HR Heads

Next week is National Apprenticeship Week (6-10th Feb) and as a business that has recently expanded and has plans to continue expanding, it got me thinking. Are there local businesses in the Hampshire & Dorset region that are fully utilising this scheme?? I would love to hear from anyone who has. The benefits I can see to the business are that you train and grow your own talent pool, it has a positive impact on the bottom line and a business can secure financial assistance in the process. As a way of attracting new talent, is it a scheme that enables your business to stand out locally?

I do wonder however, what impact Apprentices have on the existing workforce. No doubt the apprentices are very motivated and keen to prove themselves - are they more so than any other new employee to the business? Is there any resentment to them being ‘cost effective’ by other employees? As apprentices, do they really fill a skills gap?

I am really keen to hear peoples thoughts on this and welcome any comments or personal experiences….
Many thanks,
Jen

I am delighted to say we have now set the date for the next HR Heads Breakfast Forum in Southampton. It is going to be held on Thursday 15th March and as always will commence at 8.30am for breakfast. Invitations will be winging their way to you soon… but one for your diaries right now!

Jen

I am just taking a breath from the brilliantly busy start to 2012 and beginning to plan our next HR Forum in Southampton. I was keen to understand if there are any pressing topics that the Heads of HR in businesses locally are facing and would like addressed. A couple of thoughts I have centre around

1)youth unemployment and what we are doing as a community across Hampshire and Dorset to aid this situation and improve the prospects for the region in years to come….
2) the impact the London 2012 Olympics will have on our businesses from both an opportunity perspective and an employee engagement / time off policy perspective.

Those aside, I would love to hear your thoughts - so please do get in touch. The plan would be to hold the Forum at the beginning of March.

Speak soon,
Jen

Good! and long may it continue.

November and December were very busy months, I spent a lot of time on the road, meeting with and talking to HR professionals across both counties.

In December, I completed a retained campaign to find a Head of HR for a leading construction business, successfully delivered to an HR Shared Service centre manager role for a FTSE listed business services group and worked on a string of HR Business Partner vacancies. Not bad for a business entering into a new market ( all be it on the back of a good track record and years of experience ).

This momentum has continued and so far in January, we have been awarded sole supplier status with a leading financial services business, preferred status at a large engineering group and have a strong pipeline of new vacancies and new supplier proposals on the horizon.

The most encouraging sign for 2012 however is that I am receiving calls from talented HR professionals who want to move and believe that opportunity is out there. This is a big change, for a few years now people have been cautious. Generally speaking, professional people have looked for a new role only when they have absolutely needed to. So what is changing? Perhaps people have had enough of waiting for markets to improve? Perhaps the Christmas period has given people time to reflect and decide to make a move? I am sure both are true to an extent. One thing is for sure however - the senior HR market place is a whirlwind of movement that is fuelled by confidence. It thrives when people have the faith to put the feelers out and see what other options may be available to them. The fact that the “safe” population are starting to register is a good sign for the market place in 2012 – is the whirlwind of movement starting to circle?

If you would like to explore new HR opportunity in Surrey or Middlesex feel free to call me at anytime.

Andy

Much has been written recently about rising unemployment and in particular, rising youth unemployment now sitting at more than 1m. It has been on our radar for the past 6 months and we are actively including it in our strategic planning to see how we as a business can have an impact locally. It was therefore with great interest that I read David Smiths column in the Times on Sunday (page 4, Business Section). He pointed out that Youth Unemployment rose by nearly 200,000 between 2001 and 2007, when the economy was growing and in a strong position. How is it that this has not been focused on? David highlights that young people are suffering from a structural problem, losing out in competition with migrant workers but also hurt by the minimum wage, high employment and training costs, and mismatches between their skills and what organisations are looking for. This is not in other words a short term problem. Employers need more incentive to take them on and it remains to be seen whether the autunm statement on November 29th will offer one. We wait with baited breath….

As a specialist HR Recruiter operating in the Surrey and Middlesex market I thought it might be interesting to talk a bit about the areas that I recruit into. I’ll be blogging about this over the next few weeks, talking in more detail about hotspots, trends, salaries, demand etc but here are a few initial insights.

Surrey is the most “wooded” county in England and is noted for its beauty spots. In economic and employment terms it is hailed as the having the highest GDP per head and is well known as being the commuter belt for those who work for financial services businesses in the city. But what does Surrey offer for the HR professional and are there HR roles to be found in Surrey? Well, yes there is lots of opportunity if you know where to look and are prepared to be flexible. From experience, HR roles in the county offer fantastic role content, more of a work life balance (compared to roles in London) and the opportunity to work in wonderful surroundings. The trade off is salary, generally packages in Surrey do not compete with London remuneration. But for those who want to escape the smog and monotony of the daily train slog into town then Surrey offers tempting opportunities in cultures that are often a breath of fresh air! If you are working in London at the moment but live in Surrey and would like to discuss the market in more detail please feel free to call.

Moving on to Middlesex…

Middlesex is the second smallest County in England (by land) – not many people know that! It is however densely populated and a powerhouse county in economic terms. The presence and influence of Heathrow attracts businesses of all types and sizes to locate themselves near to the airport. For the HR professional this offers variety. International experience is often sought after and on offer from employers in the area. Businesses often have a strong international presence (or ambition), or are European / EMEA HQ’s of US owned businesses. There is also plenty of opportunities for HR Professionals who enjoy the smaller environment however. Heathrow needs support services meaning that small company roles with SME’s are plentiful. Expect a different remit here though - the nature of these businesses and the security requirements of staff working airside leads to a heavy dependency on its HR team for recruitment, vetting and employee relations support. Often unionised, roles in these environments are busy and challenging but highly rewarding.

I’ve probably taken up all of my blogging character allocation for one day so I will return soon with more on the Surrey and Middlesex HR marketplace.

Before I go though I feel obliged to explain why I eat 7 times a day as mentioned on the last blog (I realise this seems a little excessive). I am mad about fitness and try to train every day – this means I need a huge amount of calories – eating 7 times a day keeps my blood sugar level and gives me the calories that I need. That’s my excuse anyway – its also because I love food!

One more interesting fact about me – Many years ago, my then girlfriend was away travelling the world. Our relationship was relatively new and we were in regular contact through facebook and skype, but we were missing each other terribly. I decided to fly out to New Zealand and joined her for a few weeks.  This gesture of commitment (some may say desperation) worked and we returned together to the UK at the end of my time out there…… that girlfriend is now my wife, we were married the following year. It just goes to show, anything is possible for those who are willing to go the extra mile!

Exciting news at HR Heads, we are expanding! We are delighted to announce the arrival of Andy Lavey to the business, taking HR heads into Surrey and Middlesex. Andy has more than 11 years HR recruitment experience and a unique understanding of the market place in Surrey and Middlesex.  If you would consider opportunities in the area, or know of people who would benefit from talking to Andy,  his contact details are - ( 01962 432 002, 07785 622 635). Watch this space for more details and interesting facts about Andy soon!

….. Fact number one - Andy eats 7 times a day.

The next HR Heads Breakfast Forum has just been confirmed for Friday 9th December 2011 at 8.30am. As always, the event will involve a guest speaker and I am so excited to say this session will be run by Andrea Metcalf from Nationwide Training. Andrea was responsible for training me nearly 15 years ago!!! and it is a delight to find she operates from Ringwood. If you would like to book a complimentary place, let me know - we wouldn’t want to run out of breakfast!

An article written in the Daily Telegraph yesterday suggested that the Prime Minister might be considering changes to the AWR due to be introduced into the UK on 1st October 2011. The reality is surely that the Government have had since January to make such reviews and amendments and having not done so already, are unlikely to introduce any now. Interesting reading though….

http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2011/09/06/57915/agency-workers-directive-could-be-diluted.html

Following on from our last HR Heads Breakfast Forum, Sarah Lardner from Innecto Reward promised to share future white papers concerning Reward with us. Her colleague Sam Gee has recently published a great one on Social Media and Reward that I thought you might find interesting. It can be found on their website www.innectogroup.co.uk. Let me know what you think and whether you use social media currently.