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Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment talk to Peer-to-Peer Finance News about companies rethinking their recruitment strategies

In the second in a series of articles with Peer-To-Peer Finance News, Campbell & Fletcher Recruitments managing director Tracy Fletcher has explained the need for companies to rethink their recruitment strategies to fully benefit from a diverse workforce. 

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We Are Moving…

We are pleased to announce that as of 1st June 2020 Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment are moving to new offices in the heart of the vibrant Spinningfields district of Manchester City Centre. With an award-winning architectural cityscape, Spinningfield sits at the heart of the city’s financial and commercial centre and is home to many of Manchesters most popular cultural and dining experiences.

Our new address is:
Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment, 10th Floor, 3 Hardeman Street, Manchester. M3 3HF
If any of our customers require any existing signed terms to be updated with our new address details then please let us know; there is however no legal obligation as it is a business as usual change.
We look forward to welcoming you to our new offices once some form of ’normality returns’.
Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment work across the United Kingdom sourcing the highest equality talent in the banking and financial services industries.
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Our Guide to Effective Remote Leadership

We have always known that successful remote workers go about their day very differently than those who work in office settings. Over the last 3 weeks the majority of us are having this enforced on us because of the current challenges the world is facing and it has brought its own difficulties both for employees and management teams. We have realised a vastly different managerial style is needed. Now it has been confirmed that we are facing further weeks of lockdown we thought it would be useful to share our thoughts and recommendations on how best to make it work.
Clear Communication
Firstly, it is important for all managers to have clear well-structured communication strategy, especially at the current time. Keep communicating – even if you have very little to say. Your staff will be looking for reassurance, part of our job is to remain positive and try to keep a sense of perspective on what this means to us now and in the future – try to remove any negative discussion albeit don’t gloss over genuine concerns. For some staff you might need to do this more often than with others. Don’t just use email, keep it personal, use SMS, WhatsApp, make a call or organise a video chat.

We recommend that you share goals and expectations. It is good for your team to see the bigger picture and understand the role they play in it at present and most importantly in the future.
There are many Virtual Meeting tools around and we suggest you make use of these. Do not ask each and every person for a minute by minute breakdown of their day. Try to make sure these are interactive, try to capture the spirit of the office, and most importantly keep it positive, proactive and limit the time. Use leading questions to get engagement such as “Are there opportunities for us being created by this situation?” – you might be surprised with the input from your team who have lots of thinking time on their hands.
We love our “Daily Morning Shout Out”, our ten minute virtual meeting held at the same time every morning, where every team member briefly answers four questions:
“What did I achieve yesterday?”
“What will I do today?”
“What is stopping me achieving this?”
And most importantly…   “How am I feeling?”
Avoid Micromanagement
Overcoming an urge to micromanage can be hard for a manager at the best of times. You have to trust your employees – even if you can’t see what they are doing doesn’t mean they are not actually doing it.
Be clear in what you are expecting from them whilst they are forced to work from home. Set clear and well understood objectives and ideal outcomes and deadline and then most importantly let your staff do their jobs. It is your job as a manager to set the expectations, then it your staff’s choice about how best to accomplish their tasks.
It’s Home Working not 24/7
Do not expect your staff to be available 24/7. Avoid sending them emails, texts or messages outside of the standard office hours in doing so you communicate a message that you expect them to reply immediately – respect their private life. The likelihood is that your team will already spend far more productive time working than they manage in the office, there are simply less distractions.

Our Top Five Tips to help your staff and your management of them:

  1. Use the right technology – Often remote teams end up in shambles because there is no clear overview of tasks. Continually asking your staff to update you disrupts their tasks. Using project management apps (examples: Trello or Asana) that allow team members to see exactly where projects stand and what tasks need to be done can also be an invaluable tool for remote team management. Ensure you and your team have the right software and hardware to do their job.
  2. Get the right working environment – Avoid working from the sofa. Where possible create a workspace area for which you can shut the door on at the end of the day. Treat your working day like a ‘working day’, no Pyjamas; get ready for work like any ‘normal’ day.
  3. Celebrate the wins – no matter how small. Share with them all the progress the team are making in these challenging times, remind them that our competitors are in the same boat – celebrate every success and avoid dropping into survival mode.
  4. Put down that phone – Encourage your staff and yourself to have digital detox at the weekends; when you and your staff are rested and refreshed you are all more productive.
  5. Share A Smile – Remote working can bring its own challenges with isolation. It is important that as a manager you ensure that your staff maintain a sense of purpose in being a valuable part of the company. We have organised Virtual Happy Hour Drinks every Friday since lockdown with all our team; it brings a bit of banter and lots of laughs.

As a leader, managing a remote team might be an entirely new experience, but it need not be a painful one. Keep track of your staff and check they have the tools to do their jobs and then trust them to do it. You will have doubts, especially with the uncertainty at the moment – this is a sign you care that you a doing a good job and you care about your team. It shows you are mindful of the adjustments you are having to make to your own leadership style as well as to how you manage your team in the forthcoming weeks and months.
Being a leader is never easy but remember we are #InItTogether.

Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment work across the United Kingdom sourcing the highest equality talent in the banking and financial services industries.
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Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment 2020 Survey Results

We are pleased to present our 2020 Financial Services Industry recruitment report.
The last 12 months have been unprecedented, with Brexit, the not completely expected General Election and currently unprecedented challenge that is the Coronavirus.
In a challenging world it is more important than ever to attract the very best calibre of people; those who are aligned to your values and vice versa.
Hopefully our survey will give you the same food for thought as it has team at Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment.
To access the report simply click the image below – we look forward to your feedback

Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment work across the United Kingdom sourcing the highest equality talent in the banking and financial services industries.
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Coronavirus – does it fall outside of your Emergency Recovery Plan

We have pulled the following list of tips which might help minimise disruption for your business. With an every changing situation, although currently it’s very unlikely that businesses will need to close their workplace, but we believe you should have a plan ready in case you need to action this.
Have you got a Business Continuity plan – and if yes have you tested it.

  • Create a team to devise and oversee the plan; with the situation changing almost daily they need to be empowered to make some tough decisions.
  • Assess the risks across the business, especially to your revenue streams.
  • Prepare and plan for different scenarios.
  • Check your business insurance and supplier contracts. Can you claim for losses incurred by business interruption? Or can you reduce your direct supplier costs?
  • Update your employee’s emergency contact details.
  • Review your key suppliers and have an alternative ready.
  • Think about your key customers, make sure they know you have a business continuity plan.

Keep everyone Informed and show them you care

  • Each member of your staff is different, with different responsibilities away from work, show them you care and consult with them. Be clear that you don’t expect your employees to come into work if they are ill or need to self-isolate.
  • Have a clear and transparent sick pay policy, and listen to any staff concerns.
  • Check which employees have children or elderly caring responsibilities. Can they work from home, or can you cover their roles? You need to maintain your business operations after all.
  • Promote regular hand washing for employees and visitors, with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Encourage social distancing i.e. stop shaking hands; check working space distances.
  • Put all your staff into different categories. i.e.
    • Staff who perform business critical time sensitive functions which must be undertaken on site
    • Staff who perform business critical time sensitive functions which can be done from home etc…

Plan to work short and/or home working

  • Get your Senior Managers to look at how they can carry on with a limited workforce, focus on the business-critical tasks, and use this period to cross train employees just in case.
  • Identify which roles can be performed from home; consider what you need to arm your staff with to help them prepare for this (laptops/printers).
  • Can home workers access the company systems, and are the IT security issues?
  • Run a test. Can everyone communicate easily? Is additional training needed to use new technology/systems?
The situation is obviously changing daily and some of the information covered above may change. It might be worth checking on the links below which may also help.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
https://www.acas.org.uk/coronavirus
Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment work across the United Kingdom sourcing the highest equality talent in the banking and financial services industries.
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Campbell & Fletcher celebrate International Women's Day & launches our 2020 chosen charity – Smart Works

This Sunday we celebrate International Women’s Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Since the first International Women’s Day in 1911, this day belongs to everyone and is empowered by the collective efforts of all.
At Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment we have chosen this day to launch our companies collective charitable effort for 2020. Our chosen charity this year is Smart Works, a UK charity that provides clothing and interview training to unemployed women in need. Named the Social Action Charity of the Year 2017 at the National Charity Awards, Smart Works harnesses the power of clothes and confidence to allow a woman to be her best at a crucial moment in her life; giving her the confidence, the self-belief and the tools requires to transform her life.
Smart Works now operates across 8 locations in the UK; North London, West London, Edinburgh, Greater Manchester, Reading, Newcastle, Birmingham and the newly opened Leeds operation.

Director Tracy Fletcher said, “At Campbell & Fletcher we are passionate about supporting women to fulfil their career potential. Smart Works, assists women from a range of different backgrounds and age groups back into employment by providing one-to-one interview coaching and interview-appropriate clothing and accessories. We are proud to both support and give up our time to help empower women back into work and make changes to their lives.”

Tracy has signed up for the charities annual fundraising event, “Spin For Smart Works 2020”, whereby teams of five join together to cycle the 500-mile target, the distance between the eight Smart Works centres. Last year the fundraiser raised over £70,000 for Smart Works, helping the charity to support over 3,000 women.

“Campbell & Fletcher are delighted to be supporting Smart Works as its chosen charity in 2020. As a regular volunteer coach, I get to see first-hand how the Smart Works service provides amazing support to women who all too often have challenging personal lives at the same time as trying to succeed in the workplace”, Tracy added. “The word ’empower’ can be over-used, but I can honestly say that we do genuinely empower our clients, and help them to become confident and the best versions of themselves. Our Leeds office has been open since November 2019 and already 88% of our clients have been successful in securing a role following their visit. We ARE changing lives. “


With over 250 teams signed up this year for the event, please keep an eye-out for #spinforsmartworks on International Women’s Day, as Tracy and her team go that extra mile to fundraise for Smart Works.
Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment are also extremely proud to have signed and committed to actions to support the Women in Finance Charter. As an all-female company, closing the gender diversity gap is of high importance to us, whilst ‘empowering’ our staff through training and mentoring which benefits them and also our business in the long-term.

If you would like to make a donation to support Tracy and the #spinforsmartworks charity then please click here. Your support will be hugely appreciated and will make a difference.
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How important is your Brand and reputation when it comes to hiring new talent?

In today’s cluttered and fast paced world, companies are under increased scrutiny to prove their worth to candidates, so the importance of brand and branding has become acute. Good reputation is a currency upon which all recruiters are measured.
We all know that with a simple Google search, we can have hundreds of thousands of results at their fingertips in less than a second. From a candidate perspective they want to know the basics, like a company history, its size and where it operates; but they also want to find out what the culture is like, the opportunities for development, the employee incentives.

Employer brands are scrutinised on social media platforms and through search queries; who hasn’t checked out the LinkedIn profile of the person you are meeting. The job seeking process is now transparent; and is driven by connections, by culture and by reputation. A strong brand reputation on a website such as Glassdoor, which takes anonymous feedback from employees and job seekers on your company and its culture, can encourage prospective employees to work for you. However negative experiences especially from candidates, be it the companies failure to provide feedback on CV’s and the interview, the withdrawing of roles or simply filling roles internally can damage the brands reputation to future prospective employees.

Did you know that 84% of people asked would consider another role by a business with an excellent reputation?

When recruiting it’s important to know what your existing and former employees say about what it is like to work for you. Internal research will give you an insight on what is both good and bad, and by using online tools such as Glassdoor, or even a simple Google search on your own business, will enable you to see what is being said about you. Once you have a clear idea about your current reputation you are able to strategically plan on how to implement into your talent acquisition process.
 
What happens when you get your brand and reputation right?
People are the core of any business, having an effective employer brand and reputation can lead to:

  • Reduced turnover of staff
  • Attraction of the best quality talent
  • Assist in retaining key staff
  • Reduced costs in recruitment
  • Fully engaged employees

Our bespoke banking and financial services recruitment company enjoy a good bit of humour during an interview.
Create a Employee Value Proposition
Similar to a Value Proposition in marketing, an Employee Value Proposition is a promise, a mission statement; create one and then stick to it. Let it create for the employee a sense of passion and pride for working for your business; The Employee Value Proposition can also contain details of your corporate social responsibility.
When you get your brand and reputation right, talented people will want to work for your company and hiring time reduces – you become the employer of choice, and your employees become your best advocates of your brand.
As part of our recruitment and talent acquisition process, the team at Campbell & Fletcher operate as an extension of your brand to provide a clear, consistent and positive experience for both candidates and employers alike; we work with you to make you the employer of choice pairing you with the right candidates who then become further advocates for your business.

Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment work across the United Kingdom sourcing the highest equality talent in the banking and financial services industries. We would be pleased to speak to both prospective clients and candidates alike then please contact us on 0161 214 7980 or email us here.
 
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Talent Acquisition verses Recruitment

For many people Talent Acquisition is just a new on-trend word for Recruitment, however companies who understand the bigger picture know there are important differences.
Recruitment has always been thought of about filling immediate positions due to staff transition or business growth. At Campbell & Fletcher we realise that by improving our relationships with our clients, we can better understand the role that ‘talent acquisition’ can help to achieve the clients end vision.
When you hire, you invest in people, but all too often it can be seen as just another costly expense. This can encourage employers to cut corners and see recruitment as a mechanical process that never changes. Talent acquisition is about being aware of current staffing trends, the state of the workforce, and using that insight to attract vital talent.
 
Write your CV with the aid of our bespoke financial recruitment company.
Recruit or Acquire?
A recruitment strategy can be compared to a short-term quick fix where there is need for a company to meet immediate tactical needs. Recruitment tends to be reactive, clients already know quite clearly what the need and are looking for, and as result often leads to an increased time-to-hire and cost-to-hire due to specific nature of your search.
Talent acquisition is a more strategic strategy, about finding specialists for positions that require very specific skillsets, or for its business leaders for the future. This provides a far more challenging proposition when looking at niche sectors; especially with the rapid advances in technology with the Banking and Financial services sector. With talent acquisition you are seeking a key factor in a larger strategy to increase your growth, it become an ongoing cycle taking more time-up initially but delivers the best results for your company.
There is a general believe that all businesses should focus on talent acquisition rather than recruitment, as talent acquisition will build a stronger company – it becomes a proactive continuous process, enabling you to acquire the best and brightest employees.
At Campbell & Fletcher we approach both strategies from a different perspective. For recruitment, the industry experience and skillset play a crucial role in our candidate delivery programme. With talent acquisition we look at the aforementioned experience and skillset, but we also look beyond the CV and look at the talent and potential that the candidates possess.
 

 
Our talent acquisition strategy also works to identify, anticipate and understand the reasons employees might be tempted to leave your company, and addressing those issues so that the recruitment team isn’t hiring due to a lack of awareness in foresight in your organization. In most cases we have a short list of potential candidates, we refer to it as our ‘subs bench’, ready for when the client is looking to recruit because our team work hard to understand our clients’ recruitment strategy but just as important, the clients’ culture. This only happens when there is a strong relationship in place.
Talent acquisition is not only about a recruitment process to ensure the candidates are right for your business, it’s also about convincing potential talent that you are the right company to meet their career needs. We believe talent acquisition to be a real skill; at Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment it allows us to tap into our expertise of recognising the potential not just the experience.
If you would like further information or to meet to discuss how Campbell & Fletcher can support your company with its talent acquisition program then please contact us on 0161 214 7980 or email us here. 
 
Campbell & Fletcher Recruitment work across the United Kingdom sourcing the highest equality talent in the banking and financial services industries.
 
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More to the UK – life beyond London

Oxford has been ranked the United Kingdoms top city for living and working according to ‘Big 4’ accountancy firm PwC and think tank Demos in their annual “Good Growth for Cities” Survey 2019”. The research polled 2000 Adults across the United Kingdom and measured each city against a variety of indicators of economic wellbeing; from job security, work-life balance, housing and infrastructure.
 
Oxford and runner up Reading ranked well especially for work-life balance, transport but also job opportunities and health. In the PwC report, London has experienced the largest improvement of ranking of any city since before the financial crisis, but scored poorly on the lack of affordable housing and ownership as well as longer commuting times had pushed it down the rankings. Other cities of note in the report included Southampton (3rd), Bristol (4th), Edinburgh (7th), Swindon (8th) and Leicester (10th).
At Campbell & Fletcher we know from speaking with candidates that not only the ideal job is important to them, but where they want to live is another key criteria. The world has changed and people choose now more than ever where to live, it is no longer dependent on our families, or on our schooling. We took this an opportunity to look at a few of the UK’s best cities against some of our key criteria.
Edinburgh, not only does it have a month of festivals, stunning architecture and beguiling food, but it ranks highly on housing costs, employment opportunities, education and green space – in fact green space covers some 28% of the city. Recently on top of its established Finance sector, the city has become a hive for startups due the stylish yet affordable office space available.
Named the ‘uncrowned capital of the north’, Manchester has the second fastest growing economy in the UK behind London. With 1.4million workers, the city has experienced a rapid growth in the financial and banking sectors in recent years, with nearly 1 in 10 people employed in those sectors. The new cosmopolitan culture of the city has also meant huge development in the media sector. It has become home to some of the UK’s biggest media brands and has some of the largest digital clusters in the UK. The creative and digital media sector is responsible for employing over 63,000 people. Manchester with its café culture, independent food ventures and huge variety of energetic bars and restaurants contribute to the cities great work-life balance.
Leeds is another city that proves just how much opportunity there is up north. This Yorkshire city is home to the second largest financial sector, with over 124,000 people employed in the industry, and with the picturesque Yorkshire Dales on its doorstep, Leeds offers the best of both worlds when it comes to city living.
So lets talk about some curve balls.
Slough is home to huge number of multinational tech companies including many of the boom tech giants resulting in ranking first in the UK for most career opportunities and highest pay – added to that, it has some great transport links to the rest of the UK. Other cities which ranked highly for job opportunities and pay were Gloucester and Cambridge.
How about a driverless city? Milton Keynes in 2020 will be a testbed for driverless and connected car trials, with 40 robotic pods set to operate between the train station and the city centre – you might even be passed by a Starship delivery robot when you are out walking.
How about York? Did you know it is the city with the fastest broadband – largely down to its status as the United Kingdoms “Gigabit City”, with fibre optic lines rolled out across most of the city (unlike the 3% of the rest of the country). However if you are lucky enough to live inside the historic city’s walls you won’t get the benefit, as with its pretty cobbled streets they can’t be dug up to lay the new cables. And if the most important thing to you is your Mobile Phone then how about Middlesborough where you have the best chance of getting a 4G signal, some 82.7% of the time; or if speed is your thing, then Stoke has an average 4G speed of 26.6mps. For us, we love our Coffee, and Birmingham ranks only behind London in its number of boutique coffee shops, its also one of the top few cities for joining a small start-up business.
Newcastle is one of the few English cities to boast a metro, helping to secure its spot in the five best places for transport in the UK and with a monthly travel card averaging just £50.00 it’s a great affordable way to get to and from work. And when a hard day’s work is over? Newcastle is still the place to be for winding down, thanks to over 800 bars.
We can’t forget about London though, the United Kingdoms best city when it comes to public transport. As much as we love the tranquil horse-drawn tramways on the Isle of Man, or the trams snaking around Manchester, London takes some beating. With its trains, tubes, boats, buses and even cable cars on offer to move Londoners around the capital – housing prices might be off-putting but at least you can get about.
Our team work with all our Clients and Candidates alike to find out what it important to them, we know that for 1 in 2 of our candidates, that location and work-life balance is the key overriding factor over and above pay considerations. With a talent pool of candidates across the UK, we are best positioned to fill our clients recruitment needs in the Banking and Financial services sectors.
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