The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development is not hopeful that the green shoots of recovery being bandied about in the press are going to reduce the growing levels of unemployment.
In a recent article in People Management, John Philpott the CIPD's Chief Economist says that the numbers of calls to their legal helpline has not showed any signs of slowing down.
So many HR managers I speak to fear that they will have to embark on another round of redundancies and find that performance levels are dropping as employees fear the worst. Fortunately, I am able to offer free advice and training to the employees they are letting go thanks to the R2R scheme in the East of England.
In the last 2 months, I have counselled many individuals at risk of redundancy and HR managers have described the support I am able to provide as "manna from heaven". What is even better is the lack of red tape involved!
Take a moment to find out more about the Response to Redundancy scheme and call Katherine on 01780 484910 if you would like a confidential discussion about how to access the funding.
As a career coach and independent advisor for the Response to Redundancy scheme in the East of England, I meet many different people carrying out vastly different jobs. Giving an hour of my time to help individuals facing redundancy is fulfilling and useful for them.
However there is always scepticism when "free" money is involved as I guess individuals can't always weigh up the quality of the service they are getting at a glance.
After providing independent advice to 45 people being made redundant in the last 2 months, I decided to ask them what value they really thought R2R gave them.
I would recommend R2R to any individual that found themselves at risk of redundancy. This is not just a process about putting an individual on course for added training; it is about you as a person, to talk to someone independent about what you are going through.
I found the time I spent with the adviser a great help, not only did it supply me with a good training opportunity but my confidence and self belief have improved because R2R care! Andrew Burgess
Simon Daniels had reached a crossroads in his career
When faced with a cross roads in my career I found it extremely useful to receive impartial, professional and honest advice about the way forward. An outside view will often see possibilities which you had not considered yourself and redundancy can then be a great opportunity to move into new and exciting areas.
If your job is currently at risk why not take advantage of the free careers advice and access to training of your choice - worth £1200? It has made a difference to so many people in the region.
For more information on R2R and how to access it, visit www.recrion.co.uk/free or call Katherine Wiid on 01780 484910.
Being unemployed is a fulltime job. A structured day identifying your next career move as well as having time to be an active networker, learn new skills and go for the occasional run or game of golf can be undermined by keeping track of every contact, CV and covering letter - in short having an effective job application system.
I was really pleased to stumble onto www.becomed.com. The author came up with the idea for Becomed.com while on honeymoon in Hawaii with his wife. He was unemployed, had already created a few web applications by that point, and wanted to keep himself busy during his job search.
What he realised about being unemployed, was that he spent a significant portion of his day applying for jobs, and that the system he was using to keep track wasn't good enough. It was too passive, and involved too much manual manipulation of information. He figured that if he created a site that could automate a lot of what he was doing, it would give him something positive to do as well as assist him with his application tracking.
He started working on the site the day after he got back from his honymoon - Monday, March 23, 2009. A couple of days later he had opened up Becomed.com to the public as a beta web application. What a great story to tell when he went for job interviews! And great for job seekers worldwide.
If you are at risk of redundancy and needing careers advice and support, visit www.recrion.co.uk/free to see if you qualify for free training. Or call a Careers Advisor on 01780 484910.
I was invited as a guest to a seminar run by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM)a few days ago and was impressed by the high standard of content in the session we had on "Crucial Conversations" in the workplace.
As a career coach I have several clients who are managers and are finding themselves at risk of redundancy. With the prospect of competing in the open market for a senior management role, they are often aware that they haven't the qualifications to bolster their CVs (and confidence).
Its not all about qualifications, but they can help. The ILM recently surveyed CEOs from 50 UK companies on what management skills they look for in the current recession.
The research focused on two main areas: personal characteristics, and management skills and knowledge.
Personal characteristics most sought after were:
A strong purposeful approach. Over a third (35%) of CEOs said that it was most important for their senior managers to have a strong purposeful approach and be resilient, tenacious, disciplined, committed and driven. These qualities are essential to overcome barriers, move the business forward and make the most of new opportunities.
Innovating out of a recession. Almost a quarter (23%) of CEOs said that it was most important that senior executives are quick to adapt to changing circumstances and can develop innovative and effective solutions to problems. They list characteristics such as innovation, flexibility, creativity and problem solving as highly desirable.
Maintaining a positive outlook. 17% of CEOs said that they want managers to be confident, optimistic, positive and have a can-do attitude, and believe that there is a strong association between positivity and solution-driven hard workers with a winning mentality – people more likely to fight for a company’s survival.
Management skills and knowledge they look for are:
People management skills. Encouraging a positive, innovative and motivated workforce requires sophisticated people management and communication skills, and 27% of CEOs rate these as the most important skills for senior managers. CEOs need senior managers who can motivate, empathise and inspire others.
Controlling costs and budgets. CEOs want a financially literate senior team that can exercise financial control and discipline, and demonstrate excellent financial management and budgeting skills. The ability to control costs and budget was considered most important by 22% of CEOs.
Building client relationships. 11% of CEOs surveyed want managers to understand the markets they operate in and how the recession is affecting their customers. The ability to seek out and capitalise on new business opportunities is crucial. CEOs need senior managers who can deliver, when the opportunity arises.
If you are a manager and facing redundancy, then the ILM is offering a free 6 month membership to help you to sharpen up on your skills. Well worth taking a look.
As a people and career management specialist, Recrion is actively facilitating Response to Redundancy funding to help people to find new employment quickly. Visit www.recrion.co.uk/free for more information or call Katherine Wiid on 01780 484910 for a chat.
I have had several opportunities over the last few months to read the CVs of people at risk of redundancy. With my "career coaching" hat on, it is not often I give the first or second drafts the thumbs up. Most CVs I read are bland, repetitive and look as if they have come off a production line. I am bored after the first glance and find it easy to move on to the next one in the hope of finding something attention grabbing.
A lot of my clients say that so much has been written about the do's and don'ts of CV writing that it makes their heads spin. They are understandably uncertain about whose advice to follow.
I recently read a useful article in Harvard Review with 9 top tips on "How to write a resume that doesn't annoy people" - interesting title. And useful advice.
What is missing in that list is the most overlooked fact of all. The name "Curriculum Vitae" translates from the Latin into English as "Book of Life". It is therefore a personal reflection of a unique individual's career history.
Let me give you an example.
One of my clients was amazed when I said I felt his CV needed to come to life and that he should use everyday language to express himself. With fluent German and English, he admitted to having "rusty" French and Spanish. He wasn't sure about using "rusty" to indicate his level of skill as he felt it wasn't formal enough. Once he relaxed and realised how important it was to let his personality come through on his CV rather than just listing his numerous qualifications and achievements, he also started to feel more confident about how he would express himself in an interview.
My advice on CV writing is to use the vast amount of material out there as a guideline to keep up with modern trends, but put your personal stamp on it to make it unique.
Recrion is a people and career management consultancy and is actively helping individuals affected by redundancy to consider their career options and build on their skills and experience.
Some of the people we advise are fortunate to be part of the R2R scheme and find our practical and insightful one-to-one career coaching sessions helpful. R2R provides up to £1000 per employee to cover career guidance, skills assessment, explore career options, training funding, vocational qualifications and workshops to help candidates match and market themselves to new and hidden opportunities. See if you qualify.
If you don't qualify, we are still able to help by offering Career Evolution Workshops and one-to-one career coaching sessions. Call us on 01780 484910 for more information.
In my last blog, I mentioned an article I had been asked to write for The Training Journal on redundancy. My dilemma was - what practical and positive tips can I give a training / HR team to prepare an organisation for major change when budgets are being scrutinised and morale is low?
I was thrilled to get an email from Elizabeth Smith, an L & D professional who has recently achieved her fellowship status of the CIPD. She has some practical ideas of her own …
I read your article and my honest feedback on it is that it’s really good – very clear, pertinent and helpful, and I hope it gets disseminated more widely than the Training Journal readership! I think your case study example is great.
I completely agree with your premise that there is a key HR/L&D role in ensuring that the management team is sufficiently trained and supported in handling the redundancies. This is something that is too often overlooked.
The challenge is providing this training in both a timely and non-rushed fashion. It’s probably not something that companies want to provide too pointedly until they actually have the need, and then often they don’t want too many people to know about things (often including managers) before the time of announcement! I guess where there is a consultation period, then this can be used to train managers more openly, although it mustn’t be seen to be pre-empting the outcomes of the consultation. Also, for the future, perhaps some coverage of this needs to go into general management training programmes – so handling redundancies is one of the potential situations managers are prepared for in advance, alongside disciplinaries, ill-health management, etc..
Your article also challenged my thinking around the situations in which strengths-based as opposed to competency-based thinking can be best applied. Of course you are absolutely right that using a skills matrix and competency-based interviewing for selection purposes is necessary to be fair and legal in redundancy situations.
For more information on how best to prepare your management team to tackle the difficult issue of redundancies, read Katherine's article in The Training Journal, June 2009.
Managing change and restructures is often seen as the chief domain of HR, but Katherine Wiid, Director of People Management Consultancy Recrion, argues that L & D and Training professionals within an organisation have a significant part to play.
Handling redundancies badly can lead to not only a great deal of stress for all those involved, but to potentially costly legal proceedings when claims of unfair dismissal arise. Ensuring that your management team and HR division are suitably trained and prepared to deal with the process in a professional, considered and appropriate way can help to protect not only the individuals, but also the company as a whole.
Providing those at risk, and those who stay behind, with the right level of support and training can make the difference between maintaining the company’s position as an employer of choice, and irreversibly damaging its reputation. And so it’s at a time like this when the value of the L&D division can really be highlighted and make a significant contribution to the successful future of the business.
For more information on how best to prepare your management team to tackle the difficult issue of redundancies, read Katherine's article in The Training Journal, June 2009.
For a full free copy, you can email or call Katherine on 01780 484910.
Employers are starting to introduce random drug testing to avoid paying redundancy payments to staff who fail the tests. Whilst it is quite within an employer's rights to carry out testing, the increase in this practice is causing concern for the national charity, Release.
Release, the national centre for drugs and drugs law, has reported a five-fold increase in the number of calls to its drugs helpline in the first quarter of 2009 compared with the same period last year. In total, 145 calls relating to drugs at work were received, most of them from employees who work in companies that had not previously implemented drug testing for staff. Any employee that tests positive can be sacked without a redundancy payment.
The debate should examine why employees are turning more and more to drugs and alcohol to alleaviate their work related stress. In a review in the use of drug testing at work, an independent body stated that there is “no justification for it as a means of policing the private behaviour of employees, or of improving performance and productivity”.
Managing restructures and redundancies in a decisive yet humane way will ensure the longevity of a company rather than resorting to cheap tactics. Employees who survive the cull have long memories and will vote with their feet as soon as the market picks up.
Recrion is a people management specialist and works with employers and their employees to bring about a positive outcome to restructuring. Visit www.recrion.co.uk or call 01780 484910 to find out more.
Recrion is actively helping individuals affected by redundancy to consider their career options and build on their skills and experience.
Some of the people we advise are fortunate to be part of the R2R scheme and find our practical and insightful one-to-one career coaching sessions helpful. R2R provides up to £1000 per employee to cover career guidance, skills assessment, explore career options, training funding, vocational qualifications and workshops to help candidates match and market themselves to new and hidden opportunities.
To be eligible, individuals whose jobs are at risk need be living or working in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk or Suffolk.
Thank you for coming over last week to see us all. I know that the others found their meetings with you useful and positive. For me, you asked some simple questions that made me stop and think quite hard. I’m eager to keep going and feel that I can plan my future more productively.
Antony who partipated in the R2R scheme
If you don't live in these areas, we are still able to help by offering Career Evolution Workshops and career coaching sessions. Call us on 01780 484910 for more information.
I speak to many individuals who,on a voluntary and involuntary basis, are thinking about doing something else in their working lives. Currently there are more people having to deal with this as a result of the recession and being made redundant. There are also others who have a job but are dissatisfied and feel under-utilised and under- valued.
Before embarking on a new career that might be just as unfulfilling as the one your are in or have just left, think about these 4 things.
Do you have the right skill sets?
In order to make an easy transition, you need to consider whether you have the qualifications or at least the skills required in the new vocation. Considering that there are many who are in that job or profession, how do you compare to them? If you find something lacking in your abilities, go and seek training to compensate for it. You could do this while you are still at your old job via evening classes or online courses.
Do you have adequate financial resources?
By making a new career change you will be taking a risk that may or may not give you the expected returns. In the event that you have a setback in your career transition, you need to ensure that you have adequate financial support. In light of the recent recession you need to be guaranteed that your family and your debts are covered while you take your leap of faith. But this is not to say that you should not seek change if you don't have the money. In such a case however you do need to be prepared for all eventualities and the fact that you might suffer from the stress of strained finances.
What kind of routine are you comfortable with?
Before making a career change you need to assess the alterations to your routine that your new career will entail. If you are a parent with a family to look after, or someone who enjoys a busy social life, then taking this into consideration will hold you in good stead. Not being able to have time for friends and family is one of the leading causes of dissatisfaction at work. And since you are already seeking some change in your life, you definitely need to take this into account. Working from home, or on weekends, flexi-time and holiday entitlement should also be carefully thought through.
Do you want to be the employer or employee?
Some people are built to work for others while some prefer to run their own business - which is not to say that one is inferior to the other. Both are different types of people and you may also move between the two throughout your career. For a number of reasons you might also prefer to freelance and work from the comfort of your home. This gives you your independence while allowing you to work on projects that stimulate you. But each of these have their pros and cons which you need to consider carefully while toying with the idea of a career change.
Once you have answered these questions satisfactorily, you will have developed at least some clarity on what you are willing to compromise on. Since considering the economy and the market at the moment won't be an adequate yardstick, it would probably be beneficial to also speak to the professionals in the field.
Recrion is a specialist in people and career management and has helped many individuals to make positive careers decisions through career coaching and career evaluation workshops. Take a look at how we do this on www.recrion.co.uk/career or call us on 01780 484910 for more information.
