RSI LONDON Group | Russian Specialist Recruitment Consultancy
“Sorry, we put this position on hold”… – this is what many of our clients say since the London lockdown. Like other business and industries, recruitment is facing a lot of challenges right now. However, today I would like to talk about something positive and maybe share a little bit of hope for those who are actively looking for a job during the pandemic.
At about three months ago our client – a huge legal firm, was looking for a part-time legal secretary which is a quite common role that we receive on a regular basis, thus we managed to find an excellent candidate quickly and left a positive impression, well…I hope so since they came back with a new position just before the lockdown announcement.
We started the search and that’s it – we found a perfect candidate who is very interested and holds all the required skills. First stage interview via Zoom went great and also helped us to learn more about the role. When it came to the second interview, I received a call from our client 10 minutes before the initial start saying that unfortunately it is cancelled because of uncertainty related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Luckily, our candidate showed patience, sympathy and enormous understanding! After various changes and different interview negotiations, there was a final video meeting which successfully led to a job offer!
Since this vacancy required an immediate start, the next challenge for all parties was to sort out all the documentation and paperwork taking into account that there is a strict rule of self-isolation.
So, what happened next? Because it is a legal firm with specific compliance, a passport copy via email was not an option. Therefore, our candidate sent all the originals to the main office of the company, while they were preparing a contract. Here, I would like to emphasise that each conversation with either the client or candidate started with phrases such as ‘let me know if you need any additional support’ or ‘we will do our best to make sure everyone is safe’. Everyone was incredibly supportive and understanding!
Eventually, the candidate received all the necessary equipment such as a laptop and important documents via post without any face to face contact. The whole recruitment process took around two weeks but most importantly a great candidate got an excellent job he dreamed about.
As a recruiter, I did not feel right to give our usual advice during the pandemic or rush either of the bodies. What I rediscovered through this experience was that a simple human, kind and sensible approach would sort anything despite the circumstances!
And yes, it is possible to find a job even now, keep your mind positive and let us know if we can be of any help.
Kind regards,
Kate
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People change jobs typically about ten times in a lifetime. There are multiple psychological, economic, external or family-related reasons for that. For the businesses, retention of employees is an important factor for the success. In order to extend the length of employment we need to understand the motivations that drive people to move on and look for a new job.
Another area of interest – is to explore whether at the stage of hiring new members you make the right decisions. And those are only can be evaluated if the job analysis has been done properly in order to define the person specification, requirements, responsibilities and form the job description that will truly represent the role. If you need help with recruitment, contact us. However, in this article we will look at the reasons why people change jobs and how to approach it if you are the manager.
So, why do people move on?
1. At a certain point in a job, an individual may start feeling that the values and culture of the organisation is not necessarily suitable anymore. It does not match with who they are. It links to an individual’s perception of career as well – whether a job is just a way to earn money, or it’s expected to be an extension of personality and life.
How to approach: it’s important to help an individual to express their concerns. Help to identify their main values together and help them see where in organisation they can do something that makes sense to them. Something that does not compromise on the main role. It can be a charitable event they could help to organise around Christmas time, for instance.
Tools: values cards and coaching.
2. After some time in the role, people experience that they have outgrown this job and thrive for more challenge. At the core of this reason – motivation to master the skills and see the improvement.
How to approach: and again, through open and transparent conversation explore the concerns. As a manager allow the employee to speak up. If that’s the case, think about the opportunities within the current organisation where the skills and knowledge of the employee can be applicable. Remember, that the level of the project should be a bit above the current project that the person is involved in at the moment. Also, talk about what the employee has learnt throughout current employment – what he/she gained in terms of new skills, experience, knowledge and competencies.
Another useful approach is to help to identify the blank areas, developmental areas where the employee what to extend the expertise towards. 360 degrees feedback tool can be appropriate to use. From that stage, help them to create a professional development plan and match it with available opportunities within the company.
Tools: coaching and 360 degrees feedback, PDP.
3. Stress-related health issues may be another reason for an employee to consider leaving the organisation. A huge number of corporate workers experience symptoms of burnout after prolonged exposure to stress and take sick leave when feel overwhelmed and exhausted. Some support from the organisation may be required.
How to approach: firstly, identify the issue is happening. These questions might help:
How is your team doing?
What’s going on in the lives of the team members? Any other factors outside of the office influence their well-being?
Any lateness, lack of concentration, overreaction, anxiety or any sort of difference in behaviour?
Notice it and talk to a person. Secondly, offer your help that is within your capacity – an extra day of leave, flexible working, consultation with an organisational psychologist and so on. Allow the employee that goes through tough time to understand that expectations are temporarily lower and you are there to support. Make sure to follow up and check on them.
Tool: The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) to identify the well-being level of employees in the organisation.
We covered today only three factors that may influence an employee’s decision to leave the job and gave you some ideas how you may approach it and make them stay.
We hope you have found this article helpful and we wish you all the best in keeping your team thriving. However, if there is a need to hire someone new, write us to admin@redsquareinternational.co.uk and we will be happy to assist.
Written for the Red Square Int. by in-house Organisational Psychologist Svetlana Elfimova
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