence in the organisation's future.
In fact, those employees who regard themselves as working for a good manager have three-four times higher engagement scores than those who work for managers they regard as ineffective.
So, good management means employees are more engaged, more committed and more productive. For organisations, this means higher employee retention, reduced absenteeism and improvements in service quality, customer satisfaction and overall performance.
What make a ‘good manager'?
Employees' evaluations of their manager are driven by the extent to which the manager displays the fundamentals of managerial competence: doing a good job at managing the team's work and the team itself, and being perceived as a leader.
In other words, a good manager is someone who keeps his/her commitments, evaluates employees' performance fairly, makes use of employees' ideas, quickly solves problems and practices open, two-way communication. Their behaviour should be consistent with the mission and values of the organisation, they should provide opportunity for employees to improve their skills and they should reassure employees that they have a promising future.
HR implications
Each of these aspects of managerial effectiveness will be influenced by further factors. For example, to be an effective problem solver, a manager needs an awareness of the issues, a sense of urgency, knowledge of how the workplace operates and an understanding of how to create and communicate a plan for how the problem will be resolved.
By analysing the different aspects of managerial effectiveness, HR practitioners should be able to create a framework of skills (such as communicating, giving feedback and problem solving) and behaviours (such as acting in a way that's consistent with the vision and values of the organisation) that managers need in their organisations. The framework should also include the knowledge, competencies, abilities, values and attitudes that managers need to be effective in their role (such as being respectful, considerate, fair, open, encouraging and organised).
This framework can then be used as a benchmark when recruiting managers. It can also form the basis of management development programmes and the organisation's performance management and succession planning processes.
Of course, other factors will influence whether or not employees feel engaged. For example whether leaders inspire confidence in the future; whether employees feel their work is exciting and whether the organisation demonstrates a genuine responsibility to its employees and the communities in which it operates.
However, as our study shows, when ‘good management' prevails in an organisation, employees become more motivated to contribute to the organisation's success and more willing to apply discretionary effort to accomplish tasks that are central to the goals of the organisation.
By making a concerted effort to improve management practice, HR teams can not only influence employee engagement levels, they can also directly enhance the performance and productivity of the business.
Dr Jack Wiley is Executive Director of the Kenexa Research Institute which is a division of Kenexa, the global provider of business solutions for human resources.
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
Huge increase in home-based businesses
The economy over the last year or so, according to the media, has been nothing but bad news. There has of course been upside as well, one of which being the number of home-based businesses that have started up.
If you are looking at the possibility of starting your own business, working from home and beating the rat race of corporate life, PARI offer reseller opportunities throughout the UK and Ireland.
If you want to earn in excess of £40,000 with a client base of fewer than 10 this could be for you. If you want to know more, please contact me on pari@convergedmanagement.co.uk
If you are looking at the possibility of starting your own business, working from home and beating the rat race of corporate life, PARI offer reseller opportunities throughout the UK and Ireland.
If you want to earn in excess of £40,000 with a client base of fewer than 10 this could be for you. If you want to know more, please contact me on pari@convergedmanagement.co.uk
Friday, 27 November 2009
Social marketing
I have just been talking to the some of the PARI community about using social marketing to increase the awareness of the product set within the UK market.
Social networking and blogging is new to some of these guys so there may be one or two practice entries on this site whilst they get used to the idea.
Social networking and blogging is new to some of these guys so there may be one or two practice entries on this site whilst they get used to the idea.
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Fortnightly confernece call
Guys
Common consensus has suggested that we need to get together on a regular basis and as the electronic mediums that have been created are not being used (including this one) i have initiated fortnightly conference calls. The first being on Friday 13th Nov 2009 was a success with 5 of you guys talking. We will try to theme each call, the first was based on cold calling, the second will be a follow up on that. Thereafter we will address various topics. If there is anything that you particularly want to discuss - just let me know.
Common consensus has suggested that we need to get together on a regular basis and as the electronic mediums that have been created are not being used (including this one) i have initiated fortnightly conference calls. The first being on Friday 13th Nov 2009 was a success with 5 of you guys talking. We will try to theme each call, the first was based on cold calling, the second will be a follow up on that. Thereafter we will address various topics. If there is anything that you particularly want to discuss - just let me know.
Wednesday, 28 October 2009
Apologies to my blogger friends
Guys, what can i say about the site. I needed somewhere to try adSense and as there is currently very little traffic going through this site I thought it could be a really good place to try it. The whole site rather seems to be overwritten with Ads so the next step is to see how i can manage the type and quantity of ads that are placed here. I suspect managing that will be nothing like as easy as setting it up in the first place, but this is all part of the learning curve of life. In the meantime i thought i would put a copy of the mail that I sent out at the beginning of the week so you have a permanent copy of a different way to use RMP.
In conversations that I have had with you over the last couple of weeks it has become apparent that several of you are looking into the possibility of offering direct recruitment services to companies that are carrying out their own recruitment rather than using an agency. Great idea – I have looked into this a little myself and from the market research that I have carried out (posh way of saying “the conversations that I have had with companies doing their own recruitment in the south West), this is what I have found out:
Three main reasons for them not go through agencies
1. Too expensive
2. Lack of control
3. Bad experiences in the past, these being
a. Just being inundated with CVs – so the agency not really doing any work at all
b. Wasting time interviewing or worse employing the wrong people
So what I think is there might well be a niche for is a very different and certainly less expensive option. What appealed to several companies that I spoke to was a service that did all the initial candidate screening but left them in control of how many and which ones they interviewed. I was talking to one business owner who runs a nursing home and she told me that she was getting in the region of 45 CVs every time she advertises for even the most junior role, so the time involved in sorting these to decide which were appropriate for interview and therefore the internal costs was huge.
I talked with her about what sort of service would make sense and came up with something like this:
An admin service – not to recruit anyone but purely to do the initial sifting. The service would be for a fixed fee and provide a defined number of candidates accompanied with their CVs and PARI analysis, more candidates and candidate packs could be provided if required for an extra charge. This service provides the employer with only candidates that match their requirements, provides a solid reason for not seeing others (no claims for unfairness or discrimination) and obviously brings the company culture and personality requirements in as well.
I was suggesting this service being charged at circa 5% of the salary for 5 candidates and then a set price per candidate/candidate pack (PARI Analysis report and CV) thereafter, and as this is not a recruitment job, it is a straight forward admin task and should be seen and sold as such.
In conversations that I have had with you over the last couple of weeks it has become apparent that several of you are looking into the possibility of offering direct recruitment services to companies that are carrying out their own recruitment rather than using an agency. Great idea – I have looked into this a little myself and from the market research that I have carried out (posh way of saying “the conversations that I have had with companies doing their own recruitment in the south West), this is what I have found out:
Three main reasons for them not go through agencies
1. Too expensive
2. Lack of control
3. Bad experiences in the past, these being
a. Just being inundated with CVs – so the agency not really doing any work at all
b. Wasting time interviewing or worse employing the wrong people
So what I think is there might well be a niche for is a very different and certainly less expensive option. What appealed to several companies that I spoke to was a service that did all the initial candidate screening but left them in control of how many and which ones they interviewed. I was talking to one business owner who runs a nursing home and she told me that she was getting in the region of 45 CVs every time she advertises for even the most junior role, so the time involved in sorting these to decide which were appropriate for interview and therefore the internal costs was huge.
I talked with her about what sort of service would make sense and came up with something like this:
An admin service – not to recruit anyone but purely to do the initial sifting. The service would be for a fixed fee and provide a defined number of candidates accompanied with their CVs and PARI analysis, more candidates and candidate packs could be provided if required for an extra charge. This service provides the employer with only candidates that match their requirements, provides a solid reason for not seeing others (no claims for unfairness or discrimination) and obviously brings the company culture and personality requirements in as well.
I was suggesting this service being charged at circa 5% of the salary for 5 candidates and then a set price per candidate/candidate pack (PARI Analysis report and CV) thereafter, and as this is not a recruitment job, it is a straight forward admin task and should be seen and sold as such.
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Tenacity pays off!
Guys I was introduced to a guy that owns a recruitment franchise last December. Whilst speaking to him he told that timing was wrong as the business was just about to embark on a Management Buyout of the franchisor business, so i left it along for 3 months and contacted him again. This was still too soon for various reasons (MBOs being rather complicated!)
Three weeks ago i gave it another shot, he forwarded the mail i sent him to the Franchisor MD and Business Development Director (DBD). Within 2 days of that mail going out the DBD had contacted me on the basis that i mentioned in the mail a 2 week free trail so in his words "what had he got to lose". I set him up an account and arranged to see him the following week. I spend 1 hour with the guy and demo'ed RMP and then he told me how he would use it in his business and how it would provide value add for his clients. i followed the appointment up with another mail the following day confirming all prices and what was included in the Start Up pack. Within 4 days he had taken it to the board and approved its purchase and called me with the go ahead - he didn't look at the free account i set up.
Yesterday afternoon Prabin and i visited his office and trained the 5 consultants that work out of that office in the use of RMP and each one commented on how they would use it very positively. The DBD is, over the next few weeks, also taking PARI out to all the franchisees across the country. with a mandate to use it
The company is Executives Online Ltd and they are really impressed with PARI. The initial contact was 9 months ago but the sale itself actually took less than 3 weeks from first contact to invoice.
Three weeks ago i gave it another shot, he forwarded the mail i sent him to the Franchisor MD and Business Development Director (DBD). Within 2 days of that mail going out the DBD had contacted me on the basis that i mentioned in the mail a 2 week free trail so in his words "what had he got to lose". I set him up an account and arranged to see him the following week. I spend 1 hour with the guy and demo'ed RMP and then he told me how he would use it in his business and how it would provide value add for his clients. i followed the appointment up with another mail the following day confirming all prices and what was included in the Start Up pack. Within 4 days he had taken it to the board and approved its purchase and called me with the go ahead - he didn't look at the free account i set up.
Yesterday afternoon Prabin and i visited his office and trained the 5 consultants that work out of that office in the use of RMP and each one commented on how they would use it very positively. The DBD is, over the next few weeks, also taking PARI out to all the franchisees across the country. with a mandate to use it
The company is Executives Online Ltd and they are really impressed with PARI. The initial contact was 9 months ago but the sale itself actually took less than 3 weeks from first contact to invoice.
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Difficult demos
I was talking to Jane yesterday and it appears she had a very similar experience to me at a PARI demo the other day. It doesn't, in my experience, happen very often but you may also come across someone who wants to either be very clever or plain difficult, so I thought I would let you know how I dealt with it. My initial thoughts were to either punch the guy or make him look really silly in-front of the others - I resisted both options and suggest that you don't go down those routes either. So what to do:
As an example of what the guy was asking me - he said that it is absolutely essential that he gets a team player who is excellent at working by themselves, these being the two ends of the scale. I explained that what we are trying to match are personality traits and if individuals excel at team work they cannot, at the same time, be as comfortable as a sole worker, so if he requires both traits he would need to choose one of the options on the middle of the grid. He was still chuntering on so I took another look this time at the flip side of the personality traits that are detailed with the text descriptions - this made life much more straight forward as the closer to the ends of the grid you go the more focussed the traits become and therefore the flip sides are also very single minded. There were definitely some traits that he did not want which forced us more to the middle again and that is where we agreed he would be measuring, to a degree, both requirements appropriately.
I have to say I didn't take a shine to the guy I was demo-ing to and I got the distinct impression that he didn't like me much, but he has not ruined my 100% record, he signed up for a free demo account to take it away and evaluate it for himself!
There is normally a reason why people are difficult, I later discovered the guy that was trying to give me a hard time had spent 18 months creating his own analysis tool and he wanted to prove that his was better - he now openly admits it is not.
Keep faith and keep pushing, there is still nothing in the UK market that I have come across that does what RMP does.
As an example of what the guy was asking me - he said that it is absolutely essential that he gets a team player who is excellent at working by themselves, these being the two ends of the scale. I explained that what we are trying to match are personality traits and if individuals excel at team work they cannot, at the same time, be as comfortable as a sole worker, so if he requires both traits he would need to choose one of the options on the middle of the grid. He was still chuntering on so I took another look this time at the flip side of the personality traits that are detailed with the text descriptions - this made life much more straight forward as the closer to the ends of the grid you go the more focussed the traits become and therefore the flip sides are also very single minded. There were definitely some traits that he did not want which forced us more to the middle again and that is where we agreed he would be measuring, to a degree, both requirements appropriately.
I have to say I didn't take a shine to the guy I was demo-ing to and I got the distinct impression that he didn't like me much, but he has not ruined my 100% record, he signed up for a free demo account to take it away and evaluate it for himself!
There is normally a reason why people are difficult, I later discovered the guy that was trying to give me a hard time had spent 18 months creating his own analysis tool and he wanted to prove that his was better - he now openly admits it is not.
Keep faith and keep pushing, there is still nothing in the UK market that I have come across that does what RMP does.
Monday, 27 July 2009
New skills for an Old Dog
They say that you can't teach new skills to old dogs - I think last week I proved that to be wrong. The choir that I sing with have had a web site for a couple of years that, not to put too fine a point on it, wasn't great. A month ago or so I was asked if there is anything I could do with it to improve it.
Now, I know nothing about building web sites as I have never do anything like that in my life, but as the Choir were desperate I said I would give it a go. The new site went live on Saturday and to be honest I am quite pleased with it. The choir now have a site that they are happy with and I now have a new skill - Web Designer! I have also found out how cheap it is to create a site and host it, so not the waste of time a thought originally it could have been.
Anyone else learnt something new recently
Now, I know nothing about building web sites as I have never do anything like that in my life, but as the Choir were desperate I said I would give it a go. The new site went live on Saturday and to be honest I am quite pleased with it. The choir now have a site that they are happy with and I now have a new skill - Web Designer! I have also found out how cheap it is to create a site and host it, so not the waste of time a thought originally it could have been.
Anyone else learnt something new recently
Monday, 20 July 2009
Welcome to Telephone Monday
Well, I hear you ask - what is Telephone Monday
Telephone Monday is the first day of the last week before the Schools have entirely broken up for the summer break and therefore the last week before floods of people desert their desks in search of a couple of weeks of peace. Therefore it is the last week that you will find the majority of folk still at work before September and your last chance to get diary time to demo PARI.
Don't forget if you miss this window you will be missing out on the much higher levels of activity in September - a big month for recruitment so not only will you be missing out on sales but it will also be difficult to get diary time as Recruiters will also be busy.
So don't delay - dial today!
Telephone Monday is the first day of the last week before the Schools have entirely broken up for the summer break and therefore the last week before floods of people desert their desks in search of a couple of weeks of peace. Therefore it is the last week that you will find the majority of folk still at work before September and your last chance to get diary time to demo PARI.
Don't forget if you miss this window you will be missing out on the much higher levels of activity in September - a big month for recruitment so not only will you be missing out on sales but it will also be difficult to get diary time as Recruiters will also be busy.
So don't delay - dial today!
Thursday, 16 July 2009
Cricket again (one of my favourite subjects!
Test 2 today - although we have the most appalling record against Australia at Lords does anyone believe we will perform better than we did earlier this week in Cardiff. From my point of view, we have been slow starters in many of our recent test series and we also seem to come back stronger in the second match. So fingers crossed!
Monday, 13 July 2009
The exception proving the rule!
Morning all, i trust you had a good weekend.
Having written last week about the best way to get to see new prospects is through networking and referrals i had a very interesting conversation with Graham. He, whilst agreeing with me, also told me that he had actually put a lot of time in qualifying the right sort of agency to contact and had been cold calling as well - alas with little to show for it. Last week, independently of my piece on this blog, he decided to just start at the top of his database list and work his way down ringing everyone irrespective to anything he may know about their business. The result, he has 5 appointments this week with companies he had qualified out intially.
What can i say - 5 in a week is more than i have managed to date (but i'm not really bitter!)
Probably best to not judge who would want RMP and who wouldn't
If you have a system that works don't change it just but "Peter says"
You see i really am a master of hindsight.
Just an after thought, i have granted all you guys author status on this blog so please feel free to start new topics if you wish.
Talk to you all soon
Peter
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
Stating the blooming obvious
I have always been quick on the uptake - after the event, so what i am going to do is excusing my inadquacies by assuming that this posting will be useful to others!
When you demo RMP to a potential end user, rather than just walking them through the process actually get them to send out requests to some of their job seekers, even offer to help. Also try and work with them to profile a job they are currently recruiting for, that way you are already building RMP into their process and they will continue to use it - which is what we want. It bearly goes without saying that the first company i signed up - i hadn't worked this out so their usage to date has been minimal. Who said that Sutton was bright!
The Ashes
So the Ashes start today in Cardiff for the first time. Andy Flintoff in and Brett Lee out - England getting through to the Semi finals of the Twenty 20 world cup whilst Australia going out before the super 8 round - is any of this significant or does it make no difference to the Ashes as this is one of the longest standing international competitions within the cricketing calendar.
The guess the most important question is - do we have the squad and belief to beet the Auzies, what do you think?............
Monday, 6 July 2009
Could Murray have done
Did Andy Murray give his all or could he have done better
I don't think he could have done any more than he did, Roddick had very clear game plans for both him and Federer and very nearly won the title by sticking to them. Andy Murray is a really good player and as he is still very young has an excellent chance to win Wimbeldon in years to come.
I thought this year's competition overall was really good and thoroughly enjoyable. The tennis was played, in the latter stages, at a very high standard by sportsmen who were courteous on court and equally magnanimous in defeat and victory.
Did anyone else enjoy it
Benefiting from the September Rush
Guys
I know it sounds like i am nagging and very often stating the obvious but in our busy lives the obvious is not considered with anyting but hindsight!
September is traditionally one of the better months for Recruiters, folks having taken holidays in August and had time to think about their jobs and decide it is time to do something to improve their lot start to look for new opportunities in September.
August unsurprisingly is traditionally much quieter so if you want to be in a position where the September rush does you some good you need to be getting clients on the books this month.
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Firstly, let me apologise - i am not a happy blogger but i'm doing my best.
So, as i was sitting in the garden at the begining of this week contemplating the sales of PARI, i took to wondering why some of you guys are finding it so difficult. Is it that the product isn't all i think it is, is that no one in the recruitment trade is interested in it - and these along with a number of others were questions to which i don't know the answer hence my call to most of you the other day requesting a 10 minute chat about this very subject.
My next thought was, as i had only actually signed one person myself, was that just by luck, so i thought it is time to put this to the test. I routed around for a couple of contacts and without ringing more than 6 people i booked 3 appointments. Today i completed the third appointment in 3 days and have signed up every one i have seen.
I can only conclude that i am doing something very different to you guys so this is it. The first sales was made to a Recruitment Company's MD that i met at a networking function. As i signed you her up i asked for some referrals - she gave me 3 names and contact details. These are my next set of potential clients to whom i now have a warm introduction as i checked i could use the referers name in my first call. I have only had a meeting with one of these so far but have signed them up as well. My initial call is very brief, i do not try to over sell it, i simply talk about a job to candidate matching tool that sits at the front end of the recruitment process negating the inital time consuming CV filtering and interviewing elements. I explain that the tool is best detailed via a demonstration and request a 45 minute appointment, i even sound pathetic if i have to. I am yet to demo the product and not sign the client - it is very bit as powerful as i have always thought. The other two clients this week came again from contacts i have - but not in the recruitment business directly but both or whom look have their own businesses and can see the benefit for either recruituing their own staff or within projects that they are delivering as Consultants.
We shall see if i am continuing to just be lucky when i try again next week, but remember every time i sign a new client i ask for referrals - why build your own database when someone else can do it for you and provide a warm intro.
That's all i want to say for now, but i look forward to talking to you all soon
I'd really like everyone of you guys to be successful sellers of PARI and if we can use this sort of feedback as we accumulate clients then it can only be for the good of all.
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Our First UK Client
Brian has signed up Banbury School with both Recruiting Match Pro and Staff Resource Pro - so we now have a UK client for both products. Schools appear to offer an interesting opportunity as they rarely have HR departments and being public sector have to adhere to the huge levels of employment law that has been introduced. Banbury School recognise that using PARI products they can demonstrate fairness within both their recruitment and staff development procedures at affordable rates.
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
Oliver!
Opening night was a triumph in front of a full house.
After months of rehearsing we finally got in front of the public last night with our first performance of Oliver! With a cast of 50 adults 20 boys and a dog, opportunity to screw up was enormous but we managed to to carry it of with very few mishaps and were congratulated by both the Mayor of Bath and Lord Bath. So that is one down seven to go
After months of rehearsing we finally got in front of the public last night with our first performance of Oliver! With a cast of 50 adults 20 boys and a dog, opportunity to screw up was enormous but we managed to to carry it of with very few mishaps and were congratulated by both the Mayor of Bath and Lord Bath. So that is one down seven to go
Monday, 6 April 2009
No of job vacancies on the UK
At a guess - how many job vacancies do you think there are in the UK Answer over 400,000
Is that more or less than you thought?
Is that more or less than you thought?
Monday, 30 March 2009
Guys
I have just been sent notification of another Recruiters group on LinkedIn. com. The group has more than 1700 members all of whom you can access contact details for as well as being able to post discussions on their group page. The address for this group is http://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Elinkedin%2Ecom%2Fgroups%3Fgid%3D1824107&urlhash=EzFP&_t=mbox_mebc
I think these sites are a really good way to get both your and Pari's names known
I have just been sent notification of another Recruiters group on LinkedIn. com. The group has more than 1700 members all of whom you can access contact details for as well as being able to post discussions on their group page. The address for this group is http://www.linkedin.com/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Elinkedin%2Ecom%2Fgroups%3Fgid%3D1824107&urlhash=EzFP&_t=mbox_mebc
I think these sites are a really good way to get both your and Pari's names known
Friday, 27 March 2009
Ask Per
Guys, Per has registered as both a follower and a contributor to this blog so if there is anything that you wish to ask him direct - this could be a really good medium .
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
What is the best approach for new prospects
From the research I have carried out it would appear that a good approach is a very short initial call asking if the business is interested in
Reducing their costs,
Improving their chances of winning new contracts to fill full time vacancies or
All inclusive ways to provide a quality service to a hugely increased job seeker database
If the answer is yes to any or all of these questions then set up a 2o minute demo on their site requesting access to either their internet from your laptop or better still using one of their computers for the demo
Reducing their costs,
Improving their chances of winning new contracts to fill full time vacancies or
All inclusive ways to provide a quality service to a hugely increased job seeker database
If the answer is yes to any or all of these questions then set up a 2o minute demo on their site requesting access to either their internet from your laptop or better still using one of their computers for the demo
Thursday, 19 March 2009
Welcome to the PARI Reseller Blog
Welcome guys
We are working on creating a blog page on the PARI website, but until that is ready i thought we could start here - so whatever you want to ask, pass on to the other resellers or just get off your chest, please fill your boots.
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
Sourcing new leads
Has anyone tried using network sites to get new leads, i am registered on LinkedIn and Ecademy, both of these have groups or clubs specifically dedicated to Recruitment and HR - it might be worth a go.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)