Rumour has it that the world’s a small place, and getting smaller by the day as technology shrinks commuting times across the globe whilst opening up our ability to communicate with a customer or colleague on the other side of the world.
The automotive world has long been an exponent of global platforms, after all Mondeo is derived from the Latin mundus which means “world”, and it prides itself on working with both local and global suppliers. Our world is no different. These days it’s rare indeed that companies only have single country markets, as they seek to expand their reach into and to develop new territories.
Whilst sending an expat to be the Country Manager is still extremely common, these days the majority of the management layers below are local nationals, recruited to give the company presence in that market. It is always a bold step moving into new some unknown territories, so, what better way to ensure that your local staffing capabilities are the equal to your own than by using a firm that can deliver true global standards and can deliver the same service levels and reporting procedures wherever your presence in the world is?
These days as multi-nationals demand consistent and seamless employment contracts they turn to InterSearch to work with them to deliver the employees that will drive their business forward in good and bad times.
InterSearch WorldWide has a network of offices across 45 countries and is currently managing cross border assignments for clients that involve nearly half of them. The assignments span a broad cross section of sectors and include: Automotive, Biotechnology / Life Sciences, Capital Equipment, FMCG, Environmental, Energy/Utilities, Engineering and Constructions, Pharmaceuticals and Professional Services.
If you would like to discuss how InterSearch in the UK can help you with your business wherever you are in the world, please contact one of our Directors at www.intersearchuk.com or call them at 0207 969 2766
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
Thursday, 15 April 2010
The work life balance
Fortunately for almost all of us the days of the Victorian workhouse are long gone and we have managed to establish enough common sense in our working lives so that 20 hours days are a thing of the past.
The debate about the work life balance first came to the fore in the mid 70’s and has raged ever since. Once upon a time it focused mainly upon women’s role in the workplace and how their home life impacted upon their performance. Today many of those anomalies have been eradicated except, according to a recent Sunday Times article, in the financial district of the City where law suits are still rife.
So, have we at last managed to reach equilibrium? Unfortunately almost certainly not. There are still far too many fathers who complain (or in many cases are too afraid to do so) that they see too little of their children because they leave home before their child is up and return after they’re already in bed. From this the phrase “weekend father” has become a widely adopted term and many still feel pressurised to put in the extra hours to earn extra salary or because it is their own business.
Then there are the big corporations. It’s not that long ago that I worked for a Divisional MD who threw his toys out of the pram when his staff went home before 6.30pm rather than at 7pm. We pointed out that many were sitting around the office being seen to be there rather than working and that many were tired and fed up of constant near 11 hour working days. The thought that if they went home and saw their families might mean that they’d come back in the morning happy never occurred to him and he refused to countenance it. The net result is that almost all of us left the company fairly rapidly.
What had once been accepted as an occasional occurrence had become expected and the balance had gone.
The debate about the work life balance first came to the fore in the mid 70’s and has raged ever since. Once upon a time it focused mainly upon women’s role in the workplace and how their home life impacted upon their performance. Today many of those anomalies have been eradicated except, according to a recent Sunday Times article, in the financial district of the City where law suits are still rife.
So, have we at last managed to reach equilibrium? Unfortunately almost certainly not. There are still far too many fathers who complain (or in many cases are too afraid to do so) that they see too little of their children because they leave home before their child is up and return after they’re already in bed. From this the phrase “weekend father” has become a widely adopted term and many still feel pressurised to put in the extra hours to earn extra salary or because it is their own business.
Then there are the big corporations. It’s not that long ago that I worked for a Divisional MD who threw his toys out of the pram when his staff went home before 6.30pm rather than at 7pm. We pointed out that many were sitting around the office being seen to be there rather than working and that many were tired and fed up of constant near 11 hour working days. The thought that if they went home and saw their families might mean that they’d come back in the morning happy never occurred to him and he refused to countenance it. The net result is that almost all of us left the company fairly rapidly.
What had once been accepted as an occasional occurrence had become expected and the balance had gone.
Wednesday, 7 April 2010
That all important X
In the middle of January I wrote a blog (http://theintersearchintheukblog.blogspot.com/2010/01/already-fed-up-with-election.html) about the number of times that the election was starting to come up in conversations with clients, despite the fact that there wasn’t a date for it at that time. Well as we all now know, after yesterday’s announcement, we do now have a date. May the 6th, the same day as the local elections in many parts of the country.
Now it’s not my place to tell you, or to advise you, where to place that X on the 6th but simply to point out that now that the speculation is over can we please get on with running our businesses and making a few decisions?
At the moment the parties are firing broadsides and counter claims against each other about what they will or will not do to help stimulate the economy and put UK plc back on a firm trading footing. This election, probably more than most in the last decade or so will be won or lost or by whom the voter believes will do more for the pound in their pocket. So, the price of fuel which continues to rise inexorably and NI contributions will be much to the fore, whilst funding for big infrastructure programmes is likely to be hit by whichever of the parties wins on the day.
However, despite all the arguments that will rage and the promises that will be made and inevitably broken, yours and my daily routine will go on. Businesses will continue to trade and export goods across the globe.
The global economic indices have been more positive recently, and whilst the rest of the global economies will keep half an eye on our decision making, their businesses will try and take advantage if we sit on our hands.
To thrive, businesses need employees and with staff retention and recruitment back on boardroom agendas again, InterSearch is ideally placed to help you whichever party rules the land on 7th May.
Now it’s not my place to tell you, or to advise you, where to place that X on the 6th but simply to point out that now that the speculation is over can we please get on with running our businesses and making a few decisions?
At the moment the parties are firing broadsides and counter claims against each other about what they will or will not do to help stimulate the economy and put UK plc back on a firm trading footing. This election, probably more than most in the last decade or so will be won or lost or by whom the voter believes will do more for the pound in their pocket. So, the price of fuel which continues to rise inexorably and NI contributions will be much to the fore, whilst funding for big infrastructure programmes is likely to be hit by whichever of the parties wins on the day.
However, despite all the arguments that will rage and the promises that will be made and inevitably broken, yours and my daily routine will go on. Businesses will continue to trade and export goods across the globe.
The global economic indices have been more positive recently, and whilst the rest of the global economies will keep half an eye on our decision making, their businesses will try and take advantage if we sit on our hands.
To thrive, businesses need employees and with staff retention and recruitment back on boardroom agendas again, InterSearch is ideally placed to help you whichever party rules the land on 7th May.
Thursday, 1 April 2010
GL, GLS, GLX or Ghia?
I well remember the many years I spent working with colleagues who recruited Sales Reps, sorry Sales Execs as they’re called these days, and the constant back and forth negotiations between client and candidate about those all important suffix’s on the back of the Cortina/Mondeo in the offer letter.
Oddly twenty odd years later the debate on what you’re called in your job still rages on, whilst sometimes I feel that it has overtaken in importance what you actually do in your job!
Take me for example: I’m a Recruitment Consultant. Simple really, does what it says on the can. Actually it’s not. I’m a Head-hunter. Or a Search Consultant. Or, heaven forbid, a Human Capital Management Consultant. Then moving into the commercial world I wish that I had a £1 for every discussion as to whether a candidate was (for example) a Sales Director, a Director of Sales or a Business Development Director.
To most of us these are trivial issues and yet there is an almighty emotion tied up in these discussions for the individuals involved and the perception as to what the difference makes to your career. It is simplistic to think that the UK is alone in having these issues, talking with my global InterSearch colleagues they exist almost everywhere.
So as we head off to into the long Easter break, I’ve just promoted myself to Assistant Vice President Client Talent Sourcing Management.
Have a great Easter.
Oddly twenty odd years later the debate on what you’re called in your job still rages on, whilst sometimes I feel that it has overtaken in importance what you actually do in your job!
Take me for example: I’m a Recruitment Consultant. Simple really, does what it says on the can. Actually it’s not. I’m a Head-hunter. Or a Search Consultant. Or, heaven forbid, a Human Capital Management Consultant. Then moving into the commercial world I wish that I had a £1 for every discussion as to whether a candidate was (for example) a Sales Director, a Director of Sales or a Business Development Director.
To most of us these are trivial issues and yet there is an almighty emotion tied up in these discussions for the individuals involved and the perception as to what the difference makes to your career. It is simplistic to think that the UK is alone in having these issues, talking with my global InterSearch colleagues they exist almost everywhere.
So as we head off to into the long Easter break, I’ve just promoted myself to Assistant Vice President Client Talent Sourcing Management.
Have a great Easter.
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
The art of transparency
There is little that riles most of us more than being told that something isn’t what we thought it was or what it seems. A number of the low cost airlines seem to have made a real art out of this. The £9.99 return fare to Barcelona turns out to be £150 once you have added taxes, insurance and the cost of a seat on the plane and then god forbid if you want to take a bag with you or check in at a counter! No wonder most of us are left fuming by it all and would much rather the true cost was shown up front before we click through all the options.
This lack of transparency hit home to us recently when we were asked by a potential client for advice about a fee that they were being asked to pay by another recruitment company. Having agreed the original percentage placement fee and offered a candidate the role, the placement invoice arrived with a hefty addition to it as the recruitment company valued the candidates company car at £10,000 which was added to the invoice, boosting the fee handsomely thank you very much!
The fact of the matter is that this was in a tiny clause hidden away in the contract that the client had agreed to and signed. Equally, £10,000 is a disproportionate amount in relation to the actual car allowance and more importantly to the base salary. There are a number of other recruitment firms which add into the fees guaranteed bonuses, healthcare and pension contributions. Lovely adds on from their side of the table but clauses that are not going to win them many friends.
Our view is that our long term client relationship is paramount and as a consequence we only use base salaries and in many cases we work with clients on a fixed fee basis. No hidden extras, no subterfuge, clear open and transparent. Isn’t that the type of firm that you would rather work with?
This lack of transparency hit home to us recently when we were asked by a potential client for advice about a fee that they were being asked to pay by another recruitment company. Having agreed the original percentage placement fee and offered a candidate the role, the placement invoice arrived with a hefty addition to it as the recruitment company valued the candidates company car at £10,000 which was added to the invoice, boosting the fee handsomely thank you very much!
The fact of the matter is that this was in a tiny clause hidden away in the contract that the client had agreed to and signed. Equally, £10,000 is a disproportionate amount in relation to the actual car allowance and more importantly to the base salary. There are a number of other recruitment firms which add into the fees guaranteed bonuses, healthcare and pension contributions. Lovely adds on from their side of the table but clauses that are not going to win them many friends.
Our view is that our long term client relationship is paramount and as a consequence we only use base salaries and in many cases we work with clients on a fixed fee basis. No hidden extras, no subterfuge, clear open and transparent. Isn’t that the type of firm that you would rather work with?
Thursday, 11 March 2010
First Impressions
It was said a long time before I was born that you only have twenty seconds to make an impression on someone; whether that is face to face or via a letter. Obviously this was before email and why handwriting was so important and why so many firms used graphology to assess candidate’s suitability.
Whilst the world has moved on to email as very few people actually write letters, let alone thank you notes at Christmas, this old adage hasn’t changed one bit. Those twenty seconds after you walk through the door for an interview or a bid meeting are so important. How you dress for them, how you present yourself, what you say and how your body language expresses itself.
So why do so many people get it wrong right from their first foray into the business world? Complacency? An I know better attitude? Or simply bad advice? I’d go so far as to suggest a combination of all three if our experiences over the last few weeks are anything to go by.
This year we believe that approximately 30% of all CV’s that pass across our desks have no contact details. In almost all cases the candidates have been told that they were advised to leave them off by firms that they have paid to write their CV’s. The concept of how to contact these candidates seems to have bypassed these firms as the emails rarely have contact details on them either.
Candidates who turn up for interviews having carried out none of their own research on the person or firm that they are about to meet; expecting instead to be able to wing it through the interview. They didn’t!
In the current economic climate there are high numbers of candidates chasing each position. Without preparation and getting the basics right from the start of the application process you simply won’t be able to make that first impression.
And first impressions count!
Whilst the world has moved on to email as very few people actually write letters, let alone thank you notes at Christmas, this old adage hasn’t changed one bit. Those twenty seconds after you walk through the door for an interview or a bid meeting are so important. How you dress for them, how you present yourself, what you say and how your body language expresses itself.
So why do so many people get it wrong right from their first foray into the business world? Complacency? An I know better attitude? Or simply bad advice? I’d go so far as to suggest a combination of all three if our experiences over the last few weeks are anything to go by.
This year we believe that approximately 30% of all CV’s that pass across our desks have no contact details. In almost all cases the candidates have been told that they were advised to leave them off by firms that they have paid to write their CV’s. The concept of how to contact these candidates seems to have bypassed these firms as the emails rarely have contact details on them either.
Candidates who turn up for interviews having carried out none of their own research on the person or firm that they are about to meet; expecting instead to be able to wing it through the interview. They didn’t!
In the current economic climate there are high numbers of candidates chasing each position. Without preparation and getting the basics right from the start of the application process you simply won’t be able to make that first impression.
And first impressions count!
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Social Networking
I don’t think that I’m stepping out of line if I said that social networking is the phenomenon of the last three years and that these days it is almost impossible to escape its daily influence on our professional and private lives.
There are endless social networking sites, ranging from YouTube and MySpace which are predominately aimed at a younger generation to the likes of Facebook and Bebo for personal networking and LinkedIn, Viadeo and ecademy which are aimed at the business networker. Then there is of course Twitter.
The fact that you are reading this – if anyone is reading this – means that you are already an integral part of its existence. Whether you have signed up to one of the sites or receive daily spam asking you to change your Facebook password, you cannot have escaped its influence on the way that we interact with each other.
So far this year my colleagues and I have been invited to six business briefings on how to maximise social networking to our best advantage. Whilst attending one might almost certainly be worthwhile, attending all six would use up quite a few hours of our working time and in reality add very little to our knowledge. So, which should you choose?
Whilst not wanting to be responsible for wasting hours of your time, I’d suggest that LinkedIn is the place to start, but have a look at the others and the many that I haven’t mentioned before committing yourself. All offer different routes for you to put both yourself and your company in front of a much wider audience. They offer the ability for you to sell yourself or your products and for the wider community to see what you can offer them. There are many successful businesses out there that have used them. Why not you?
And finally.
A quiet word of warning. These are all public sites, so be a little careful exactly what you post on them. Many potential employers use them to check out candidates and aren’t likely to be hugely impressed with candid photographs or graphic descriptions of nights out!
There are endless social networking sites, ranging from YouTube and MySpace which are predominately aimed at a younger generation to the likes of Facebook and Bebo for personal networking and LinkedIn, Viadeo and ecademy which are aimed at the business networker. Then there is of course Twitter.
The fact that you are reading this – if anyone is reading this – means that you are already an integral part of its existence. Whether you have signed up to one of the sites or receive daily spam asking you to change your Facebook password, you cannot have escaped its influence on the way that we interact with each other.
So far this year my colleagues and I have been invited to six business briefings on how to maximise social networking to our best advantage. Whilst attending one might almost certainly be worthwhile, attending all six would use up quite a few hours of our working time and in reality add very little to our knowledge. So, which should you choose?
Whilst not wanting to be responsible for wasting hours of your time, I’d suggest that LinkedIn is the place to start, but have a look at the others and the many that I haven’t mentioned before committing yourself. All offer different routes for you to put both yourself and your company in front of a much wider audience. They offer the ability for you to sell yourself or your products and for the wider community to see what you can offer them. There are many successful businesses out there that have used them. Why not you?
And finally.
A quiet word of warning. These are all public sites, so be a little careful exactly what you post on them. Many potential employers use them to check out candidates and aren’t likely to be hugely impressed with candid photographs or graphic descriptions of nights out!
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