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Feeling lonely at work? Key tips how you can prevent loneliness at work.

In line with the theme for this year’s Mental Health Week, we wanted to explore some key tips to show how businesses, employers and HR professionals can help to avoid loneliness in the office.

Loneliness can be crushing and can severely dent people’s sense of wellbeing and mental health. Nowhere can this be more evident than at work. Whether in an office or on the factory floor, so many core emotions can be stirred by loneliness from low-self-esteem to anxiety.

Feeling alone at work can also hugely impact businesses, employers and organisations in terms of lower levels of performance, lack of productivity, reduced staff engagement, and even increases in staff absences.

This year’s theme of loneliness is therefore very welcome and flags the importance for employers to try and ensure their employees can enjoy processes to hopefully help any negative feels and avoid feeling ‘alone’.

6 astute tips to avoid loneliness at work: –

1/ Training and open Management Styles

Companies and employers are helpless to try and alleviate loneliness in their workforce if they don’t have open channels of communication and don’t have the ear of their line managers, team leaders and staff. Companies should try wherever possible to designate a representative to be responsible for mental health and wellbeing who can be in regular contact with all line managers so that any issues can be flagged from the off, and the necessary support provided.

2/ Allow your company culture to permit staff to reach for help.

For so many years the mantra of businesses and employers has been to gloss over worker hardships and just tell their staff to ‘man up’. No longer is this acceptable for the majority of work places or their staff. Infact, the employers that encourage honesty and openness around their teams for individuals to say they need help without ridicule or derision, are the very same employers who will benefit from a loyal and higher performing employees!

To encourage open communication, implement employee satisfaction surveys with questions directly addressing how they are feeling in themselves. By offering their employees an ‘ear’ and by genuinely caring about their teams individual wellbeing, this can inform management strategies to help create better activities to address loneliness and other feelings or issues of anxiety or mental health problems. Alternatively you could use regular 1:1’s as a way of directly asking your staff about any worries they have and to encourage honesty and openness to express their thoughts.

3/ Lets talk! Have great communication channels in your team!

Increased staff engagement and open communication with your employees will improve all your team’s ability to feel connected to their colleagues, their jobs and their employer. Better lines of openness can go a long way in alleviating loneliness.

Companies who make sure that their processes are clearly communicated, will allow workers to feel much more confident about asking for support and help when they need it. It is really important to ensure that EVERYONE in the business is onside too. A toxic situation can be created when at grass roots everyone is feeling connected and able to reach out but the ‘boss’ or ‘senior manager/ director’ is unapproachable and always unavailable!

An example for our team at Astute is the way our owners Sarah and Mary, are always available to have a quick informal chat in private if there is an issue of concern or a personal problem that has arisen.

4/ Reward collaboration!

Having a culture that naturally rewards collaboration, across the business for everything from training to everyday work practices and initiatives, means that the likelihood of loneliness being experienced will be vastly reduced. By feeling more involved, listened to and supported, employees will individually have a much stronger sense of ‘belonging’ to their company which creates the opposite environment for loneliness to thrive. Stronger peer groups and inter-company / inter-department relations will also help to create a much more positive culture and again help banish loneliness.

As an example – for our team we have an employee of the month award. This can be given to anyone in our team and can be awarded to someone who has collaborated and helped their colleagues as well as for special achievements, not just for pure financial/ business performance. This enables the whole team to feel part of the challenge rather than just reserved for our top performers.

We also have our ‘Reward Board’ where everyone from our office manager to anyone else can win a range of prizes including half-day extra annual leave just by achieving non-sales activities that still benefit the business. This engages everyone, makes everyone feel valued and actually creates a fair bit of laughter, fun and banter.

5/ Avoid creating too much pressure!

This is a biggie. Many employees can feel disenfranchised, anxious and lonely if they are placed under undue stress. This is not the same as the pressure that they can individually place upon themselves either! Instead, bosses can often send the wrong signals that only x,y,z will do in terms of sales and production targets – which may actually be more geared / achievable by only the most experienced employees, rather than everyone being able to hit the same targets.

In more niche businesses, individuals can put too much pressure on themselves to perform – much more pressure in fact than their bosses can create! This can cause huge problems unless regular 1:1’s happen. A 1:1 is a great opportunity for employer and employee to directly address any pressures they are feeling that week. For the employer to ask this on a regular basis within a neutral, regular meeting will allow any concerns on this to rise up and be addressed, without the employee suffering in silence and more than likely feeling very lonely too.

At Astute, all of our team have regular 1:1’s to allow them to individually air any issues they may have as well as sharing great ideas and better ways of working that can benefit the whole team! Everyone is important to us.

6/ Use outside professional experts!

Most SMEs have under 15 staff, so it can be hard to have an in-house expert to cover all of this on top of their day-to-day job! So, it’s a great idea for any internal representative to be able to have access to an external professional who they can reach out to for trained guidance and involvement if necessary. MHPP is one such organisation that is free and specifically created to provide this free external support to all businesses.

We hope the above has been useful.

If you would like to read more about Mental Awareness Week, with useful links and more information head to our article HERE .

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK 2022

Mental Health Awareness Week is a yearly event, this year running from the 9th to 15th May focussing on improving positive mental health for everyone. It is hosted by the Mental Health Foundation.

For 2022, the theme is all around exploring the impacts of loneliness and how we can tackle this.

The Mental Health Foundation conducted recent research which discovered many people have increasingly been suffering from feelings of isolation and loneliness which has led to harmful outcomes.

The research they uncovered, showed an increasing need from people everywhere to see loneliness being addressed as a serious topic requiring urgent action.

Given the theme of loneliness, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in partnership with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities will continue to encourage people to ‘Lift someone out of loneliness’ as part of the Better Health – Every Mind Matters campaign.

The campaign will continue to point people towards the Every Mind Matters Loneliness webpage, where there is advice for ways to help yourself or others who may be feeling lonely and suggested support routes Loneliness – Every Mind Matters – NHS (www.nhs.uk)

As a call to action, this week the Mental Health Foundation are asking everyone – companies, organisations and individuals – to support their campaign and to help spread this important message across their social channels and beyond.

Campaign assets can be downloaded from the Campaign Resource Centre

You can watch a powerful short film on the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/lifes-challenges/loneliness/

Any one of us can feel lonely. Occasional thoughts and feelings of lonliness are normal.

But when these feelings progress into deeper, long-standing thoughts of isolation and being truly alone – thats when loneliness can make a huge impact on our mental and physical wellbeing.

Above all, it is important to know that these feelings can pass, and that there are lots of ways we can help each other too.

Just 3 little words can make a HUGE difference!

Fancy a cuppa? Fancy a walk? Sometimes reaching out to each other with as little as three words can make a huge difference.

As part of the Better Health: Every Mind Matters campaign, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport are encouraging people to ‘Lift Someone Out of Loneliness’ by taking a simple action to help someone who may be feeling lonely. If we do this regularly, we can all help to lift each other up.

Find out how you can help to lift someone out of loneliness

So, this week, if you see someone struggling, someone who doesn’t seem to be their usual self, give them a warm smile, ask how they are doing. Offer to make a drink.

Whether in the office, at home, at school or college, a random act of kindness this week could make all the difference to someone struggling with feelings of loneliness.

Here at Astute, we are working in partnership with Kate Woods of MHPP, working in partnership with the University of Derby, providing all of our team with the tools to look after each other’s mental health and to spot the signs of loneliness and other feelings which can impact our wellbeing.

Kate’s service is available free to all organisations and SME businesses.

You can reach out to Kate on LinkedIn and by email to [email protected]

You can also check out our article on the 6 top tips to avoid loneliness in work HERE.

#MentalHealthAwarenessWeek #Ivebeenthere

#MHPPMAY22

In exciting news, the Government’s introduction of their new permanent investment deduction – replacing their former ‘super deduction’ scheme has been hailed by UK businesses according to a survey by the CBI. The accountants have had their calculators out and the new scheme is reckoned to be able to boost UK business by as much as £40Bn every year in just 4 years time!

The good news!

325 companies, from SMEs to larger corporate companies in all sectors – from IT to manufacturing to pharmaceuticals took part in the CBI’s survey.

The results indicate that that the super deduction scheme has increased business investments and that the new permanent scheme could yield a 17% year on year annual increase in capital spending by UK businesses!

This dramatic increase could ignite growth forecasts for the SME business community and provide significant boosts to productivity and improved living standards right across the UK’s regions.

Results from the CBI’s survey indicate that over 50% of businesses either took advantage of the scheme or were planning to do so with the aim of turbo-charging their capital investment plans.

Now for the ‘BUT’…

As it stands the scheme is due to end in 2023, leaving a genuine risk that business investment could dramatically decline just when it is needed most! The OBR projects business growth plateauing to a modest 1.3% -1.7%.

The Bank of England themselves are predicting a decline in UK business growth to just 1% in 2024 and the CBI’s own forecast for business investment is expected to fall Q1 of 2023 when the ‘super deduction finishes.

The CBI’s plan to bring things back on track!

The Government are being urged by the CBI to create a permanent 100% tax deduction for capital spending in the year of expenditure at this year’s Spring Statement.

WHY?

The CBI say the new scheme would help to maintain business confidence and therefore investment throughout next year AND and enable an exciting 17% rise in business investment over the medium-term.

Without a successor to the super deduction, the CBI predicts the UK will have the lowest business investment of the G7 by 2026.

Implementing a permanent investment deduction would lift us off the bottom, fuelling higher growth and productivity across the UK. Longer term, increasing productivity is the only sustainable way to pay down debt and meet rising spending pressures.

Tony Danker, CBI Director-General, Tony Danker, had this to say: –

“The Chancellor’s super deduction exemplified the boldness in public policy that we need to inspire investment and get the economy moving. Going by our survey results, it looks to be a real success. It’s started the job but cannot be a one-hit wonder. Evolving the policy from short-term fix into long-term strategy will give firms confidence that Government and industry are aligned.
“The UK is facing the highest tax burden in decades. But by rewarding firms who put money into their operations, we can unleash new innovation and productivity – the ingredients we need to escape the low-growth trap and build a stronger, sustainable and more equitable economic future.”

WHAT THE CBI SURVEY REVEALED: –

Impacts of the Super Deduction:

More than half of firms (53%) plan to claim the super deduction.
A fifth of qualifying capital spend is only taking place because of the opportunity presented by the super deduction.
Some 19% of qualifying capital spend was as a result of accelerated investment plans due to the super deduction.
And 2% of qualifying capital spending is being invested in the UK – rather than elsewhere – because of the super deduction.
In total, 41% of planned qualifying capital investment in 2021-23 is due to the super deduction – more than half of which would not otherwise have taken place in the UK.

The CBI’s survey revealed the following projected plus points if a new, permanent equivalent relief scheme were launched: –

50% of respondents indicated they would revise investment plans as a result.
24% said they would make additional capital investments in the UK.
13% would make additional investments – and bring forward investment timescales.
A further 13% would accelerate UK investments already planned.
Survey respondents revealed plans for £1.3billion of capital projects and said a new investment deduction of the type proposed would see £169million of that spending accelerated – and a further £224million of projects added.
Extrapolating these findings to a medium-term projection of business investment shows this could increase spending by 17% by 2026, compared to existing projections.
This is equivalent to additional investment worth £40billion per year by 2026.
Expanding the assets that qualify for a permanent investment incentive – to include, for example, second-hand, leased and rented assets – and expanding the relief to unincorporated businesses could raise investment further, with potential for an additional boost of 4% over current projections, or another £10billion of investment per year by 2026.

Extracted from an article on the CBI’s website which you can view HERE.

“In todays’ talent starved candidate pool, how many interviews is the right amount of interviews to get the best candidate?”

Born from a genuine conversation between a senior recruiter here at Astute Recruitment with a client for a Head of Finance role we are recruiting for: –

OUR CONSULTANT: “Great I’ll get the first interviews arranged, how many interviews did you want to have in your process?

THE CLIENT: “5, is that normal?”

OUR CONSULTANT: “Typically a 2-interview stage process is the norm. 3 stages are acceptable for a CFO/ FD role, but 4 interviews is getting silly, let alone 5! The candidates won’t be available for a 5-stage process, they are already interviewing for other roles which are 2 stop processes, and they will get snapped up.”

THE CLIENT: “Oh, I see, yes I’ll speak to the Directors, and we can streamline the process to 3 as we are pretty confident with the shortlist you have provided! Thank you for the advice!”

So, we wanted to raise this question.

“In todays’ talent starved candidate pool, how many interviews is the right amount of interviews to get the best candidate?”

As a niche specialist in sourcing finance professionals, our team regularly give consultative advice around this and other recruitment issues. Why do we feel the two-interview process is best?

We give you example ‘A’.

A UK Group FD needs a senior financial reporting accountant for a permanent role. The client realises that the role profile is a difficult one – someone ACA or ACCA with original practice background who is looking for their second move from practice, already having a role in industry.

We shortlisted 2 great options and the client agrees that they would like to arrange interviews in short order. We have told them that both are in play for other roles.

The client’s process.

Initial interview consisting of a presentation around key objectives in the role and around what the candidate’s envisage their first 3 – 6 months looking like. What they plan to bring in and how they would deliver specific projects etc. The second part of the first interview will be to discuss these with the FD.

The second interview? Aiming to drill into more depth about the candidate’s vision, aspirations and attributes relevant to the role and business they are interviewing for. There would be 2+ representatives from our client and a good opportunity for open, two-way questions from the candidates and the client.

Then a decision would be made, with an initial verbal offer and a ‘meet the team’ opportunity.

Example ‘B’.

A global corporate and valued client has been looking for a qualified accountant to work in their Global Head Office. Specific criteria mean that FBP and analysis skills are essential requirements.

The client’s interview process?

After shortlisting just two exceptional applicants, a first interview was conducted with the overall line manager for the team. This detailed interview enabled the manager to ask incisive questions around the candidate’s expectations, where they wanted their career to develop and why they would be great for this role.

The second interviews, which have just been concluded, consisted of online interviews with senior stakeholders the relevant candidates would be working with should they be successful! The client’s stakeholders were able to give a ‘warts and all’ appraisal of the role, the good, the bad and the ugly if you like!

The line manager specifically wanted this honesty in the process, and we entirely agree!

Then there would be a ‘de-brief’ with the feedback discussed internally and an offer of employment to one of the candidates within 24-36 hours. As the preferred recruitment partner for our client – we are completely aligned with their process, can ensure our candidates are aware of timelines and everyone’s expectations can be fully managed.

For lower level/ more junior roles across transactional finance, swift interview processes with agreed timelines are equally important to ensure that good candidates are not lost due to quicker recruitment processes elsewhere.

Key points to take away:

According to a survey 62% of finance professionals say they lose interest in a jobif they don’t hear back from the employer within two weeks – or 10 business days – after the initial interview. That number jumps to 77% if there is no status update within three weeks. Our qualified recruitment team totally agrees!

26% of respondents to the survey said they would leave a negative comment anonymously on review sites if they felt like they were being strung along, potentially harming the chances for the company to attract top talent down the road.

If a company is indecisive, it can provide a candidate with crucial insight into the company’s culture. “If the decision-making process is this difficult for the organisation – if they’re not able to pull the trigger after three or four interviews and you’ve done everything asked of you and they’re still unsure – then that’s a key indicator of what it might be like to work for that organisation and those managers,”

An often missed point in a recruitment process is that the process itself is an opportunity for the employer brand to really shine!

Not just to the successful candidate but to all candidates who are part of the process.

A good, professional recruitment process can provide a glowing image of the business and the way they conduct themselves. This can mean increased perception in the market as an employer brand of choice and can create an appetite in potential hires that they want to work for such a great company that take their employee selection process seriously.

It can also create an appetite amongst key recruitment partners whether internal recruiters, external HR professionals or specialist recruitment agencies/ consultants that this is a great company to flag to talented new applicants/ candidates.

“So, be Astute and to recruit the best

candidate for your opportunity.

Make your recruitment process the

best, smoothest and most efficient it can be.”

You could be attracting an A Player of the future, even a business referral!

Our Qualified Team are happy to give confidential advice if you are a client thinking about a potential recruitment process, or if

you have any other questions around recruitment.

Our Qualified Recruitment Team: –

Andy Lilliman – Recruitment Manager

Qualified Permanent – City of London & Greater London [email protected]

Richard Bowe

Interim Qualified – East Midlands [email protected]

Tom Norton

Qualified Permanent South Derbyshire, South Notts, Staffordshire [email protected]

Harry Langridge

North Derbyshire, North Notts

[email protected]

Matthew Morgan

Nottingham City Centre and Central Notts [email protected]

This topic is discussed in more detail with some great comments from actual people – from recruiters to real candidates – discussing their experiences: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210727-the-rise-of-never-ending-job-interviews

Other articles by Mary on career tips, business strategy, tips to recruit the right person and more are below!

How to boost your employer brand and achieve success!

Following the end of the last Peer Networks business growth hub this year, our MD Mary Maguire wanted to say a huge thank you.

Thank you to the partnership and collaboration of the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and D2N2.

Thanks to Neale Lewis for leading the cohort and huge thanks to everyone in our group.

Its great to share the success of business opportunities such as this, and to show how a growth mindset can really make a difference to business owners and Entrepreneurs.

Since January 2021, a small group of business owners have laughed together, supported each other and inspired one another. The sessions have enriched their understanding of day-to-day business issues and how to solve key problems. From recruitment to HR to business strategies, they have been able to offer understanding in their specialisms, suggest solutions and brainstorm new ideas for others to take away and implement.

As the last cohort of the year has taken place – we just wanted to share how valuable, enjoyable and insightful the sessions have been. Neale Lewis is a great anchor for the group – picking relevant business topics for discussion, teasing out, and developing trains of thought amongst the group to encourage new ideas and free-flowing conversation.

Our MD Mary said that she has taken away many, many ideas over the sessions and made some great friends too along the way!

Mary had this to say;

“Sessions like these are really important as a way to build confidence amongst the SME business community across the East Midlands and nationally. I hope that these continue to inspire and encourage business professionals, MDs and entrepreneurs to make the most of the fantastic support available to them and to enable them and their teams to flourish.

My thanks go to all of these brilliant people and their businesses. Its been great to get to know you all and I hope we can get together soon for those pre-Christmas drinks! 😊”

If you would like some additional support / advice for your business you can contact Neale himself www.nealelewis.com.

Watch video testimonials from other business owners say how they have benefited from Peer Learning, click on the link below: –

https://youtu.be/aevT3_gJ0Io

You can find out how you can book onto future Peer Network Sessions on the following link: – https://www.peernetworks.co.uk/

and of course seek support from the East Midlands Chamber, Peer Networks and D2N2.

“Strong, healthy leadership advice and support will inspire business success”

Good Recruiters are like swans. Clients and candidates should experience a smooth, calm recruitment process, and not see the way our legs are kicking madly under the water! Clients do need to realise that there is a lot of work that proper professional recruiters do behind the scenes though!

Take client 1. Long-standing, and currently we are on an exclusive recruitment campaign to hire two permanent qualified accountants and appoint for a 12 month maternity leave Qualified Accountancy role for them. Open, regular dialogue with the hiring line managers as to our headhunting progress, ongoing guidance on the salary budget, and whether the annual salary for the roles is accurate market rate to entice the ideal profile of the candidate.

This strategy of clear communication and collaborative recruitment partnership means that we can achieve near 100% CV sent to interview requested ratio.

The client knows that for every single applicant forwarded to them, our team will have already contacted and reached out to many, many more potential candidates that did not make the grade. When headhunting, we will investigate if they are looking for a role, and challenge the candidates on their aspirations, technical financial skillset for these particular finance roles and ‘team fit’ to see if they align with our client’s employee value proposition and ethics.

Our client knows that one CV in their inbox could have meant many man hours in the background, skilfully interviewing and deep diving into potential candidates’ skills, experience, and career/ life aspirations.

The result? A seamless process whereby quality interviews take place, with smooth, transparent communication and honest, constructive feedback the whole way through.

Our client benefits from one agency acting as a true ambassador for their brilliant finance teams, with a justified expectation of quality not quantity of applicant.

Our candidates benefit from a targeted search that takes their aspirations AND their accountancy skills into account.

This is a recruitment partnership that has lasted many years.

Client 2/

A qualified accountant with specific industry sector background and key system skills was urgently required. Our client needed an incredibly quick turnaround and wanted to conduct interviews and ideally offer a suitable candidate within a week. The job was taken at 2pm on a Friday.

The consultant worked hard.

Very hard.

Conversations were had with over 100 potential candidates – most calls lasting 20 minutes, up to an hour.

The result? 4 x CVs were in our client’s inbox for Monday morning.

All were interviewed, one person was offered the role straight away with just a few days.

Scroll forward.

A friendly phone call to follow up as our bill was unpaid.

Why?

Our candidate was still in post – and very happy in the role. His boss was equally happy.

The reason for the bill not being was that they did not believe that we had ‘worked hard enough on the role. They felt that just a couple of quick calls were made and that was it so expected a reduction in our fee as a result. They had not realised all the man-hours and dedicated time sourcing and speaking to potential candidates behind the scenes.

This is why Good Recruiters are like swans.

Clients and candidates should experience a smooth, calm recruitment process, and not see the hard work going on beneath the surface.

They should understand that there is a lot of work going on out of sight, to make that process seamless and smooth.

Good employees are also S.W.A.N.s too!

The SWAN formula is an acronym created by an executive recruiter, John Swan, and is a very useful tool to improve candidate selection processes.

Four Simple Letters: S. W. A. N.

SMART. Always look to recruit intelligent, smart people into your business/ team. But how can you measure the intelligence of a candidate? The answer is simple. Questions! Intelligent people tend to be more curious than average people.

Successful people are smart, especially when it comes to the skills and competencies required for their specific job. This is what Jim Collins meant in his business classic, Good to Great, when he wrote about “getting the right people in the right seats on the bus.” People who have a gift for their particular job tend to work faster, make fewer mistakes, and are far more productive.

WORKS HARD. When recruiting, look for people who are willing to work hard and who have backgrounds and achievements that show how they have gone the extra mile and exceeded expectations. As we emerge from the pandemic, employers need staff who don’t just work lots of hours. Instead they want employees who can work smarter and handle their workloads to deadlines. The years of presenteeism are fading away and rightly so.

People who actually want to “work hard” are more successful at their jobs. The basic rule is that “people don’t change.” A person who is unaccustomed to hard work is not suddenly going to transform under your supervision.

AMBITION. An excellent candidate is someone who wants to move ahead in life. Ambitious people are willing and eager to take additional training; they are already reading and studying and seeking opportunities to grow, both personally and professionally. They value continuous improvement and genuinely want to be the very best they can be.

This is not about only selecting candidates who want to be the FD of a Plc. It is the ambition to be the best at whatever level they are working at and the willingness to learn/ read/ train to become the best.

Candidates should be “ambitious” and able to demonstrate to you why they want this particular job.

We love this quote by Steve Miles, Vice Chairman of Heidrick & Struggles; “Don’t seek a flame-chaser, find people who are anxious to be effective and ambitious about this assignment, not some future promotion or benefit. They have to live for today in that job, not chase the flame of future possibilities.”

NICE. The likability of the candidate is a critical factor. Where this quality was once mainly prized in customer service/ public facing jobs, being ‘kind’ is a highly valued strength in people applying for all levels of employment and professions. Whether in finance, accountancy, or other professions, employers are looking for people who they can work with and who can share and believe in their team values, and who they like. Team fit is one of the most consistently important attributes that our clients are looking for.

When we say “nice,” we mean people who are cheerful, positive, easy to get along with, and supportive of others. They fit within the culture of your organisation. Their beliefs are in alignment with your values and the customers your organisation serves.

In the final analysis, your ability to pick the right people for your team is the key to motivation. You cannot hire the wrong people and then expect to motivate them to be excellent performers for your team. You need to look hard for your ‘A’ players, or use an ‘astute’ recruitment expert who can do a thorough search for you!

The saying, ‘measure twice, cut once’ is particularly true in the world of recruitment.

Other blogs you may be interested in: –

Candidate Blogs

Do you know what time it is on you’re your career clock? Hints and tips to keep your career on track!
From Abacus to Ai, why a career in accountancy is a great career choice!
What does it take to be a great Financial Director?

Client Blogs

Why its OK to talk about mental health at work. We discuss a new, free initiative available to East Midlands businesses
Why recruiting the right people at the right time is key for business success
Why good recruiters are like swans / How to hire the right candidate for your business!

If you would like to discuss anything regarding this article or any of our other articles, please email [email protected]

“A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.”

A great quote by FD Roosevelt. We feel that the same applies to accountants.

It’s through the turbulent times though that we learn, in life and at work. When things don’t go quite as planned, we have an opportunity to learn, to become a better sailor – or, in the case of our clients, become a better business, and our candidates – to become better accountants.

Enjoy the smooth sailing when the seas are calm. But when the surf swells and storms brew, remember: that experience brings the ability to cope with headwinds.

The same is true of accountants and all finance professionals. From credit controllers who can free up much needed cashflow by reducing outstanding debtors to a strong Finance Director or Financial Controller who can win that key tender or negotiate better rates with that new tender. Hard experiences teach finance professionals how to cope in difficult situations.

Our Astute seafaring ode to accountants everywhere: –

What is a business, without an accountant at the tiller?

Assessing performance, the greatest biller?

Forecasting growth, future success,

How to improve profits, stakeholders to impress!

Through recession, through growth, the bad and the good,

None can enlighten like a great accountant could.

Through the choppy waters of business life,

A strong accountant can solve financial woes and strife.

A seasoned finance professional,

Can bring a steady hand and deliver the exceptional.

Financial accountants; “How much are we owed?”

Payrollers processing pay for those furloughed.

Credit controllers to keep debtors down,

Managing relationships with a smile not a frown.

Part Qualified and Finalists, improving analysis,

Working hard to avoid performance paralysis.

Accountants in the office or WFH,

Rest assured, their value alone,

Will see your business thrive and grow.

So #BeAstute, use the finance recruitment firm ‘in the know!’

Contact our team ‘in the know’ for your career development or to source an experienced accountant in your finance team: –

How to settle into a new job & prepare to return to the office… They aren’t that different!

Settling into a new job in lockdown – and preparing for a return to the office are not that different. We help highlight tips on transitioning employees back to the office, or wfh after furlough.

Cast your mind back 12 months. The first lockdown meant businesses, and employees were in survival mode. Most employers relied on the Government’s furlough scheme to remain in business, and keep their talented teams together with little or no revenue. But, as things began to settle down, companies pivoted, adapted, and improvised creating new ways to operate.

Hiring slowly returned.

Now, as we look ahead with optimism returning to the recruitment sector we’ve seen increasing demand for accountancy professionals at all levels. From transactional to qualified and part qualified accountants, Finance Analysts, Management Accountants, finance business partners, and more.

The Labour Market Outlook from the CIPD revealed overt half (56%) of employers planned to recruit in Q1 2021. We’ve certainly been busy.

With recruitment appetites returning, successful candidates have been faced with the challenge of starting a new job whilst in lockdown. How have they coped?

Starting a new job remotely via Ms Teams, Zoom or other.

Starting a new job is a daunting prospect at the best of times, but being removed from the usual office workplace has made it an almost surreal experience.

Jessica Doyle who joined The Irish Times digital team during the first lockdown said this of the strange situation: “The funny thing about starting a new job remotely during the coronavirus pandemic is that all the usual social rigmarole of the occasion goes out the window.

“Everything you learn about making a good first impression – give a firm handshake, introduce yourself to everyone, make eye-contact – means nothing as you’re reduced to a disembodied head on a screen.”

The connectivity provided by online platforms including Zoom and Microsoft Teams has been a critical tool working from home, but nothing totally replicates face to face human interaction when you are trying to integrate in a new environment.

In Lockdown 1.0, the Zoom craze was a catch-all, adopted by all with huge enthusiasm.

Companies held online events. Quiz nights and virtual drinks became routine.

However, as time dragged on, ‘Zoom fatigue’ set in, with online socialising becoming rarer.

Now as we near the end of lockdown 3.0, many are admitting It has become harder to make connections in this latest lockdown.

Think of a pre-covid first day in a new job. At your new office, you would be bombarded with new information, meeting too many people all at once.

Usually you get a bit of time at your new desk to chat to your new office colleague(s), or accept an invitation to join them at lunchtime and bond.

This is the biggest challenge for new starters, to gain sense of belonging without spontaneous office chit-chat – the so-called ‘water cooler’ moments.

Instead, faced with a screen full of strangers, it’s harder to build personal relationships. Virtual conversations can be stilted & open to misinterpretation. In bigger groups, the louder characters tend to dominate virtual group discussions.

One saving grace of Zoom is that, at least, you can see everyone’s names at the bottom of their screens, avoiding first-day embarrassment of forgetting your new colleagues’ names! 🤣🤣

It is understandable to feel a bit of an outsider without physically meeting colleagues. You could easily assume everyone knows each other well (often incorrectly) and that you are on the fringes. An office or workplace is a social environment. Taking the social aspect away, can create feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Add to this the nagging worry about whether you are making a good impression. Away from an environment of instant feedback, how can know how you are doing?

Stanford University Professor Nicholas Bloom states how new staff struggle with unspoken rules: – from, ‘How many hours do people really work?” to, “When is it acceptable to take a break”, and “What do I wear on my first day?”.

Bloom raises the issue of ‘over-communication’. Where a new recruit will endlessly send unnecessary emails and Slack or WhatsApp messages just to highlight the fact that they’re still there.

Its never been so vital to have an onboarding plan, AND a ‘reset’ for existing staff returning to the office.

As it is so much more difficult for new employees to integrate, it is incumbent on the manager or business owner to implement an effective onboarding process. Extra thought needs to go into integration of new starters. From installing company ethics and ways of working, as well as the specific requirements of the job role.

Global management consultants, ‘The Boston Consulting Group’, calculates that companies that have effective onboarding processes in place achieve 2.5 times more revenue growth AND 1.9 times the profit margin as opposed to organisations with poor onboarding strategies.

Employee onboarding is a series of activities which educate new hires how to get to know their team and learn about the company’s attitudes, methods, rituals, and tools. For a new employee it’s an opportunity to get used to a unknown environment.

Onboarding can consist of formal training, workshops, and video calls, as well as shadowing people on the team and organised introductions. It can be a long, immersive process that lasts several months after initial induction sessions.

While a line manager may be the direct source of onboarding, the process should include meeting colleagues, by arranging video calls or assigning a ‘buddy’ to the new hire to provide vital support in those initial months.

A new starter should expect a proper and friendly introduction to the new company, but sometimes the new employee may need to reach out for help. In such a case, it is certainly worth asking a manager for introductions with other team members.

You should never be left alone to your own devices when starting a new job. If you are, then perhaps this isn’t the firm that deserves your services.

Preparing for the big return.

If all goes well, virtually all restrictions will come to an end by 21st June, and the big work from home experiment will come to an end. Although many people will continue to wfh, some of the time, most will return to the office in some capacity.

It may come as quite a shock.

While some people are counting down the days to freedom, others will be looking at the return with trepidation. Many of us have become quite reclusive during the lockdowns, and the social skills we used to take for granted can quickly become rusty.

Kelly Feehan, services director at wellbeing charity CABA, says, “Returning to the workplace after such a long period of time working from home will be tough for the majority of us. But for the people who started a new job during lockdown, and the working from home period that followed, it’s bound to be an even more daunting experience.”

In many ways, it will be like going through that awkward first day all over again. The only consolation is that everyone will be in the same boat.

Feehan says, “It’s hard to get a true sense of an organisation’s workplace culture when you’re working remotely, so you’ll want to spend some time reading the room and observing the different dynamics between your team members.”

The good news is that we pick up new habits and routines very quickly. Although we have become used to our own company, we are social animals by nature.

So, let’s celebrate! 👏👏👏 It’s nearly time to rejoin the human race and get back to near mormal!

Just make sure your existing staff and any new employees understand your expectations, and can access any help or support they may need.

Mary Maguire is one of the owners of accountancy specialist Astute Recruitment Ltd.

If you would like to see our company updates and industry insights, follow our LinkedIn page : – LI: www.linkedin.com/company/astute-recruitment/

Mary Maguire

Managing Director
Astute | Accountancy & Finance | HR | Office Support

Suite One, Ground Floor West, Cardinal Square, 10 Nottingham Road, Derby, DE1 3QT

T: 01332 346100
M: 07717 412911

As the weather heats up, will it be a bumper summer for business? The forecast looks good! 🌞

In 1976, like now, some boys hair was as long as girls, if not longer. 🤣🤣👭 Fashions were tank tops, and of course, flares! On the airwaves, Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, Bay City Rollers, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, the Bee Gees, and more. 🎶

But, it wasn’t the clothes we wore, or the music we listened to that made 1976 stand out. It was the incredible heatwave!

Like this year, April 2020 was one of the sunniest Aprils on record, and 2020 ended up being one of the driest springs on record too. Thats what happened in 1975, the year before we enjoyed one of the greatest, long, hot summers in the UK.

Our economy seems to be heating up too! Below we share the latest key statistics from respected organisations on staffing trends, employment and business confidence.

After the turmoil of 2020, 38% of firms surveyed by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said their outlook on the business situation had improved in the past three months.

This is the first positive reading since January 2020, before the pandemic shut down much of the UK economy and the highest since April 1973.

Factories are also stepping up hiring, with the measure of firms looking to grow their workforce over coming months at the highest since 1974.

The survey’s results also found that while manufacturing output was broadly flat in the past three months, orders for new work are picking up and investment plans are being accelerated to take advantage of a “super-deduction” tax break announced in Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s budget.

The release of the IHS/Markit purchasing managers’ index came after official data showed strong growth in retail sales in March when most of the lockdown restrictions imposed to halt the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic were still in force.

Overall PMI rose from 56.4 in March to 60.0 in April, well above the 50 cut-off level that shows whether the economy is growing or contracting. Service sector business activity rose from 56.3 to 60.1, while manufacturing output was up from 56.6 to 59.1.

Markit’s chief business economist, Chris Williamson, said it was the strongest showing in the 23-year history of the PMI other than a four-month period between August and November 2013.

Companies are reporting a surge in demand for both goods and services as the economy ‘unlocks’ and the encouraging vaccine rollout adds to a brighter outlook,” Williamson said.

“Business activity should continue to grow strongly in May and June as virus restrictions are eased further, setting the scene for a bumper second quarter for the economy.”

In more good news for business, The Office for National Statistics said that in March 2021 – a month in which there was only a modest relaxation of the curbs imposed across the UK to stop the spread of Covid-19 – retail sales rose by 5.4% – well above the 1.5% predicted by City economists, with sales in March 1.6% higher than they were before the pandemic began to have an impact on the economy in February 2020.

In good news for the high street and businesses with fixed premises, rather than just online revenue streams, the ONS said the proportion spent online decreased to 34.7% in March 2021, down from 36.2% in February 2021, still above the 23.1% reported in March 2020, the month when lockdown restrictions were imposed for the first time.

And what of jobs and employment trends?

New data from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC), stated that business confidence in their ability to hire new staff continued to improve in the three months to February 2021.

Employer confidence in hiring rose to a net level of +16 in December-February 2021, six percentage points higher than in the three months to January. In February alone, this surged to net: +29, as the government’s roadmap for easing lockdown was announced and firms could start putting their re-opening plans into gear.

Neil Carberry, Chief Executive of the REC, had this to say:

“Recruiters report that this latest lockdown has been much less damaging than many feared back in January. The relative health of the economy and the jobs market is now being reported by business surveys, official figures and our own data. Our figures show that hiring companies are confident about bringing people into their businesses now, and that has to be good news for all of us.”

Employers are still being cautious, reflected in employers leaning more on interim and temporary staff.

Interim workers remain a great way for people to find work quickly and for firms to hire when the outlook is not certain.

Key statistics: –

Hiring intentions for temporary agency workers rose by eight points to net: +14.

Employers’ intentions to hire permanent staff in the short term fell by five points, but remained high at net: +19.

Employers’ intentions to hire staff in the medium term (over the coming 4-12 months) increased in December-February 2021, rising to net: +30 for permanent staff and net: +15 for agency workers.

So, the weather for business looks set fair, and the forecast for Summer 2021 and the rest of this year, looks very encouraging!

Could it be a record-breaker? We’ll just have to wait and see.

A bit of fun for those too young to remember the summer of 1976, here are some reminders.

1976 was the hottest, sunniest and driest summer people had seen up to that date. The government panicked about low water levels in April and May, and hosepipe bans combined with water restrictions were introduced. People were told to water their gardens with used bath water. I remember families including mine, collecting water from standpipes in their streets.

A minister for drought (Denis Howell) was appointed, promptly telling all to cut water consumption by half, or face water rationing until December! He also told people to pour washing up water into toilets instead of flushing.

Water companies issued a total of 139 drought orders.

Hospital admissions soared with many people suffering from sunstroke, heart attacks and a higher incidence of asthma.

The M1 and other motorways had problems with tarmac melting.

Large areas of woodlands and heath turned brown, and were sadly devastated by fires which in some cases had to be left to burn because of the water shortage.

The high temperatures continued through August with many parts of England exceeding 330 hours of sunshine and highs of 25-30c on many days. 🌞😎

Then the heatwave finally ended.

The last week in August saw the beginning of the end of the heatwave, with spectacular thunderstorms.

That historic heatwave was followed by an exceptionally wet autumn, with some places recording over 200% of their normal rainfall. Heavy storms and torrential rain continued on many days through to October, ending one of the worst droughts on record.

Mary Maguire

Managing Director
Astute | Accountancy & Finance | HR | Office Support

Suite One, Ground Floor West, Cardinal Square, 10 Nottingham Road, Derby, DE1 3QT

T: 01332 346100
M: 07717 412911

E: [email protected]

W: www.astuterecruitment.com

LI: https://uk.linkedin.com/pub/mary-maguire/18/73/553

LI: www.linkedin.com/company/astute-recruitment/

If an SME is in good financial health without a finance director (FD), entrepreneurs are often sceptical as to whether they need to recruit an FD.

Having the right people is what makes any business grow, and an inspiring finance director (FD) can contribute more than most. Yet entrepreneurs can be sceptical about hiring such a senior position.

It’s not uncommon to hear, ‘… but my business is doing well, and I already have an excellent external accountant. Do I really need an expensive over-blown bean-counter?’

The idea that an FD is just an overpaid number cruncher, can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. If an entrepreneur sets out to recruit a glorified accountant, that’s what they’re likely to get. In fact, an FD should be viewed as an essential part of any growing company’s senior management team. Someone to be an expert in planning and running the business AND someone who can add a lot of commercial and operational value to a business.

The FD should be able to provide management information that a financial controller or accountant can’t – information that will really help an entrepreneur make decisions. For example, how profitable an individual customer relationship is compared with others, so they can focus on the customers that really count.

Management information and advice from an FD will also help a company with its external negotiations. Once an entrepreneur gets his or her hands on solid information about changes in their overheads and the cost of sales, it becomes much easier to agree price rises with customers and ultimately protect profit margins.

FDs can also provide advice about which business opportunities to pursue. For instance, if an acquisition is on the cards, an experienced FD will be able to help assess the right target, negotiate and seal the deal, and then help bring the two businesses together. An FD should be a dynamic leader who helps a company to do profitable deals and put processes in place to make sure you realise that profit.

How to pick a Finance Director?

So what should an entrepreneur be looking for if they decide to recruit a Financial Director?

First, let’s look at what a good FD should already be doing and have on their cv: –

Own the numbers & be able to explain the numbers. Fully understand, and be able to explain to everyone else, how the business makes its money

A great FD will put systems in place to gather and analyse information to ensure that everyone in the business knows how profits and cash are generated, by product, service, customer, contract, geography, etc. With this knowledge, a management team can make informed decisions about which activities to focus on and which to stop.

Actively drive value in the business. Successful FDs are leaders, motivated by the desire to help grow business value as quickly and effectively as possible. They want to be influential in supporting and challenging business planning and decisions. A good FD will actually be keen to add value and if they can’t, that’s a common reason for them to decide to change job.

Cash is king. Understand the importance of cash flow. Securing future cash flow is critical to a company’s valuation. A good FD will handle Forecasting, managing cash flow, and championing ways of optimising a company’s cash generation model. This could involve extending supplier terms to re-working the business model and client’s payment terms. (i.e. should the business move from short-term contracts, with unreliable payments, to a long-term, regular recurring revenue model?)

IMPORTANT: If you are looking for a future exit strategy, an FD or CFO will often be interested in some sort of equity in return for their longer-term commitment right through to sale. This means it will be directly in the FD/ CFO’s interests to do a great job and stay in the role.

Be forward-looking. An FD should help the business plan ahead by providing analysis, insight and challenge to help the management team evaluate the company’s options for the future. They should help the business pitch their budget at the right level – making it challenging but achievable and then make sure this can be reported.

Good with detail as well as the big picture. Great FD’s are adept at contributing to strategy, but also want to get into the detail to ensure the information being used around the business is absolutely correct.

Be intelligent, qualified, experienced, and ambitious. Entrepreneurs should look for someone with a professional qualification and experience working with respected people. Another good sign is when a Finance Director maintains a network of professional contacts who can help them keep abreast of the latest industry developments.

So, while a growing, entrepreneurial business may have coped without a Financial Director up to now, and feel they can carry on without one, they run the risk that limited senior management expertise will actually hold back the growth of the business.

The very thing most important to the business owner.

With the right FD at the helm, growing companies will make better-informed decisions AND have the support to lead the company where the owners want to take it, whether that means a trade sale or towards extra PE investment.

If you are considering hiring an FD, CFO, or FC, and woud like some confidential advice around the best options available, please contact Mary Maguire, who will be pleased to help you.

Mary Maguire

Managing Director
Astute | Accountancy & Finance | HR | Office Support

Suite One, Ground Floor West, Cardinal Square, 10 Nottingham Road, Derby, DE1 3QT

T: 01332 346100
M: 07717 412911

E: [email protected]

W: www.astuterecruitment.com

LI: https://uk.linkedin.com/pub/mary-maguire/18/73/553

LI: www.linkedin.com/company/astute-recruitment/

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Mike

16:04 13 Mar 23

Highly recommended! Josh and Sarah have been fantastic at Astute. They've found and placed me in 2 jobs now between them, both really responsive and excellent at keeping you up to speed with things. Very knowledgable about the roles and happy to talk to companies with any queries you have.

C R.

10:45 27 Jan 23

Great agency one of the best ones I've worked with! Liz has been a great help and support in helping me towards a new direction in my career life. She is very attentive and keeps me in the loop at all times! She makes the extra effort to work with my preferred requirements for work and even if it isn't completely attainable she meets me in the middle and does as much as she can to help! Also Liz is very funny might I add 😂 and I'm happy that I can now put a face to the name after all these years! Thank you again Liz for all your help and support! 😊

Christine

10:32 20 Dec 22

Josh and the Astute team was very swift to help me to find roles that matched my profile. They are really reliable and will help through every step of the recruitment process going out of their way to assist and follow up when needed. Could not find a better recruitment agency!

Helen Pinegar

16:19 18 Dec 22

Fantastic recruitment agency.. Josh was extremely enthusiastic, encouraging and clearly knowledgeable about what was needed from both the employee and the employers point of view. Extremely supportive especially in regards to interview preparation and endeavoured to procure feedback promptly. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Astute in the future to both candidates and recruiting businesses particularly for the right fit for the role!!!

Lisa Leigh

11:56 30 Nov 22

I have worked as a candidate for Astute and they have been excellent. Super friendly service and professional agents keen to fit the right person to the right job. It has been a pleasure dealing with them and I would happily work for them again in the future. Highly recommend this agency.