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What is onboarding? Companies spend a significant amount of their time looking for the perfect candidate in order to fill an open role in their organization. However, it is often forgotten that the job of the HR function or Hiring Manager is not finished once they hire the right candidate. To transform a new (and likely very nervous) starter into a productive team member, an effectively planned onboarding program is required.  Statistics show that 90% of employees make the decision on whether to stay with a company or leave, within the first 6 months from the start date. Onboarding can have a massive impact on your mindset.  A better onboarding experience improves new employee satisfaction, engagement, and performance. Some scary figures to consider:​ After a disastrous first day, 5% of new employees quit immediately. Within the first 45 days of employment, 20% of new employees will leave. Almost one-third of all new employees leave the company (voluntarily or involuntarily) before the end of their first year.​  A good onboarding process expedites the integration of new employees while lowering costs. Replacing an employee typically costs an organization between 50 and 150 percent of the departing employee's annual salary!  How can you make an effective and successful onboarding program? Onboarding programs can differ depending on the size and culture of the company. However, there are some common tips and rules used in successful onboarding programs. Before we get to the training part, it is crucial to ensure that new starters are provided with the needed resources to be efficient. Such resources depending on your work might include: ​Passwords, log in details for software, and the keys to access the building  DeskWork uniformAttendance tool Tablet, Computer, or phone​  Having this, you can be confident that they have what they need which would make it less stressful for both you and the employee. Top Tip: Highly motivated employees will go the extra mile, so don’t be afraid to point them in the right direction! Provide a reading list or suggest a few useful websites that will allow them to independently research and accelerate their learning. Complete the paperwork before their start date  Documents like the contract of employment, payroll forms, work requirements & VISA need to be finished before day 1. The quicker you are done with the important documents, the faster you can put your mind on planning the engagement part of the onboarding. Nowadays, instead of posting the documents, consider an electronic signature. This is a quick way to avoid any delays and allows the employee to keep all important documents stored electronically too. The team and communication Building the employee/manager relationship from day one is essential for communication. According to the data, 61% of ‘best at’ onboarding businesses allow their managers to be part of the hiring process making the status of new hires accessible for them. Through applying this process of engagement between manager and new starter you provide the employee with the best practices, knowing that they are being followed in the correct way.  Top Tip: Don’t be afraid to communicate before the first day! Send a welcome email, set up a virtual coffee, give some insights into the onboarding process. New starters appreciate the contact, and you’ll appreciate having a strong foundation from Day 1 to build on. Create a welcome experience and provide them with culture aspect of the companyHave a clear owner of the orientation experience – is it the hiring manager or a human resources representative who will walk them through the office, show them where the kitchen, good coffee machine, and best bathrooms are?  Make the new hire feel truly special by allowing them to decorate the space if they have a dedicated workstation. If you're hot-desking or working remotely, consider making a fun, travel-sized pack. Hot desking may be unfamiliar to many people, so making a caddy full of treats may help to normalize the experience. Top Tip: Create a welcome pack! It can be inexpensive and include some essentials like a branded water bottle, pens, mousepad, and a voucher for a desk plant.  After the first dayAfter let’s say 4, 6 months, a year… How are you staying in touch with that employee overtime? Onboarding should not end after the first week.  Setting your employees up for long-term success requires clear goals, objectives, and succession planning. This is where probation management comes into play. It's simply not enough to hire a superstar and expect them to perform flawlessly all the time. To help them thrive, every top talent has a great coach and support network. Share goals and set regular check ins. When the best practice of onboarding is carried out, it benefits not only the new employee but also the manager and the organization as a whole. 

I want to talk about criticism at work, how to take it, learn from it and move on.It is one of those factors, that un-FORTUNATELY (yes- you read it right) is ever present in our professional lives, and I for one am happy about that.However good we are at our jobs, however efficient and hard-working, there’s always room for improvement.… But how could we improve if we don’t think we need to?Just like Winston Churchill once said:“Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things”Even though we all know that constructive criticism is more useful than a praise, I’m sure some of you would agree that being on the receiving end is not always easy.To help, I’ve put together a few tips:First, be open minded. Show your supervisor that you are open to receiving the feedback, why? Managers as well as clients also dislike giving criticism, so by saying that you are open to it, you prove your mental maturity and help to build a better rapport with them for future.Second, listen. Take it all in. Do not feel like you have to respond immediately. You want to show that you have listened, are not defensive and are accountable. Make sure to thank them for the feedback and let them know you appreciate it.Afterwards we might feel bad, embarrassed or even angry. That’s absolutely fine – we’re only human. Call your partner, friend or a close colleague and acknowledge your feelings. Then once you settle down you will start to see the situation in a new light.Third, learn. Try and find a lesson in the criticism given. Now that you had time to digest what’s been said, see what you can take from it for future improvements. 8 out of 10 times, negative feedback is given in order to help you develop and grow.Fourth, move on. Nothing more, nothing less. Once you’ve been given the feedback, you acknowledged your learning or reflected on the mistake – move on.The reason for giving you this feedback in the first place was not to put you down and make you feel incompetent – it is to ensure, that you improve and grow!

5 tips to get more out of your working day Do you ever get the feeling that there are simply not enough hours in a day to get everything done? That feeling when you make your morning coffee, barely manage to get your admin under control, and somehow its 3pm already. Worry no more – we are here to help!Here are 5 tips to help you become a little bit more productive, work smarter (without longer hours) to get more value out of your working day...Step 1. PrioritiseEach morning, take a few minutes to go through the list of tasks set for the day, then try and evaluate their priority. These should be based on the urgency of the said task, time they might take, but also on how challenging or complex they may be. Start with the toughest, most time consuming first.Step 2. Time blockMake sure you set yourself time for each task and try and stick to it. I’m not going to lie, this does require some discipline, but trust me – it pays off. When setting time blocks be realistic and don’t overcommit - If you think a particular task will take minimum of an hour to complete, don’t block less than that, as you end up putting yourself under unnecessary pressure and by rushing, you run the risk of making mistakes. Oh, and I almost forgot, make sure to block some time for a little ‘’you time’         Step 3. is just as important: Breathe and take a breakIt is important to remember that breaks play a vital part in the building of an efficient working mind set. Walk away from your computer, grab some fresh air, socialise with your colleagues, or do anything else that you enjoy, that does not involve checking your email every 3 minutes or eating your sandwich by your desk. Recharge your batteries, so that when you return to working you are near a full tank and you have all the energy and brain space needed to finish the day with consistent momentum. Step 4. Complete what you startedThis ties in quite well with blocking your time and is just as important. If you start something, make sure to finish it before moving on to the next task. Focus on one thing at a time. Break down bigger projects into time blocks, especially if its ongoing or overwhelming at the start. Step 5. Remove distractionsSome tasks require laser focus, so turn off your email, shut down your Teams, turn your phone on Airplane mode, and let your co-workers know that you will be unavailable. According to a study by Microsoft researchers, it takes the brain 15 minutes to re-focus after switching our attention to something else. So if you’re constantly being interrupted, it’s going to take you a long time to get your work done. What tips would you recommend to get more value out of your working day?

I’m happy and not looking for a new job right now. Why should I connect with a recruiter?Another InMail in your inbox… beginning to feel a little fed up? You’re not actively searching for a new opportunity so why should you spend your time answering recruiters and connecting on a call with them?Read on to find out why it might be more beneficial to connect than you think…*N.B. Before we get started, it’s important to clarify that I don’t recommend being in touch with every recruiter that contacts you, especially if their message isn’t personal to you or job offers irrelevant, and certainly not if their outreach includes ‘send me a CV’. I’m talking about connecting with the good ones who try to make a deeper connection, focus on you as an individual, and work in your specialist area.   Thinking ahead. Sure, you’re not looking for the next opportunity right now. You have a project that you worked so hard on, and you just cannot imagine leaving before it’s finalised. But what about 6 months, or a year down the line? Situations can and do change and wouldn’t it be great if you had already connected with someone who had asked you those all-important questions and knew about your interests, wants and, not only that, your personal requirements, the locations that fit best and the flexibility you need to fit around your family life. It’s never a bad idea for someone to know these things and have you in mind for when a great opportunity comes up. What’s even better? When the time comes to consider a new opportunity, which it likely will someday, you might not even have to search at all if someone with all this knowledge is doing so already. Give yourself visibility.Some individuals believe that there is little point in connecting with a recruiter; in their mind they think, “if I want to find a job, I can simply look online for job advertisements!” - but did you know that a huge number of job opportunities are not even advertised? Many companies rely on recruiters to support them as it saves a lot of time having to filter through huge pools of candidates who may not be the right fit for the position. This means that your dream job could be waiting for you to be discovered but you would never even know. Clarity.Even if you are not actively looking, speaking to a recruiter about your career, sharing more on the aspects of your career that you love and the elements that perhaps aren’t so satisfactory can really help to you to clarify things and realise what you want. A good recruiter doesn’t have the sole aim to just place you at a company and move on, a good recruiter wants to build long-term relationships and will take time to understand your goals and help you get closer to achieving them – they are passionate about driving your career forward. Take time to connect with a trusted recruiter and you will reap the benefits. It’s a common feedback after an initial conversation that voicing things really helped a candidate to visualise what could be next for them in their career pathway.  Support.If you do decide to explore an opportunity through a recruiter, you’ll have a support system throughout the entire process. Someone on your side with “insider knowledge” about the company, who can prep you before any interaction, tell you all about the personalities of the hiring managers and share information with you about the interview structure and questions that will likely be asked - use it to your advantage! This takes away so much pressure and the “fear of the unknown” that you usually have before that first meeting with an interviewer, allowing you to focus on having those interesting conversations and making new contacts in the industry! Hiring for your own team.Perhaps you really are not considering a new opportunity but are in a leading role at your current company. By connecting with a recruiter, you can see the approach they take to working with candidates and decide if this is someone you want to have onboard to represent the growth of your department. Did they motivate you, show real interest, have industry contacts, and add value to your career even from a first call? Work with this recruiter to meet your company and professional goals! Especially if you are often recruiting in a limited candidate pool, building these contacts and a list of excellent recruitment partners will help speed up the process when you come to hire, since you’ll already know who to trust to get the job done and give candidates an excellent hiring experience. There really is nothing to lose.The bottom line is, there is nothing to lose from connecting with a specialist recruiter in your industry. Avoid buying into the thought process that you should only talk to recruiters if you are actively looking - this is simply not the case (it’s almost better to connect when you’re not in a rush to find a new job). There is no need to feel pressured, as a recruiter will simply be there to ensure that you are informed and have visibility of great opportunities within your industry.  

How do you know when it’s time to look for a new job?If you’ve clicked on this article, that might be the first sign… maybe your subconscious is trying to tell you something? It’s understandable, everyone has bad days, weeks, even months at work and we all sometimes face burnout, but when you can’t remember the last time you felt happy or fulfilled at work, it might just be time to change that!You often think about a new jobIt might sound obvious, but many people overlook having these thoughts, even when it’s on a regular basis. If the prospect of a new job feels exciting to you or even brings a wave of relief, perhaps it’s time to stop ignoring that and trust your gut. Do you find yourself scrolling through job adverts on the weekend or stopping to check what a recruiter has shared? It might be time to take action to at least know what’s out there.Your work-life is eating into your personal lifeHave you started to realise that even when you’re at home, all you can think about is work? Perhaps you’re always irritable and have even taken out work-related stress on a friend or family member? Or you just can’t remember when you had the time or energy to enjoy life outside of the office? Maybe you need to start considering an opportunity that offers more flexibility and a better work/life balance – believe it or not, they’re out there!Lack of development and resources Do you struggle to remember the last time your company invested in training and development initiatives? You’ve even tried to voice your concerns, and nothing has changed? Situations like these can make it hard to see a future at a company and impossible to envision achieving growth in your career. Perhaps it’s time to start polishing that CV! There’s surely a company out there who will offer you the well-deserved support and growth opportunities that you’re missing now.Got the Monday blues?Of course, no-one really wants the weekend to end but if you find yourself spending the majority of Sunday dreading the thought of Monday morning, that’s a clear sign that you’re not happy and a red flag that you need to look out for your well-being too!Lack of motivationCan’t remember that passion and enthusiasm that you had when you first started? If you’re struggling to find motivation, and even feeling like you’ve lost your sense of purpose at work, it might be sign that you’re not feeling challenged enough and you need something more mentally stimulating to keep things interesting!You’re underpaidMany different factors come into play when it comes to salary and it’s not a clear-cut conversation, but if you’re an asset to your company, clearly delivering your objectives (even surpassing them) and you never see any indications of progression in terms of salary, it’s not surprising that this can lead to feeling undervalued and demotivated. Toxic workplace relationshipsPeople are different, so it’s expected that we cannot be best friends with everyone in the workplace. However, when you notice problematic relationships at work are having an impact on you, you’re likely not in the best environment to excel, both professionally and personally. If you find yourself feeling lost in a new workplace culture (and you can’t make it better), it might be time to consider a fresh opportunity.Are some of these points sounding all too familiar? No need to panic!Now is the time to start the process of making a change for the better, and although it can seem daunting it should be exciting too! Maybe you could start by updating your CV or connecting with a trusted head-hunter in your industry who could support you on your way to the next step in your career.“Our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.” — M. Scott Peck

Dealing with conflict or tough conversations at work. It’s comparable to the ‘we need to talk’ dread all of us have undoubtedly faced at some point in our personal lives.Whether it’s addressing distracting behaviours in the office, challenging your colleague on the accuracy of a report or confronting a long-overdue company problem – these conversations need to happen, and they need to happen for a few reasons:-         The problem can’t be fixed if there is no awareness of the problem in the first place.-         Get that weight off your shoulders, its liberating!-         It’s how we achieve professional and personal growth – your company will benefit from this too. The art of conversation is like any art. With continued practice you will acquire skill and ease.Finding the right words, and the right moment – it is no easy task in the fast-paced commercial world. Step 1) Conquer your fears and just do it.Here are some tips to make the conversation easier…Set a Positive Tone -         Mindset matters. Frame the conversation in a different way and put a positive spin on it. Be constructive, not negative. Can you offer an alternative solution to the one currently on the table? Make sure there is an action plan in place when a consensus (or even just an understanding) is reached to ensure you move forward.Keep Your Cool-         Don’t forget to breathe! Taking this brief moment to focus on your breathing will allow you to refocus and absorb any information. It’s important that whether you are the recipient or provider of a challenging discussion, that you make a conscious effort to slow down the pace of the conversation, listen, collect your thoughts, and respond rationally.Plan with Emotional Intelligence-         Think ahead. What do you anticipate the response will be to the discussion? Put yourself in the shoes of your counterpart to mentally consider their possible responses. You can have some flexible strategies to hand on how to move the conversation forward in a productive way. If you don’t feel confident on the recipients view beforehand, ask them.Be Concise and Direct-         Difficult conversations need to be clear and to the point, otherwise the message gets lost in a muddled delivery. To avoid receiving objections, be prepared with concrete examples. Focus on facts, not feelings. Try not to let your emotions get the better of you when you are trying to find a resolution.Make It a Conversation-         Feedback shouldn’t be a monologue - there should be two-way communication. Make sure there is an opportunity for an open discussion and questions to allow the meeting to end with unwavering clarity on both sides. Do you fully understand each other and what will happen next?  “Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.”- William Ellery Channing, American Theologian