PRESS RELEASES

CAREER NOMADS

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Source: The Herald Business (23.11.07)

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WELL DONE OFFICE PERSONNEL!!!

On Saturday 10th June 2007 the Office Personnel team took to the streets of Edinburgh to join more than 6000 participants in the 10th annual Great Scottish Walk.

The gruelling 12-mile walk started at the Holyrood Park, continued up into town and through the Princess St Gardens, before heading down to the docks in Leith, and back up Easter Road and around to the finish line at Meadowbank Stadium.

There were many creaky joints and sore legs through the office the following week, but all where excited and proud to have completed the walk.

The team raised over £800 for Clic Sargent – the national charity that

provides support for families whose children suffer from cancer.

(Kathryn Gardner - MD Office Personnel)

THE TEAM - Left to right: Amanda, Kirsty, Fraser, Neil, Sarah and Claire!

Click the logo to visit Clic Sargent's website and learn more about this charities work.

Click the logo to visit the Official Great Scottish Walk website.

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Health & The Shirk Effect

Kathryn Gardner says 'duvet days' have lowered staff absence and raised morale at Office Personnel.  She started the system three years ago after hearing about the success of pilot schemes in the US. "Its about giving people an opportunity to take a day off sick when they're not actually diagnosed with flu or something but they don't feel well enough to come in, so that when they do come back into the workplace, they're feeling more positive and motivated and they don't have the stress of going to the doctor and making an excuse".

She also believes it can prevent longer term sickness leave, and help avoid a bad atmosphere in the office.  "If the staff take it when they feel they're not quite up to coming in, it gives them a chance to get better so they don't end up going off seriously ill later.  Also, if they're in the office and they're totally stressed out, it causes upset to the rest of the staff.  Its totally based on trust and its saying, look - its ok, you can be like this.  It happens to all of us from time to time, when we just don't feel up to going to work for whatever personal reasons".

And her enthusiasm for the scheme is not purely theoretical; she has also observed a drop in sick leave.  "We've had a 25 percent decrease in absences since introducing duvet days and on top of that, improved morale in the office.  It makes the staff less inclined to want to do it [cheat the system] because it's an open environment".

(Edinburgh Evening News, April 29th, 2004)

Keeping Top Staff -
Quality players can give firms the edge against rivals.

Firms would reap benefits of learning how to retain their employees, finds Marjorie Calder.
Knowing what makes employees stay or leave is a valuable piece of intelligence for companies.
With low unemployment and fierce competition for trained players, the recruitment and retention game has become more of a science than ever.

Countless surveys have shown that money alone is seldom the deciding factor to take or stay in a job, but finding the right package to motivate every employee on the payroll means trying to be all things to all men, and that might not be the answer either.

There's a lot of evidence to suggest that employers who are straight with their staff, may be more than half the way there, even before they think of putting their hands into their pockets.

Edinburgh-based recruitment agency Office Personnel recently surveyed their candidates to see what things would make them stay with a particular employer. They resoundingly voted salary and benefits packages one of the least important aspects of a job and said they were much more motivated by intangible things.

Working for a company which offered attractive career prospects was important, and the fact that most people hate to be bored came across loud and clear.

Candidates said they wanted a bit of a challenge. But they also valued a friendly workplace where they could build good working relationships with colleagues, and could feel their contribution was valued and appreciated.

Kathryn Gardner, of Office Personnel, says employers are not necessarily getting the right message about what their employees want and need of them.

She says, "Employers may say people are their greatest asset, but they need to work harder to create an environment where employees will not only implement their existing skills but will be offered opportunities to develop their abilities."

Disappointingly, only one in 10 candidates surveyed thought their employers would place great store on their ability to use their own initiative.

"They felt that experience and competence were still the most prized attributes. Yet the prevailing management thinking is that only initiative and new ideas can create dynamism in a firm and lift it above just being competent."

Kathryn says involving employees and encouraging them to release new ideas can make all the difference to retaining staff. She says: "Just as it costs more for a firm to attract new customers than it does to encourage an existing one to spend more, it is far more cost effective for a company to retain staff, as opposed to the expense of recruiting and training new staff."

And if this seems an unusual attitude for the boss of a recruitment consultancy, which does after all, make its money from finding the right people for jobs, Kathryn says no agency will prosper if they don't pay attention to what candidates are telling them.

"Candidates and clients want an appointment to work out but the same is true for recruitment agencies. Our reputation is built on long relationships with clients and this is achieved by placing the right candidates in the correct position."

After that, a lot comes down to maintaining an open environment which encourages people to participate in the success of the business in their own ways

(Daily Record, Feb 15th 2001)

Working Student

Temping during the holidays can help students with invaluable skills, writes Marjorie Calder.

It is fair to say that the world of work may still come as a shock to many students, especially those with little experience of the working environment.

Temping during the holidays is a good way to ease yourself in, says Kathryn Gardner, managing director of recruitment agency Office Personnel in Edinburgh.

At this time of year, around 40 per cent of the candidates on Office Personnel's books are students seeking summer work.

She says: "More and more students are catching on to the fact that by temping every summer over a four year degree course, they can build up a full year's experience of office work and still fit in some trekking around the world. Temping experience can put them in a much improved position when trying to land that important first job.

"It's not just what they do, it's the interpersonal skills and personal discipline that students build up through work experience."

Kathryn is the first to admit that the work itself can be mundane, but says students have to look at the bigger picture.

Things like good time-keeping and teamwork with colleagues are hugely valuable attributes to develop.

Since no job is without its boring bits, getting used to that in advance can make eventual transition easier.

Even in these days of localised labour shortages, employers are not just sitting waiting for students to come and do them a favour.

Kathryn says: "Getting a temporary student job usually has more to do with attitude and personality than what course they are doing. Candidates need to be flexible and polite and show good communication skills.

"It also helps if they are enthusiastic and show the commitment to stay until a good job is done.

"It all helps to persuade an agency that it can place them with confidence."

Recruitment agencies like Office Personnel can sometimes help out by providing free skills training in computing, or helping candidates work up their speed through online training packages. Some employers will also train up temporary staff, especially on longer placements. The kind of office work available can range from customer services to data entry and telesales to general office administration.

Temps are expected to be flexible and to learn quickly - another two skills which will stand them in good stead.

One student who needs no further convincing of this is 21-year old Katie Whitchelo. She is back with Office Personnel this summer for the second year, before starting the third year of her management and accounting course at St Andrews University.

Kate says: "University courses can't teach you what it's like to keep on top of a job in a busy office, with the phones going all the time, how to file efficiently and the importance of procedures and systems.

"It's a competitive job market and having practical office experience can only be positive for my CV."

For info in vacancies, contact Office Personnel on 0131 226 4242.

(Daily Record, July 12th 2001)

Office Personnel survey reveals why it's good to socialise at work

You just can't get the staff

WITH every upside, there’s a downside - and the downside of Edinburgh’s buoyant economy is a shortage of staff in key skill areas. The Capital, which has muscled its way into the top echelons of European finance hubs, has almost 300 agencies of varying sizes, geared towards filling the potentially destabilising void between job supply and demand.

Allegis Group, one of the world’s ten biggest staffing agencies recently opened in Edinburgh, while MBC, a specialist in temporary recruitment, has also just arrived in the Capital. But the influx of competition keen to take advantage of Edinburgh’s recruitment environment is also being matched by expansion in local recruitment firms, such as Careercare’s recent takeover of rival OPT People Development.

Adding further thrust to the recruitment drive is the Pool Charitable Trust, an initiative which aims to help address the staffing shortage in key areas by readying the long-term unemployed or work returners to break into jobs previously closed to them. The Pool is specifically designed to get people onto the bottom rung of the recruitment ladder. But major Edinburgh-based employers are also looking for senior staff.

Menzies Group, the Edinburgh distribution and aviation services business, has already begun a search for a replacement for chief executive David Mackay, despite it being almost a full year before he retires. "We’ve already advertised the post," a spokesman for the company said. "Although the chief executive’s retirement is a while away, we wanted to get the process going. There’s a lot of competition - top people will always be interested in top jobs."

Kathryn Gardner, director of Edinburgh-based Office Personnel, says the peaks in Edinburgh’s general recruitment crisis are flattening slightly, but her company is still managing to fill only about 60 per cent of advertised vacancies. "Many companies are starting to compete [for staff] by offering a fuller package of benefits," she says. "That’s not just things like pensions, health care and the likes, but also by promoting the whole working environment they can offer. "Staff are now looking at not just pay, but asking: is the environment friendly, are the management dictatorial or progressive, do they encourage staff responsibility and promote training to support and develop employees?"

Ms Gardner says that despite a general easing of Edinburgh’s recruitment difficulties, there are certain skills areas that are difficult to fill. Some positions, such as legal secretaries and book-keepers, are "almost impossible" to recruit into, says Ms Gardner, adding that such positions "are often on the books for two or three months" before they can be filled. With unemployment in Edinburgh below the 2.5 per cent that is generally held to mean full employment, more employers may need to review their outlook to staff recruitment.

"Employers need to look more at key attributes, like ability, enthusiasm and desire to do a job, rather than expect ready-made employees to turn up for work on day one," says Ms Gardner. "Some companies are exceptional in recognising the need to train staff, others sit back and think employees are lucky to have a job. It’s dangerous to become complacent - staff are the key drivers in any company." Temporary work is currently the fastest-growing aspect of recruitment, in Ms Gardner’s experience. "This, as well as part-time working, are examples of the changes in the economy, and companies’ needs for greater flexibility in increasing or decreasing numbers as their situation requires," she says.

Workers are also looking for companies that are more willing to meet their needs for more flexible hours which suit family or social needs. "It used to be an employers’ market but it’s turning, in some cases, into an employees’ market," says Ms Gardner. "Some employers have been a bit slow to recognise this." She explains that there are enough people looking for work, "but it’s a question of a shortage of certain skills". "That’s why companies need to take a closer look at training suitable staff. It’s something that should be fairly easy to implement as a solution and, in the eyes of an employee, can make the difference between a job and a career."

Ms Gardner says small and medium-sized companies are enjoying better than average success in pulling in employees in Edinburgh and the Lothians. "The more progressive, forward-thinking ones, are increasingly appealing to candidates, because they feel their contribution will be better recognised, whereas with a larger company, they may feel they are just a number." Ms Gardner says her company is in regular contact with local educational organisations in the Lothians, to advise on what skills the labour market is needing. "The colleges are starting to look longer-term, about three or four years ahead, to try to assess where they should be tailoring courses and what skills employers are going to need in the future," she says.

Judy Wagner, a director of Finlayson Wagner Black, the Edinburgh-based executive recruitment specialists, says businesses work because the right people are in place, playing the role to which their expertise and experience most suits. She says that rewarding and retaining staff should have as high a priority as recruiting staff. "Competition for good people has never been more fierce, and there are very few large firms which do not offer incentives to their staff to introduce recruits," she says. "Leading companies are prepared to attract the right senior person by matching the very best, in both processes and packages, which the competition has to offer.

Many, too, are hiring laterally, from outside their sector. "To do this they must present themselves to candidates as financially secure, well-respected performers. Second, they must demonstrate that they are reliable with a reputation for being ‘can-do’ organisations, which are innovative and capable of delivering products and services the market wants to buy."

David Barr, head of recruitment for Standard Life Group’s assurance arm - the biggest part of the SL group, which is Edinburgh’s largest private sector employer with about 8000 staff - says the company is largely meeting its recruitment needs. "We’re in the market for a lot of recruitment because the company is still growing. "The response is still good," he says, highlighting the 1700 applications the company recently received for 200 school leaver posts - an area which until recently was not tapped by Standard Life. However, he concedes that the company is "probably having to advertise across a greater range of media" to attract their recruits. He also says that, like other employers, Standard Life is having to sell its "job package" harder, focusing not just on pay, but on training and future prospects.

Mr Barr believes Standard Life’s strong brand image in Edinburgh is part of its success in attracting recruits, but in areas such as the south-east of England, where the name is not so well known, attracting staff is a slightly different proposition. New telephone and internet banking entity Intelligent Finance, which employs about 2000 staff in Livingston and Edinburgh, recently chose a location in Fife to base a new administration centre where up to 800 new staff would work. When the plans were unveiled earlier this year, Jim Spowart, IF’s chief executive, said the new location would offer a geographical advantage in opening up a new, high quality labour market from places such as Perth and Kinross, reducing reliance on Edinburgh’s restricted job market.

A spokesman for the bank added: "There are so many players in the banking sector in Edinburgh that it was becoming difficult to attract staff in high numbers. The situation is good for employees, but getting harder for employers, because employees are not just looking for a job, they want a career."

(Edinburgh Evening News, June 6th 2002)