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Autumn Budget 2017: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly Astute Recruitment’s MD Mary Maguire Airs her thoughts for SME Businesses on the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement

One of our MDs was asked by East Midlands Business Link to comment on the Autumn statement made by the Chancellor yesterday. The article published is as follows: –

“Mary Maguire, MD of Astute Recruitment, said:

Philip Hammond certainly laid out some positive steps to help UK businesses in today’s budget.

For example, this budget demonstrated a commitment to investing in scale-up businesses, which was very positive. The proposed new fund for scale-up businesses is great news provided this funding is made available to every relevant start up in every corner of the UK.

The Chancellor also recognised that small businesses are under great pressure at the moment. The announcement that he won’t reduce the VAT threshold for small businesses from £85,000, and will bring forward the uprating of business rates based on the CPI inflation index by two years was most definitely music to most business owners’ ears. This was a serious concern to many start-ups and SMEs.

The National Living Wage rise is, of course, good for low wage individuals. However, SMEs will be under pressure to honour this and this could further impact inflationary pressures in the economy and affect the tight margins between profits and losses.

The Chancellor’s 12 month extension of the National Productivity Fund is also welcome news. Digital and high tech businesses will be greatly helped, especially in that growth phase from start up to scale up.

However, it would be great if there could also have been some incentive for businesses to be kept in UK ownership post start-up, rather than just have the UK as a seed facility for overseas owners to come in and buy them out.

The announcement of the OBR’s downward economic growth forecasts could be bad news. However, we partially talked our way into negative mindset in the 2008 recession – the OBR has been wrong before and Brexit is not predicated to be a financial disaster especially when the terms of trade deals with Europe are yet to be finalised.

Having spoken to MDs and FDs in local successful SMEs in the last two days I can report that uncertainty is what is holding back companies’ capital investment and strategic plans. Perhaps this was a missed opportunity to present a more balanced forecast and build and inspire some confidence. The rate of growth for East Midlands businesses, nationally, has outperformed vast tracts of the UK including London – but strangely an opportunity to balance this with the OBR’s projections in today’s Autumn Budget was missed.

Can the Chancellor bring some early festive cheer to help SME businesses and the Self-Employed looking to grow?

Wednesday’s Autumn Statement: What SME Business Owners Want to hear.. An Early Christmas wish list!

In an uncertain world where the UK’s parliament hangs on a slim majority and with Brexit around the corner a lot of business owners will be casting a keen eye over Wednesday’s Autumn Statement. Will there be more red tape? Will there be more of the R&D Tax relief benefits that came in the Spring Budget earlier this year? 80% of SMEs never grow beyond 10 staff. This has to change and the Government has a prime opportunity to start to change this.

Some key areas the MDs of Britain’s SME business community will be wanting to see include:

1/ New approach to providing ethical banking options for SME’s. More people running banks like Dave Fishwick founder of Burnley Savings and Loans. Why can’t the Government have their own form of Dave’s bank for SMEs with a local business banker – a human being not an algorithm that spits out a yes or no lending decision with no LOCAL knowledge of that business or the surrounding area.

2/ Government led funding options to make increased working capital available for SMEs. This could be called The SME Growth Fund. This needs to be national and genuinely make a difference to all corners of UK Plc. Some organisations such as D2N2 do amazing work across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire but this consistency needs some Government intervention to ensure all areas benefit equally.

3/ Initiatives to enable SMEs to get tax relief on training/ upskilling their staff from apprentices to fully fledged technically adept employees able to add value to their company and increase performance.

4/ REDUCE RED TAPE: SMEs already have Brexit, GDPR, increasing Auto-Enrolment contributions PLUS the mooted ‘Making Tax Digital’ on the agenda for 2019 for VAT Registered businesses. Does the SME community really need another raid on their ever- reducing profit margins?

5/ Reverse once and for all Class 4 rises to National Insurance Contributions. A great opportunity to dispel the notion that the Government doesn’t understand small businesses and doesn’t value the risks people take trying to work for themselves.

6/ Cancel the possible lowering of the VAT threshold to below £85,000. MD’s/ Entrepreneurs and the self-employed looking to grow need assurances they have total immunity for this for at least the next few years. It would also help to remove the perception that the Government is out to ‘grab’ yet more cash from SME businesses.

7/ Introduce a government-backed Export Vouchers Scheme for SME’s who export to Europe. This would have government-funded export experts advise niche exporters how to enable their young companies to sell worldwide.

8/ Make the Prompt Payment Code for SME’s compulsory. 2000+ SMEs have signed up to this initiative already. The Government needs to make this compulsory, so big companies HAVE to pay their small suppliers on time, EVERY TIME! This will also provide crucial visibility to an SME owner deciding if they want to work with that major company?

9/ Suspend the planned increases to Business Rates and make exemptions for SMEs at least for a few years. Some companies have seen or are seeing 200% rate rises. This is not commercially viable.

10/ Provision for tax relief on investment in SMEs instigating occupational health scheme to recognise and deal professionally with Mental Health issues in the workplace and to provide funding for training for a representative within an SME organisation to implement best practice around this.

11/ Connectivity and Digital Growth. Make funding and tax relief available to SMEs so that they don’t have to pay exorbitant costs to get an internet where they are that is fit for purpose. It cannot be right that there are still businesses in Derby and Nottingham’s city centres have one option to go with extremely expensive options through national providers.

Let’s wait until Wednesday and see what the Chancellor delivers!

The latest Employment Trends for Accountants

As recently published by the REC, some interesting information emerged about the current job market and in particular for the Accountancy sector, candidates looking for their next job and for employers looking to recruit.

The key takeaways were: –

Permanent placements rise at weakest pace for five months…
Growth in temporary billings levelled off slightly
Lack of qualified Candidates fuels wage rises

Summary:
The recently publishesd IHS Markit/REC Report on Jobs, provides the most exhaustive snapshot of the UK’s labour market, using real data from Recruitment businesses nationally. Snippets from the report follow below: –

“Permanent placements growth weakens to five-month low…

Permanent staff placements rose at the softest pace since April at the end of the third quarter. That said, the rate of growth remained marked overall. Temp billings meanwhile rose sharply, despite also seeing pace of expansion moderate from the previous month.

…as availability of candidates continues to fall sharply

A key factor weighing on growth in staff appointments was a further steep decline in candidate availability. For permanent candidates, the latest fall was the sharpest for four months, while the availability of temporary workers also fell at a historically marked pace.

Further steep increase in demand for staff.

The number of job vacancies across the UK continued to rise sharply during September, with growth of staff demand edging down only slightly from August’s recent peak.

Pay pressures remain sharp.
Strong demand for staff and a further drop in candidate availability placed further upward pressure on pay during September. Permanent starting salaries rose at the second-steepest rate in 22 months (after August), while temp pay growth softened only slightly from August’s 16-month record.

Regional variation
On a regional basis, growth of permanent placements was the most marked in the Midlands and the South of England. London meanwhile signalled a renewed drop in permanent placements (albeit marginal).
The quickest rate of temp billings growth was seen in Scotland, closely followed by the North of England. The weakest upturn was registered in London.

Sector variation

Latest data signalled that demand growth remained considerably stronger in the private sector than the public sector.
The sharpest overall increase in demand for staff was recorded for permanent workers in the private sector, while the weakest rise in staff vacancies was seen for permanent public sector workers.

Accounting/Financial was the most sought-after category for permanent staff in September, followed by IT & Computing. The slowest (albeit still marked) increase in vacancies was reported for Construction.

Blue Collar achieved first place in the rankings for temporary/contract staff demand during September, while Nursing/Medical/Care scored second place. All remaining categories also saw steep increases in demand.

Kevin Green, REC Chief Executive, says:
“Recruiters are finding it even harder to find people to fill vacancies. Candidate availability has been falling for the past four years and the record high UK employment rate plus a slowdown in the number of EU nationals coming to work here is exacerbating the situation, potentially leaving roles unfilled.
“Across the UK permanent placements are slowing, but London is faring worse with placements declining for the first time in eleven months and the financial sector in particular struggling to recruit for roles such as audit, payroll and risk.

“Low-skill roles are also hard to fill in areas like food processing, warehouses and catering – sectors that employ a higher proportion of people from the EU than others across the economy. We urge the government to ensure any new immigration system includes provisions for low-skilled and temporary workers so that warehouses, supermarkets and restaurants can access the people they desperately need.”

How to inspire potential new hires to work for your team

Employee Benefits & Initiatives – ‘Creating Desire in your Hires and existing team’

We asked several HR Managers, CFO’s and Financial Directors, if they would be interested in us providing guidance and advice around employee benefits and staff initiatives.

The aim?

To improve candidate attraction throughout the hiring process and also to appeal to existing valued staff.

We thought we would share this information as the feedback has been so positive…..

We now have a deeply competitive job market – not just in Derbyshire but across the East Midlands and beyond.

Employee benefits and initiatives have become increasingly important to employers looking to attract top local talented professionals and for employees as part of their decision making process when choosing whether to accept a job or not. Increasingly people looking for a new job are not just thinking of the basic salary but the overall package a future employer can offer that fit in with their own life, family and commitments. Employee Benefits have also become a key issue in terms of improving staff retention for employers.

This is particularly important when employers are either seeking to retain specific, valued, sector trained staff across disciplines including accountancy, marketing, engineering etc. and to attract those with key talents into their business and not into the arms of one of their competitors!

The important key trends in benefit provision for employees are now focussed on: –

Flexible working
Pensions
Holiday entitlement
Flexible Benefits Package
Staff Discounts
Childcare Vouchers
Wellness at work – including employer’s attitudes to mental health and environmental factors
Staff incentives/ initiatives

Flexible working – If companies can offer core hours of working with the employee able to gear the extra hours to make up the full working week either before the core hours or after are particularly popular. For instance, staff being able to work 7-4, 8-5, 9-6.

Pensions – While changes to UK Pension policy for businesses and business owners through auto-enrolment have been established, many companies just offer the standard minimum allowances. If a business can offer a tiered scheme according to seniority of position and longevity of service to their staff this is a real consideration in the employee market place for staff looking for a new role and for those deciding whether to stay with their existing employer.

Holiday Entitlement – The norm is now 25 days plus Annual Statutory Bank Holidays with an increasing amount of companies offering up to 30 days tiered according to longevity of service of staff and seniority of position.

Flexible Benefits Package – Whereby an employee is given a ‘benefit pot’ worth a certain amount of money whereby additional holidays can be purchased at the expense of one of the other benefits to suit that person’s individual circumstances.

Staff Discounts – Whereby the business is able to offer discounts on their own products or services to staff (e.g. several major East Midlands retailers offer significant staff discounts off the standard retail price of their products!). Alternatively companies can use the services of businesses specifically able to provide employee discounts from leisure/ retail outlets.

Childcare vouchers – For any employees with families this is a really big consideration and if employers are able to offer this – particularly to staff with very young children this is a major consideration for staff looking for work and also those currently employed.

Wellness at work – If companies/ employers are able to demonstrate their ability to recognise, reward and genuinely value their hardworking staff through awards, personal development plans, financial support with professional training costs – all of these count enormously. Along-side these are demonstration of softer benefits such as provision of a clean, friendly and safe environment for staff to work. Many businesses include staff areas where staff can have their lunch, rest and relax. Some businesses have games facilities for instance. Mental health at work for employees is also increasingly important. Have a policy on how to support your staff if they should have any mental health worries or concerns and promote this! Sometimes it is just having an empathetic but responsible ear in the business environment who staff know they can turn to confidentially which can make all the difference.

A working example of the staff benefits currently offered to a major overseas Parent company with wholly owned UK Subsidiaries / SME hubs in the East Midlands is included below: –

25 days’ holiday plus statutory bank holidays
Subsidised canteen
Standard 35 hour working week* Extra hours need to be worked during busy periods
Flexible working (depending grade of role and the department – i.e. certain staff have to provide office cover between 8.30- 9. 30. For management graded roles – (i.e. usually for fully qualified accountants) – there would normally be flexible working with the core hours between 10am-4pm. In certain finance departments most staff work 9-5 but they would still have to have the cover in the department for the 30 minutes each side of that on a rota basis.
Company Pension Scheme (employer contributions tiered from 5% to 7% depending on the seniority of the employee) – staff can match these contributions up to 1% below the employer’s contributions. Defined benefit schemes are popular in this regard but increasingly rare. If your business can offer a pension scheme above the statutory minimum you will really stand out.
Company bonus scheme (awarded according to the company’s performance and the employee’s achievement of KPIs). For more senior staff, bonus is a higher percentage (say 10% of salary) with their personal KPI’s / performance making up to 50% of the overall bonus awarded as they are likely to contribute more to the business’ profitability on a per capita basis.
Staff discounts on own brands (where applicable) or offering other retailer discounts/ gym membership etc.
Car Allowances – for Financial Controller/ Finance Director and management positions in general – car allowances are increasingly favoured by potential employees as part of the overall benefits package – particularly as they would receive any car allowance on a monthly basis in addition to their salary. Typically car allowance schemes are between £5,000 – £8,000 per annum with Executive / Director positions usually offering £10,000 – £12,000 per annum.
Ability to purchase extra benefits: Some employers will have a scheme in place whereby staff are able to purchase additional holidays up to one week’s worth. Alternatively on a salary sacrifice basis they would be able to purchase additional pension or other benefits to suit their specific needs.
Free Car parking
For finance staff, the 6-week period after year-end can mean accounts staff are expected to work significant extra hours to help while the post year-end audit work is completed and statutory filings / shareholder information is processed and published. After that period, it is acknowledged that if there are any significant extra hours required, then time off in lieu can be issued at the line managers discretion.

For many SME businesses, not all or even most of the core key benefits will be practical. If an employer can incorporate just some of these to their existing benefits package, it is proven to be a valuable consideration to existing staff assessing their future with their employer and for employers looking to attract the best local talent available.

Alternatively – what initiatives can your SME business offer to staff that won’t impact on the day to day but increase productivity, performance and profits?

Some initiatives needn’t cost a lot of money AND can be tailored to your own SME business where some of the above more ‘corporate’ benefits would not be possible.

The key is demonstrating and promoting to your team and to new potential staff, that they matter and harnessing that team spirit.

At Astute we have our Reward Board – envelopes with numbers pinned to a board! The numbers correspond to certain tasks individuals need to achieve – be it a testimonial, client visit or placement. Once one of the team has achieved the ‘task’ they choose one of the numbered envelopes and write their name on that envelope. Once all the envelopes are ‘claimed’ we have an opening ceremony. The team are allocated their envelopes and open them. Prizes include starting later, retail discounts, early finish on a Friday and more!

We are also very careful to ensure that the ‘tasks’ are for everyone so our brilliant admin team can also take part and have their own ‘goals’ to achieve. If you are going to have a team scheme like the Reward Board – you need to ensure that EVERYONE is included and can take part!

So, inspire desire in YOUR business for potential hires and existing staff by thinking about how you can add value to your benefits scheme and team initiatives.

Your future and existing staff will thank you!

Astute’s latest Business Breakfast With Neale Lewis at Pride Park Stadium

What an amazing Friday morning we had at Pride Park Stadium with Neale Lewis. His presentation on how to scale up your business for financial success went brilliantly! We were able to capture some great snippets on video of Neale too and you can watch these HERE! Over 50 businessmen and women across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire came and enjoyed a powerful workshop.

Some key takeaways: – PEOPLE – STRATEGY – EXECUTION – CASH

PEOPLE – Get your recruitment strategy right: –

Put a proper consistent process in place. Of your existing staff – work out who are your ‘a’, ‘b’ and ‘c’ performers? Be brave and honest enough to let someone go if they are not right as its your ‘c’ players who will frustrate and ultimately cause your ‘a’ players to leave!
The phrase ‘slow to hire, quick to fire’ is really important! Don’t hang onto the wrong people for any longer than you have to.
Be thorough!! Have rigor in checking the past performance of your ‘potential’ staff and have the processes in place to make this happen – every time!
Have regular performance or ‘talent’ reviews
Have a strategy how to hand onto your ‘a’ players?

STRATEGY – Be different to your competitors: –

Have a strategy to monitor what they are doing. What can you learn from them? Do’s and don’ts!
Understand the core values that make your business different and stand out from the crowd
What trends are happening in your market space?
How can you take advantage of these?

EXECUTION – Make your plans happen: –

Have a 5 year plan – have a clear goal of what you want to achieve for your business and YOU personally!
Put in place processes to monitor your progress against your plans
Have 90 day plans and make sure all your team have their own plans to achieve their targets
What are the ‘rocks’ in your business? What are the priorities that HAVE to happen in your business in the next 90 days?
Surround yourself with people better than you – seek a professional Coach / Mentor / NED to steer you and keep you focussed

CASH – Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity: –

Always remember that cash is king in business
Know what your cash to conversion cycle is – how much money does it take through overheads to achieve profit?
The power of 1% – if you could generate just 1% extra performance, 1% extra sales volumes – how much extra profit could that mean? Small steps = big changes in your financial bottom line.
Recognise the importance of truly understanding the numbers and true meaning of your balance sheet and what it is telling you – week in week out, month in month out!

FINALLY: –

Visualise your company’s performance – have a visual representation for your aims and where you are to date in achieving them – for you and your team!
Set yourself, your team and your business a ‘hairy, audacious goal’. Dare to dream.
Have processes in place to track performance at all levels, all the way, ALL THE TIME!
Consistency is everything. Once you have processes in place they have to happen consistently to make an impact!

Thanks again to everyone who came, our team at Astute and of course the staff at Pride Park who made everyone very welcome and provided a much needed breakfast! A special thank you goes to Craig Barker of Koobr for his video testimonial about his thoughts on the morning! You can watch that HERE.

Mental Health – The 3 most important things you need to know.

May 2017 is Mental Health Month. Everyone from Prince Harry to Brad Pitt have commented on this but so have a lot of ordinary people like you and I. For years, this whole topic has been a silent taboo. Hardly anyone has dared to raise this, let alone admit to suffering from mental exhaustion or emotional problems lest they be ostracised by their fellow workers, bosses or even closest family and partners.

This is all changing now and it has become a signature topic that has captured the attention of the masses at long last.

What are the top 3 things to know about this?

1/ Recognise the signs. Are you finding it hard to sleep? Do you find it hard to focus and concentrate on one task at a time? Is your appetite affected?

2/ Admit that you need help. Accept that this is not a sign of weakness but the first step to making you strong again.

3/ Seek different types of help until you find the one that works for YOU.

There is not ‘a one size fits all’ cure. Everybody is different. I know from personal experience that while therapists and psychologists are the first people we are directed towards, for me, it was more about allowing myself to explore other avenues. Allowing myself the time to pause and reflect. Most importantly of all – allowing myself to accept that recovery from any type of mental and emotional stress is a ladder that you have to climb. One small step at a time with people that you totally trust to confide in.

This is an issue that is so important for everyone. SME business owners, Entrepreneurs, office workers, finance professionals, the mother, the uncle, the sister or brother. Each and every one of us, in every sector and walk of life knows someone directly or indirectly affected by mental health issues whether we care to admit or not. This is something I’ll be covering again soon from the perspectives of employers and their staff to highlight how everyone can work together and ensure that the momentum built up isn’t allowed to fade away again.

In the meantime, if you or someone you know is in emotional distress – remember the three points above: –

Recognition

Admission

Seek help.

If this issue resonates with you – whether you are looking for work, an employee or a business owner, please let me know your comments to help me post more relevant articles on this really important subject.

I watched a great documentary last night that followed Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko. They’ll be squaring up to face one another this Saturday night. Youth vs experience.

Whist I personally don’t place boxing in my top ten of sports, watching how Anthony came from humble beginnings, pulling away from the rough side of the tracks to embrace the rigours of sport and become so successful is really inspiring.

It was also brilliant to witness the impact and importance of having a great team around you. To inspire, laugh, encourage and support Anthony on his journey. He had a couple of great friends to lighten the mood pre-match and keep him from losing valuable adrenalin by keeping him relaxed. He also had trainers and physios to help keep him at his physical best while undergoing intensive training at ‘boot camp’. This made me think about the importance to all of us of having a great team around us to enable us to perform at our best.

Anthony’s first mentor was a key constant in his young life, pulling him in a new and better direction away from trouble with the police. At the end of the program Anthony showed just how amazingly grateful he was for this initial guidance by buying his early mentor a brand new sports car! It was one of the most heart-warming and genuine acts of gratitude I’ve seen. Especially as the whole thing was a complete surprise!

The boxing contest where Anthony and Wladimir will be fighting to win the 2017 IBF heavyweight world title sees the 41 year old Klitschko in his 29th world title fight against the 27 year old champion who is looking to defend his title in what will only be his 19th fight as a professional. If successful Anthony will win the WBA belt if he defeats Klitschko which has been his ultimate goal since he started boxing.

This match of ‘Youth vs Experience’ made me think of the challenges employers and candidates face. In an ever-tightening pool of talent, trying to secure the best employee is a constantly critical business challenge. Equally, it is really hard for candidates to secure the very best opportunities when they are up against more experienced professionals.

However, are some of us business owners missing a trick?

Over the last 25 years I’ve benchmarked providing business owners and hiring managers with a shortlist that embraces up and coming talent, people who are the exact match and more experienced options with extra skills than the client was initially seeking but who may be more costly. I always encourage employers to think about the hire they are looking to make. Are they looking for someone with the energy and potential to grow with their business or actually do they need someone who will be a credible more senior option to ‘hit the ground running.’

One of the most important aspects is the person themselves. I’ve come across and placed a number of candidates overlooked in the market by my fellow recruitment professionals as being ‘too experienced’. They are the lost and neglected candidates who don’t fit the first time mover from big 4 or high flying graduate profile that a lot of employers and recruiters generally seem to focus on.

If a more experienced candidate has the guile, desire and deft ability to still listen, learn and change to respect the processes of new employers – this is the sort of person who can always compete and win against a less experienced hire. The life skills and experience they will have combined with the attitude to learn and think fast will always mean that they make my shortlist.

Equally – less experienced candidates struggle to get the opportunity from a recruitment consultant to even get their CV in front of a company boss if they don’t have the exacting systems or qualifications set down on a standard job description.

Again it is all down to attitude, passion and desire to learn.

So – Youth vs experience? Don’t overlook either option – the ‘best fit’ option isn’t always the RIGHT option. Take a chance and consider potential staff who are over qualified AND underqualified. As a person – their character, work ethic and personality can be a winning formula that the most suitably qualified person can never compete against.

My team here are hosting our next business breakfast event on 21st July 2017 which will be on “What you need to know to scale up your business for financial success”. One of the critical four areas our guest speaker will be covering in this powerful workshop will be how to attract and retain the right talent in your team. To find out more please click HERE.

How to scale up your business for financial success

Bring your leadership team for Astute Recruitment’s powerful breakfast workshop focusing on the Four priorities that you need to master to successfully grow your business.
Neale Lewis is an international coach and acknowledged expert in helping SME businesses and start-ups put in place the key strategies for growth.

Join us at 7.30am Friday 21st July 2017 at the Dave Mackay Suite, Pride Park Stadium, Pride Park, Derby, DE24 8XL. You will learn from Neale the tools to overcome the four critical issues facing every business: –

Attracting and keeping the right PEOPLE
Creation of a truly differentiated STRATEGY
Driving flawless EXECUTION
Having plenty of CASH to weather the storms

You will also learn about the key strategies you need to adopt in your business and team including: –

ALIGNMENT – How to get faster results with less effort by developing organisational clarity and accountability
ACCELERATE – How to develop a strategic advantage over your competitors and position your brand as a market leader
ADVANCE – See your company’s reputation and revenues soar as employees fulfil 100% of all promises

Neale is owner and director of Neale Lewis Associates whose services are specifically designed to help growth minded entrepreneurs, companies and business professionals achieve their potential. His team recognise the challenges that come from developing a company from the ‘Start Up’ to ‘Scale Up’ phase helping to achieve clarity on the numbers right through to developing a powerful business growth strategy.

This is the fourth business breakfast event hosted by Astute Recruitment and follows on from the great successes of our first event “Strategies to win in business with Neil Back MBE”. and two subsequent breakfasts on “Emotional Intelligence for Business Success with Lisa Spencer-Arnell”

Neale Lewis ★ Scale Up Expert ★ High Growth Business Coach ★ Leadership Trainer ★ Strategic Planning Consultant ★ Keynote Speaker

Programme:

7:30 Registration, complimentary tea / coffee and breakfast

7:45 Introduction

7:50 Neale Lewis

8:45 Opportunity for Q & A/ Networking

9:00 Close

Free car parking is available and if you have any special dietary requirements please contact Mary Maguire – [email protected]

This event is strictly by invitation only. To find out more please contact the team at Astute on 01332 346 100.

Astute Recruitment hosting 2nd event on Emotional Intelligence for business success

Due to popular demand, Astute Recruitment are delighted to announce our second event with guest speaker Lisa Spencer-Arnell. Our first event at the end of last year in Branston on Emotional Intelligence was so popular amongst attendees with those who couldn’t make it saying that they would definitely attend another event if it was to the north of Derby closer to Junction 28 of the M1. So we are all delighted to announce we have booked Lisa again!

Our event will be held at Alfreton Golf Club, Wingfield Road, Oakerthorpe, Alfreton, DE55 7LH on Friday 17th March 2017 and will commence from 7.30am with complimentary teas/ coffees and breakfast cobs. Emotional intelligence and wellness at work have become key topics of importance to business professionals.

What is more important to your financial success? IQ or Emotional Intelligence (EI)?
What has the biggest impact on achieving extraordinary results, building great relationships and being fulfilled in life?

Over recent years Emotional Intelligence and mindfulness have become recognised and acknowledged as key elements of business and personal success, outstanding performance, happiness and good health.

In this interactive session, you’ll hear about and experience the positive difference EI can make in your  business and team, including: –
·      What EI really is and the role it plays in work & leadership.
·      What the research tells us about IQ & EI.
·      How our amazing brain works and what we can learn from neuroscience to get the best out of ourselves and others?
·      How you can increase your self-awareness through EI.
·      Mindfulness and the impact on your focus, clarity, and effectiveness.
·      The most important question you can ask yourself.
·      3 ways to raise your game and impact your results.

Lisa Spencer-Arnell is ideally placed to explain Emotional Intelligence and Wellness at work through her highly successful career as an International Consultant & Coach – Inspirational Speaker and Published Author. Her work on Emotional Intelligence has been widely praised and recognised.
This is the third breakfast business event hosted by Astute Recruitment and follows on from the great success of our previous events: –
“Emotional Intelligence For Business Success with Lisa Spencer-Arnell” at Branston Golf Club
“Strategies to win in business” at Geldards on Pride Park with Neil Back MBE.

Again we only have a limited number of spaces to attend our forthcoming breakfast on emotional intelligence so please register HERE to register and confirm your place on our dedicated Eventbrite Page.

Lisa Spencer-Arnell speaking at Astute Recruitment’s first business breakfast event on Emotional Intelligence at Branston Golf Club

Lisa Spencer-Arnell: – Treasure Seeker, Leadership Consultant & Coach, Author, Speaker

Programme: –
7:30             Registration, complimentary tea / coffee and breakfast
7:45             Introduction
7:50             Lisa Spencer-Arnell
8:45             Opportunity for Q & A/ Networking
9:00             Close

Free car parking is available and if you have any special dietary requirements please contact Mary Maguire by email: – [email protected]

As MD of a successful accountancy recruitment business covering the East Midlands, I wanted to share these tips, which I hope will inspire you.

1/ Be Positive.

Have courage in your convictions; Do not simply put your business idea down on paper and leave it, always see how it can be pursued. Ask “How can I make this happen?”
Be a doer not a watcher. When we were made redundant I was devastated for one day and then asked myself: What am I going to do now? I knew I was skilled in my sector, sought after with a great reputation. It seemed clear to me that I should set up on my own and so I approached my now business partner, who I’d worked with for several years and trusted. She agreed to move forward and here we are seven years later with an award-winning business.

2/ Surround yourself with talented people and keep hold of them!

Staff recruitment, retention, training and motivation are all absolutely key to a successful business. Any organisation is only as strong as the people it employs. Everyone in a business is important, need to feel fully engaged, on board and valued by their firm. Of course, you need to have some fun too and always reward success!

3/ Remember, “cash is king”.

- It is a brutal fact that even if you have the best business, product or service in the world, without money in your bank account you are unable to pay your suppliers, creditors or staff – let alone yourself.
- You need to have a firm but fair approach to cash flow management and a constant eye on your bottom line. All of the time, not just at the end of the month or quarter!
Scrutinise your debtor
Maintain strong and clear lines of communication with your creditors to ensure you and any business partners, are always on top of your current cash position.

4/ Truly understand your business:

You have to know what makes your business unique and why people should pay for your specific service or product.
You should have USPs which set you apart from your competition such as our unique Triple-Point Guarantee. Consider new USPs you can offer.
Constantly ask yourself: “How is what I am doing now benefiting my business? Is what I am doing now the best use of my time?”

5/ Don’t stay stuck in a bubble!

Take yourself out of the day to day and run your business without letting it run you! You should endeavour to take yourself out of your comfort zone.
Always be prepared to try and learn new things.
Social media is constantly evolving alongside all methods of communication, branding and marketing. To support your company you need to constantly engage with your target audience in a meaningful, educational and non-confrontational way – your business needs to be synonymous with quality and professionalism.
Think about the message you, your team and your social media channels are communicating about your brand and business.
Your customers are rightly becoming more discerning. Help them to understand your specific business and what you can do for them. They need to appreciate that your company is an expert in it’s field as the result of clever communications rather than through shouting the loudest and incessant sales calls!

6/ If you don’t know something always ask!

Seek out people who are experts in their field who will benefit your business – you will learn from them!

7/ Always be yourself and be proud of what you have done!

It is easy to become so involved in the day to day that you fail to perceive your company’s standing in the wider business community and realise how far you have come.
The most successful entrepreneurs are passionate about their businesses, but also recognise their achievements too.

Set your three-year strategic business plan and be forward thinking. Never lose sight of why you started out in the first place!

Let me know if you found this post useful. Your comments and feedback are really welcome.

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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.