K&D News March Edition

Whoosh!

Q1 is about to end and all eyes are on the Chancellor as he releases the budget for 2023.

Financial year’s end is always a super busy one for the recruitment industry and this year we are

hoping to see some good news from whichever poor soul has the job of Chancellor that week ….they

do seem to go through them at Number 10 don’t they? Maybe they need some advice on how to

recruit and retain staff!

Onboarding- it’s not “one size fits all”

It’s the world of recruitment and many candidates are starting new roles this month. Which leads us

to thinking about onboarding…do you have a robust onboarding process?

A recent survey on LinkedIn (thanks Rory!) found that 25% of the respondents left a company

because of “poor onboarding”. In days gone by, “onboarding” meant showing the new employee

where the toilets were and how to use the photocopier. Things have changed, so here’s our top ten

tips to make your new teammates feel at home:

1. Have all their documents in a central place, preferably on an electronic database, so the

system knows they exist. Send them policies and documents they will need ahead of day

one.

2. Get your IT department to sort out access codes, laptops, logins etc BEFORE they arrive, so

the 1st day is not spent chasing round trying to get their email sorted!

3. Introduce them to people and make sure someone is assigned as a buddy for the first week.

4. Give them a desk and make sure it’s clean, stocked with what they need and has a welcome

card on it. That moment when they sit down to gather themselves will be a bit

overwhelming, so having a “great to have you with us” card can really help settle first day

nerves.

5. Shoutout that they’ve started with the team by posting on social media, or the company

website and make sure they are also on the “meet the team” page. It really helps to make

people feel included from the first day.

6. Not everyone takes in masses of verbal information so make sure your new teammate has a

copy of the handbook, with access to all the policies and hierarchies. If they need to find out

something, they may prefer to look there first before asking.

7. It goes without saying that making sure they know where to access drinks, snack, the toilet

and the car park, but also where to find things like stationery and how to use the phone

system are also useful.

8. Make sure you include them in any social activities, emails or upcoming events and give

them a schedule of what’s planned so they can join if they want to.

9. Personalise the experience- if they don’t need to know the ins and outs of the marketing

department, then don’t overload them with information. Onboarding is not a one size fits all

experience! Give them what they need to succeed in their role.

10. Make sure you check back with them regularly, so they feel at ease raising questions. It helps

everyone to feel more secure if communication is open, honest, kind and frequent.

What tips would you add? Or do you have an onboarding tale of woe or winners to tell? We’d love

to hear from you!

Back office- not seen but essential to your success

Your back-office team are the foundation to your success. They won’t be customer facing but

without them, you have no customers!

There are 5 ways you can support them to do the very best job:

 Automate any processes than you can, this will free up time and energy

 Eliminate any non value adding tasks- do they really need doing?

 Be open to change- just because it’s been done that way for years doesn’t mean it’s the best

way any more

 Build a culture of continuous improvement- people like to see the impact they have in the

team and have their skills recognised

 Evaluate! Keep the communication open and frequent and evaluate the impact of each

process and procedure.

National Minimum Wages:

On April 1st, the National Living/Minimum Wage is set to increase, so get ahead of the game and

make sure you are advertising the correct rates. Attention to detail really matters when it comes

down to wages, both for your staff and your accounts department. For those looking for a new

position, seeing that a potential employer is aware of and implementing changes is a good sign and

will promote trust and confidence.

● Workers aged 21-22: £10.18 an hour

● Development rate for workers aged 18-20: £7.49 an hour

● Young workers rate for workers aged 16-17: £5.28 an hour

● Apprentice rate: £5.28 an hour

In the News:

Growth in IT contractor demand grows again, amid 'sense of optimism' in January 2023. After nearly

falling flat in November, IT contracting passes the ‘test month’ of January by adding three index

points. http://bitly.ws/Ayvn

Contractor recruitment agencies are legally permitted to supply workers to replace striking postal

staff, railway crew, and ambulance drivers http://bitly.ws/AyvU

Need a new role?

Your skills and talents as an employee are part, but not all, of what brought the employer to hire

you, so open communication is always a great way to ensure both sides are content. If you want a

new role then know that we love to chat, so even during your first week we’ll be chatting to you a

lot, making sure you are supported and happy.

Your next role is just a phone call away, so feel free to reach out. We promise to look after you!

That’s all, folks, for this month! If a friend or colleague would benefit from receiving our newsletter,

then please forward it to them so they can subscribe for future issues.

Wishing you all a happy, healthy, and successful March!