We can all agree that times are tough. The last few years have had a massive knock on effect on the economy and businesses. The word ‘recession’ is terrifying and creates a lot of doubt for companies.
What will the future hold for the business?

Should we be hiring new staff when we don’t know what is around the corner?

During these times, many businesses choose to gain control of their budgets by putting recruitment on hold. Yet doing this delays growth, causes undue strain to the current employees and resources and could limit the ability to be flexible, which is essential to surviving a recession.
The better choice, is to implement a recession-proof hiring strategy, that keeps the long-term vision front and centre.

Define your hiring needs
Before you start looking for candidates, you should define the specific roles and skills that you need for your business. This will help you to avoid wasting time and resources on irrelevant applications.

Use multiple recruitment channels
Don’t limit your search to just one recruitment channel. Consider using job boards, social media, employee referrals, and recruitment agencies to find the best candidates.

Focus on candidates with transferable skills
In a recession, many people may be looking to change industries or job roles. Look for candidates who have transferable skills that can be applied to your business.

Look for potential, not just experience
In a recession, many talented candidates may be out of work due to circumstances beyond their control. Consider hiring candidates based on their potential, not just their experience.

Consider offering temporary or part-time work
In a recession, some candidates may be more open to temporary or part-time work. This can be a great way to get to know a candidate before making a permanent hiring decision.

Be transparent about your company’s situation
Let candidates know that your company is operating in a difficult economic environment. Be transparent about your financial situation and your plans for the future. This will help you to build trust with candidates and ensure that they are committed to your business.

Prioritise diversity and inclusion
Don’t let a recession lead to a lack of diversity in your workforce. Prioritise diversity and inclusion in your hiring process to ensure that you are building a team that represents a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.

Overall, hiring in a recession requires a flexible and open-minded approach. By focusing on the needs of your business and being open to new candidates, you can find talented employees who can help your business grow and succeed.

As a business owner, you’ll often be confronted with where to invest for the most significant impact on your bottom line. Often your attention will be on enhancing or expanding the essence of your business.
While business owners regularly consider scaling their workforce in anticipation of growth, they may overlook investing in their current workforce.
As long as you’ve got engaged employees, expanding your workforce may not actually be necessary. High performers can do the work of two, three, and sometimes even four employees.

Why You Should Invest in People
Sometimes the aspects lacking in your business have less to do with processes and more to do with those performing the tasks.

Increase Productivity
Disengaged employees cost British businesses £150 billion annually, and small businesses will experience the severity of that most profoundly

Enhance Your Retention Rates
British businesses lose approximately £5 billion a year in unplanned churn. Investing in employees is the best way to avoid being part of this statistic.

Improve Profit and Performance
Your profit is, of course, linked to how well your team performs. Creative thinking, personal problem-solving and accountability can reduce wasteful expenditure.

How to Invest in People
There are several ways to invest in your workforce and you can use any combination of these methods based on your goals and budget.

Provide Mental Health Resources
Often employees’ performance takes a significant knock when they’re feeling stressed, burnt out, or dealing with other mental health issues.

Prioritize Professional Development
When employees have the opportunity to grow within their organization, they are incentivised to be more engaged and perform better. Also, consider offering “senior” roles within the company to offer vertical growth.

Respect Life Outside the Office
One thing business owners may not realize is how often they infringe on their employees’ lives beyond the office. Unlike C-suite executives and upper management, lower-level employees often don’t expect their lives to be overtaken by their jobs.
Use overtime sparingly, allow employees to come in later during emergencies, and avoid punishing during more challenging times.

Offer Bonuses and Rewards
Bonuses are an excellent way to reward good work and loyalty. Even if it’s not a four or five-figure bonus, the additional cash is the kind of thank you most employees will appreciate.

Encourage Feedback
Workers can quickly disengage when they feel ignored. Make them feel valued by encouraging feedback and implementing their ideas.

Often those at the helm may ask if they should invest in people first. In most circumstances, the simple answer is yes. Once you have these processes in place, recycling them ensures you’re constantly investing in people and improving your business

As we all know, the interview process has had to change in recent years. To ensure your interview gives you the best chance of getting that dream job, make sure to implement these five interview tips that will help you navigate a competitive job market!

Conduct Research on the Employer

This might sound obvious, and it is, but it’s amazing how many people don’t do their research and then get caught out in an interview!

Researching an employer helps control the flow of conversation. It shows an employer that you are interested in — and passionate about — working at their company, rather than simply going through the motions to find another job.

Another benefit of researching a company is that it helps you to develop a dialogue that allows you to showcase your confidence and skills in a way that is relevant to the role that you are applying for.

When conducting your research, the best places to look are the company’s blog, about us, and team pages on the company’s website. You can also read press releases and interviews with senior executives. The blog page is my favourite, as it often gives the most personal insight into life at the company and what their culture is like, as well as their views on industry news and trends.

Prepare Your Remote Work Setup

Many employers are still conducting remote interviews in the first instance. This means that it is absolutely vital that you have a remote setup that is professional and gives a good first impression – we all know how important those are!

Your internet connection should be the first thing you test to ensure the connection is strong and you won’t be cutting out during the interview. Then, find a well-lit area that doesn’t have anything offensive or distracting in the background. A plain, undecorated wall should do, but a bookshelf or a few paintings shouldn’t be too distracting. Make sure that you have somewhere to sit and a surface to place your device on – a laptop on your lap so that you’re hunched over it, or a phone moving about as you hold it up isn’t going to look professional or like you’ve put much effort into preparing for the interview.

Familiarize Yourself with Emotional Intelligence

An employer won’t only be assessing your skills and expertise, but also your ability to fit into the company culture and team. Knowing how to convey your personal values and show some of your personality will really help you to connect with the interviewer and to stand out from other candidates.

I’m a firm believer that how you say something can be more important than what you’re saying (within reason!), so don’t get so caught up in saying exactly the ‘right’ thing that you forget to be yourself!

You can also lean on tests like the Myers-Briggs indicators and Positive Intelligence to better help understand and describe your emotional strengths.

Practice Storytelling

One of the most asked questions in a job interview is “Tell me about yourself?” This opener places the onus on you to carry the conversation but has the benefit of allowing you to express aspects of your expertise and professional accomplishments that can shape the rest of the interview. This question can really put you on the spot if you’re not prepared, so practice talking about yourself positively as much as you can before an interview.

Follow Up

Don’t be ashamed to follow up. A day or two later, send a thank you note via email. In a week or two after the interview, call to enquire about the position. When you do this, be polite and enthusiastic about the role, but don’t sound desperate!

You’ve got the job, that’s great. Typically the nerves don’t stop there. The night before… the train journey there! You have to face the daunting task of acclimating to your new work environment, your tasks and your colleagues. I remember my first day at Cherry Pick People, it had been a long time since I had started a new role with a brand new team and wow was my nerves all over the place! I was lucky enough to find the team extremely welcoming and was eased in very nicely but the anxiety is most present on the first day as you step into unfamiliar territory, but you can ease those nerves with a plan of action which is what I set off to do. I remember giving myself the prep talk and reminding myself that I had been chosen because they believed I was the right fit for the team and the right person for the job, I reminded myself that I had gone through the 3 stage interview process up against other people and I was chosen, sometimes you’ve got to give yourself that confidence boost!

Remember the Primary Task

Often the most nerve-wracking component of the first day has to do with meeting your colleagues and managers, getting to know the team and company structure. While this is important to execute your role, focus on why you’ve come to work and that’s to work. You’re there to do your job. Keep your attention on learning and perfecting your role. Throw yourself into the deep end. You’ll be to focused on your role to worry about how you’re settling in with the team or what anyone is thinking. Before you know it, the work day will be over and your team will soon become familiar friendly faces.

Be Accommodating

For me, recruitment was a whole new world so I learnt freshly how things was done but even in estate agencies, from my experience, you could be in the same company but each branch had their different way of doing things. However I don’t doubt that each recruitment firm is different and they each have their processes of how they like things done. Don’t impose your way of working or your processes on day one. The best way to get acclimated to the team is to be accommodating. Introduce yourself and ask questions. Show interest in your colleagues and the team. Soak up your team members advice and guidance like a sponge, take notes, ask questions and get involved! There’s no harm in trying new ways or asking questions. Trial and error for sure, see what works for you!

Allow Yourself to Learn

While you may be an expert or have a great understanding of the core processes required for the job, you may not be familiar with internal processes. Don’t feel ashamed that you aren’t familiar with these aspects of the job and choose to ask. Everyone has their individual ways of doing it and that’s ok!

You should also ensure you’re well-rested and alert on your first day, a good night’s sleep is key, as this ensures you become a sponge for information. Before starting my new role with Cherry Pick, I made sure I had everything sorted the night before so that my morning of my first day was relaxing. On the way there I listened to some pick me up songs and a good chatty podcast. Pack your bag, choose your outfit, make your lunch, all the day before to avoid that manic morning. Minimize the tasks you need to do before the day begins to try and make sure the start of your day is as straight forward as possible.

Look Forward to Not Being New

The anxiety associated with being new may become overwhelming. Funny enough, when I wasn’t the new girl anymore I felt sad, but at the time I found it so daunting! Enjoy being the newbie! You’re not the newbie for long! If you are struggling with the concept of being new, reassure yourself: you won’t be new forever. Focus on what you’ve accomplished so far — a grueling recruitment process (which is something to shoutout about in itself)— and that by overcoming that, you can overcome this. Also, remember that you’ve been selected for the role, meaning the recruiter and your employee believes in your capabilities. Being new gives you the opportunity and opens the door for people to get to know you, for you to present yourself however you like & a fresh start!

First-day jitters are only natural and most people will experience them. In most companies, your colleagues will try to make your first day undaunting, mine certainly did, which means it can be a perfect opportunity for learning and leveraging the skills of those around you. After that first week, when the nerves have settled and the novelty has worn off, that’s when most of the hard work kicks in. Don’t put pressure on yourself. Things will fall into place and come natural to you and if they don’t, then be patient with yourself. Good things take time!