Burnout is no longer just a wellbeing issue. It has become a talent retention and recruitment challenge, and organizations that fail to address it risk losing high-performing employees at an increasing rate.

According to Tiger Recruitment’s UK Salary and Benefits Guide 2026, burnout is now almost as influential as salary when employees decide to leave their jobs. In our survey of almost 1000 UK professionals, 15% reported resigning due to exhaustion, only one percentage point behind those who left for a pay increase (16%).

For HR leaders, this signals a shift in the employment landscape: pay alone is no longer enough to retain talent. The ability of managers to protect their teams from unsustainable workloads is becoming a critical differentiator.

One of the most effective ways organizations can respond is by training and upskilling managers to recognize and prevent burnout before it becomes a resignation risk.

Burnout is becoming a structural issue in many workplaces

Several workplace trends are accelerating burnout across professional roles.

Our research shows that 84% of desk-based professionals now work overtime, while 68% regularly work weekends.

At the same time, economic uncertainty has led many businesses to operate with leaner teams. Fewer permanent hires and an increased reliance on temporary staff mean that remaining employees are often absorbing additional responsibilities.

The result is a workforce that is productive but increasingly stretched.

Even when companies respond with salary increases, the effect can be limited. The guide found that 39% of professionals who received a 5–10% pay rise still plan to leave their roles within the next 12 months, demonstrating that financial incentives alone cannot resolve deeper workplace pressures.

For HR teams, this reinforces an important reality: burnout is often driven by management practices, not compensation packages.

The role of managers in preventing burnout

Managers sit at the intersection between company expectations and employee wellbeing. When they are equipped with the right skills, they can identify early warning signs and rebalance workloads before employees reach breaking point.

However, many managers are promoted based on technical expertise rather than leadership capability. Without proper training, they may unintentionally contribute to burnout by:

• Allowing workloads to grow without reassessment
• Failing to prioritize tasks effectively
• Normalizing excessive overtime
• Missing early signs of disengagement or exhaustion
• Struggling to communicate expectations clearly

Our research also highlights that culture and management quality continue to influence resignations, particularly among younger professionals and women.

Developing leadership capability is therefore not just a wellbeing initiative, it is a retention strategy.

What burnout prevention training should include

For HR leaders looking to strengthen their management teams, training programs should focus on practical leadership skills rather than abstract theory.

Key areas include:

1. Workload Management and Prioritization

Managers need to evaluate team capacity realistically and adjust workloads, particularly during hiring freezes or restructuring. This can be achieved by mapping tasks and holding regular check-ins to spot overload early. Reallocating or reprioritizing work using frameworks like the Eisenhower Matrix helps ensure teams focus on the most important and urgent tasks without becoming overstretched.

2. Early Identification of Burnout Signals

Recognizing early signs of stress, such as disengagement, mistakes, or presenteeism, allows managers to intervene before issues escalate. Monitoring behavioral changes through short pulse surveys and having structured, low-pressure conversations gives employees the opportunity to raise concerns and receive support promptly.

3. Psychological Safety and Communication

Employees are far more likely to raise workload or wellbeing concerns when they feel heard and safe. Managers can foster psychological safety by leading through example, acknowledging mistakes and demonstrating openness. Establishing regular feedback loops ensures every team member has a chance to be heard and reinforces a culture of trust and collaboration.

4. Managing Hybrid and Flexible Work Effectively

With satisfaction around workplace flexibility falling to 54%, managers must ensure cohesion and productivity while supporting hybrid or flexible arrangements. Setting clear expectations and measurable goals for both remote and in-office work, along with maintaining consistent touchpoints, keeps teams aligned and connected regardless of location.

5. Supporting Mental Health and Absence Management

Empathetic leadership is increasingly important as employees expect better handling of mental health-related absence. Managers can support their teams by holding compassionate, non-judgmental conversations and planning phased returns or workload adjustments to ensure a sustainable recovery. These approaches help build resilient teams that remain engaged and productive even during challenging periods.

Why burnout prevention is also a recruitment strategy

From a hiring perspective, organizations that fail to address burnout risk damaging their employer brand.

Employees are increasingly prioritizing work–life balance when evaluating new roles, with 73% ranking it as one of the most important factors when considering job opportunities.

In a competitive hiring environment, candidates are paying closer attention to leadership quality, team culture and workload expectations.

Companies known for strong leadership and sustainable workloads will naturally have an advantage when attracting top talent.

Building a more sustainable workforce

Burnout cannot be eliminated entirely, particularly during periods of economic uncertainty or organizational change. However, businesses that invest in leadership development can significantly reduce the risk.

For HR teams, the goal should be to ensure managers are equipped not just to deliver results, but to build resilient teams that can perform sustainably over time.

As our latest research shows, employees are willing to leave roles even when salaries increase if the underlying pressures remain unresolved.

Organizations that recognize this shift and act on it by strengthening their management capability will be better positioned to retain their people and attract the next generation of talent.

The post Why training managers to prevent burnout should be a HR priority in 2026 appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

“They were everything we could have asked for — always on hand, very engaged, and a real pleasure to work with. The process was clear, straightforward, and completely tailored to what we were looking for. The candidates put forward were excellent, and we were kept in the loop throughout. I couldn’t speak more highly of Tiger and would absolutely recommend working with them.”

The Challenge

In August, the employer engaged Tiger Recruitment to assist with the hire of an executive assistant to support senior leadership. The business required a highly capable EA who could operate with discretion, manage competing priorities, and seamlessly integrate into an established team.

Given the importance of the role, the employer was looking for a recruitment partner who could take the time to fully understand their working style, expectations, and culture. They needed confidence that the candidates presented would be both technically strong and the right personal fit.

Clear communication and a well-managed recruitment process were also key, as the role sat at the heart of the business.

The Solution

Tiger led a tailored and highly engaged recruitment process, working closely with the client to build a detailed understanding of what they were looking for in an Executive Assistant. From the outset, the approach was collaborative, with regular updates and clear guidance at every stage of the process.

A strong shortlist of high-quality candidates was presented, each carefully selected to reflect the client’s requirements. The employer noted that the candidates put forward were consistently strong and that Tiger demonstrated a clear understanding of the role and the wider business needs.

Throughout the process, Tiger remained readily available, coordinating interviews, managing feedback, and ensuring the client felt fully supported. Communication remained seamless, even when queries arose outside of typical working hours, reinforcing the consultative and hands-on nature of the service.

The Impact

The successful appointment delivered immediate value to the business, with the new executive assistant continuing to work closely with the client. The employer highlighted not only the quality of the hire, but also the clarity and simplicity of the recruitment process itself.

The tailored approach, combined with consistent communication and coordination, resulted in a smooth and efficient hiring experience that exceeded expectations.

Looking ahead

Following the success of this hire, the employer is currently working with Tiger Recruitment on an additional role. While this next position also sits within business support, the client has confirmed they would be happy to partner with Tiger across other divisions in the future, reflecting the strength of the relationship and confidence in the team’s tailored recruitment approach.

The post Case Study: Delivering the Right Executive Assistant, First Time appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

For years, jobseekers have been advised that sending a post-interview thank-you note is essential, a sign of professionalism that can tip the scales in their favor. But in today’s hiring market, that advice isn’t one-size-fits-all. Depending on your level of seniority, the role you’re applying for, and even the company, a thank-you note might not always be appropriate.

So, before you hit “send”, it’s worth pausing to consider whether you should follow up with your potential new employer post-interview.

When a Thank-You Note Adds Value

If you’re interviewing for a business support role, such as a PA, or a client-facing role, a brief, thoughtful thank-you note can solidify professionalism and good communication. These are skills important to the role that you’re interviewing for, which help to further solidify your fit. It shows that you value the interviewer’s time, and it can leave a positive impression.

As Rebecca Siciliano, Tiger Recruitment’s Managing Director, says, “It’s definitely a good thing to do. I’d recommend it 100% of the time if you’ve applied directly to a role and have the contact details of the scheduler. It’s an opportunity to reiterate any responses you feel you could have addressed better in the interview, and it shows genuine interest.”

You could use the thank-you note to briefly highlight why the position excites you, or to reflect on a topic discussed that aligns with your experience. These small touches often complement other strong interview techniques that demonstrate professionalism and enthusiasm. This can be particularly effective in competitive hiring processes, where small details can distinguish one strong candidate from another. A thank-you email sent within 24 hours keeps you fresh in the interviewer’s memory and shows that you are proactive, engaged and genuinely interested in the role.

When It Might Not Be Necessary

If you’re interviewing for a role at a senior or executive level, a thank-you note is unlikely to influence the hiring decision. At this level, interviews are focused on strategic alignment, leadership capability, and long-term value, rather than etiquette or follow-up gestures.

It may also be inappropriate to reach out directly. For example, if your interview process is being managed entirely through a recruiter, it’s best to let them handle any communication. Contacting the hiring manager directly can appear as though you’re bypassing established channels or disregarding the process. Similarly, avoid the temptation to reach out on LinkedIn.

As Angela Lopes, Director and Head of the City Office, says, “I don’t think candidates should reach out to hiring managers unless they have shared their contact details and invited them to do so. Otherwise, it can create an awkward situation if the positive feedback isn’t mutual.”

Additionally, if you’re not working with a recruiter and the company has made it clear that the next steps will be taken through HR or your recruitment consultant, it’s advisable to hold off on sending a message directly without speaking to your direct contact first.

Ask Your Recruiter First

Every company and hiring process has different expectations. That’s why your recruiter is your best guide. They work very closely with the hiring manager and understand their preferences. They can advise whether a thank-you note is appropriate, when to send it and what tone to take.

In some cases, your recruiter may even offer to pass along your appreciation directly, which can be a more suitable approach for some employers or senior-level positions.

Summary

Ultimately, there’s no universal rule. A thank-you note should never feel like a box-ticking exercise, but rather a genuine continuation of professional conversation.

If it adds value, it’s worth considering. But if it risks coming across as forced, it may be better to hold back. When in doubt, ask your recruiter; they’ll know the best approach for each situation.

The post Should You Send a Post-Interview Thank-You Note? appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Inclusive hiring has always been at the forefront of my mind throughout my career. Prior to becoming a recruiter, my interest stemmed from my own lived experience, from reflecting on inequalities during maternity leave and supporting my neurodivergent daughter to witnessing the wider impact of movements like Black Lives Matter. When I stepped up into a leadership role, my experiences evolved into responsibility, I now had an obligation to use my position to drive meaningful change.

I’ve worked with professionals across a number of industries but one area I’ve seen a consistent need for change is neurodiversity in hiring. For most employers, the confidence to act on their desire to change is often lacking. HR leaders have such a crucial role in closing this gap.

So what can HR leaders do to build confidence around Neurodiversity in Hiring?

Be vulnerable

A couple of years ago, I shared a LinkedIn post about neurodiversity in hiring, and by doing so I was unexpectedly inundated with messages from individuals who I had encouraged to share their own experiences. A senior candidate who had applied for a role I was advertising reached out to say the post had given them the courage to disclose their neurodivergence to the employer, which was something they hadn’t spoken about since she was in school. With reasonable adjustments made to the recruitment process they were able to display their suitability for the role and as a result, were offered the job. I saw the impact of simply being transparent and learnt how valuable it is to share your own experience, because it might encourage someone else to do the same.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions

Most employers are eager to support neurodiverse candidates, but often aren’t sure how. Some say the terminology is daunting, or are afraid they might say or do something to offend. Others just aren’t sure what accommodations might look like in practice and worry it might just cause confusion. Encouragingly, this is beginning to change. More businesses are educating employees on bias in job adverts and including positive action statements explicitly welcoming neurodiverse applicants. But it’s not just about what you say that will have the most impact, but how you act. HR leaders should feel empowered to ask questions, seek guidance and work together to create a process that works for everyone.

Challenge the status quo

A huge part of a recruiter’s role is constructively challenging hiring processes that inadvertently exclude talent. I recently supported a neurodivergent candidate who asked for the interview questions in advance. At first, the employer felt this might give her an unfair advantage, but I suggested the questions should be shared with all applicants. Although their resistance resulted in the candidate withdrawing from the process, the next time I partnered with them, they implemented this change from the outset. I worked with them to prepare the questions further in advance, to allow them to be distributed. As a result, the interviews were more structured and insightful, and the panel was better prepared.

Similarly, I worked with a leading non-profit to rework their recruitment process for a director of people role. Instead of submitting their CV, applicants were given the opportunity to answer three questions, in a written or spoken format. Candidates also experienced inclusive language, an adapted format and received job packs. They were given clear fixed timelines for each stage of the recruitment process and were provided with financial support for travel and additional childcare costs required to attend the interview. Most importantly, the interview process featured structured questions with clear criteria, levelling the playing field for each of the applicants. As a result, the successful candidate was neurodivergent and they have since played a pivotal role in applying the same changes across the organisation.

Consider the working environment

Candidates who successfully navigate an inclusive recruitment process, don’t necessarily thrive in the workplace. More often than not, employers place so much importance on the accommodations made during the interview that there’s not much support once they start their job. As a result, a new hire feels let down and may struggle to perform to the best of their ability. On a basic level, employers should consider the working environment, offer flexible working arrangements, provide clear onboarding documentation and regularly check in on what’s working and what isn’t.

Start Small

Businesses often fear making adjustments for candidates because they think it’s expensive and time-consuming. However, it’s possible to make simple changes to the recruitment process that cost nothing. Employers can create a psychologically safe environment by merely asking the question, “Are there any reasonable adjustments required?” This will make them more comfortable disclosing their neurodivergence, even if it’s at a later stage in the recruitment process. Other examples include providing interview questions in advance, offering extra time for tasks or providing clear, structured communication.

I’ve seen firsthand how transformative inclusive hiring can be, for both the candidate and employer. A candidate I worked with has since launched a neurodiversity committee at their organisation, another helped reshape an entire onboarding process. As HR leaders, we don’t need to have all the answers but we must be willing to listen and learn. As a result, we create workplaces where everyone has the opportunity to thrive, which is beneficial for all.

The post How HR Leaders Can Build Confidence Around Neurodiversity in Hiring appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

The post Candidate Resources appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

In today’s fast-moving job market, more professionals, at all levels of seniority, are turning to temporary work.

As Ruth Edwards, Head of Tiger Recruitment’s US operations, reports, “Fractional work is unlocking meaningful opportunities across all professional levels, including the C-suite.”

There are many reasons why a professional may choose to do temp work. Some may have been made redundant, others may fit temp work around another commitment, such as a creative pursuit or parenthood, or to gain the relevant experience. Temporary work can range in length – some temp placements can be for a day; others can be for several months.

Could temping be for you? With plenty of benefits, it could just be the perfect career path.

It presents a challenge

Temporary assignments can be extremely challenging as you will need to pick up processes, procedures and policies very quickly. You will likely be required to cover a workload for a member of staff who is out of the office, so there’s a chance there won’t even be a handover. For this reason, you’ll need to be able to pick up tasks with little to no direction, using your common sense and initiative to figure tasks out.

Experience

Working as a temp will allow you to develop your skillset and gain fantastic experience, which you can then add to your resume. A broad resume that displays several skills is very appealing to employers and may well get you the job over another applicant.

Remember to update your resume regularly while temping, noting key achievements within a role. Think about what will appeal to those reviewing your resume, and try to sell yourself.

Temporary work works extremely well for those straight out of education, as it allows you to ‘try before you buy’, while building up essential experience that will bode well when you eventually decide to pursue permanent work.

Flexible working

The flexibility of temp work is what makes it appealing to so many people.  If you communicate your availability to your consultant, the temporary working world is your oyster.

As temporary working assignments can vary in length, you can choose exactly how long you’d like to work for, making your work life work for you.

Confidence boost

Starting a new job can be daunting, whether it is temporary or permanent. Taking those first steps into work is nerve-wracking. However, taking on temporary work placements means you’ll be required to do this regularly, which will increase your confidence immensely. You will build your people’s skills each time you step foot in a new office and find new ways to strike up a conversation or get to know your colleagues. Building your confidence will also help you when it comes to interviewing elsewhere for new roles.

Networking opportunities

Often, when job seekers first move to an area, they can walk straight into a great temporary job and gain experience and income quickly. Moving to a new area can be difficult, and the idea of leaving friends and family behind is a scary thought. By working as a temp, you will be meeting new people regularly. You will be constantly building new relationships and making great friends!

Paid holiday

Did you know that temporary workers also have the right to claim holiday pay? When temping through Tiger, you remain on our payroll, so your holiday pay accrues across all placements. You can usually get this paid out should you not want to use it. If you have any questions about holiday pay as a temp, feel free to get in touch with the temp team.

Opportunity

Temporary work could be that all-important foot in the door with employers. They could ask you to come back each time to cover an absence. Not only this, but temporary work could lead to a permanent position within the company. Your employer may see great potential in you and will not want to let you go. We see a high instance of candidates starting in a temporary role and going permanent. Think of every temp job as an interview and initial introduction to a company.
–
If you’re looking for temp work, submit your resume today.

The post The Benefits of Temp Work appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

The introduction of AI to our lives has disrupted the way we all work, whether that’s positive or negative depends on who you ask, but when it comes to job applications, we advise steering away from the temptation of using it.

As AI becomes more accessible, professionals are resorting to using it in many areas of their jobs. AI tools like ChatGPT have over 5.19 billion visits a month, whilst sitting at number 5 of the most visited sites in April 2025.

Although there is an argument that AI streamlines the work we are doing day-to-day, it should be avoided in your job search. David Morel, Tiger’s CEO reports that he’s seen “a significant increase in employers pushing back on applicants who submit resume’s generated by AI”. Simply speaking, by using AI in your job search, you’re putting yourself at a huge disadvantage behind those who don’t.

We see this all the time with candidates at all levels of seniority, and they wonder how something so useful can place you at a disadvantage. There are several reasons why this is the case.

1. AI doesn’t know you

It’s important to keep in mind that AI doesn’t know you. It doesn’t understand your work experience, motivations for applying for a role, and what makes you tick. You can feed the tool your resume and give it the information about a role you’re applying for. But we all know a resume merely touches the surface of the achievements you’ve had over your working life.

When it comes to placing someone in a new role, companies, of course, look for experience and knowledge, but they also place importance on value alignment.  An AI-generated resume isn’t something that can demonstrate your personality and how you’d fit within a team. Hiring managers want to understand who you are, not just what you’ve done.

2. AI doesn’t replace human touch

We’ve all seen those LinkedIn posts outlining how to spot AI-generated content, with a particular spotlight on the “em dash”, but what many people don’t realize is that there is so much more that gives away that a resume has been created using AI. It loses a human touch and authenticity; it’s almost crafted too perfectly and robotically. That doesn’t mean to say you should generate an AI resume and add a few mistakes to make it seem like you’ve created it. It’s more about losing the robotic tone.

3. Don’t even think about using it for interviews

The issue with using AI for interviews is that you’re going to end up with answers the same as any other candidate in the process, which isn’t going to do much for you when you’re trying to stand out. Moreover, when you’re asked skill-based interview questions, which are incredibly common in an interview, AI doesn’t understand your experience or know every example of where you have shown a certain skill. Only you can give a genuine answer about your experience.

Thinking of using AI to feed your answers during a live interview? Don’t do it. Interviewers can tell, and it instantly raises red flags. Your preparation ahead of the interview should give you enough confidence to go into the room and show the value you’d bring to a team. However, if you’re presented with a question that you’re unsure of how to answer, you can always ask for it to be rephrased in another way or explain that it’s a knowledge gap, but you’re eager to learn more.

Employers don’t want perfection when it comes to interviews, which is what AI has led us to believe. But the truth is, not many of us can keep that level of perfection up. Hiring managers want to see someone who’s passionate and eager to learn. Giving robotic answers that are fed to you during an interview isn’t going to match that brief.

4. What can AI help me with?

If you’re looking to use AI, you can explore software that offers speech feedback, which will analyze your tone and speaking voice to make sure what you’re saying is coming across as you planned. However, no analytical tool can prepare you for the natural pivots that happen in an interview, so it’s important to be mindful that this will only help you to a certain extent.

Taking all these points into consideration, it’s important to remember the value you can bring to a role and understand this isn’t something that can be described for you. If you’re struggling to convey this yourself, reach out to a recruitment agency that can support you and help you put your best foot forward.

AI can be a valuable tool at times, but your personality, potential and passion are what truly set you apart in job applications.

Explore our latest roles or submit your resume today.

The post Why AI Won’t Get You Job Interviews appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

From the Tiger’s Mouth: Creating Impactful Charity-Corporate Partnerships

In this episode, we spoke to Brendan McGowan, a Senior Consultant at NPC, with 20 years of experience working with the charity sector.

Our host Jess Umasuthan, Senior Consultant and Charity Ambassador at Tiger Recruitment, asks Brendan to share his tips for establishing meaningful corporate-charity partnerships and effectively measuring your impact. If you’re looking to improve your charity partnership for both social impact and internal benefits, our latest podcast episode is your go-to resource.

From the Tiger’s Mouth: Supporting Employees Through Menopause

Join Head of Zurich Office Jane Leese and Dr. Ruqia Zafar, NHS GP and Director of Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) at Future Woman, as they explore how businesses can better support employees going through menopause

In this episode, Ruqia offers an insightful overview of menopause, its symptoms and the impact on women in the workplace. We share practical ways HR teams can foster open conversations and put in place adjustments and policies enabling women to thrive throughout this transition.

From the Tiger’s Mouth: Employment Law Post-Election: Future-Proof Your HR Practices

Join HR Consultant Jamie Power and BrightHR Operations Manager Lucy Cobb as they share top tips on navigating employment law changes post-election.

In this episode, Lucy provides essential insights on family-friendly leave, flexible working regulations and more.

From the Tiger’s Mouth: Maximising Executive Efficiency – The Evolving Role of Administrative Assistants

Managing Director Rebecca Siciliano speaks to Lucy Brazier OBE, CEO of Marcham Publishing and leading authority on the administrative profession. From PAs to EAs, Rebecca and Lucy explore all the latest trends in administration.

This episode shares frameworks to upskill assistants, opportunities to embrace AI, top tips on delegation, and more.

From the Tiger’s Mouth: Strategies For Aspiring Female Leaders

Happy International Women’s Day! In this empowering podcast episode, we dive into the world of leadership with a focus on strategies tailored for aspiring female leaders. Join us as we bring together a panel of accomplished professionals from Tiger Recruitment, each with a unique perspective on climbing the career ladder, overcoming challenges, and thriving in leadership roles.

Our esteemed host, Katie Hawksley-Blackburn, a senior recruitment consultant at Tiger Recruitment, leads an insightful conversation with a dynamic lineup of guests. From the Managing Director, Rebecca Siciliano, to the Director of the London City office, Angela Lopes, and the Head of the MENA region, Zahra Clark, to the Head of Zurich, Jane Leese, our panel represents a diverse range of leadership experiences and backgrounds.

Tune in to gain valuable insights and practical tips on navigating the corporate landscape as a female leader. Our guests share their personal journeys, discussing the obstacles they faced and the strategies they employed to succeed. Whether you’re just starting your leadership journey or looking for ways to advance your career, this episode provides a wealth of knowledge and inspiration.

Discover how to build resilience, cultivate a supportive network, and leverage your unique strengths as a female leader.  This International Women’s Day, empower yourself with the tools and strategies needed to not only survive but thrive in leadership.

Join us for an engaging and uplifting conversation that celebrates the achievements of women in leadership, while providing actionable advice for those aspiring to make their mark. Don’t miss this special episode!

From the Tiger’s Mouth: Empowering Neurodiversity at Work

HR Consultant, Jamie Power, interviews Dr Samantha Hiew, award-winning professional speaker and Founder of ADHD Girls, which she founded after receiving an ADHD diagnosis at the age of 40.

With neurodivergent individuals making up 15-20% of the global population, this episode addresses steps for businesses to empower neurodivergent workers and reap the rewards of a diverse workforce.

From the Tiger’s Mouth: Unlocking the secret to hiring Gen Z

Principal Consultant Katie Hawksley-Blackburn discusses everything Gen Z hiring-related with Global Employer Brand Manager Charlotte Steggall, who specialises in early careers at WTW.

The episode provides employers with a comprehensive overview on what attracts Gen Z to a role, and what will make them want to stay long term at a company.

From the Tiger’s Mouth: Bringing Games Into Your HR Strategy

HR Consultant Jamie Power and Andy Yeoman, Strategic Developer at Totem Learning discuss what games can bring to your business. The conversation exhibits key insights into the value of gamification in HR.

This episode looks at how HR teams can use games and gamification to improve  recruitment and onboarding processes, foster positive work environments and improve team dynamics.

From the Tiger’s Mouth: The power of AI in HR

Technical Consultant Arian Hasanyan, discusses the hot topic of AI and automation with Devon Lovell, People Partner and HR Consultant at Fitzgerald HR. The conversation unveils key insights for businesses to elevate their HR function.

This episode looks at how HR teams can use AI and automation to reduce their administrative burden, improve talent acquisition, create a company strategy and policy around AI, and more.

From the Tiger’s Mouth: Cultivating success with employee wellness and mental health initiatives

Tiger New York’s Senior Consultant Jessica Krisburg, sat down with Jessalynn Hudgins, founder of Whole Health Wellness, to discuss how HR teams can leverage employee wellness initiatives to improve mental health, workplace morale, and resonate with jobseekers and employees alike.

They also analyse the future trends in employee wellbeing, how HR teams can utilise technology to support wellbeing policies, strategies that companies should take note of, and much more.
Listen to the episode below!

The post From the Tiger’s Mouth: Podcast for HR Professionals appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Catering to our business support, private, HR, finance, digital and international clients, the West End office is made up of a diverse mix of talented consultants (on both the permanent and temporary teams) and back office support staff. We host candidate interviews here and can accommodate clients interviewing prospective candidates as well.

Our West End office services clients across a variety of industries, including boutique finance, banking, investor relations, creative and tech in West London, the UK and beyond.

Our Tiger Private consultants match exceptional private support staff to private individuals and family offices across London, the UK and internationally.

In terms of our international recruitment activities, consultants in this office help match top businesses across Europe, including Germany, France, Sweden and Italy. Get in touch to find out more.

The post London appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Businesses have long been focused on DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) efforts and, in the past few years, advances have been made to address gender, race, and ethnicity as employers strive to reap the benefits of a diverse workforce. Despite this, neurodivergent individuals have often been overlooked. And, given that 15 to 20% of the global population is neurodivergent, there is much opportunity to improve.

Below, we explore the benefits of neurodiversity at work and actionable strategies that HR professionals and management teams can implement to empower neurodivergent employees. Neurodiversity experts, Toni Horn, a neurodiversity consultant and Founder of Think Differently; and Kassandra Clemens, a transformational coach and Founder of Heal Your Confidence CIC weigh in with their thoughts.

What is neurodivergence?

Neurodivergence is an umbrella term that encompasses individuals who have at least one condition that alters their cognitive function. These could include Asperger’s, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, dyspraxia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), epilepsy, and Tourette’s. Many of these individuals contribute effectively to the workforce, especially in businesses that offer personalized initiatives and soft benefits.

For employers seeking to accommodate neurodivergent workers, it’s important to be aware of the correct terminology and what it entails. Spring Health defines the following terms:

• Neurodivergent refers to a person or group with atypical brain functioning
• Neurotypical refers to individuals who are non-neurodivergent
• Neurodiverse is a mix of people from the two groups. Supporting a neurodiverse workforce means accommodating neurodivergent individuals

Benefits of a neurodiverse workforce

Numerous studies show that diverse businesses are more innovative and agile due, in part, to a greater variance in thinking and approaches. This can lead to disruptive breakthroughs by offsetting a tendency for companies “to all look in the same direction,” according to Harvard Business Review.

Neurodiverse individuals are often excellent problem solvers, due to their ability to think in non-typical ways and identify solutions that other employees may not find.

Toni Horn explains how “those with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) might excel in pattern recognition and detail-oriented tasks, while individuals with ADHD could offer high levels of creativity and dynamism.” Kassandra Clemens adds: “they may benefit the workplace through their ability to ‘dream deeply’, demonstrating visionary abilities.”

Companies that embrace neurodiversity have reported impressive statistics. They are “45% more likely to report market share growth and 70% more likely to capture new markets,” Toni explains. Furthermore, she highlights the economic impact, stating, “in the UK, increasing employment rates for people with autism could add £23 billion annually to the economy.”

An increase in reputational value is also a considerable return for employers investing in a neurodiverse workforce. Hiren Shukla, Neuro-Diverse Centre of Excellence Leader at EY summarizes that “our clients want to do business with companies that do good. Candidates want to work with companies that do good.” With Gen Z and Millennial jobseekers increasingly desiring to work for organizations that are positive contributors to society, a neurodiverse hiring program can allow employers to tap into diverse talent and receive a boost in reputation.

Further, neurodivergent employees are on average more loyal, and likely to stay at a company for longer than neurotypical workers. According to JP Morgan Chase, their Autism at Work initiative discovered that neurodiverse hires were “90% to 140% more productive than employees who had been at the company for five or 10 years”. Therefore, investing in accommodating neurodivergent workers will not only provide a positive reputational boost, but can also create loyal, well-oiled teams that approach tasks in creative and dynamic ways.

Steps to create a supportive workplace culture

The bedrock of supportive workplace culture for neurodivergent workers is, as Pamela Furr notes in a Forbes article, to create “an open and safe environment where employees feel comfortable speaking up about their accommodations”. Key to this is ensuring employees are not penalized when asking for accommodations and that these conversations are kept confidential.

Leadership plays a pivotal role in fostering this environment. “Leadership from the front is crucial,” Toni emphasizes. “When company leaders openly support and advocate for neurodiversity, it sets a powerful example for the rest of the organization.” Leaders should be trained not only to understand neurodiversity but also to recognize and nurture the unique talents of neurodiverse employees. She notes that “by doing so, they demonstrate a commitment to inclusivity and diversity that can inspire others within the organization”.

Businesses can consider creating their own, tailored awareness program for employees. For example, PWC implemented a neurodiversity interactive learning program for all 32,640 UK employees. It “explores the topic of neurodiversity and includes bite-sized resources, as well as stories and experiences from PWC employees.” By learning from the lived experience of employees, the program is designed to help the rest of the workforce understand neurodiversity and how they can best accommodate neurodivergent co-workers.

If an employer doesn’t have the budget for an awareness program, inviting a neurodivergent speaker to educate staff is an option. Gaining an understanding can help avoid discriminatory scenarios, as Toni recounts a neurodivergent woman whose promotion was retracted, stating, “her employer expressed concerns that she wouldn’t be able to handle the pressure, a decision based more on stereotypes than her actual abilities and performance.”

Hope Gillett, writing for PsychCentral, discusses numerous ways employers can take steps to evolve their workplace culture to be accommodating to neurodivergent employees. From offering designated quiet areas and providing headphones to “prevent distraction or overstimulation”, to including breaks in long meetings to allow employees to “re-center”, and “eliminating mandatory attendance at work social events”. Recognizing that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to workplace culture, and adding small initiatives that appeal to neurodivergent employees may work wonders in fostering a healthy and inclusive working environment.

Inclusive hiring practices

While the benefits of a neurodiverse workforce are clear, organizations often struggle to recognize and tap into this talent pool. Toni states, “with an estimated 15-20% of the population being neurodiverse, this is a significant segment of potential talent that can contribute to various industries.” HR professionals should actively work to identify and attract neurodiverse talent, going beyond traditional recruitment channels. This can be done by engaging the local community, and partnering with groups such as “government agencies, non-profits, vocational rehab centers, educational institutions, or offices for disabilities”.

Harvard Business Review states, “the behaviors of many neurodiverse people run counter to common notions of what makes a good employee”, which often includes “solid communication skills, being a team player, emotional intelligence, persuasiveness, salesperson-type personalities, and the ability to network”. When hiring managers adhere to the above criteria, neurodivergent employees are often at a disadvantage when applying for roles. This issue is echoed by Claire Hastwell, who notes that “many superficial norms, such as a strong handshake or looking someone in the eye, are difficult for neurodiverse individuals to perform.”

Instead, Kassandra suggests employers provide full interview information in advance for neurodiverse candidates, allowing them to prepare adequately and showcase their skills effectively. Kassandra states, “reasonable adjustments benefit everyone! When a business treats diversity as a company asset, it naturally caters to the whole workforce.”

Including task-based assessments or job trials that mirror actual job responsibilities will also allow neurodiverse individuals to adequately showcase their skills.

One interview method that can help neurodivergent jobseekers feel at ease and demonstrate their potential is discussed by Robert D. Austin and Gary P. Pisano, entailing “comfortable gatherings, usually lasting half a day, in which neurodiverse job candidates can demonstrate their abilities in casual interactions with company managers.”

Employers should consider offering new recruits neurodiversity awareness training to allow them to get up to speed with inclusive practices. As part of this, Pamela Furr suggests including an “introduction to neurodiversity, explaining what it is and how it affects different people in different ways.” In addition, during onboarding, employers may wish to assign a mentor or buddy to help new employees navigate the workplace and understand company culture, which can be particularly beneficial for neurodivergent hires.

Conclusion

Empowering neurodiversity at work involves leadership by example, inclusive policies, open dialogue, and ongoing adaptation of company processes. By embracing neurodiversity, companies not only benefit neurodiverse employees but can also enrich the entire organization. Kassandra concludes, “creating a truly accessible work environment benefits employee retention, closes skills gaps, and prevents employee burnout.”

For HR professionals and organizations looking to be inclusive towards neurodiverse professionals, the key lies in a commitment to diverse hiring, educating employees on accommodations, and taking steps to nurture neurodivergent employees that allow them to perform at their best.

The post Empowering Neurodiversity at Work appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

In today’s working environment, diversity is no longer an aim – it is an expectation.

If you’re looking to hire permanent staff, establishing a diverse workforce doesn’t mean paying lip service to legislation – there is, in fact, a solid business case for increasing diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Organizations that employ people from a range of backgrounds, ethnicities, genders, religions and age groups are usually much more successful because diverse people bring with them diverse skills and ways of thinking, which can positively impact the output of any business.

Diversity monitoring* is an important means of implementing and promoting diversity within the workplace. By collecting data on who your organization employs and analyzing the results, you can address the areas of your business that you feel could benefit from greater diversity, while identifying how it has benefited you in other areas.

But creating a diverse workforce doesn’t have to be burdensome for hiring managers and the HR community. Here are some important points to consider when evaluating diversity within your workforce and how to monitor it effectively:

Create your business case

Think about how diversity can contribute towards the commercial strategy of your organization. Communicate this up to board level to ensure that its importance is understood throughout the business. With C-suite buy-in, you can help to create an environment that fully supports diverse initiatives. Starting a conversation about diversity and investment in people can also help to stimulate morale and, in turn, boost productivity among existing employees.

Monitoring forms

Collecting data from your employees, interviewed candidates, and applicants is easy with diversity monitoring forms. They can help to measure how diverse your current workforce is and allow you to make equality improvements to ensure your HR processes are fair. These forms will give you information about how good your organization is at attracting people to apply for roles from a broad spectrum of society. You must communicate exactly why you are asking for this information, how you will be using it to inform your HR procedures and how it will help to create a better workforce.

Review the data

Use the data you have gathered to help you design or amend HR policies that will attract and retain a talented workforce. By comparing and contrasting the data you gather in various parts of your organization, you’ll be able to identify where your organization could benefit from broadening the talent pool. You can also contrast these figures to the wider labor market to get an idea of whether you need to urgently address equality within your workplace – if so, it will be a useful exercise to investigate how and why this bias might have developed.

Take action

If your workplace isn’t hitting its diversity targets, you might need to consider altering the way you approach the recruitment process. Perhaps you need to reconsider the way you write job descriptions or even the recruitment companies you use to help you hire the right candidates. You could consider a collaborative approach to recruitment, which will provide a broad pool of candidates from social networks, traditional jobs boards and recruiters, and help you to select the right individual with input from colleagues throughout the business.

If you’d like help to broaden your talent pool and search for candidates, our HR recruitment agency is ready to help!

*http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4071

The post Diversity monitoring – why it’s important and how to do it well appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Whether you’re hiring an executive assistant or HR staff, there are many different types of interviews you will encounter – panel, face-to-face, video, competency, technical,… the list goes on! Each of these has its time and place depending on a variety of factors. Similarly, there are situations where conducting a phone interview is definitely the best approach to take. This is likely to be in the beginning stages of the interview process, where employers are looking to screen a larger number of candidates by asking them a few key questions.

If you choose to start the process with a phone interview, it’s essential to prepare in order to get the best out of the experience. Find our telephone interview tips below!

How to conduct a telephone interview

Consider this a ‘pre-interview’ screening call

Instead of thinking of this call as an interview, consider it as part of the screening/’pre-interview’ process. This will allow you to focus on a few important questions without trying to cover too much information all at once. Choose your questions carefully, as the answers you’re given should be able to dictate whether or not you continue with the interview process.

Focus your questions

If you’re not sure what questions to ask in a phone interview, the key is to prepare no more than five, focused questions which hone in on technical skills and experience. By asking a candidate these questions, you’re able to learn quickly and efficiently whether they’re qualified for the role. As a screening call is one-dimensional, you’ll find yourself concentrating on how the interviewee answers questions much more than you might in a face-to-face meeting. For example, are they answering in a concise, confident way? Are they giving good examples?

At the end of the day, your gut feeling about the way the conversation flowed and their manner of communication will be a good indicator as to whether you’d like them to continue with the process.

It’s not all about their answers

While their answers to your questions are important, make sure to look at the experience as a whole. If you called the candidate at a scheduled time and they didn’t answer the phone (or they were late calling you), they may have an issue with time management or prioritization. During the call, how was their phone manner? Were they enthusiastic to be talking to you, or did they seem distracted or bored? The answers to these questions may give you an indication of their interest and dedication to the process.

Keep your options open

At the end of your call, there is no need to commit yourself to continuing with the interview process. Instead, thank them for their time and let them know when you’re expecting to be in touch. Once you’ve put the phone down, take the time to think about how the interview went and how it compares to the other calls you’re making. Remember, if you’re unsure, you can always ask them to continue the process just to see how they perform in another environment. It’s better to do this than lose your chance with a dream candidate!

On the hunt for new permanent or temporary staff? The Tiger team can help organize telephone interviews as a pre-screening initiative. Get in touch today. If you’re looking to find out more about hiring, our complete guide to help you in selecting the best candidate will help!

The post How to conduct a phone interview appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

The world of Human Resources (HR) is rapidly evolving, and at the forefront of this transformation are two game-changing technologies: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation. As we venture deeper into the digital age, HR professionals and hiring managers find themselves on the cusp of a revolution that promises to improve processes, elevate candidate experiences, and unlock the full potential of their workforce.

In this article, we’ll explore the insights of two HR experts, Lorenzo Chiozzi, HR Director at Hikvision UK & Ireland, and Tess Hilson-Greener, CEO of AI Capability Ltd, as they share their experiences and visions for the integration of AI and automation in HR. Alongside this, the article looks at the wider HR function and how areas like talent management, administration and onboarding can be developed and improved by HR teams that are willing to embrace AI and automation.

Enhancing HR Processes through AI

OpenAI, the creators of Chat GPT, published a research paper estimating that “80 percent of jobs can incorporate generative AI technology”. In HR, there is great potential for companies to incorporate AI into performance reviews, talent acquisition, evaluating large pools of candidates, administrative tasks, and other repetitive and data-driven functions. A leading thinker of AI shares this view in HR, Josh Bersin, who remarks that much of the data taken by HR is numerically focused, involving surveys, feedback forms, and data” which is then correlated with “business results against various people metrics”. This data-driven approach to HR is one that AI and automation can support, from developing best-practice employee engagement surveys to evaluating large numbers of resumes against the job requirements and a profile of a desired candidate.

In simple terms, AI frees up HR teams to complete business-critical projects by automating administrative tasks. Lorenzo Chiozzi explains, “In recruitment, you can use predictive analysis, interview scheduling, chatbots and candidate sourcing to boost productivity. Reporting has changed with predictive reporting and automated report generation.” These AI-powered applications allow HR teams to work more efficiently, saving valuable time and resources.

Tess Hilson-Greener agrees, emphasizing the diverse applications of AI and automation in HR. “These include talent acquisition and recruitment, employee engagement and performance management, workforce planning and analytics, learning and development, and HR operations and administration”. This showcases the wide range of opportunities that AI presents to HR teams, enabling them to strengthen various aspects of talent management.

Delving deeper, Workable mentions that AI can also help businesses “anticipate and plan for outcomes using predictive analytics and machine learning.” This can be especially useful for small businesses without the resources or expertise to map out detailed HR strategies. Utilizing AI can help HR teams understand best practices and case studies that AI can digest and provide actionable ideas tailored to individual organizations.

Enhancing HR Operations and Administration

AI and automation have instigated a fundamental shift for HR operations and administration, significantly reducing administrative burdens and freeing up valuable time. Lorenzo shares, “I use AI daily in some HR processes, recruitment, and in a variety of different contexts.” Tools like automated applicant tracking systems, chatbots, and virtual assistants streamline candidate interactions and deliver seamless experiences throughout the hiring process.

For those new to AI, Tess recommends starting with “policy management and reporting” and to “use Chat GPT and other AI video/voice solutions.” AI-powered chatbots can answer employees’ frequently asked questions and provide prompt assistance, enhancing employee self-service options and fostering a more efficient HR service delivery.

The efficiency of operational tasks can be improved by using AI, which can help with speeding up the onboarding and acclimatization process for new employees. An article by Oracle, referencing data compiled from 34,000 exit interviews, notes that “40% of new employees quit within the first year of being hired”. While employees choose to leave their jobs for a multitude of reasons, delays and inefficiencies in the onboarding process can lead to employees feeling overwhelmed at work, unsuited to the role, or struggling to adapt to the company’s culture or way of working.

Utilizing AI allows the onboarding process to support employees 24/7.

It can also ease the time-consuming administrative tasks involved. Furthermore, Oracle state that AI can “equip an employee with intelligent suggestions for courses or reading that will aid in day-to-day job duties”, which highlights the value that AI and automation can provide in career development too.

Mitigating Risks and Embracing Opportunities

Microsoft’s 2023 Work Trend Index Annual Report sheds light on employee attitudes towards AI. Whilst 49% of respondents noted that they have concerns about AI replacing their jobs, 70% would be in favor of delegating as much work as possible to AI. HR teams can leverage this curiosity and act as the champions of AI and automation, to upskill employees in its wide-ranging uses.

This view is echoed by Gosia Adamczyk, speaking to HR Magazine, who suggests that HR teams should build confidence, “starting with the acceptance that these tools are here to stay”. Companies and HR teams can jump on the AI revolution and develop programs and initiatives aimed at allowing employees to harness the potential of AI in their work rather than allowing them to see it as a threat.

These initiatives still need to be developed with a degree of caution, and it’s important to remember that with any technological advancement, AI comes with risks and challenges. “It can be very dangerous if the model is trusted, as it can generate manipulation or systematic biases,” cautions Lorenzo. HR teams must ensure transparency, fairness and oversight when using AI algorithms to avoid unintended consequences. Tess adds, “To mitigate risks, organizations should ensure transparency and fairness in AI algorithms, regularly monitor and validate AI outputs, and have appropriate safeguards for data privacy and security.” Embracing opportunities with AI, while being aware of its limitations and risks, is essential to maximizing its use within HR.

Ethical Concerns and DEI

As AI and automation continue to play a more significant role in HR, addressing ethical concerns becomes crucial. Tess reminds HR professionals that, “Human oversight and review are important to catch and correct any potential biases or errors.” Ensuring AI algorithms are transparent, fair, and free from bias is paramount in upholding fairness and equality in HR practices.

Incorporating AI into DEI plans ensures that AI-driven decisions align with organizational values and promote a diverse and inclusive workplace.

By investing in AI-qualified consultants and experts, HR teams can mitigate risks and maximize the value of AI and automation in driving positive outcomes for both employees and the company.

Supporting this, Sameer Maskey remarks in a Forbes article that “AI-powered internal survey assessment tools can help HR teams conduct sentiment analysis and deploy data-driven organization initiatives that focus on employee morale and things today’s workforce considers a priority, such as diversity and sustainability.”

There’s no doubt that AI offers an important, unbiased tool for HR and talent acquisition teams in assessing employee morale and diversity within a company. And for hiring, AI can assess a wide pool of candidates without unconscious bias, not to mention provide a fresh perspective on ideas for employee engagement, for businesses that are ‘set in their ways’.

The Human Touch in HR

While AI improves efficiency, it cannot replace human empathy, creativity, and critical thinking. As Tess explains, “Balancing automation with human interaction and personalized experiences is crucial.” Lorenzo emphasizes the importance of strategic implementation, saying, “AI should be implemented strategically, always considering the human factor. AI can make happen what has always been missing in people management – the ability to read information and analytics in a holistic and meaningful way.”

Josh Bersin remarks that AI can pull together data that can be used to make better hiring decisions and likewise decide “who to promote, who to demote, and who should make it to the very top ranks of the company”. Regarding the internal movement of employees, it’s important not to rely completely on AI to make the decisions but to use human intuition and the insight of managers working with employees to ensure that balanced decisions can be made regarding an employee’s potential, suitability for a promotion, and other factors.

Likewise, AI is not yet advanced enough to accurately grasp the values, feel or culture of a company, and HR teams are best placed to decide whether benefits or initiatives are working well, rather than simply relying on data and figures to cast judgment. Small initiatives can have a large impact on employee engagement and morale, and soft benefits can be crucial in retaining and attracting talent that might be overlooked in a hiring strategy based on ‘hard data’.

The Future of HR

Both experts agree that the progression of AI and automation will have a significant impact on the future of HR. Tess predicts that “There will be new professions, and organizations that manage to crack the AI code for a practical and useful HR approach will prevail.”

The seamless integration of AI and automation will empower HR teams to make data-driven decisions, optimize talent management, and drive employee performance, ultimately ushering in a new era of HR excellence.

As generative AI develops further and becomes widespread in the workforce, new regulations will be developed to ensure that it is safe and beneficial to society. There will be plenty of firsts when it comes to AI, and Jack Aldane, writing for Global Government Forum, mentions that Romania recently “unveiled the world’s first AI government adviser.” The working world will be molded in the coming years to incorporate AI, and HR teams will be at the forefront of harnessing its capabilities while upskilling workers to utilize it fluidly, thereby firmly positioning it as an ally rather than a threat to job security.

Conclusion: A Journey of Progress

AI and automation have transformed the landscape of HR, promising to revolutionize talent acquisition, employee development, workforce planning and HR operations.

As HR professionals and hiring managers navigate this transformative journey, they must strike a balance between leveraging AI’s capabilities and preserving the human touch.

Embracing AI strategically, with a keen eye on ethics, transparency and fairness, HR professionals can unlock the true potential of their workforce and create a thriving, future-proof organization.

As businesses embrace the power of AI and automation, HR’s role will evolve into a pivotal one, overseeing the co-existence of human expertise and machine intelligence in companies. Navigating this path with foresight will pave the way for HR to emerge as a strategic driver of business success, steering businesses towards a future of limitless possibilities. The journey towards HR’s AI-powered future has only just begun, and the possibilities are as exciting as they are limitless.

The post AI and Automation: HR’s Evolution into the Future appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Businesses have long been focused on DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) efforts and in the past few years, advances have been made to address gender, race, and ethnicity as employers strive to reap the benefits of a diverse workforce. Despite this, neurodivergent individuals have often been overlooked. And, given that 15 to 20% of the global population is neurodivergent, there is much opportunity to improve.

Below, we explore the benefits of neurodiversity at work, and actionable strategies that HR professionals and management teams can implement to empower neurodivergent employees. Neurodiversity experts, Toni Horn, a neurodiversity consultant and Founder of Think Differently; and Kassandra Clemens, a transformational coach and Founder of Heal Your Confidence CIC weigh in with their thoughts.

What is neurodivergence?

Neurodivergence is an umbrella term that encompasses individuals who have at least one condition that alters their cognitive function. These could include Asperger’s, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, dyspraxia, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), epilepsy, and Tourette’s. Many of these individuals contribute effectively to the workforce, especially in businesses that offer personalized initiatives and soft benefits.

For employers seeking to accommodate neurodivergent workers, it’s important to be aware of the correct terminology and what it entails. Spring Health defines the following terms:

• Neurodivergent refers to a person or group with atypical brain functioning
• Neurotypical refers to individuals who are non-neurodivergent
• Neurodiverse is a mix of people from the two groups. Supporting a neurodiverse workforce means accommodating neurodivergent individuals

Benefits of a neurodiverse workforce

Numerous studies show that diverse businesses are more innovative and agile due, in part, to a greater variance in thinking and approaches. This can lead to disruptive breakthroughs by offsetting a tendency for companies “to all look in the same direction,” according to the Harvard Business Review.

Neurodiverse individuals are often excellent problem solvers, due to their ability to think in non-typical ways and identify solutions that other employees may not find.

Toni Horn explains how “those with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) might excel in pattern recognition and detail-oriented tasks, while individuals with ADHD could offer high levels of creativity and dynamism.” Kassandra Clemens adds: “They may benefit the workplace through their ability to ‘dream deeply’, demonstrating visionary abilities.”

Companies that embrace neurodiversity have reported impressive statistics. They are “45% more likely to report market share growth and 70% more likely to capture new markets,” Toni explains. Furthermore, she highlights the economic impact, stating, “in the UK, increasing employment rates for people with autism could add £23 billion annually to the economy.”

An increase in reputational value is also a considerable return for employers investing in a neurodiverse workforce. Hiren Shukla, Neuro-Diverse Centre of Excellence Leader at EY summarizes that, “our clients want to do business with companies that do good. Candidates want to work with companies that do good.” With Gen Z and Millennial jobseekers increasingly desiring to work for organizations that are positive contributors to society, a neurodiverse hiring program can allow employers to tap into diverse talent and receive a boost in reputation.

Further, neurodivergent employees are on average more loyal, and likely to stay at a company for longer than neurotypical workers. According to JP Morgan Chase, their Autism at Work initiative discovered that neurodiverse hires were “90% to 140% more productive than employees who had been at the company for five or 10 years”. Therefore, investing in accommodating neurodivergent workers will not only provide a positive reputational boost, but it can also create loyal, well-oiled teams that approach tasks in creative and dynamic ways.

Steps to create a supportive workplace culture

The bedrock of supportive workplace culture for neurodivergent workers is, as Pamela Furr notes in a Forbes article, to create “an open and safe environment where employees feel comfortable speaking up about their accommodations”. Key to this is ensuring employees are not penalized when asking for accommodations and that these conversations are kept confidential.

Leadership plays a pivotal role in fostering this environment. “Leadership from the front is crucial,” Toni emphasizes. “When company leaders openly support and advocate for neurodiversity, it sets a powerful example for the rest of the organization.” Leaders should be trained not only to understand neurodiversity but also to recognize and nurture the unique talents of neurodiverse employees. She notes that “by doing so, they demonstrate a commitment to inclusivity and diversity that can inspire others within the organization”.

Businesses can consider creating their own tailored awareness programs for employees. For example, PWC implemented a neurodiversity interactive learning program for all 32,640 UK employees. It “explores the topic of neurodiversity and includes bite-sized resources, as well as stories and experiences from PWC employees.” By learning from the lived experiences of employees, the program is designed to help the rest of the workforce understand neurodiversity and how they can best accommodate neurodivergent coworkers.

If an employer doesn’t have the budget for an awareness program, inviting a neurodivergent speaker to educate staff is an option. Gaining an understanding can help avoid discriminatory scenarios, as Toni recounts a neurodivergent woman whose promotion was retracted, stating, “her employer expressed concerns that she wouldn’t be able to handle the pressure, a decision based more on stereotypes than her actual abilities and performance.”

Hope Gillett, writing for PsychCentral, discusses numerous ways employers can take steps to evolve their workplace culture to be accommodating to neurodivergent employees. From offering designated quiet areas and providing headphones to “prevent distraction or overstimulation”, to including breaks in long meetings to allow employees to “re-center” and “eliminating mandatory attendance at work social events”. Recognizing that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to workplace culture and adding small initiatives that appeal to neurodivergent employees may work wonders in fostering a healthy and inclusive working environment.

Inclusive hiring practices

While the benefits of a neurodiverse workforce are clear, organizations often struggle to recognize and tap into this talent pool. Toni states, “With an estimated 15-20% of the population being neurodiverse, this is a significant segment of potential talent that can contribute to various industries.” HR professionals should actively work to identify and attract neurodiverse talent, going beyond traditional recruitment channels. This can be done by engaging the local community, and partnering with groups such as “government agencies, non-profits, vocational rehab centers, educational institutions, or offices for disabilities”.

Harvard Business Review states, “the behaviors of many neurodiverse people run counter to common notions of what makes a good employee”, which often includes “solid communication skills, being a team player, emotional intelligence, persuasiveness, salesperson-type personalities, and the ability to network”. When hiring managers adhere to the above criteria, neurodivergent employees are often at a disadvantage when applying for roles. This issue is echoed by Claire Hastwell, who notes that “many superficial norms, such as a strong handshake or looking someone in the eye, are difficult for neurodiverse individuals to perform.”

Instead, Kassandra suggests employers provide full interview information in advance for neurodiverse candidates, allowing them to prepare adequately and showcase their skills effectively. Kassandra states, “Reasonable adjustments benefit everyone! When a business treats diversity as a company asset, it naturally caters to the whole workforce.”

Including task-based assessments or job trials that mirror actual job responsibilities will also allow neurodiverse individuals to adequately showcase their skills.

One interview method that can help neurodivergent jobseekers feel at ease and demonstrate their potential is discussed by Robert D. Austin and Gary P. Pisano, entailing “comfortable gatherings, usually lasting half a day, in which neurodiverse job candidates can demonstrate their abilities in casual interactions with company managers.”

Employers should consider offering new recruits neurodiversity awareness training to allow them to get up to speed with inclusive practices. As part of this, Pamela Furr suggests including an “introduction to neurodiversity, explaining what it is and how it affects different people in different ways.” In addition, during onboarding, employers may wish to assign a mentor or buddy to help new employees navigate the workplace and understand company culture, which can be particularly beneficial for neurodivergent hires. If you’re unsure where to begin, becoming familiar with these DEI recruitment guidelines is a good starting point for employers.

Conclusion

Empowering neurodiversity at work involves leadership by example, inclusive policies, open dialog, and ongoing adaptation of company processes. By embracing neurodiversity, companies not only benefit neurodiverse employees but can also enrich the entire organization. Kassandra concludes, “Creating a truly accessible work environment benefits employee retention, closes skills gaps, and prevents employee burnout.”

For HR professionals and organizations looking to be inclusive towards neurodiverse professionals, the key lies in a commitment to diverse hiring, educating employees on accommodations, and taking steps to nurture neurodivergent employees that allow them to perform at their best.

The post Empowering Neurodiversity at Work appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Welcome to From the Tiger’s Mouth! Tiger Recruitment’s podcast series is the number one place for workplace insights, thought leadership and topical issues across the global job market. In each episode, we’ll be inviting an expert guest to share their thoughts and advice within their professional field. Whether you’re looking to reinvent the way you run your business or to hear new opinions and ideas on the state of the market, we’ve got you covered! So, if that sounds like your kind of thing, stay tuned!

Listen to previous episodes on Apple and Spotify.

From the Tiger’s Mouth: Creating Impactful Charity-Corporate Partnerships

In this episode, we spoke to Brendan McGowan, a Senior Consultant at NPC, with 20 years of experience working with the charity sector.

Our host Jess Umasuthan, Senior Consultant and Charity Ambassador at Tiger Recruitment, asks Brendan to share his tips for establishing meaningful corporate charity partnerships and effectively measuring your impact. If you’re looking to improve your charity partnership for both social impact and internal benefits, our latest podcast episode is your go-to resource.

From the Tiger’s Mouth: Maximizing Executive Efficiency – The Evolving Role of Administrative Assistants

Managing Director Rebecca Siciliano speaks to Lucy Brazier OBE, CEO of Marcham Publishing and leading authority on the administrative profession. From PAs to EAs, Rebecca and Lucy explore all the latest trends in administration.

This episode shares frameworks to upskill assistants, opportunities to embrace AI, top tips on delegation, and more.

From the Tiger’s Mouth: Strategies For Aspiring Female Leaders

Happy International Women’s Day! In this empowering podcast episode, we dive into the world of leadership with a focus on strategies tailored for aspiring female leaders. Join us as we bring together a panel of accomplished professionals from Tiger Recruitment, each with a unique perspective on climbing the career ladder, overcoming challenges, and thriving in leadership roles.

Our esteemed host, Katie Hawksley-Blackburn, a senior recruitment consultant at Tiger Recruitment, leads an insightful conversation with a dynamic lineup of guests. From the Managing Director, Rebecca Siciliano, to the Director of the London City office, Angela Lopes, and the Head of the MENA region, Zahra Clark, to the Head of Zurich, Jane Leese, our panel represents a diverse range of leadership experiences and backgrounds.

Tune in to gain valuable insights and practical tips on navigating the corporate landscape as a female leader. Our guests share their personal journeys, discussing the obstacles they faced and the strategies they employed to succeed. Whether you’re just starting your leadership journey or looking for ways to advance your career, this episode provides a wealth of knowledge and inspiration.

Discover how to build resilience, cultivate a supportive network, and leverage your unique strengths as a female leader.  This International Women’s Day, empower yourself with the tools and strategies needed to not only survive but thrive in leadership.

Join us for an engaging and uplifting conversation that celebrates the achievements of women in leadership, while providing actionable advice for those aspiring to make their mark. Don’t miss this special episode!

From the Tiger’s Mouth: Empowering Neurodiversity at Work

HR Consultant, Jamie Power, interviews Dr Samantha Hiew, award-winning professional speaker and Founder of ADHD Girls, which she founded after receiving an ADHD diagnosis at the age of 40.

With neurodivergent individuals making up 15-20% of the global population, this episode addresses steps for businesses to empower neurodivergent workers and reap the rewards of a diverse workforce.

From the Tiger’s Mouth: Bringing Games Into Your HR Strategy

HR Consultant Jamie Power and Andy Yeoman, Strategic Developer at Totem Learning discuss what games can bring to your business. The conversation exhibits key insights into the value of gamification in HR.

This episode looks at how HR teams can use games and gamification to improve  recruitment and onboarding processes, foster positive work environments and improve team dynamics.

From the Tiger’s Mouth: Cultivating success with employee wellness and mental health initiatives

Tiger New York’s Senior Consultant Jessica Krisburg, sat down with Jessalynn Hudgins, founder of Whole Health Wellness, to discuss how HR teams can leverage employee wellness initiatives to improve mental health, workplace morale, and resonate with jobseekers and employees alike.

They also analyze the future trends in employee wellbeing, how HR teams can utilize technology to support wellbeing policies, strategies that companies should take note of, and much more.
Listen to the episode below!

For insights and resources for HR professionals, click here.

The post From the Tiger’s Mouth: podcast for HR professionals appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Exceptional, innovative, industry-leading employees won’t simply walk through your company’s front door, no matter how impressive the reception. Competition is too high at the moment to be complacent or passive when it comes to hiring talent acquisition staff. To adapt an old saying, good things come to those with… a strong talent acquisition team – and building that strong team means knowing what to look for in a candidate.

But what is talent acquisition? It’s not simply a matter of recruiting to fill existing roles – it encompasses elements of HR, business strategy, marketing and trend forecasting, and thus calls for people with several strings to their bow.

Five key attributes of talent acquisition specialists

A good judge of character

It may seem overly simple, but an essential starting point for any talent acquisition professional is a strong intuition about who is the right fit for the role in question. This goes beyond gut instinct; a top talent acquisition specialist will train this perception by being deeply immersed in the ins and outs of their company, its industry, and the wider culture.

Within this context they will need to weigh the prospect’s personality, skillset and experience against the company’s needs, the dynamic of the team already in place, and the challenges in the future. The latter point leads us to another important trait.

Future-conscious

Time waits for no company, so staying ahead of the curve requires constant attention. The ways we do business have changed drastically even in the last 10 years, often leaving skills gaps within your workforce that must be plugged swiftly.

Your TA team should be in the vanguard, looking for potential challenges and opportunities up ahead and keeping a close eye on the competition. This way, they can report to business heads on the company’s blind spots and advise on recruitment drives and in-house staff training to ensure future-proofing across the whole business.

Tech-savvy

Hand-in-hand with a forward-thinking mindset is technological know-how. Recruiting for roles is becoming increasingly data-driven, and while the latter stages of choosing the right candidate will always benefit from the human touch, starting with the data approach is more and more essential.

The best TA teams understand this and are well-trained in the latest data software and analysis. They put in research on candidates through a variety of means that go well beyond the typical CV and interview route.

Speak the language

It’s often new technology and changing cultural norms that expose holes in a company’s operational knowledge, so it follows that those with the necessary skillset are typically in the younger demographic. It’s important then to be able to communicate with them in a way that will catch their interest and draw them in.

We’re not suggesting going all-out on memes or TikTok videos, but tweaking certain aspects of company branding and your job adverts will show your company to be a player in the here and now, facing the future. Talent Acquisition teams should work closely with marketing departments to ensure they’re talking to the right audience in the right language.

Relationship-minded

Identifying a highly promising prospect is only half the battle for talent acquisition managers; attracting and then securing them as a new hire requires a different set of relationship management skills. We’ve spoken of the importance of talent recruiters planning for and targeting business growth, but they also need to think of the other side of the table and show prospective employees the opportunity for their career growth at the company.

And that’s not all; it’s also crucial that TA teams think internally as well as externally. The best TA specialist will follow through on the promises made in the courting phase and pay close attention to the needs of these new hires (and, indeed, the full gamut of employee retention), devising training and development plans and wellness initiatives that both attract and retain.

Along with the wider HR department, talent acquisition performs an impressive balancing act between business needs and employee needs, something that has been at the front of everyone’s minds since the pandemic began. Having a strong TA team can thus be a key piece of the puzzle in staying ahead of the competition.

As for acquiring the acquisition, Tiger HR is the leader in placing talent acquisition candidates in all manner of businesses, so please get in touch today to talk to a consultant about your needs.

The post The Five attributes we look for in talent acquisition specialists appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Table of Contents

• Diversity in hiring
• Writing a job description
• How to write a good job advert
• Creative candidate attraction strategies
• What to look for in a resume when hiring
• A manager’s interview guide
• Tailoring interview questions
• The offer process and securing a candidate
• Best-practice onboarding process

We have matched exceptional jobseekers with fantastic businesses since 2001 and, for those looking to recruit staff, the recruitment and selection process has changed drastically since then. The pandemic instigated a significant shift in the way we work, and therefore a change in the desires of both businesses and jobseekers.

Now, we’re seeing another dramatic shift in hiring. Both the pandemic and the calls for increased diversity in the workplace have forced many businesses to transform their recruitment and selection processes. From the conversations we’re having with employers in the wake of this, it’s clear there is a need for a simple, straightforward guide to the basics of the recruitment and selection process from start to finish.

What is recruitment and selection

Recruitment and selection processes refer to the procedure of finding suitable candidates for a company to fill job vacancies. It involves identifying the requirements of a job, advertising the position, defining the requirements of the position, and choosing the appropriate candidate for the job.

Learning the recruitment and selection process effectively is essential for employers who want to recruit suitable staff, save the business time and optimize resources. Following each step of the process through to selection will also lead to better retention rates and long-term hires.

Difference between recruitment and selection

What is the difference between recruitment and selection?

Recruitment refers to the process of finding potential applications for a role. If you’re working with a recruiter, this might be with an initial briefing to understand exactly what you’re looking for, so that they might then write a job ad, search for candidates, and provide a shortlist. Once you’ve signed off on this, the next step would involve an interview process. Selection then follows, which is the route to hiring your preferred employee from those you’ve met.

In other words, selection is the process of choosing the right person for the job.

Recruitment and selection policy?

A comprehensive recruitment and selection policy ensures consistency in the process and helps to manage expectations for all parties. Such a policy serves as a guiding framework that outlines the organization’s principles, procedures and best practices for attracting, assessing, and hiring potential candidates.

Firstly, a well-defined policy ensures consistency and fairness throughout the recruitment process. Establishing clear guidelines and criteria, it helps minimize any potential biases and ensures that all candidates are assessed on their merits and qualifications. Moreover, a recruitment and selection policy promotes transparency, both internally and externally. It provides employees with a clear understanding of the company’s hiring practices, ensuring a consistent approach and reducing ambiguity or confusion. Externally, it presents a professional and ethical image of the company, fostering trust between jobseekers and employers. Additionally, a robust policy helps mitigate legal risks and compliance issues by ensuring adherence to applicable laws and regulations. It outlines procedures for handling sensitive information, ensuring confidentiality and data protection.

Overall, a recruitment and selection policy is crucial for maintaining a fair, efficient and legally compliant recruitment process, ultimately leading to the identification and hiring of the most suitable candidates for the organization’s needs.

Tiger’s recruitment and selection process

Let’s look at Tiger’s recruitment and selection process.

Diversity in hiring

Diversity is about including, embracing and empowering a range of people by respecting and appreciating their age, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation and education. Diversity is important because everyone deserves to have the same opportunities in the workplace. However, due to discrimination, prejudice and systemic racism, this is rarely the case. So, if a workplace promotes diversity and inclusion through actionable initiatives, it can help provide opportunities for those from underrepresented groups.

Everyone brings a unique perspective to the workplace, and if an office is diverse, these different perspectives can make organizations stronger and more successful.

There have been many studies to support this, one being a study by McKinsey, which found that companies with an increased number of women and those from diverse backgrounds on their boards generated ROE that were 53% higher than those that lacked diversity.

Federal laws currently in place

Legally, unlawful discrimination in the workplace is dealt with under several key pieces of legislation:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• The Pregnancy Discrimination Act
• The Equal Pay Act of 1963
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
• Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act 1990

Many of the state laws around the country are similar to the federal laws stated above. In almost all state laws, there is a protection against discrimination based on factors such as race, gender, age, marital status, nationality, religion or disability.

When a particular state’s law doesn’t lay out protection against discrimination, the federal laws will then apply.

Effective tools in encouraging diversity include:

• Blind resumes
  • Removing names, ages and genders from resumes before they are passed to the hiring manager
  • These can still be read in a certain way, so they should not be the only measure put in place to remove bias
• Skills testing
  • Using skills tests as the first step in the recruitment process can help jobseekers progress through to the following stages in the recruitment process, based entirely on their skills
  • This can help remove bias based on protected characteristics in the first stage of the recruitment process
• Creating a role-based scorecard for interviews
  • Using a set scorecard for each interviewee, which is weighted towards essential skills/ characteristics – this can make interviews more objective
• Diversity targets
  • These can be based on the location of the office (reflecting the general population of that area)
  • Communicate your diversity targets to your recruiter in the first instance
• Including a hiring metric based on diversity
  • If an employee’s potential contribution to the diversity of a team is taken into account in the recruitment process, it will result in a more diverse talent pool

Writing a good job specification

A job specification (job spec) or job description is a document created for candidates to understand the details of the job before they apply for it. It’s an easy way for them to understand what the job will entail and decide if it’s the right position for them.

Why is a job description important?

• It will convey the company’s expectations for the position in a transparent way
• It helps the business stay competitive in the market, as well as prove its investment in employees through details about benefits and company culture
• It will help distinguish between suitable candidates and those who don’t have essential skills or requirements
• It makes the recruitment process easier from the very start, as the job spec clearly sets out expectations
• It gives the candidate a clear understanding of the role and what’s expected from them
• It can attract and entice candidates
• A good job spec comes across as professional and organized, helping to represent the employer brand in a positive light
• The more detailed the job spec, the easier it is for a recruiter to find the best possible person for the role

Format of a good job spec

• Information about the company
• Day-to-day duties
• Requirements/skills/experience needed (this can be separated into essential and desired categories)
• Personal attributes
• Benefits of the role

Writing a good job ad

If you’re not using a recruiter, likely, you will likely also write a job advertisement for the role in-house. The ultimate goal of a job ad is to attract the best talent, so it’s worth taking the time to write a fantastic ad.

While you want to attract the best talent, all role expectations must be communicated clearly and understood by the employee before any type of commitment is made. If a role includes a large amount of administration or irregular hours, mention it – otherwise, a discrepancy between what an employee expects and what you can deliver could arise.

Other elements to consider when writing a job ad include spelling and grammar, tone of voice, a clear heading, simple language and enthusiasm. Writing the best possible job ad will also reflect positively on your employer brand, which ensures your opportunity is considered by the right candidates.

There are also common mistakes that we see many employers make when writing their job ads. The following are some things to avoid:

• Exaggerating the position or company
• Ignoring company culture
• Being evasive about salary

What’s the difference between a job ad and a job description?

Remember, a job ad and a job description are different: a job description describes what a candidate does for you, whereas an ad should focus on what you can do for them.

If using a recruiter, they will likely write the job ad for you once you’ve provided them with a thorough job description or spec.

Creative candidate attraction strategies

When looking to attract talented candidates, it’s useful to think outside the box (and the traditional job ad). It could be as elaborate as a creative job ad or as simple as setting up a strong referral process. Looking for inspiration to get you started? Head over to our blog on creative ways to attract the best talent.

Remember, by 2025, millennials will make up three-quarters of the workforce, so it’s incredibly important that you take them into account as part of your attraction strategy. You can do this by investing in your digital presence. They are the first generation to grow up surrounded by digital technologies, and as such, they will rely on the internet for information about your employer brand. Invest in building a digital presence that’s attractive to the best talent, with consistent messaging and experiences across all sites. Don’t be afraid to use social media for sourcing – LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Glassdoor can all be effective.

What to look for in a resume when hiring

When looking at candidates’ resumes, it’s important to know what to look out for with a quick scan of the document. Below, we outline what we look for in a great resume, along with common misconceptions we’ve heard along the way.

Resume layout

So, what should a resume look like? Look for:

• Consistent formatting
• Correct spelling/grammar
• No more than two to three pages in length
• Simple design and font use

Education

Education is important, but often employers will rule out candidates who don’t have a college degree, even if they are intelligent (e.g. have previously taken AP classes or exams). We see this quite often when hiring executive assistants and office managers. Remember, if you do rule out a candidate based on their college qualifications, you’re at risk of narrowing your pool of candidates and potentially excluding your dream hire!

Interests/achievements/further information

These sections are a fantastic opportunity to learn more about a candidate on a personal level, behind the resume. This, in turn, gives you a better indication of their personality and if they are likely to be a good fit for your workplace. It’s also a good indication of the level of imagination and creativity a candidate possesses, as there isn’t a lot of room for individual expression in the rest of the document. As recruiters, we use this information to help us do just that, so we would highly recommend more than a cursory glance at these sections.

Soft Skills

It can be tempting to hire prospective employees based on specific skillsets, experience, and referrals. Personality type and soft skills like patience and enthusiasm, however, factor into workers’ success just as much (if not more) than their ability to carry out the role. Unlike industry experience and technical skills, soft skills often cannot be taught, though they can make or break a successful onboarding process.

While resumes may outline the soft skills of a candidate, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to completely understand the breadth of these from this alone. Therefore, you should always try to go into soft skills in more detail in the later stages of the process.

Movement on a resume

A number of employers find a resume with a little movement unusual or an indication that the candidate won’t stay in one role for long. While this may have been the case in the past, it’s now very normal for a candidate to ‘hop’ from one role to the next, particularly millennials.

When you review the resume of a job-hopper, consider the following points:

• The caliber of the companies they have worked for
• Why they might have left their previous roles (ask your recruiter for more information about this if you’re unsure)

Essentially, hoppy resumes aren’t necessarily a negative thing, so never exclude a candidate based on this reason alone.

For more tips, read our blog on how to screen resumes

How to conduct an interview 

Effective interview techniques are essential to get the most out of the experience. If done well, you’ll better understand your employees’ motivations and be better equipped to nurture their desired career path for the benefit of your business.

As the interviewer, it’s your job to make the candidate feel at ease in the situation (as they are probably nervous) when conducting interviews. Remember: a calm, informative and honest interview will ensure the candidate performs at their best, allowing you to ultimately make the right decision. It’s also a good idea for hiring managers to prepare for an interview beforehand.

Set the scene for the interview

There are different types of interviews, mainly consisting of 1:1, panel and group assessments, with 1:1 being the most common. By explaining the format of the interview and what the candidates can expect, this will allow them to feel comfortable and will make for more effective interviewing.

Make interviewees feel at ease

If the candidate feels at ease, you will get the best out of them in the interview and have a more accurate representation of their character/ skill set. If working with a recruiter, brief them on what the interview will entail so that they can prepare the candidate on what to expect.

This includes:

• Who will they be meeting?
• What is the interview type (i.e. panel, telephone interview, video)?
• Will there be a skills or psychometric test?

In the interview, you can make the candidate feel comfortable by adopting friendly, open and warm body language. As mentioned above, start the interview by outlining what the candidate can expect. It’s also a good idea to give the candidate an overview of the company and the role as this will allow them to settle in and calm their nerves before answering questions.

There are topics you should avoid venturing into during the interview, as they have no bearing on the candidate’s ability to perform the role successfully.  These could be questions about social media accounts and leading questions.

Structure of interview

In the beginning, reiterate what structure the interview will follow and give the candidate an overview of the company and role. This is an effective interviewing technique as it will make the candidate feel at ease and give them time to tailor their answers and choose the best examples.

Next, talk through a candidate’s resume and experience. This, alongside targeted questioning, will take up most of the interview. The goal here is to find out about the candidate, their previous experience and what they’re looking for in a new role. Questions to ask at this stage may include:

• Their reasons for leaving
• Why they want to work for the company
• What can they bring to the role

After your questions, give the interviewee a chance to ask their own. This allows them to show an interest in the role and company, as well as proves they’ve done background research into the company.

End the interview by explaining what the next steps might be and when the candidate can expect to hear feedback. Regardless of how well the interview went, always thank a candidate for their time and finish on a positive note.

How long does a job interview take?

The length of the interview depends on the role, the level of experience and the number of stages in the interview process. We recommend a minimum of 20 minutes for a first-stage interview (if there are several stages). A single interview could take up to 45 minutes, but try not to keep the candidate too long, especially if they are meeting different people.

Tailoring interview questions

While it’s important to tailor interview questions depending on the specific role the candidates are applying for, there are a number of general questions employers should always ask in an interview. Below, we break down the specific types of questions that can be asked when assessing a candidate.

Different types of interview questions

There are different types of questions that an employer can ask when conducting interviews. These include:

• Open and closed questions – closed questions have a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response, whereas open interview questions are those which require further explanation from a candidate.
• Competency/behavioral questions – these are designed to test/ask questions about a candidate’s specific skills or behaviors
• Situational – focuses on a hypothetical circumstance and asks how the candidate would react in that situation
• Probing – often used to learn more about the candidate’s personal qualities, skills and experiences, based on their initial answers to questions

A combination of both competency and situational questions will provide you with a holistic view of a candidate’s thought process and problem-solving abilities. These are open questions and will, therefore, require the candidate to tell you a bit of a story and paint a complete picture of their experience and approach to work. These should be defined ahead of the interview with the desired competencies in mind.

Closed questions can be useful, too. These are the ones that only need one-word answers. They have their place, especially in an interview environment where you might be asking prospective permanent staff technical questions to test their understanding. Equally, if you’re rushed for time, closed questions can be a speedy way of generating easy conversation at the start or end of a meeting.

Competency-based interviews are becoming increasingly popular, with companies opting to ask broad questions that reveal a candidate’s skills and personality behind their resume.

What is a competency-based question?

Competency-based questions typically lead a candidate towards describing a situation and/or task.

For example, you may start a question by saying:

• Tell me about a time when …
• Give an example of when …
• Describe a time when …
• Have you ever been in a situation where …

Competency-based interview questions always require an example of something a candidate has done in the past (to use as an example of their competency or behavior in a certain situation).

Pros of competency-based interviews

Competency-based interviews allow you to use a set script or a score-based system for assessing candidates. This typically means that all candidates are asked the same questions, allowing there to be a fair interview process in place, where every candidate has an equal opportunity to shine. Competency questions force candidates to recall their personal experiences, which may then elaborate on.

Finally, these questions allow candidates to show they have all the experience and capabilities to do the job well.

Cons of competency-based interviews

As with every type of interview, there are cons associated with using competency-based questions. In some cases, candidates spend so much time preparing polished answers that they unintentionally give the impression that they have a robotic personality. Also, some may struggle with the open-ended nature of the questions and end up giving poorly constructed or unclear answers. Typically, these are the most challenging types of questions — some employers report that they find candidates will freeze if they feel they’re put on the spot with a competency-based question. Finally, if an interview focuses exclusively on competencies, a candidate might not get the opportunity to convey their emotions or motivations.

Examples of competency questions

Influencing or persuading others:

• Tell me about a time when you were able to change someone’s viewpoint significantly
• Tell me about a time when you were asked to do something that you disagreed with

Interpersonal and team skills:

• What experience have you had working with a team?
• Which skills and personal qualities have you contributed to the teams you have been a part of?
• Tell me about a time when you used tact and diplomacy
• Tell me about the last time you disagreed with someone
• Tell me about the most difficult person you have worked with
• What have you disliked in your past jobs?
• What kinds of people do you enjoy working with?
• What qualities do you admire most in others?

Communication skills:

• Tell me about a time when you were successful in getting crucial information from another person
• Tell me about a time when someone misunderstood what you were attempting to communicate to them

Personal adaptability, energy and resilience:

• Tell me about a time when you felt under pressure
• Tell me about a time when your work or ideas were criticized
• Tell me about a time when you felt frustrated by your work

Self-management, self-motivation and self-knowledge:

• Tell me about a time when you acted over and above the expectations of your role
• What have you done that shows initiative and willingness to work?
• What are three major accomplishments from your last role?
• What does ‘success’ mean to you?
• What does ‘failure’ mean to you?
• What motivates you at work?
• What are your interests outside work?
• Tell me about a major problem you have encountered and how you dealt with it.

Problem solving and decision making:

• Tell me about a difficult decision that you have made
• Tell me about an unpopular decision you have made
• What significant problems have you faced in the last year?
• How do you work under pressure?
• How would you motivate an employee who was performing poorly?

Conflict management and ethics:

• How did you resolve conflict in the groups or teams that you were a member of?
• How would you resolve a dispute?
• Tell me about a time when you bent the rules. When is it okay to do so?

Personal and career objectives:

• What are your short- and long-term goals?
• What are the most important things you are seeking in a career?
• Who do you admire most and why?
• Why do you want this position?

Knowledge of the organization and role:

• Why did you apply for this position?
• What skills and personal qualities are essential for success in this role?
• What would you like to know about this organization?
• What do you believe you can contribute to this organization?
• What do you know about our organization?
• Why are you interested in working for our organization?
• In what kind of work environment are you most comfortable?
• What qualities should a successful manager possess?
• Describe the relationship that should exist between a supervisor and those reporting to him or her

Work experience:

• Tell me about the best job you’ve ever had
• What did you enjoy most or least about your last job?
• What extracurricular activities are you involved in?

Ability, competence and achievement:

• What two or three accomplishments have given you the most satisfaction? Why?
• What do you feel qualifies you for this position?

Stress questions:

• How do you react to criticism?
• Can you accept criticism for poor work?
• What causes you to lose your temper?
• Aren’t you overqualified for this role?
• How long would you expect to remain with this organization?

Essentially, what you’re looking for is someone who can positively contribute to the business by using their pre-existing knowledge and any new skills they learn on the job. It’s important to establish that they possess the relevant skills for the advertised role, which can be conducted through a small skills-based task.

The offer process and securing a candidate

Congratulations! All your hard work throughout the interview process has paid off, and you’ve found your dream hire! Below, we outline the next steps to take to ensure you win over your chosen candidate as quickly as possible.

The pre-offer stage

The offer process is an integral part of securing your dream candidate. Essentially, strong communication and acting quickly are key.

This process begins before interviews start, as communicating timings and setting expectations around the interview process are absolutely essential. If working with a recruiter, talk to them to learn important information, such as where the candidates might be in recruitment processes for other positions and salary expectations.

Offer and acceptance

When making an offer to a candidate, this usually begins with a verbal conversation. During this talk, you may mention salary, benefits, an expected start date and reference requirements.

In some cases, there may be some negotiation and working around a counter-offer from the existing employer.

Once the candidate accepts, you will be able to get in contact with them directly (if you’ve been using a recruitment agency up to this point). At this stage, the contract and offer letter are sent to the candidate.

Elements to include in the contract/offer letter

There are a few key points to include in a contract or job offer letter. These include:

• The job title and key duties
• Compensation, benefits and terms, i.e. start date, working hours, notice period, and probation period
• The name of their direct line manager

You will also need to carry out any background checks and talk to the candidate about when they will hand in notice with their current employer (if applicable).

Finally, communicate any final information pre-starting with the candidate. This could include the start date/time, who to ask for on arrival and how the onboarding process will go ahead.

Best-practice onboarding process

The hiring process doesn’t end at the candidate’s acceptance of the job. Without a smooth introduction to the organization in the days following their acceptance, you are in danger of alienating your new recruits and impacting their motivation and productivity.

Effective inductions are timely, organized and engaging. The aim is to inspire and excite new starters while giving a good first impression of the company. They should set out an organization’s mission and vision for them, while educating them about the company’s history, culture and values.

Your employee onboarding process could take up to three months, depending on the level and scope of the role. HR staff, line managers or the office manager can help onboard new staff. We’ve outlined the best practices for onboarding below:

Planning the onboarding in advance

A successful onboarding process doesn’t begin from the new employee’s start date. As soon as the individual accepts the role, you should be managing your new recruit’s perception of the organization’s brand and the team they’re about to join.

How to structure a new starter’s first day

On a new starter’s first day:

• Welcome them in and show them around the office, all the facilities and their desk
• Introduce them to their line manager, colleagues and senior managers
• Put in place a well-planned timetable
• Make sure they’re aware of any soft benefits that they can take advantage of on a daily basis (casual Fridays, free lunches, etc.)
• Tailor the induction to suit the new employee — for example, a graduate’s onboarding is likely to be different to a new employee who has extensive experience with other companies or someone returning to work after a long absence
• Provide them with a training manual that they can refer to, which includes all company procedures, including health and safety and company information

A new starter’s first weeks

It’s a good idea for HR to organize catch-ups with individual managers once they’ve started the role. Communicate to managers that this is an important step in the new starter’s onboarding process, as it will also help them to feel as though senior staff are taking a genuine interest in them and their skills.

The first few weeks are the most important time for any new starter. In this time, they’ll form an opinion of your company which will be hard to change if it isn’t a positive one.

Send around an email asking their colleagues to introduce themselves so that they have informal introductions over a few days. Introducing them to everyone at once will be overwhelming and the recruit is unlikely to remember any names. Organizing a buddy who can take them for lunch and show them around the local area is also a good way to relax and orientate them.

Continue holding regular catch-ups and check-ins, and allow different team members to take part in the induction process to draw on their own skill sets and give them some responsibility when training the new starter.

Planning a new starter’s initial workload

Recognize that a new employee will take some time to be able to work at their full capacity. If you enforce deadlines too quickly, you could get the wrong impression of their capabilities, as they may be tempted to rush tasks to deliver them on time. Small mistakes are likely to be made while the recruit is taking in all this new information, so try to set them small tasks and evaluate their performance after each is completed, ensuring that you give constructive feedback.

Remote onboarding

If onboarding remotely, it’s important that:

• Any necessary hardware is sent to a new starter’s home office
• They have scheduled video calls with their team, their line manager and the person leading their induction
• They have a new starter guide which outlines all of the systems used for communication e.g. Skype, Slack, Zoom
• They are provided an e-version of their induction schedule
• They are included in any virtual social events with the company
• Their buddy contacts them regularly about work or otherwise

Remember, the onboarding process can be overwhelming for a new starter. It’s important that everyone in the office reaches out and makes them feel welcome.

If you’d like any additional guidance on recruiting new staff, get in touch with us today and we’ll be able to guide you through the process. If you’d like to request the PDF version of our Interview and Selection guide please email us at marketing@tiger-recruitment.co.uk.

The post An interview guide for the best candidate selection appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Before implementing any initiatives to improve inclusion, it is essential to first assess your company’s progress on workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Failing to do so can lead to assumptions and the oversight of key opportunities for improvement. Without analyzing the data, how can you determine where to focus your efforts, which teams lack diverse representation, or where unconscious bias persists?

We know that diverse workforces far outperform those companies that don’t prioritize workplace DEI. A 2023 McKinsey report found that businesses in the top quartile for gender diversity on their board of directors are 27% more likely to financially outperform those in the bottom quartile. Similarly, those in the top quartile for ethnically diverse boards are 13% more likely to outperform the bottom quartile of businesses.

That’s why we asked Luiza Barwood, a seasoned Talent Consultant, DEI Adviser and Career Coach, to share her advice in a recent episode of Tiger Recruitment’s podcast From the Tiger’s Mouth. Luiza discussed how businesses can collect and analyze DEI data to drive maximum impact, even with limited resources.

Understanding DEI: The Basics

Before even starting to measure DEI, it’s essential to first understand what the terms diversity, equity and inclusion entail, particularly in the context of a workplace:

• Diversity refers to the mix of people within an organization. This includes both visible and invisible characteristics such as gender, race, disability, age, neurodiversity, and socioeconomic background.
• Equity ensures fair treatment, access, and opportunity for all employees. While equality gives everyone the same resources, equity recognizes systemic barriers and provides tailored support to level the playing field.
• Inclusion focuses on creating a culture where every employee feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute fully.

Why Measuring DEI Matters

Measuring DEI is essential for accountability and continuous improvement. Without concrete data, businesses risk engaging in performative programs rather than implementing meaningful change. Measuring workplace inclusion helps to answer critical questions such as:

• Who are we hiring, and is there diversity across all levels of the company?
• Who is being promoted, and are growth opportunities accessible to all employees?
• Who is leaving after a short time? If there is a trend of certain demographics of employees leaving, what is driving them away?

It is crucial to address a broad range of metrics when measuring DEI. For example, an organization might have a fantastic program to attract diverse talent but struggle to retain this diverse workforce once employees are through the door. Analyzing a variety of metrics will mean that DEI efforts can be focused on the areas that are most needed rather than wasting resources on already high-performing areas.

Key Metrics for Measuring DEI

To track DEI progress, businesses must analyze both quantitative (numerical) and qualitative (descriptive, non-numerical) data:

Workforce Demographics

Gathering quantitative demographic data across different levels of the business is the first step. Companies should track diversity in recruitment, promotions, and leadership positions, utilizing resources such as DEI monitoring forms, filled out by job applicants. However, it is crucial to handle this demographic data with sensitivity and to explicitly communicate to employees how their data is being used.

Pay Equity Analysis

Analyzing salary data by gender, race, disability, and other protected characteristics can reveal pay gaps and compensation inequities. Collecting this quantitative data will highlight areas for improvement.

Employee Feedback and Inclusion Surveys

Numbers alone can’t provide the full picture of DEI progress. Conducting anonymous surveys to gauge employee experiences can uncover deeper insights into a company’s working environment. Key questions might include:

• Do you feel your voice is heard in meetings?
• Do you believe promotions are fairly distributed?
• Do you trust leadership to support DEI initiatives?

Retention Rates

Tracking who stays and who leaves can help to identify disparities. Are certain groups of employees leaving at higher rates? If so, what barriers might be driving them away? While some of this retention data can be monitored using quantitative methods, pulse surveys and exit interviews will help HR teams to better understand any barriers preventing employees from remaining and progressing within the business.

Challenges in Measuring DEI

There are some common pitfalls when it comes to DEI measurement. Challenges can include:

Data Gaps

Employees may be hesitant to disclose demographic information due to privacy concerns. It is important to communicate exactly how data will be used and your company’s data privacy policies in order to reassure employees of how their data is analyzed.

Lack of Actionable Insights

Gathering data is only useful if it leads to meaningful changes. Businesses should go beyond surface-level statistics to identify root causes of disparities and act swiftly to implement targeted solutions, such as policy changes or leadership training.

One-Size-Fits-All Approaches

DEI strategies should be tailored to a company’s specific needs. This is why measuring data is so impactful, as it enables you to implement strategies that will make a real difference.

The Role of AI in Measuring DEI

AI can transform the way we track and analyze DEI effort, and in particular, can support small businesses who have limited resources.

Inclusive Recruitment Processes

Starting from the very beginning of the recruitment cycle, Luiza suggests using AI to help create unbiased job descriptions. You can ask your chosen AI tool to help you identify and remove biased language that may deter certain demographics from applying. Once at the interview stage, AI platforms can help hiring managers remove bias from interview questions and select a diverse hiring panel.

AI in Data Analysis

AI tools can significantly cut down on resources required to analyze DEI data, when employees know how to use them effectively. Once the data has been gathered and anonymized, this can be plugged into an AI platform to analyze the breakdown of demographics that your company currently is attracting, helping you to see any disparities.

AI can also help examine promotion data, identify gaps and suggesting ways to enhance data collection processes.

Innovative Improvement Strategies

Once past the analyzing stage, AI can support you in discovering methods to improve your current efforts. Luiza suggests asking your chosen platform to create a schedule of employee resource groups and requesting prompts to initiate constructive group discussions.

Furthermore, AI can be useful if you’re looking to create a business case for senior leadership once a disparity has become apparent. For example, if you’re struggling to attract female engineers, an AI tool can suggest some targeted initiatives and evidence their efficacy within other organizations.

Yet, it is important to remember that AI needs to be used responsibly. Depending on the system in use, some AI platforms exhibit algorithm bias, often stemming from biased training data. Therefore, it is essential to have human oversight on any AI initiative to check for and address potential biases.

Turning Data into Action

While collecting data is a key step to improving a business’ DEI practices, it is just the beginning. Companies must follow through on their findings to initiate real progress. To turn DEI data into action, businesses should:

Communicate Findings Transparently

Employees should understand why their data is being collected and how it will be used. To further improve communication, companies can regularly feedback to employees on how their data has been used to implement inclusive initiatives. This may encourage employees to share their experiences more readily, making future DEI measurements even more representative of the full business.

Set Clear Goals

It is important to establish measurable objectives once you have noticed a disparity in opportunities. Examples may include increasing diverse representation in leadership roles by a certain percentage, or improving trust in leadership to support DEI by providing annual inclusion training.

Implement Targeted Improvements

Identified gaps can be addressed through mentorship programs, inclusive hiring practices, and equitable career development opportunities. For further support on how to make your hiring practices more inclusive, please see our DEI Recruitment Guidelines.

Monitor and Adapt

DEI metrics should be regularly reviewed to ensure that improvement strategies remain relevant. Goals and strategies may need adjusting based on your findings to ensure they are still having the desired impact.

Measuring DEI is a continuous journey rather than a one-time task. Businesses that authentically commit to tracking, analyzing, and acting on DEI data will create a fairer workplace, and ultimately build a stronger, more successful business in the long run. By developing an inclusive environment where all employees feel supported to perform at their best, businesses position themselves as ethical, responsible employers, enabling them to attract and retain exceptional talent.

The post How to Measure Diversity Within an Organization appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Whether you’re a small business experiencing growth or a large corporation needing to improve efficiency and compliance, choosing to hire a financial controller is a strategic step. They play a vital role in managing day-to-day accounting operations and ensuring financial accuracy. A skilled controller can also provide valuable insights, helping to drive your business forward.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about hiring a financial controller. From understanding their role and responsibilities to identifying the signs it’s time to bring one on board, we’ve got you covered.

What Is a Financial Controller?

A financial controller is a senior financial executive who’s responsible for overseeing a company’s accounting operations. They ensure that the day-to-day accounting activities and reports are accurate and compliant. They can also offer valuable insights based on the accounting data to help with decision-making.

The Role of a Financial Controller

Whether you are running a major corporation or small business, a financial controller has an important role to play in your company. They ensure your accounting operations are accurate, compliant, and efficient.

Here are some of their key responsibilities:

• Overseeing all accounting operations.
• Ensuring the accuracy of financial reports.
• Ensuring compliance with financial regulations and internal policies.
• Preparing financial statements, including income statements and balance sheets.
• Conducting internal audits to prevent inaccuracies and fraud.
• Developing and monitoring budgets.
• Analyzing financial data to identify trends and provide insights.
• Managing the accounting team and financial processes.
• Supporting strategic financial planning and decision-making.

How a Financial Controller Differs from Other Financial Roles

Financial controllers fill a unique role in your business. They are more than just accountants because they oversee the entire accounting process, ensuring compliance and accuracy. If you need someone to handle basic bookkeeping and daily transactions, you will hire an accountant, not a controller.

The controllers also differ from finance directors. While controllers focus on managing daily accounting operations and ensuring accurate financial reports, finance directors set the overall financial strategy and goals for the company. The controllers will manage the day-to-day, while the finance directors will manage the broader financial direction.

They also play a distinct role compared to finance business partners. Finance business partners are deeply integrated with different departments. They use their financial insights to guide strategic initiatives and ensure collaboration between finance and operational teams.

Signs Your Business Needs a Financial Controller

Knowing when to hire a financial controller is crucial. Here are some of the sure signs that your business needs to recruit a controller:

Rapid Business Growth

If your business is experiencing rapid growth, it can become challenging to manage finances effectively. A controller can help ensure that your accounting operations scale with your business. They provide the expertise needed to handle increased financial complexity and support sustainable growth.

Increased Regulatory Requirements

As your business grows, so do the regulatory requirements you must comply with. A controller ensures that all financial practices meet legal standards and internal policies, helping you avoid any costly penalties.

Inaccurate Financial Reporting

Frequent errors or inconsistencies in your accounting reports are clear signs that you are relying too heavily on your accountants. Financial controllers bring the necessary skills to improve accuracy and reliability in financial reporting, ensuring you have the precise data needed for making informed business decisions.

Qualifications and Skills to Look for in a Financial Controller

If it’s time for your business to hire a financial controller, you need to know what to look for in potential candidates. All candidates should have a strong background in accounting and finance, demonstrated by a relevant degree and professional certifications.

To suit this role, the candidate should also have strong analytical skills, proficiency in accounting software, and reporting capabilities. Candidates with experience in your industry will mean they are familiar with industry-specific financial challenges and regulations, making them a great fit.

How to Hire a Financial Controller

Using finance recruitment agencies can streamline the hiring process. These specialized agencies will quickly identify your specific needs and match you with the right candidates. They can also help you with creating the perfect job description, screening, and securing your ideal candidate, saving you time and effort.

If you want to do it yourself, follow our step-by-step process:

1. Identifying Your Needs

You first need to identify your business’s needs for this role. Consulting with your accountancy team can provide valuable insights into what is required. They can highlight areas where additional support is needed and identify specific skills that are crucial for the role.

You can then use this information to create a detailed job description. A well-crafted job description will attract candidates who are well-suited to meet your business’s specific requirements. Make sure to clearly outline the responsibilities, qualifications, and skills needed for the role.

2. Finding Potential Candidates

A finance recruitment agency is one of the best ways to find potential candidates. They have extensive networks and resources to connect you with highly qualified professionals. This can speed up the hiring process and ensure you find top talent.

You can also place the job description online on various job boards, network within your industry, and use LinkedIn to find suitable candidates. Attending industry events can help you meet professionals who might be looking for new opportunities. These methods can help you reach a broad audience and find the right fit for your business.

3. Evaluating Financial Controllers

Start by assessing candidates’ resumes to identify those with the right qualifications and experience. Look for relevant certifications, such as CPA, and experience in accounting management. Pay attention to the industries of their previous roles and any accomplishments to determine their suitability for your role.

Conducting interviews is the next crucial step in the evaluation process. You will need to prepare a set of questions that cover both technical skills and their problem-solving abilities. Make sure to ask about their experience with reporting, compliance, and how they have handled any financial challenges in the past.

You can also use assessments, such as practical tests or case studies, to gain insights into a candidate’s capabilities. These assessments help ensure you choose a candidate who can effectively manage your accounting operations.

4. Making the Decision

It’s now time to decide who you will bring into your business. Before making an offer, it’s always best to check the references and background of your potential candidate. This ensures the person you choose will be the best fit for your company’s culture and future success.

Once you have narrowed it down to one candidate, you can make them a formal job offer. This should clearly state the terms of employment, including salary, benefits, and any other relevant details. With a well-structured offer, you are set to secure the top candidate.

Check out our finance and accounting salary and benefits review to ensure you are making a competitive offer that will attract and retain your ideal candidate.

How a Financial Controller with Tiger Finance

At Tiger Finance, we’re ready to help you hire a financial controller. We have years of industry experience and access to an extensive network of both active and passive candidates, ensuring that we will always find the right fit for your role. Our team will support you throughout the hiring process, from sourcing candidates to aftercare.

Fill in the request form so that we can make your recruitment process easier and faster.

The post Hire a Financial Controller: A Comprehensive Guide appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Managing business finances can be overwhelming. You have to deal with tax preparation, financial forecasting, regulatory compliance, and more. Add challenging economic conditions and changing regulations into the mix, and the task becomes even more daunting.

That’s why it’s crucial to have a competent accountant on your team. Their expertise is essential for maintaining your financial health and driving your business forward.

In this guide, we explore the benefits of hiring an accountant, the costs, and how to find the perfect match for your financial management needs. If you need help finding qualified accountant candidates, Tiger Finance is here to help.

What is an Accountant?

An accountant is a professional trained in managing financial accounts, ensuring compliance with tax laws, and providing financial advice. Any business, from small startups to large corporations, can hire an accountant to help manage their finances. Individuals can also hire an accountant for taxes and other financial tasks, especially those with complex financial situations who will benefit from an accountant’s expertise.

Accountants are frequently mistaken for bookkeepers. Bookkeepers primarily record financial transactions, while accountants take a broader role by analyzing these records, generating reports, and advising on financial strategy. Understanding the difference can help you decide what kind of financial professional fits your needs best.

Here are a few of the typical responsibilities of an accountant:

• Preparing and examining financial records
• Ensuring records are accurate and that taxes are paid properly and on time
• Assessing financial operations and making best-practices recommendations to management
• Suggesting ways to reduce costs, enhance revenues, and improve profits
• Providing auditing services for businesses and individuals
• Advising on tax strategies and preparing tax returns
• Helping clients comply with legal and regulatory requirements

Benefits of Hiring an Accountant

Choosing to hire an accountant can transform the way your business operates, offering benefits that go beyond simple number crunching.

Expert Financial Advice

Accountants provide expert advice on how to handle financial matters, making them invaluable for strategic planning and decision-making. Their insights can help identify profitable opportunities and avoid financial risks, ensuring the long-term sustainability of your business.

Time Savings

Your accountant will handle all the complex, time-consuming financial management tasks. This saves you time, allowing you to instead focus on core business strategies and growth opportunities.

Compliance and Tax Efficiency

With ever-changing tax laws and compliance regulations, having an accountant ensures that your business adheres to all legal requirements. They can also improve your tax position, potentially saving you a substantial amount of money annually.

What to Look for in an Accountant

When hiring an accountant, you need to consider their qualifications, experience, and how they will fit into your company’s culture.

Skillset and Specialization

The qualified accountant you hire should have a solid understanding of financial reporting and planning, risk management, tax preparation, and compliance. They should be specialized in either corporate finance, public sector finance, or personal finance, depending on your unique needs. You should look for someone with experience in successful strategic decision-making, ensuring that they can bring long-term financial benefits to your business.

Team Dynamics

Your accountant will need to work closely with other departments to gather, manage, and report on financial data. When recruiting an accountant, it’s important to assess their communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively with colleagues and management. You can do this by asking specific behavioral questions or checking their references to see how the candidate performed in team settings.

Accountancy Recruitment: Finding the Right Fit

Are you ready to recruit an accountant? Find out what you need to do to ensure you hire the best accountant for your company:

Know What You Need

Before you start the recruitment process, it’s essential to identify the specific skills and experiences that are crucial for your accountant. This clarity helps in targeting the right candidates and ensures that they can meet your business’s unique financial challenges.

Job Posting and Advertising

Crafting a clear and compelling job description and using the right channels to advertise your vacancy is crucial. It ensures that the position reaches a wide range of qualified candidates, increasing your chances of finding the perfect match.

Screening and Interviews

Screening resumes and conducting thorough interviews are critical steps in the recruitment process. These allow you to assess not only the technical skills and experience of the candidates but also their fit within your company culture.

How Do I Hire an Accountant?

We explain the steps you need to take to hire an accountant, plus how finance recruitment agencies like Tiger Finance can help:

Determine Your Budget

You first need to determine your budget for your accountant role. This will help you determine whether you need a permanent, contract, or temporary accounting professional, depending on what makes the most financial sense for your business.

At Tiger Finance, we’re here to assist you through every step of the accountant hiring process.

Evaluate Credentials and Experience

Candidates with experience in your specific industry can also be beneficial as this means they will understand the unique challenges and opportunities your business may face.

At Tiger Finance, we can assist you in evaluating the credentials and experience of potential candidates. We have access to a broad network of highly qualified and vetted accountants. Our team of specialist recruiters can guide you through the process of matching the right credentials and experience with your specific business needs.

Onboarding and Training

Once you have chosen your accountant, proper onboarding and training are essential to integrate them into your business smoothly. This ensures they understand your business processes and financial practices, setting them up for success in their new role.

Tiger Finance is committed to creating a long-lasting relationship with each of our clients. That means we don’t stop once we have sourced you a candidate. Whether we help you with accountant recruitment or hiring a financial planner, we will provide aftercare to ensure you are always supported while you integrate your new member into your team.

Cost to Hire an Accountant

Fee Structures

Accountants can be compensated through various fee structures, including salaries, hourly rates, fixed fees, or a retainer basis. The fees they charge will depend on whether it is corporate finance recruitment, public sector recruitment, or personal finance recruitment, impacting the nature of the work and the level of expertise required.

Cost vs. Value

Hiring an accountant can seem costly, but it’s important to consider the value they bring. An experienced accountant can save your business money in the long run through efficient tax strategies and financial management. This can quickly outweigh the expense of your accountant.

Negotiating Terms

Negotiating terms with an accountant helps control costs by agreeing on a fee structure that fits your budget. It ensures that the scope of services is clearly defined, preventing overcharges for unnecessary services. This flexibility allows for adjustments in services and fees based on your business’s changing needs.

Tips for Successful Accountancy Recruitment

It can be frustrating to go through a lengthy recruitment process only to discover that the accountant you’ve hired isn’t the right fit for your business. To avoid this, we have some tips to ensure your accountant recruitment is a success:

Networking

Networking can be a powerful way to enhance your accountant recruitment process. By attending industry seminars or engaging on platforms like LinkedIn, you can connect with qualified accountants. These networks provide access to a broader pool of talent and increase your chances of finding the right fit for your company.

Continuous Learning and Development

Highlighting continuous learning and development in your company can attract top accountants who value career growth. This emphasis on professional advancement makes your business more appealing to skilled candidates looking for long-term opportunities, helping attract high-quality talent.

Performance Reviews and Feedback

Performance reviews and feedback from your current accounting team can help refine your recruitment process. These insights can help you identify the skills and personal qualities that suit your company, helping you tailor job descriptions and selection criteria. Feedback can also reveal skill gaps in your team, ensuring you focus on candidates who can fill these specific needs. You can also use this step if you’re looking to learn how to recruit a finance director.

Why Tiger Finance?

Tiger Finance specializes in recruiting best-in-class accountants. Our recruiters have extensive experience and deep market understanding to ensure that we fill your roles with top financial talent. We’ve worked with SMEs to large corporations, offering tailored recruitment solutions that meet the unique needs of your business. If you’re looking to recruit for other finance roles, such as a financial controller or a finance business partner, please get in touch to see how we can help.

Hire an Accountant with Tiger Finance

Hire a perfectly matched accountant with Tiger Finance. Our expert recruiters have an extensive network and sourcing tools to find the best candidates for your needs. Whether you’re looking for a contract-based or permanent accountant, our accountancy recruitment service is ready to meet your requirements.

Get in touch today to kickstart your accountant recruitment.

The post Hire an Accountant: The Essential Guide appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Hiring a finance director is essential for any organization looking to enhance its financial management and strategic planning. They will bring financial leadership, expert insights, and strategic vision to your business, ensuring you can handle any economic challenges and take any growth opportunities.

In this guide, we explain how to recruit a finance director, helping you secure the perfect candidate to drive your company’s financial success.

What is a Finance Director?

A finance director is a senior executive responsible for overseeing your company’s financial operations. They will typically hold a seat on the company board, working closely with other senior leaders to align financial goals with overall business objectives. Their role involves strategic planning, risk management, and ensuring the long-term financial stability of your business.

They are often confused with financial controllers. A financial controller handles the day-to-day financial operations, including accounting, reporting, and compliance. The director typically has a broader, more strategic outlook. Both roles are crucial, but it’s important to know what you need before looking into how to hire a financial controller or director.

Key Duties of a Finance Director

Before you hire a finance director, it’s important to understand their key duties. This ensures you’re hiring the right person for the role.

Their duties are extensive and can vary depending on the specific needs of your business. Here are their main responsibilities:

• Overseeing financial planning and analysis.
• Developing long-term financial strategies.
• Establishing and managing budgets and financial forecasts.
• Ensuring compliance with financial regulations.
• Supervising financial reporting and audits.
• Identifying and preventing financial risks.
• Advising on investments and financial decisions.
• Leading the finance team.
• Ensuring professional development within the finance team.

Essential Skills and Qualifications

To hire the best director for your business, you need to know what skills and qualifications to look for during the candidate screening process.

Certifications

A candidate will typically have a degree in finance or accounting. A strong candidate typically holds additional certifications, such as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Candidates may also have advanced degrees like a Master of Business Administration (MBA), which enables them to bring valuable insights to the role.

Experience Level

Experience is crucial when selecting a director. Look for candidates with at least five years of experience in financial management, ideally within your industry. They should also have a record of successfully leading financial teams and implementing strategic financial plans.

Expertise

Look for candidates who are skilled in financial modeling, budgeting, and forecasting. They should also be experts in financial software and have a deep understanding of regulatory compliance and risk management.

Soft skills are equally important in this role. Your director should have excellent leadership abilities to manage, motivate, and develop the finance team. Strong communication skills are crucial for conveying complex financial information clearly to stakeholders. Strategic thinking is also critical for ensuring your business is a success.

Importance of a Finance Director in an Organization

You might already have a great team of accountants and financial analysts and wonder if you need a director. A finance director is an essential role as they bring valuable strategic insight and leadership that can take your financial operations to the next level.

Here are some key benefits that show why this is an important role to fill:

Strategic Financial Management

A director ensures your company’s financial health is monitored and managed strategically. They provide expert oversight of financial planning and analysis, helping you make informed business decisions. This financial insight keeps your organization competitive and financially stable.

Risk Management

This role plays an important part in managing risks for your business. They identify potential financial risks and develop strategies to prevent them, such as credit or interest rate risks. This proactive approach protects your company from unexpected financial challenges.

Credibility and Compliance

A finance director enhances the credibility of your financial reports. Their expertise in compliance and reporting reassures investors, stakeholders, and regulatory bodies about the accuracy of the reports. They also ensure all reports are completed on time and meet regulatory standards, maintaining a positive reputation for your business.

Broad Impact

A finance director will manage the entire financial strategy of your organization. Compared to a finance business partner, who focuses on specific departments, a director has a wider reach across all financial aspects of the business. Both roles are important, but a director has a broader strategic impact.

They also have a more complex role than an accountant. If you need tasks like bookkeeping and tax preparation done, you will hire an accountant. If you need strategic planning and financial leadership, a finance director is the right person for the job.

How to Recruit a Finance Director

The director you choose will play a crucial role in your business, making the recruitment process vital. Finance recruitment agencies are helpful because they have access to a broad talent pool and know how to find the right candidates. They can save you time and ensure you hire the best person for your business needs and culture.

If you prefer to handle the recruitment yourself, here are the steps to follow:

1. Crafting the Job Description

A clear job description is essential for attracting the right candidates to your role. It should outline the role’s responsibilities, required skills, and qualifications, helping potential candidates understand if they are a good fit. This will help save you time by ensuring only suitable applicants apply, reducing your screening process.

Here’s what to include in a job description for a finance director:

• Key responsibilities and duties
• Required qualifications and certifications
• Essential skills and experience
• Company background and culture
• Reporting structure and team details
• Expected performance metrics
• Salary range and benefits

A job description differs from a job advertisement. The job description provides detailed information about the role’s responsibilities and requirements. A job advertisement is a shorter, more engaging summary designed to attract candidates to apply.

2. Identifying Ideal Candidates

Once your job description is ready, you can post it on job boards or your company’s website. You can also send it to a finance recruitment agency, who will help find and screen potential candidates for you.

Alongside posting your job description, you can actively source ideal candidates to approach. This proactive strategy helps you find qualified professionals who may not be actively job hunting. Use professional networks, LinkedIn, and industry events to identify and reach out to these candidates.

3. Screening and Shortlisting Candidates

Once you have a list of candidates, the screening process can begin. This is when you will review each candidate’s resume and cover letter to assess their qualifications and experience. Look for red flags like missing qualifications, irrelevant experience, or poorly written resumes to quickly narrow down your list to the most promising candidates.

4. Conducting Effective Interviews

The next step in the recruitment process is conducting interviews. This is your chance to talk with each shortlisted candidate and get a deeper understanding of their qualifications, experience, skills, and how they present themselves.

For the interviews to be effective, you need to prepare the right questions to ask the candidate. There are questions you should always ask in an interview, but you will also need to create tailored questions that are relevant to the role and your business. For example, you might ask how they have managed financial risks in the past or how they approach financial planning.

You also need to use the interview to assess how well they would fit into your company culture. A good cultural fit is crucial for long-term success and job satisfaction, which can save you from having to repeat the hiring process. Ask about their leadership style and teamwork, paying close attention to their communication style.

5. Assessing Competencies and Aptitude

After the interviews, you can ask the remaining candidates to complete competency-based assessments. You might include assessments such as financial modeling exercises, case studies on risk management, or strategic planning tasks. These tests can provide insight into their analytical skills and capabilities so that you can confidently select a candidate who will excel in the role.

6. Checking References and Backgrounds

Before you make a final decision, you will need to check the candidate’s references and background. Reach out to former employers to verify the candidate’s work history and performance. Use this as an opportunity to ask specific questions about their strengths and areas for improvement.

It’s also best practice to ensure that the candidate has a clean financial and legal background. This helps maintain the integrity of your business’s financial operations and reputation.

7. Making the Job Offer

This is a critical stage of the recruitment process. You must make the best job offer so you can secure your ideal candidate.

To make the best job offer, include comprehensive details about the salary, benefits, and any additional perks. Clearly outline the job responsibilities, the reporting structure, and performance expectations. This transparency helps the candidate understand exactly what to expect and makes your offer more attractive.

It’s important to be open to negotiation during this stage. Your candidate may have specific requests or conditions that need to be met. Being flexible and willing to discuss these aspects can help you get the candidate you want.

8. Onboarding and Integration

After the candidate accepts the offer, focus on their onboarding and integration. Begin with a thorough orientation to introduce them to your company, their team, and their role. Make sure they have all the tools, resources, and training they need to get started.

Integration is key to helping your new finance director feel welcome and become productive quickly. Schedule regular check-ins and encourage open communication to address any questions or concerns. This support will help them adjust to your company culture and align with your goals.

Retaining Your Finance Director

Now that you know how to hire a finance director, it’s important to focus on retaining them. Losing a director can disrupt your business and lead to costly and time-consuming recruitment efforts.

Here are some tips to ensure your director stays long-term:

Competitive Compensation

You should regularly review and adjust their salary and benefits to ensure you are keeping up with industry standards. This will help keep your director satisfied and less likely to look for opportunities elsewhere.

Professional Development

Providing opportunities for professional development will benefit both the director and your business. You can encourage your director to attend conferences, pursue certifications, and stay updated with industry trends.

Positive Work Environment

Focus on creating a positive and supportive environment to help enhance their job satisfaction. You can do this by formally acknowledging any impressive contributions, providing constructive feedback, and promoting a culture of respect and collaboration.

How to Recruit a Finance Director with Tiger Finance

Tiger Finance specializes in recruiting top-tier finance professionals. Our team of experts, extensive network, and deep industry knowledge enable us to identify and attract the best candidates for your specific needs.

We handle every step of the finance director recruitment process, from crafting job descriptions to conducting interviews and reference checks. By partnering with us, you will find a director who is highly qualified and a perfect fit for your company’s culture and goals.

Ready to hire your next finance director? Fill in our request form today to start your search.

The post How To Recruit a Finance Director appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Hiring a finance business partner (FBP) has become essential for businesses of all sizes. An FBP will bridge the gap between your departments, using their financial expertise and data-gathering skills to provide strategic recommendations for your business. Without an FBP, making data-driven decisions becomes difficult, leaving your business open to financial risks.

In this guide, we will explain what the role of a finance business partner is and provide a step-by-step process for hiring one for your business.

What is a Finance Business Partner?

A finance business partner is a senior advisor who works closely with various departments within a company to provide financial insights and support strategic decision-making. They analyze financial data to help your business plan and achieve its goals. To be successful in this role, the FBP must have strong analytical skills and the ability to communicate complex financial information clearly.

Responsibilities of a Finance Business Partner

Finance business partners are involved in various aspects of financial management and strategic planning. Below are some key areas where FBPs add value to your organization:

Strategic Planning and Analysis

An FBP will play an important role in your business’s strategic planning. They will analyze financial data, market trends, and business performance to identify any opportunities or risks. They will then present their data-driven recommendations to your senior management to guide the future direction of your business.

Budgeting and Forecasting

An FBP will help you create effective budgets that ensure your company’s spending aligns with its strategic goals. They will collaborate with the different departments and utilize the gathered data to set realistic financial targets. This collaborative process ensures that every part of your business is working towards the same financial objectives.
FBPs will also prepare financial forecasts to predict future performance based on historical data, market trends, and business assumptions. This accurate forecasting can help you plan for various scenarios and make any necessary adjustments to ensure your business remains competitive.

Performance Monitoring and Reporting

Keeping your finger on the pulse of your business’s performance allows you to make informed decisions and quickly address any issues before they turn into major problems. An FBP will handle this for you by regularly tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and compiling their findings into performance reports. These reports provide you with clear insights into your company’s financial health and highlight any areas that require attention.

Decision Support and Advisory

FBPs act as advisors to your management. They use their financial expertise to evaluate the potential impact of various business decisions, including strategic initiatives, investments, and operational changes. They will then present their findings to help management understand the potential risks and benefits of different decisions.

Let’s say your business is considering expanding into a new market. Your FBP will analyze this business decision by looking at the costs, potential revenue, and financial implications of this expansion. You can then make a sound decision whether entering the new market is worth the potential risks or rewards.

Risk Management and Compliance

FBPs help minimize the impact of potential risks on your company’s financial health. To do this, they will analyze market risks, operational risks, and compliance risks. If any risks are identified, the FBP will develop strategies that ensure you avoid any financial impacts or legal issues.

How to Hire a Finance Business Partner

If you’re ready to bring an FBP’s strategic insights and effective risk management into your business, follow our step-by-step hiring process:

1. Identifying the Need for a Finance Business Partner

The first step in hiring an FBP is identifying your business’s needs. This will typically depend on the size of your business, your current challenges, and your future plans.

• Large Corporations: In large corporations, you often need detailed financial analysis, strategic planning, and effective resource allocation across multiple departments. An FBP helps manage these complex financial operations and supports your long-term business strategies.
• SMEs: As a small or medium-sized enterprise, you might need help with budgeting, financial forecasting, and improving overall financial performance. An FBP will have the expertise to streamline your financial processes and ensure sustainable growth.
• Startups: If you’re running a startup, you typically need assistance with cash flow management, fundraising strategies, and financial forecasting. An FBP can assist with risk management and accurate forecasting, ensuring your business is ready to scale.

Once you have identified your specific needs, you can then develop a clear job description. This should outline the key responsibilities required for the role to help attract the right candidates for your business.

2. Essential Qualifications and Experience

To ensure your business benefits from hiring an FBP, you need to look for candidates with the right qualifications. The candidate should have a degree in finance or accounting, with additional certifications.

They should also have a minimum of three years of experience in strategic planning, budgeting, and financial analysis. Selecting candidates who have worked with businesses of similar size or within your industry ensures they can understand your specific needs and offer valuable insights.

3. Competencies and Soft Skills to Look For

FBPs need certain skills to succeed in their role and contribute to your organization’s success. Look for candidates with strong analytical skills who can interpret complex financial data and provide actionable insights. They should also have a solid understanding of financial modeling and forecasting.

Effective communication is another important skill to look for. FBPs need to present financial information clearly to non-financial stakeholders to ensure they can support strategic decisions. Other important soft skills include problem-solving, teamwork, and the ability to work under pressure.

4. Interviewing and Selection Process

Once you have a shortlist of candidates with the right certifications, experience, and skills, you can begin the interview process. When interviewing an FBP, it’s important to include the key stakeholders that they will be working with. This can include any department heads and senior members of the finance team, such as the finance director or financial controller. This can help you determine the candidate’s ability to collaborate across different departments.

You will need to prepare questions to ask the candidate during the interview. These questions should assess the candidate’s technical abilities and their soft skills. For example, you can ask them to explain a complex financial concept, such as cash flow forecasting, while also paying attention to how they describe this information to the non-financial interviewers.

Once you’ve identified the right candidate for your business, it’s time to make them an offer. The offer you make needs to reflect their experience level and the value you expect them to bring to your company.

5. Integrating a Finance Business Partner into Your Team

The work doesn’t stop once your chosen candidate has signed their employment agreement. Ensuring they are seamlessly integrated into your team is crucial for their success and retention. A well-structured onboarding program can facilitate this process and help them hit the ground running.

A comprehensive onboarding program should include an introduction to your company’s financial systems and processes. Offering training on your company’s specific financial software and reporting practices will enable them to perform their role effectively from day one. You should also schedule meetings with all department heads and senior management to kickstart the collaboration.

Challenges in Finance Business Partner Hiring

Hiring an FBP can come with certain challenges. FBPs need to work closely with various departments, which can have their own goals and communication styles. If there are any misunderstandings or collaboration blockers, this can impact the FBP’s ability to perform their role effectively. To prevent this, ensure clear communication channels and regular meetings are established from the start.

Another common challenge for FBPs is keeping up with industry trends and best practices. The financial landscape is constantly evolving, and an FBP must stay current to provide valuable insights. You can support your FBP by providing access to continuous learning and professional development to ensure they stay up to date.

In certain cases, businesses misidentify their needs and mistakenly hire an FBP when they actually need an accountant. This error can be a significant setback, leading to frustration for both the business and the FBP. If your primary need is for transactional tasks like bookkeeping and basic financial reporting, it’s better to hire an accountant from the start.

Hire a Finance Business Partner with Tiger Finance

Tiger Finance is a specialist finance recruitment agency with the experience and expertise to find the right finance business partner for your organization. Our recruitment process is thorough and tailored to meet your specific needs. We will support you along every step of the hiring process, from candidate sourcing to salary guidance to effective integration.

Fill in our request form to partner with our professional finance business partner recruiters.

The post What is a Finance Business Partner? appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Table of contents

• What is quiet quitting?
• Hustle culture backlash
• Work-life balance
• How to retain talent
• Quiet firing and quiet quitting, which came first?
• Why you shouldn’t stay silent about quiet quitting

What is quiet quitting?

On the surface, ‘quiet quitting’ may seem to be an overplayed talking point in the echo chamber of social media, but it’s clearly struck a nerve with a lot of people, and so needs to be taken seriously.

To make sense of the phenomenon it’s important to understand where the recent upsurge originated from. Quiet quitting has been thought to be a descendant of the 2021 counterculture protest in China called ‘Tang Ping’, which translates to ‘lie flat’.

Tang ping was a resistant movement to the overworking pressures and rat race culture influenced by the 996 model, where employees were working 9am-9pm six days a week. The 72 hour a week pattern, although illegal in China, was largely normalised in the workplace.

Quiet quitting, the successor of the tang ping revolt, has been widely featured in an outbreak of news across many publications, with TikTok at the heart of the noise. Part of the escalation of this trend no doubt comes from the catchy, provocative phrase, but the name quiet quitting is very misleading – as it’s not about employees quitting their jobs.

Quiet quitting is to remain in one’s job without performing above and beyond, while avoiding duties that potentially exceed the realms of their position or job description. Some people, weighing in on the debate around the term, have compared quiet quitting to simply just doing one’s job, while others have correlated quiet quitting with doing the bare minimum.

Hustle culture backlash

The exploitation of employees through overwork and unrealistic expectations is a very real problem, and one that should be tackled head-on. Since the pandemic, workers from all industries have been far more vocal against hustle culture. This has led to some fantastic progress in terms of work-life balance, mental health, and workplace benefits. Such positive change was possible thanks to employees speaking frankly and honestly with their employers, setting boundaries they could both agree on. So why go quiet now?

The silent resistance has opened the gateways on think-piece publications, with many associating quiet quitting with the term ‘acting your wage’. The idea is that people are rejecting the notion to improve their performance or the scope of their role if that exceeds their wage bracket. This turn of phrase has encouraged further conversations around the generation pay gap, where historically those on minimum wage were able to afford a better lifestyle in relation to the cost of living compared to now. With inflation and the current cost of living crisis reaching crisis-level for those on lower wages, the movement has gained more traction and, what appears to be, more followers.

We urge people who feel financially stretched by their current wage to do their research into salaries in similar job positions and to arrange a pay review with their employer. There are several ways you can prepare to ask for a pay rise confidently, easing the fear many associate with this process.

Of course, for some self-confessed quiet quitters, it’s not so much their wage that’s pushed them to reduce their efforts. Rather, they feel burnt out or underappreciated, which has led them to become disconnected from the role itself, no longer feeling engaged or driven to do more than required.

Burnout is a very legitimate issue that often goes unnoticed in the lens of everyday life. Having the available knowledge to prevent burnout is an important part of managing your work-life balance, and is something that you should be mindful of if you work in, or employ those, in high-pressure positions.

There is often an unspoken expectation, particularly for employees in entry to mid-level roles, where exposure to experience and learning somehow negates an increase in pay or overtime. Many have been outspoken on how this ‘something for nothing’ behaviour is an outdated system and no longer puts staff in good stead of a promotion and better salary. With evidence of less promotions and slowed career progression in recent years, due to an unpredictable economic climate, it is not necessarily a shock that some employees might be growing dissatisfied at work.

If you feel like it’s time for a change and new opportunities for growth, it could be time to reignite your career as, after all, being engaged in the workplace makes for much better mental health than battling through an unsatisfying and unstimulating 9-5.

Work-life balance

A healthy work-life balance is something we encourage everyone to seek, but if you do this ‘quietly’, i.e., you don’t express to your employer the boundaries you’ve set for yourself, all they will see is an employee that seems distant or unengaged. They may even believe that this contained approach reflects your maximum output, which puts your job, and any later jobs you may apply for, in a precarious position. For how could a previous employer give a strong reference if they’ve never seen your peak performance?

The rise of quiet quitting has coincided with a wave of ‘self-worth’ information on TikTok. The consensus from these types of posts is that the lines are often blurred between the value you attribute to yourself in your professional life and your personal one. It suggests that by detaching these two identities, you will allow yourself to become content with a mediocre performance in your work life. Even with the strategic aid of mental separation, embracing a lacklustre attitude could be a hinderance to your own progression and self-esteem outside of the office.

Yes, you may give yourself more time for your family, friends and passions, but being apathetic at work is likely to upset your mental wellbeing, and sometimes ease can be a greater threat than hardship. Why not strive for a career that truly engages you and inspires your best work?

Our specialist consultants are experts in matching your skills, experience and interests to your next position. So, if you’re ready to find a job that rekindles your love for work, and leaves you energised for your down-time, submit your details today.

How to retain talent

With the ‘great resignation’ still an ongoing issue, many businesses are rightly concerned by the clamour around quiet quitting. They may be looking at employee productivity, trying to work out if any of their staff have been caught up in the trend, and how they can put a stop to it.

For these employers, it’s crucial that you don’t point fingers or call it laziness, but instead look at how you could improve conditions for your employees. Rise and grind culture is so prevalent that even the most progressive companies can suffer from overworked staff, just by trying to stay competitive.

Disengaged employees tend to be the victim of being overworked without company support and benefits. Benefits don’t have to be a financial strain on the company, and when it comes to retaining employees, they could very well be a deal breaker. You can keep employees happy without spending money with simple techniques that may even improve productivity at work.

That being said, promotions and employee incentives can’t be undervalued. Recognising when an employee is deserving of a promotion is just as paramount to whether an employee decides to quietly quit or quit altogether. Loosing valuable employees may feel like something that can’t be avoided, but by implementing a considered retention strategy you are likely to move closer to a more stable team.

Furthermore, paving the way for positive morale in the workplace not only makes for loyal and committed staff, but also a rise in productivity, as workers feel better connected to colleagues and what they’re collaboratively trying to achieve. As an employer steering the ship in a fast-paced workforce, it can be overwhelming to say the least, but making time for morale boosting exercises is possible without financial implications to the business.

Communication is of course, central to all of these strategies and approaches. By creating an environment where employees feel comfortable voicing their concerns and desires, a business can continually adjust benefits and office conditions to create the perfect culture for top performance. This show of good faith to a workforce is highly likely to be reciprocated, and you’ll find that employees will go above and beyond without even being asked. After all, a happy workforce is a productive one!

It’s always been seen as an implicit rule that to hold a steady job, you’ll need to go the extra mile, often without recognition or increased salary. But as reiterated above, employees are increasingly getting impatient with this concept and are simply calling it outdated and not ‘good enough’. Setting competitive salaries that match industry standards should be your first point of call. You can pre-order Tiger’s 2023 Salary and Benefits Review here.

Quiet quitting is an understandable attempt by some to fight back against what they see as unfair expectations, but by being equally unspoken, they could miss the chance to affect real change. Employers must encourage their employees to engage in conversations about the state of the workplace, without the fear of consequences.

Quiet firing and quiet quitting, which came first?

‘Quiet firing’ is just as misleading as quiet quitting. Employers are not outright firing their staff, just like quiet quitters are not actually quitting their jobs. Instead, employers are intentionally creating a work environment that is hostile enough for an employee to resign.

We strongly discourage employers to quiet fire their staff, as it risks professional reputation and creates a toxic work atmosphere. But unfortunately, it’s more common than people care to admit. It begs the question, why are employers quiet firing?

There are a multitude of possible causes to the problem, but when it comes to quiet firing, it all starts with the hiring process. At Tiger, we emphasise the importance of hiring the right candidate who is not only capable of excelling within the job, but is also the right character and fit for the team and values of the business. Read our employer’s guide to interview and selection.

After you’ve hired a suitable candidate, it’s essential to set realistic expectations of what they can accomplish, which may be heavily reliant on the handover and training process. For those selected for a role with less experience, finding what their interests are and nurturing their talent is just as important as capitalising on their strengths.

Why you shouldn’t stay silent about quiet quitting

With the heavy opinions from all angles around quiet quitting, it can be difficult to break through the noise and to reach a conclusion on how to tackle the issue in the workplace. Although quiet quitting is a new buzzword with varying definitions, it is clear that disengaged or unhappy employees should not remain stagnant in a situation that may be damaging to their own mental health, and which could have a knock-on effect on several levels.

It is clear that the quiet quitting trend is encouraging a divide in the workplace. In fact, the use of the term highlights one of the biggest roadblocks to a good relationship between both employers and employees – communication.

As a bridge between both sides, we’ve seen first-hand, the importance of communication at work from the earliest stages of the hiring process. We’ve seen how open, transparent discussion can lead to excellent workplace cultures and boosted productivity. This latest trend shouldn’t be an excuse for both sides to be at loggerheads, but should be an opportunity to work together towards meaningful change.

The post What is quiet quitting? The quiet trend with a lot of noise appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Five key PA duties explained

If you’re considering a move into a personal assistant job, you’ve come to the right place. Tiger has specialized in securing jobseekers their dream PA role for over two decades, so our understanding of the position is second to none.

PA roles and responsibilities have been highly valued across a number of industries for decades. The future of the PA role may always be evolving along with the many changes in technology and work culture but, at its core, the position remains the same: ensuring the Principal you’re assisting has everything they need to perform at their best. So, how does a personal assistant go about achieving that?

The gatekeeper

The amount of incoming calls and emails they receive will depend on the seniority of your Principal but, regardless, answering these will play a significant role in your PA duties. You will be tasked with filtering out unnecessary distractions and prioritizing inquiries for your Principal to respond to. So, you’ll need excellent verbal and written communication, as well as relationship-management skills when in regular contact with clients and other business partners.

The diary manager

Senior-level staff can jump from meeting to meeting, office to office throughout the day, so naturally it can be difficult for them to remember their schedule. They’ll rely on you as a PA to manage their diary: booking meetings, phone calls, lunches and more, but also ensuring that they have enough downtime to travel or attend to personal tasks.

The travel booker

Management and executive-level staff will often be required to travel nationally or internationally for meetings and conferences. As their PA, it will be your responsibility to arrange everything surrounding these trips including visas, taxis, flights, hotels, meeting rooms and restaurants. Writing a well-planned travel itinerary, as well as the ability to respond quickly and effectively to cancellations, schedule changes and other issues, will make you an invaluable assistant.

The expense manager

Hand-in-hand with arranging travel and accommodation is dealing with expenses. You’ll be entrusted to ensure all bills are correct and paid for on time, and keep an up to date log of these and all other business expenses related to your executive. It’s thus crucial that you have a good head for numbers.

The MS Office wizard

Your manager/executive will regularly be moving between meetings covering different subjects. They may even be giving presentations. A personal assistant will help ease the transition by preparing notes, reports, PowerPoints and other documents for their Principal ahead of time. The best PAs are skilled with a variety of software useful to this task, such as Microsoft Office suite. If you lack confidence in these programs, there are many online courses you can take to get up to speed.

There are many more ad-hoc tasks you’ll be required to undertake as a PA and, alongside mastering these daily PA roles and responsibilities, the most important challenge of a personal assistant job is to learn the preferred working style, rhythms, and quirks of your manager. If you can click with them and march to the same beat, you’ll be able to anticipate potential problems and distractions ahead and clear them from the path, keeping everything running smoothly.

If you’re ready to take the next step and apply for PA roles, submit your details today. And be sure to read our tips for PA interviews to prepare yourself!

If you’re looking to hire a personal assistant yourself, we can also help! Get in touch with your requirements today.

The post What does a Personal Assistant do? appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Keep an eye out for these tell-tale signs of a people-first business

Receiving that ‘Congratulations…’ email after weeks of applications, interviews and stress can be a huge rush. You spring out of bed buzzing with energy, get to the office an hour early and work harder than ever, thrilled to have seized this dream role!

But how many of us know where this story is heading? The 9-5 becomes a 7-11, the ‘cool’ boss is at boiling point, and no one else in the office is smiling…

Just like a whirlwind romance, a new job can quickly sour after the honeymoon period. The pandemic prompted a lot of people to rethink their careers and take bold steps to change them. For some, the choice to leave one company for another has proven to be the right one. Others, however, are finding the grass isn’t always greener. In their haste to leave an unfulfilling job, they’ve overlooked the importance of doing in-depth research on a company that looks like a perfect fit.

So, how can you tell if a job opportunity is right for you? Here are some green flags to look for in a prospective employer.

Positive workplace culture

Take a look at any successful company’s website and social media. Chances are you’ll see photos of the team enjoying away days and after-work drinks like a group of old friends. This is a great indicator of a company striving to regularly bring a team together – the importance of which can be forgotten in the current excitement around hybrid and remote working. You may even wish to reach out to your potential colleagues for their own experiences in the office.

Transparent diversity & inclusion initiatives

Many companies have clearly defined policies around Diversity & Inclusion, often available to view on their website. While this is a good start, it’s worth looking at the reality in their team via social media, and by asking questions in the interview process. Reviews from employees on sites like Glassdoor can also be revealing. If there’s a lack of diversity, an honest answer from the interviewers is still a sign of their awareness of the issue.

Good communication and flexibility during the hiring process

Applying and interviewing for jobs is stressful at the best of times, but not hearing a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for weeks at a time can be unbearable. Regular updates from the recruitment team show there is as much respect for the candidate’s time as there is for the company’s. During this back-and-forth it’s also good practice to pay attention to how accommodating they are with interview dates and times. If a company is understanding of prior commitments in your calendar, such as the school run, it’s a good hint at how flexibly it will treat you as an employee.

Clear career progression opportunities

The classic “Where do you see yourself in five years?” could just as easily be countered with “Where do you see me?” While we certainly don’t advise being quite so forward, the point stands that a company needs to be able to show there are real opportunities for you to learn new skills and climb the career ladder beyond the role in question. Examples from its current workforce are the best proof.

Respect for work-life balance

The importance of a healthy work-life balance has been in the spotlight for a while now, encouraging employers to place much more emphasis on it in their job adverts. But this is an easy area for them to fall short in due to our 24hour connectivity and ability to work remotely. In the interviews, be sure to delve into any benefits offered like holiday, flexible hours/days, personal days, life-coaching, and mental health initiatives.

What connects all these positive indicators is the proof that a company acts on its word. If you can see the employer puts its money where its mouth is, or at the very least is transparent in its shortcomings and efforts to amend them, you can rest easy that this is a company with a human approach to business.

If you’re ready to take the next steps in your career evolution, and would like advice and help finding a role and company that will match your principles, submit your resume today.

The post Five signs a company is a great place to work appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

After searching far and wide, you’ve found the ideal personal assistant job to apply for. You have the traits required of a great PA, and you’ve made sure they’re all listed clearly your resume. But before you hit that apply button, there’s one more area that needs close attention if you want to stand out to the hiring manager: the personal statement.

Writing an effective personal statement on your resume can have a substantial impact on your job hunt and the success of your application. It will sum up why you’re the perfect fit for the role, and encourage the employer to read on and see the proof. But it’s not always easy to write.

To help you in this process, we’ve put together a list of tips to give you clarity and confidence when writing the best possible personal statement on your resume.

What do you write in a resume personal statement?

On your resume, the personal statement provides a brief overview to the hiring managers of your character, your ambitions, and what you can offer.

In the case of a personal assistant role, it should of course highlight your relevant skills, experience, and the sectors you’ve specifically worked in. But you should also pay special attention to the personality traits that are so crucial to this role.

Below, you’ll find some more specific guidelines to make a great first impression with your resume summary.

Keep it concise

Your resume personal statement should be brief and to-the-point — ideally three to four lines long. The hiring manager will be interested in learning more about you, but they won’t have time to read a whole biography. Keep it punchy and relevant, and therefore effective.

Focus on readability

Don’t get too creative with your vocabulary — keep it simple!

In an effort to sound different or knowledgeable by using very sophisticated words, the risk is that your personal statement will be hard to read. The tone should be professional, but when it comes to the choice of words, sometimes less is more.

Don’t forget to dot the i’s and cross the t’s

You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to make grammar mistakes when writing a personal statement on a resume.  When the goal is to keep it concise and simple, you may feel there’s no need for a grammar check, but it’s always best practice to proof-read. It might also be worth using a tool like Grammarly for extra help.

In conclusion

The goal of your personal statement, when applying for a PA role, is to spark the interviewer’s interest in those first few lines. If you can grab their attention early, they will be more likely to read your full resume and offer you an initial interview. Focusing on the above points will go a long towards achieving this.

Are you not registered with us yet? Submit your details here and let us help you find the perfect personal assistant role!

The post How to write a personal assistant resume profile appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Preparing for a job interview can be a daunting experience, especially in a highly competitive job market.

So how do you stand out from the competition? To help you make a great first impression and optimize your chances of acing the interview and securing your dream role, we’ve compiled a list of 10 winning interview tips.

Do your homework

This is a critical yet often overlooked component of interview preparation. When you are invited for an interview, ensure you familiarize yourself with the company and show that you have done your due diligence. This also includes research on your interviewer.  Employers may not be willing to offer a role to somebody who has failed to demonstrate a genuine interest in the organization and role in question.

It is always good practice to research what a company does, what their values are, and what differentiates them from their competitors. More important, think about what that means to you and how it aligns with what you are looking for.

Read the job description carefully

Ensure you are prepared to answer questions about how your experience relates to the job description. The hiring manager will use your answers to determine your suitability for the role.

Draw upon examples from your experience that demonstrate that you have a particular skill or core competency the company is looking for. For instance, if the role you are applying for requires someone who can manage multiple projects at once, the hiring manager might ask you to share an occasion where you used that skill in your professional experience.

Refresh your technique to effective competency interviews and frame your answers well.

Dress appropriately

The way you present yourself in a job interview will influence the interviewer’s impression of you and the overall success of the interview.

Choosing the right attire is an important step, as each organization will have different expectations for what their employees should wear.

A finance company may have more professional requirements for employee attire compared to a tech company; therefore, it is imperative that you consider how you’ll dress and ensure it’s appropriate for the company you are meeting with.

Good presentation is as important for a video interview as it is for face to face.

Make a good first impression

Making a good first impression can determine the degree to which you are successful in your interview. The way you introduce yourself, shake the interviewer’s hand or interact in the initial conversation, all play an important role in the outcome of your interview. So, arrive on time, remember good posture, a friendly greeting, and most importantly, smile!

Pay attention to your body language

Effective body language can help you convey a positive message to the interviewer and is an important indicator of your confidence and interest, regardless of whether you are attending a face to face or virtual interview. You should pay attention to your posture, avoid slouching and sit up straight.

Don’t cross your arms on your chest as it creates an invisible wall between you and the hiring manager, and steer clear of excessive hand movements.

Prepare 3 personal facts about yourself

As much as the interview is to assess your professional skills and abilities, employers also want to learn more about you as a person. Sometimes this question can throw you off in an interview.

Think about your interests and hobbies, volunteering projects, or anything else that you feel comfortable talking about that will help the interviewer to develop a more in-depth understanding of you and what makes you tick.

Highlight your most relevant transferable skills

Transferable skills are a set of skills and abilities that can be applied to a wide range of different jobs and industries.

This will be extremely helpful for selling your potential, especially if you’re at the start of your career and don’t have extensive experience under your belt, or if you’re looking to transition into a new industry. demonstrating that you have transferable skills will help to convince the hiring manager that you are a good fit for this role, regardless of your lack of experience in a certain industry.

Prepare insightful questions to demonstrate your interest

Preparing insightful questions to ask prospective employers in an interview will help you to come across as interested, enthusiastic and engaged. Asking strategic questions shows that you have conducted in-depth research into the company and that you have a strong interest in the role in question.

For example, you may wish to ask about the key challenges of the role, career progression opportunities offered by the company, or the company culture.

Be yourself

As cliché as this sounds, it’s probably one of the best pieces of advice you could receive.

Pretending to be someone you are not or providing misleading or dishonest information about your background or experience won’t lead to a successful outcome. Employers want to hire someone who is honest and transparent, and if you simply focus on being yourself, it will pay off.

Send a thank-you note

Finally, sending a thank you note or email after an interview is not only an act of courtesy, but also demonstrates your enthusiasm for the role.

Sending a simple email to thank your interviewer for their time will make you stand out in their memory.

Job interviews don’t have to be an intimidating experience, the key to reducing job interview stress is thorough preparation and practice.

Following our 10 must-do tips will fast-track your route to your dream job.

If you’re interested in receiving interview guidance or if you are looking to make a career change, we can help! Submit your resume here.

The post Ten tips for a successful job interview appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Why asking your interviewer questions is important

Interviews can often be a dreaded part of the recruitment process. Regardless of whether they’re a panel interview, video interview or phone interview however, they’re integral to your understanding of the PA job and the prospective employer. And, asking your interviewer well-researched and considered questions presents an opportunity to emphasize your enthusiasm for the open vacancy.

It’s likely that a well-prepped interviewer will set out the agenda for the meeting at the beginning, advising whether they’d welcome questions throughout the interview or at the end (be aware, there may be interviewers who are ill-prepared!). If this isn’t mentioned, however, we generally advise to try and keep the conversation as two-way as possible.

Every question you ask the employer affords you an opportunity to highlight your own skills too! By framing your questions appropriately, you can convey your strengths and examples of previous performance in an interactive and proactive way. For example, when asking about process improvement, you could say, “At my last organization, I set up a committee for all the PAs to meet once a month so that we could share tips and improve processes. Do you have anything similar in place here?”.

How long does a PA interview last?

A typical PA interview will last about an hour and we would normally expect you to have seen a copy of the full job description beforehand.  There will usually be two or three stages to a PA interview process – but we have seen this take a lot longer depending on the company and seniority of the position.

Example questions PAs can ask their employer in interview

1. How many PAs are working in the company at the moment and how do you allocate executives to PAs?

This question will help you to better understand the make-up of the PA team, as well as how the management team view the business support function. Do they recognize its importance or do they, for the most part, try to push senior execs to do the admin for themselves? It might also shed some light on your support network once you’re working for the company (moral and professional!).

2. What are the key goals you’d like to see me achieving in the first three months?

Having a better understanding of the key objectives will give you better clarity around what is important to them. It might be that they want you to focus on getting your head around the different time zones you’ll be working with, in which case you’ll know that that’s the key priority.

3. Can you tell me more about the personalities of the people I’d be assisting?

As you know, personal assistant jobs are so much more than what’s listed in the job description. Having a better understanding of their personalities is likely to give you a better insight into whether or not you’d be comfortable working for them. If the fit doesn’t feel right, you might need to weigh up the pros and cons of the other aspects of the role.

4. What traits do the most successful PAs in the company have?

Having a greater insight into the other PAs’ perceived successes affords you a glimpse of what they deem to be positive. If you’re very lucky, their successes will be things that you already do and know back-to-front!

5. What technology do the PAs and EAs typically use in the company?

This will give you a better understanding of any knowledge gaps you might have, or an opportunity to let them know you have experience in what they’re using! Knowing their use of tech also gives you a sneak peek into how innovative the business is, in that regard.

6. Aside from the people I’m supporting as a PA, who will be my main stakeholders?

Some PAs only spend a few minutes each day with their executives. Knowing who else you spend time with will play an important part in your enjoyment of the position!

7. What do you feel are the main challenges of this PA opportunity?

Having an understanding of the perceived challenges affords you greater insight into the obstacles you might need to overcome. This will hopefully give you an opportunity to get a fuller understanding of the cons as well as the pros.

8. Tell me about your working style and how you like to work with your PA?

This question is obviously directed towards the executive you’d be supporting, rather than an HR representative. Having a sense of their preferred working style gives an awareness of how closely you’ll be working together, how involved you’ll be with their projects and the day-to-day detail of their requirements.

9. Will I have access to your inbox and will I be responding to emails on your behalf?

Email management has the potential to take a significant chunk of time in a personal assistant’s job. Depending on whether this is something you enjoy, it’s always best to know ahead of time if this is something you’ll be doing.

10. Are there any additional areas of responsibility that I can take on, such as committee work or events management, in other areas of the business?

This question should be phrased carefully, to ensure that there are no misconceptions about your enthusiasm for the role at hand. That said, asking about ways you can add value elsewhere in the business will be well-received in the right context.

11. Do you have any initiatives in place to train and develop your PAs?

The question on many PAs’ minds, when interviewing, surrounds career progression and learning and development (L&D) opportunities. Does the company support advancement and how will they support your professional growth? Instead of asking specifically about career progression before you’ve secured the role, knowing how they structure their L&D will give you a glimpse of the ways in which they can support your growth.

12. Do any events or forums exist for PAs within the business in which they can come together and share ideas?

This demonstrates a consideration of bigger-picture continuous improvement and an ability to look outside of your own role. The advantages of collaboration and team building are also significant.

If you’ve not already submitted your resume, you can do so here.

The post Personal assistants, ask the employer these questions in your next interview appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

How to Write a Letter of Resignation

If you’re wondering how to resign from a job, the best first step is to have a verbal conversation with your manager notifying them of your intention to resign, and that you will be sending in your letter. This can be an opportunity to provide any detail that doesn’t belong in your letter if you should so choose.

In addition, if you need to negotiate or discuss anything such as the length of your notice period, this conversation will give you the opportunity to come to an agreement before putting the details in writing.

It can be hard to know how to best go about writing a resignation letter, but doing so correctly is a crucial step to resigning gracefully. From structure and tone to how much detail you should include, here is an outline of how to write a resignation letter.

Resignation and Final Day

The two most important things to include when you write a letter of resignation are your statement of resignation and the date of your final day. Your statement of resignation can simply say that you are formally notifying your line manager of your resignation from your role at the company.

Secondly, it’s important to avoid any confusion around when your last day is. Check your employment contract for your notice period, count forwards to identify the correct date for your last day, and clearly state this date.

It’s possible that your notice period may end up being shorter or longer than that listed in your contract. This could be for many reasons, such as the starting date in your next role, or agreeing
to a request from your employer to stay longer and assist with the transition. If your notice period is adjusted from your contractual length, ensure to put it in writing, either in your letter or in a follow-up email. This will avoid any possibility of confusion about when you will be finishing up.

A Thank You

It is courteous to include a comment of thanks to your employer. Thank them for the opportunities and support provided during your time at the organization. If there is something in particular you would like to thank your manager for, then briefly do so. You are not required to include a statement of thanks, but it is a recommended thing to include as part of a graceful resignation.

Handover

We suggest that you add a sentence offering to assist in the handover of your tasks to your replacement. You don’t need to go into detail here, as this is something that you will most likely discuss with your manager in person. This is an optional part of a resignation letter, but it is a great way to show your manager that you intend to leave on good terms. Remember, you may need your manager for a reference in the future.

Conclusion

Finish by signing off your letter with your full name. As this is a formal letter, it can be a good idea to include your contact details in the footer (or header) of your letter.

The above are the most common points to include in a letter of resignation. Depending on the nature of your work, you may be required to include additional information. Have a thorough read of your employment contract before writing your letter and ensure that you have identified any additional points that need adding.

Things To Avoid In Your Resignation Letter

There are some things that shouldn’t be said in a resignation letter. These topics may either be better suited to a face-to-face discussion, your exit interview, or even just for conversations at home. When considering how to write a resignation letter, keep these in mind.

Why You Are Leaving

You are not required by law to give a reason for your resignation, and it is usually a good idea to avoid this topic altogether in your letter. If you have found a new role, this is something that you can choose to verbally disclose in conversation with your manager.

Your New Employer

If you have found a new role, do not disclose the details of this in your resignation letter. You can choose to let your manager know about your new role in person, but this isn’t something that you should be including in your letter.

Complaints

It’s important to leave a job on good terms where possible, and your resignation letter is not the place to be airing grievances. If you have constructive feedback to provide your employer with, this is something that can be discussed in your exit interview. If you have frustrations that you feel need venting, avoid doing so in the workplace. Letting out your emotions is what friends and family are for!

Example Resignation Letter

As a starting point, we’ve outlined an example resignation letter below. Most resignation letters these days are handed in digitally. If you are handing your resignation letter in physically, it is a good idea to sign the bottom of the letter.

Date

Dear [manager’s name],

I am writing this letter to formally notify you of my resignation as [role title] at [company name], effective [date of sending]. In accordance with my employment contract, my last day of work will be [date of last day].

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the support and opportunities provided to me in my time at [company name].

Please let me know how I can help ensure a smooth transition over the next [notice period length].

Kind Regards,
Your full name
Your contact details

Looking For A Job?

Are you looking for a job? Register with Tiger today to get started on finding the job of your dreams.

The post How To Write A Resignation Letter appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

While AI is forecasted by many to be an impactful trend in the recruitment process[1], when hiring a PA in New York, it’s important to remember that the human touch is still integral in finding the right candidate. We’ve outlined the areas that demonstrate how human recruiters reign supreme in candidate selection, and why your recruiter can ensure the right fit for your business.

Recognizing personality fit

When hiring for a personal assistant role,  it’s important to take both professional and personality fit into account. As their function involves supporting senior management staff, finding a candidate with the right personality match in PA recruitment is essential. An experienced personal assistant recruitment consultant will be able to make decisions about a candidate’s personality to ensure they suit your existing office fit. For example, if a candidate communicates quietly and seems withdrawn in their body language, a good recruiter will never send them to a workplace where they will be supporting outspoken, straight-to-the-point management styles. AI, by contrast, might struggle to gauge these personality differences.

Identifying soft skills

A personal assistant’s soft skills may not always be obvious from their résumé, but they could prove to be integral to a role. A recruiter will be able to gauge a PA’s transferable attributes, such as emotional intelligence, leadership traits and communication style from an initial face-to-face registration. An NYC PA will also be savvy to the ways of the city, including transport, food and gifting options: characteristics that are also important when supporting management. A recruiter can quiz a candidate on this knowledge in a meeting, whereas AI is not able to determine these when screening résumé and asking templated multiple-choice questions.

Where AI and the human touch can work together

While AI can’t replace humans in the recruitment process, consultants are beginning to utilize the technology to make their recruitment process more efficient. One way this happens is through advanced candidate testing like gamification, which evaluates a PA’s actions in real-life situations.

For example, an NYC PA may be required to organize conflicting meetings and calendars across multiple time zones, so a test with reactive AI will help assess this. Artificial intelligence can also support HR managers and recruiters by pre-screening large numbers of résumés to speed up the process. However, the ultimate decision on a candidate’s fit for a business remains very squarely with human recruiters.

Tiger Recruitment is a leading personal assistant employment agency in NYC. Get in touch to speak to a consultant today!

[1] https://yourstory.com/mystory/6-ai-developments-in-recruitment-to-follow-in-2020

The post Looking to hire a PA in NYC? Three reasons why human recruiters reign supreme over AI appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

When recruiting a new permanent role, it goes without saying that if you’re looking for the best, you’ll probably need to go above and beyond to find them, let alone secure their interest and employ them. It’s also likely they already have a job, so what can you do to stand out? Where can you reach candidates who aren’t actively looking for a role? How does your employer branding stand out from the crowd, without costing the earth in marketing or advertising fees?

We reveal our five picks of our favorite creative employment attraction strategies, and how looking beyond the realms of a traditional job advert might just pay off in attracting top talent.

1. Use video

Rather than paying to develop recruitment videos, consider setting up an internal competition where employees compete to put together short, engaging films about why they love working for the business. It’s also quite likely you’ll see a number of surprising reasons as to why they enjoy working for you that you didn’t realize! Video can be an incredibly successful recruitment tool when used well. Post the best films on your own website and YouTube, and encourage your staff to share them on social media among their own networks.

2. Be honest

It pays to be transparent from the start. Test out some job ads that portray a genuine picture of what it’s like to work for you and, most importantly, what prospective employees will get out of working with you. Sir Ernest Shackleton made history when he led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. But he didn’t do it by promising candidates a great ride! By explaining honestly what was in store for his fellow explorers, he was able to successfully recruit candidates that were in it purely for the ‘honor and recognition in case of success’.

3. Ask for referrals immediately

If you have great people working with you already, there’s a high likelihood they also know great people. And there’s no better time to pique their interest with an incentivized referral scheme than at the start of their career with you. Ask new hires at the onboarding stage who they might know generally, as well as at their previous place of employment. Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE) is an insurance company that boasts sourcing between 40 – 60 % of its employees via referral. This incredible figure is down to them asking for referrals within 30 days of hiring.

4. Go the extra mile

Sometimes it can take a great deal of persistence to get the right person. This was the case for Australian company Atlassian who, when faced with a shortage of Australian engineers, launched a campaign to ‘steal European geeks’ and relocate 15 developers to Sydney. Accompanied by a decked out bus, they hosted meetings and interviews across Europe, engaging candidates by encouraging them to track the bus’s progress and apply for a chance to move to Australia’s ‘Silicon Beach’.

5. Engage candidates in a different way

When it comes to asking yourself ‘how to attract the best talent for your company?’, the element of surprise can be incredibly effective. The Swedish Army, as an example, launched a ‘Who cares?’ campaign by streaming an unusual social experiment to raise awareness of their brand and hire new recruits.

They placed a mysterious container in central Stockholm and asked a person inside every hour through a controlled airlock. With just a solitary chair in the room and no other information, this person could only leave the box if a total stranger was willing to exchange places with them for another hour.

The campaign was streamed online and picked up by social media. The result? With an initial target of 4300 applicants for 1430 positions, they were overwhelmed with 9930 applications!

While for some, the creativity of your recruitment campaigns might be bound by the willingness of your management teams, we’d encourage you to be bold. Take the time to think creatively!

Looking to recruit a new role? Get in touch with Tiger today. If you’re looking for top tips for hiring, our complete interview guide for the best candidate selection will help!

The post Five creative ways for attracting top talent appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

In today’s recruitment market it can be pretty tricky to stand out from the crowd on a standard job board. When the listings start to fade into each other, the roles responsibilities all look alike and the benefits can’t be distinguished from one to the next, it can be tricky to get a feel for a company’s company culture. Or even their sense of humor! It’s this personal element that many businesses sometimes miss in their advertising of job roles, so we thought we’d highlight our pick of ten creative job ad examples we found around the internet.

The below ads manage to successfully convey a sense of their business’s identity without disclosing too much at all about the job itself. Most of them rely on intrigue… And it works! Be sure to let us know your favorites!

1. Hungry Designers Wanted – Tonic International

At first glance you’d be forgiven for assuming it’s another clever Apple ad, but it’s Tonic International inviting designers (who use Apple products as standard) to think about how hungry for success they really are. A smart way to simultaneously appeal to a designer’s creativity whilst leveraging from their favorite brand.

2. We’re Looking For Dishwashers – Restaurant Binnen

This Dutch restaurant needed dishwashers – arguably one of the lesser glamorous roles out there. But what better way to appeal to someone’s penchant for cleaning than to distract them with (fake) lipstick marks on their wine and beer glasses? It accompanied the simple phrase ‘we’re looking for dishwashers’. Apparently it took them just one week to hire someone.

3. New Tattoo Artists Wanted – Bergge Tattoo

A very creative ad that encourages immediate engagement from its applicants whilst at the same time tests their technical abilities! In this ad, applicants must carefully fill in the QR code so as to be able to scan and upload the application form. Smart.

4. Problem Solvers Wanted – Microsoft

The ad below shows how Microsoft embraces the inner geeks with their software engineer job adverts. Bold, effective, and a nifty way to test their skills before they even have the chance to apply!

5. Life’s Too Short For The Wrong Job – Jobs In Town

This German job search platform ran a whole series of similar ads to the below to entice more users to use their service. Funny, engaging and visually arresting, we’re sure this one had people uploading their resumes in no time.

6. If You’re A Medical Transcriptionist Who Doesn’t Mishear ‘Prednisone’ – Accolade

It’s not too often job adverts in the healthcare sector are afforded the opportunity to be too creative, so Accolade did well to introduce some humor into this advertising campaign. We can’t imagine this Indian medical transcription company would have had too many problems sourcing new recruits.

7. McMistake – McDonalds 

McDonalds decided to go simple for their ad campaign to hire students and those with little-to-no experience. To do so, they create a series of posters displaying the wrong menu item in their iconic packaging. The tagline was simple, everyone makes mistakes!

8. Big Shoes – Times Ascent

How do you get to fill those big shoes? By buying Times Ascent of course. This employment paper keeps it simple, manages to get a smile out of the reader and employs a subtle aspirational concept well.

9. This Agency Is Not A Sweatshop – Saatchi & Saatchi

It’s no secret that agency life can be challenging and we love how Saatchi and Saatchi play up to their reputation, even managing to crack a joke about it. This clever pun is likely to appeal to creatives in the know.

10. Don’t Mention The M – Burger King

It’s no secret that McDonalds and Burger King are arch rivals, so what better way to earn a giggle from potential applicants and show they know how to laugh at themselves? The concept implies a complicity that is as cheeky as it is entertaining.

If you’re looking for guidance on your hiring process, our interview guide for the best candidate selection will help!

The post Ten of the most creative job ad examples appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Even the most well-seasoned of hiring managers and HR specialists will occasionally confuse and use job adverts and descriptions interchangeably. It’s crucially important to differentiate between them though – they serve two very different purposes!

1. A job description describes what the candidate does for you; an advert should focus on what you can do for them

Let’s go back to basics quickly: an advertisement is ‘any public notice […] designed to sell goods’. [1]

It goes without saying then, that an advert should market your business and the position in a positive way; it functions as a sales and employer brand awareness tool. With this in mind, it makes sense that your job ad would be the place to really sell the benefits. Pique candidates’ interest by highlighting all the perks you can muster up: from complimentary gym memberships, subsidized meals and car allowances, to the great team, career progression and flexible working arrangements.

A job description, on the other hand, is generally given to those who have taken an interest in the position already, so you know that they’ve actively taken a second step towards finding out more about the business and the role. Here is where you’ll delve into deeper detail about their responsibilities, essential experience and skillsets required.

2. A job description describes the detail; an advert gives an overview

Because the advert needs to draw people in quickly, essays are not going to be effective here. Write your advert once, then edit, and edit again. It does not need to give much more than an overview of the role itself, along with a promise of the unique benefits afforded to them if they’re successful.

When applicants are at the stage that they want to find out more, they’ll read the job description: now feel free to increase your word count and elaborate on the detail. Outline the day-to-day responsibilities so that they can match their experience and assess their fit.

3. A job description is factual; an ad tells the story

A well-written advert should be drafted with flair and imagination; draw your audience in with an interesting story that they can relate to. An exceptionally effective way of capturing their imagination is via multimedia or a creative idea – if your budget can stretch to video or animation, do it!

A job description, by contrast, can be written with the minimum of ‘fluff’. Its purpose is to list the tasks of the role along with required experience. If you’re so inclined, you may add a list of benefits to the bottom too.

4. The job title and jargon may vary

The actual job title you’re recruiting for might be ‘Director of first impressions’, but when advertising, keep it to a simple ‘Receptionist’. Not only will it make the job ad easier to find when candidates are searching online, it will also receive higher click-throughs. Similarly, avoid any hard-to-understand jargon or acronyms in an advert. You’ll only intimidate readers and dissuade them from applying.

Feel free to include these in your job description, but we’d encourage you to explain them.

5. They’re read by different people, in different ways

An advert will usually be available for everyone to see. Any recruiter or hiring manager will want to maximize the reach of their job advert, sending it to the far corners of social media, job boards and beyond. As candidates are increasingly browsing on the move using their mobiles and tablets, make it easy for them: optimize your advert for all devices and post it in the places they’re likely to see it. Check for key words and searchable terms to ensure you’re maximizing SEO.

A job description, by contrast, will be a longer document sent to engaged candidates, so feel free to distribute as a PDF or hard copy.

Looking for more hiring tips? Our interview guide for the best candidate selection will help!

If you’re looking to hire your next star candidate and need some help, contact Tiger today.

[1] Collins English Dictionary

The post Five key differences between a job advert and a job description appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

While recruitment activity has slowed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still job seekers who are being offered fantastic new positions. If you’re one of them, congratulations! This may well mean that you find yourself in a video call with HR for an exit interview soon.

Volunteering general feedback about your employer can sometimes be an uncomfortable experience, so we’ve provided eight exit interview tips to help you prepare.

What to do in your exit interview

Do: Prepare like you would for any interview

Treat this interview as you would any other and prepare accordingly beforehand. Google some sample exit interview questions that are typically asked and practice answering them. Regardless of why you’ve chosen to leave, it’s important to provide thoughtful answers that will help the company improve in the future.

Do: Act professionally

You should remain professional right through to the very end. It will keep the door open for potential opportunities in the future and won’t diminish your chances of receiving a positive employer reference.

Do: Discuss the positives

Try to highlight the positive aspects of the role you’re leaving, even if it’s been the worst job you’ve ever had. It can be anything from the benefits package to the office facilities. This will help to balance out any negative points that may become apparent during the course of the conversation. It also displays a high level of professionalism and awareness on your part.

Do: Exit on good terms

When all is said and done, the aim is to leave the interview room on good terms. Make it clear that you are thankful for every opportunity the company has provided. Even if there is some resentment on your part, it’s better to leave on a positive note and have a clean slate for your new job.

What not to do in your exit interview

Don’t: Vent with no constructive feedback

Your exit interview is not the time to discuss petty grievances with your colleagues. Avoid discussing colleagues unless you’re specifically asked to do so. If it does come up, stay clear of slander and only provide reasonable examples that support a valid argument.

You can discuss your ‘suggested areas of improvement’ for the company, but it’s important to remain tactful in your approach.

Don’t: Brag about your new role

Your interviewer will probably ask about your reasons for leaving. While you may be jubilant about leaving, it’s important to avoid boasting as it’ll come across as discourteous. Just keep it short and to the point. For example, if you’re excited that this move is a step up in your career (with a considerable salary increase), you could mention that the new position gives you more responsibility than your existing one.

Don’t: Raise issues that the company cannot address

Any good employer will be looking to improve the workplace using your feedback. As such, you’ll want to refrain from expressing sweeping statements with no rational explanation. They’re not actionable and don’t give off the best impression of you. While preparing for your interview, try to come up with suggestions for how certain situations could be improved in the future.

Don’t: Be unresponsive

You’re probably familiar with the term, “if you have nothing good to say, don’t say it at all”? While this may be great advice in general, don’t apply it to your exit interview. Being unreasonably tight-lipped could be viewed as patronizing and won’t help the process. The interviewer will respect your honesty as long as you keep it relevant to the exit survey questions being asked.

If you’re looking for a job, we continue to update our live job listings daily. Make sure to also check out our insights page for helpful resources to help navigate the COVID-19 pandemic.

Author bio: This article was written by Check-a-Salary^[1] . Check-a-Salary provides insight on earnings collated across multiple sources for every position in the UK.

^[1] www.checkasalary.co.uk

The post Do you struggle with exit interviews? Here are eight dos and don’ts to help! appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

As we know, preparing for an interview is essential. It has a direct result in both your confidence and competence and ultimately, your performance. With competition for jobs on the increase, it makes sense to ensure you prepare for the different types of questions an interviewer may ask. Among these, behavioral interview questions are crucial to prepare for. To help, we’ve put together a complete guide to behavioral questions, including what the interviewer wants to find out by asking them and common questions to prepare for.

What is a behavioral question?

Interviewers ask behavioral questions to determine how you might react to an issue or situation you experience in the future. Your answer to a behavioral question will reveal to the interviewer evidence of how you will react, illustrated by examples of how you’ve handled similar situations in the past.

Behavioral questions are very different from other types of questions, like competency and knowledge-based questions. These can be answered by stating the qualifications or experience you have in using, for instance, a specific piece of software.

What an interviewer looks for when they ask behavioral questions

Common behavioral interview questions can be grouped in several categories:

• Teamwork – when an interviewer asks you a question about teamwork, they’re looking to verify your ability to work with others. The interviewer will want to know if you can cooperate with team members with different personalities. They will also try to gauge if you can handle conflicts in a healthy and constructive way.  
• Adaptability – adaptability is a trait many employers look for. They’ll be searching for evidence of how you react when an unexpected work crisis occurs, or if the business needs to pivot its focus quickly. Your ability to problem solve may also be explored here.
• Communication – communication questions are asked to determine how you interact with team members, leadership, and clients. The interviewer will want to know how you represent your team or company, your customer service style, persuasion skills, presentation skills and how well you can convey technical information.
• Time management – the interviewer wants to find out how well you handle stress and if you have the organizational skills to juggle multiple tasks and responsibilities.
• Values and motivation – questions asking what drives you can reveal how you handle future failures and stress.

How to prepare for typical behavioral interview questions

To prepare for behavioral interview questions and come up with answers, you should go through examples of behavioral questions and think of a story from your past experience that shows your competence. If you can’t think of a story that shows a successful outcome, consider sharing an example where you failed, focus on what you learned from the experience and would do differently in the future.

It’s a good idea to prepare a few strong examples that could be adapted to various behavioral questions. If you can, try to think of a story for each of the following categories of questions. This should allow you to have something to draw from, no matter what type of behavioral question you’re asked.

Remember, an easy way to structure any interview answer is using the STAR method:

• S: Situation — explain the situation or background of the story
• T: Task — focus in on the specific task you’re referring to
• A: Action — explain the action you took
• R: Result — finish by discussing the result of the action

As COVID-19 was an unprecedented and difficult situation for both employees and businesses, employers may want to use behavioral questions to determine how you handled these changes personally. They may focus on your transition to remote working or how you helped your company through the challenges they faced. So, it’s a good idea to prepare an answer using an example around this topic if you can.

Examples of teamwork behavioral interview questions include:

• Tell me about an occasion when you needed information from a non-responsive colleague.
• Give me an example of a conflict you experienced at work.
• Tell me about when you’ve struggled to build a relationship with someone and how you overcame it.
• Describe an instance when you’ve worked closely with a teammate with a different personality to yours.

Examples of adaptability behavioral interview questions include:

• Tell me about a recent work crisis and how you got through it.
• What did you do to learn the ropes at the first job you ever had?
• Describe a difficult or awkward position you found yourself in and how you managed it.
• What’s a recent failure you’ve experienced and how did you deal with it?

Examples of communication behavioral interview questions include:

• Tell me about a time when it was vital for you to make a good impression on a client.
• Describe an occasion when you had to deal with a difficult client
• Describe a time when you needed to rely on written communication skills to get your ideas across to the team.

Examples of time management behavioral interview questions include:

• Tell me about a long-term project you were managing and how you kept everything to schedule.
• Describe how you handled overwhelming responsibilities.
• What’s a work-related goal you recently set for yourself and how did you make sure you achieved it?
• How have you managed conflicting priorities in the past?

Examples of values and motivation behavioral interview questions include:

• Describe to me your proudest professional achievement.
• Tell me about an occasion when you noticed a problem at work and took the initiative to correct it.
• When were you able to be creative at work and did you find this difficult or exciting?
• Describe an instance when you were unhappy at work and the actions you’ve taken to change it.

As you can see, behavioral interview questions need a little bit of thought and time to answer. This is why it’s crucial to prepare before the interview. We’ve put together other interview-specific insights to help any jobseekers currently looking for a new opportunity. If you haven’t already, submit your details with us today to start your job search.

The post A jobseeker’s complete guide to behavioral interview questions appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Diversity and inclusion in the workplace

Diversity continues to be one of the most salient issues for hiring managers and leadership teams. With very little empirical evidence to suggest a series of best practices, it is a challenge that requires serious investment, with ongoing research, experimentation and feedback.

Table of contents

• What is diversity and inclusion?
• Why is diversity and inclusion important to me?
• How to create a diversity and inclusion plan (webinar)
• How can you raise awareness of diversity, equality and inclusion?
• Effective diversity initiatives
• Diversity in recruitment
• The future of diversity and inclusion practices

What is diversity and inclusion?

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) in the workplace is the term to describe the complete participation, respect, acknowledgement, acceptance of employees, regardless of their age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender or physical abilities.

Why is diversity and inclusion important to me?

The benefits of establishing a diverse workplace are undisputed – a multi-faceted workforce has also been shown to improve engagement and productivity, encourage creativity and lead to a more innovative working environment.

Yet, the current state of play shows there is still plenty to be done. Worldwide Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020 sparked a larger conversation about the state of diversity in every sphere, including business. While this is something that many (particularly those from underrepresented groups) have spoken out about for a long time, it took this global event to be a catalyst for many companies to create better diversity and inclusion practices.

In 2018, the Missing Pieces Report, published by the Alliance for Board Diversity and Deloitte found that 34% of Fortune 500 board seats are held by women and minorities. This falls short of the target of 40% of seats held by those from underrepresented backgrounds by 2020.

When it comes to gender diversity, women made up 25% of executives in Fortune 100 companies and only 22.5% of executive committees at Fortune 500 companies in 2018 [2]. While this is progress on the figures in 2016 (where only 20.2% Fortune 500 sets were held by women), in certain industries, there is more work to be done. For example, Facebook has reported that the number of women working at the company was only 23% in 2019, (up from 15% in 2014) and there has been no increase in the 6% of black technical workers at Apple over five years [3].

How to create a diversity and inclusion plan

In August 2020, Tiger hosted a webinar with three diversity and inclusion specialists, Simon Fanshawe, Partner at Diversity by Design and Co-founder of Stonewall; Holiday Phillips, Founder and Chief Wisdom Officer at KULA; and Sarah Ramsden, a Management Consultant at The Clear Company. They discussed the increased interest in diversity and inclusion and how employers can create a sustainable diversity and inclusion plan for their businesses. Watch the webinar below.

How can you raise awareness of diversity, equality and inclusion?

Raising awareness of diversity, equality and inclusion within the workplace can be difficult. An important place to start is to know your ‘why’ – once you understand your motivation, you can start to target the areas of D&I your business is lacking. A broad, one-size-fits-all policy is not going to be effective in this area. Instead, create measurable metrics that make sense to your business and put in place specific initiatives based on these.

While most businesses are aware of the benefits of diversity, it can continue to be a huge challenge to see positive changes in modern workplaces. There are a few reasons for this:

The first complication lies in the simplification of the concept.

“It’s not enough to want diversity. Every team, office and business needs to decide why diversity is going to help them improve and go from there,” says Simon Fanshawe OBE, co-founder of consultancy, Diversity by Design.

For Aubrey Blanche, Global Head of Diversity and Belonging at software giant Atlassian, the term doesn’t do enough to represent the issue as a whole.

“I’m actually not a fan of the word ‘diversity’. According to Atlassian’s research, people associate the word ‘diversity’ with people who come from underrepresented backgrounds, rather than being about everyone,” she says.

“According to Atlassian’s 2018 State of Global Diversity & Inclusion Report, 68% of tech workers in the UK identify women as an important part of the diversity discussion, but the drop off is steep for other groups (and severe for identities in majority groups).”

This unintended exclusion of certain identities from the conversation is a key contributor to a lack of progress in representation: “Businesses should strive to create teams with a balance of perspectives – which is strongly influenced by our identities and life experience,” says Aubrey.

Simon agrees, noting that organisations need to value the difference people can bring: “Research says high-performing teams work because they have an ability to encompass and embrace difference and set new norms of ways of working,” he says.

In fact, it is these situations that positive diversity results, or diversity dividends, come about. Scott E. Page, a University of Michigan professor in complex systems and political science argues that “when solving problems, diversity may matter as much, or even more than, individual ability.”

Other benefits of diverse hiring include improved employer branding, better hiring management practices, increased employee satisfaction and better business performance.

Effective diversity initiatives

So, what practical steps can businesses take to start their journey of creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace culture?

While successful initiatives will differ depending on the company, size and culture, examples of effective diversity initiatives can include:

• Empathetic leadership – every leader should have a personal interest in creating diversity and be able to promote this in their daily actions
• Facilitate mentor ships, sponsorship, networks and training opportunities for employees from underrepresented backgrounds
• Sustainable, ongoing training programs for diversity and inclusion (rather than a one-off session)
• Implementing flexible working policies, including equal parental leave
• Taking part in external events celebrating underrepresented groups, such as Pride

With these in mind, it’s clear diversity initiatives need to go beyond quotas and broad policies.

“Good intentions are not enough. Leaders have to see the value in the process, but research tells us we can’t re-educate.” Simon says.

“Creating a new norm is fundamentally important to the ways we change our behaviors.”

At Atlassian, the concept is ingrained into their mission, with each employee expected to contribute according to their role. Taking a data-informed approach, they measure, experiment, learn and iterate, and where possible, share these findings with the global tech industry, recognizing that it’s an industry-level problem that requires broad solutions.

“We’ve pioneered a team-level approach to measuring workforce diversity, and have used those insights to drive a greater sense of belonging among our global workforce,” says Aubrey.

Depending on the company and industry, the success of initiatives will vary. The steps to improving diversity in tech startups, for example, will differ compared to a global investment bank.

When it comes to attracting groups like return-to-work parents, initiatives like flexible working are critical. However, without support from management, businesses will be unlikely to retain these talented individuals.

Diversity in recruitment

Diversity in businesses starts with recruitment practices. While some businesses have started to change up their traditional processes in an attempt to minimize bias (by using blind resumes, increasing skills testing and standardized interview questions), others are completely revamping their hiring activities.

One particular win for Atlassian was a growth in technical female hires in entry-level graduate roles to 57% over two years, as well as an increase of overall hiring of women in technical roles to 18%. To do this, Aubrey and her team deployed a number of strategies.

“First, we created branding that appealed to a broader variety of candidates. Our Talent Brand Team updated our careers site to include a more balanced set of Atlassians, and highlighted a more inclusive set of perks and benefits that appealed to people at different points in their life, like career growth opportunities, comprehensive healthcare, and emergency backup childcare,” says Aubrey.

“These changes made most people coming to the site feel like they recognized not only themselves, but the type of activities, social occasions, and work settings they wanted to work in,” she continues.

The second element was to re-examine the requirements of a role.

“According to Hewlett Packard, the majority of women won’t apply for jobs unless they think they meet all the criteria posted. However, most men will apply even if they only meet 60% of listed requirements.”

“We now write job advertisements with requirements as the lowest barrier to entry, instead of a wish list for a magical unicorn,” continues Aubrey.

For Simon, re-designing the recruitment process away from requirements is essential to encouraging diverse mindsets.

“Most diversity work that goes on doesn’t involve enough re-design. When hiring or promoting, businesses need to think very hard about what the team or group is trying to achieve,” he says.

“From there, they need to establish the criteria they want to hire against and question these rigorously. They also need to consider why they are wanting to diversify and what kind of diversity would make their ability to achieve that goal better.”

This process will ensure that potential candidates are chosen on essential criteria alone, rather than any unconscious bias.

One of the other ways businesses can eliminate this bias is through AI. Atlassian has also found success with Textio, an augmented writing platform that helps them identify the highest-impact language in their job ads and highlights subtly gendered works within their copy.

The future of diversity and inclusion practices

With all this in mind, where do businesses go from here? For Simon, it’s not about shifting thinking, but acknowledging that bias exists and creating new norms that remove the need to make decisions that encourage it.

“Research tells us we can’t re-educate out of these decisions but we have to re-design processes.”

He encourages businesses to reject the idea of culture fit and instead bank on individualities: “The new norms come from a combination of difference and that’s where you get the dividends from diversity.”

“The most interesting thing about other people is how they are different from you, not how they are the same,” Simon finishes.

For Aubrey, the objective is simple: “The ultimate goal is to build a balanced team, in terms of skill and ability as well as varied life experiences and knowledge people bring to the table.”

1. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/center-for-board-effectiveness/us-cbe-missing-pieces-report-2018-board-diversity-census.pdf

2. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/center-for-board-effectiveness/us-cbe-missing-pieces-report-2018-board-diversity-census.pdf

3. https://www.wired.com/story/five-years-tech-diversity-reports-little-progress/

The post Re-designing diversity: from shortfalls to success appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

We remind our candidates daily, ‘Don’t forget to prepare!’. If they want the job, they need to show that they’ve completed their research by being able to talk intelligently about the role and business. It’s the same advice for you, hiring managers. If you’re looking to hire HR staff, for example, you’ll need to set up the hiring and interview process the right way. Doing so will pay dividends in ensuring a positive brand experience.

If you’re asking yourself ‘how do you prepare to interview someone?’, your interview questions are a great place to start. Craft these ahead of time, according to the key skills required of the role. In doing so, think carefully about both what you’re willing to train for and the skills you need to hire. Try and ask similar questions of all the interviewees so as to be able to compare responses.

If you’re a small business without an HR presence or formalized hiring policy, our tips below may help to guide the right approach.

Assess a candidate’s resume against the job description to better prepare questions

Before even stepping into the room (or onto the video call), it’s essential to look at each candidate’s resume and formulate a few questions that speak directly to their skills and experience. For example, if a candidate has taken on managerial tasks in their previous role, by asking a question about their delegation or leadership skills, their answer may give you critical insight about how they work with a team (even if the role in question isn’t at a senior level).

Make the candidate comfortable

To encourage the best possible candidate experience, try and make sure you’re meeting in as neutral and comfortable environment as possible. Rather than sitting on the other side of the desk or table, try sitting next to the candidate (if space permits!). This move, alongside open body language, will help set the tone of a meeting between equals. You’ll then be able to develop much more of a natural rapport which will give you a significantly more accurate steer on their potential to fit in culturally with the business and team. In a virtual interview, body language is still important – you don’t want to be fidgeting or looking away from the camera – this will unconsciously signal to the candidate that you’re not giving them your full attention.

Have the candidate meet with other staff

It’s important to know if the interviewee was rude to the receptionist. It’s equally important to consider everyone’s opinions to understand their responses to the candidate joining the team. It might well raise advantages or concerns you hadn’t previously considered. While you will want everyone to get on, be wary of hiring candidates with similar backgrounds and interests. Hiring a diverse team, after all, is more likely to produce fresh ideas, innovative approaches and ultimately, improved successes. When you ask yourself, what’s missing in this team, consider the possibilities a prospective employee might bring to the business rather than just filling a slot.

Money matters

Have your budget prepared and approved in advance to avoid wasting time negotiating and risk losing a star candidate. While many hiring managers still argue, “if they like us, they’ll take it for less”, it’s sadly a little unrealistic in today’s market to do so.

Representing the employer brand

Even if the candidate isn’t successful, a positive experience with you will mean that they’re more likely to speak highly of the business. To help this along, try the following:

• Leave your stresses and negativity at the door

• Don’t be late

• Allow enough time in the interview for the candidate to ask all the questions they need to

• Listen (really listen) and don’t interrupt

Check your biases

We all have them, though we might not want to admit it. Consider your biases and be aware of them beforehand. These could include judgments about personal appearance, comparing them to the previous incumbent in the role, or even where they went to school. To avoid this, bring an objective colleague to the meeting and assess their suitability together afterwards.

Can we help you recruit your next permanent or temporary role? Get in touch with one of our specialist consultants today, or read our guide on choosing the right candidate for the job to find out more about best practice hiring.

The post Hiring managers, are you preparing the right way for interviews? appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

When hiring HR staff, a personal assistant or other business support position, it is essential to get the interview right. The judgment you make at the end could have dramatic consequences for your team or your business. Therefore, before every meeting with a potential employee, it is worth the hiring manager taking time to prepare for the interview, going through the questions you should ask and working out what you want to get out of the process

The nature of these questions will depend on your business, the role you are conducting interviews for and technical skills required. However, there are key interview questions to ask candidates.

Hiring manager interview questions

Experience

Why did you leave your last position, or why are you looking to leave your current job?

Whilst most candidates will have a perfectly acceptable reason for moving on, there are some whose reasons might not stand up to further questioning. Trust your gut instinct and if you are unhappy with the candidate’s response, then challenge them by asking the following question:

If the reason you left your position had not been an issue after all, would you have stayed?

This seems innocuous enough but you will be amazed how a candidate can open up to this probe. Repeat this question until you get to the real reason for leaving. This will help you form a more accurate opinion of the candidate.

What were the salaries and benefits for your last three roles?

Interviewers often enquire as to a candidate’s salary in their current/last role. However, it is important to find out the last three. This will tell you about a candidate’s progression and, if a candidate has been given a big pay rise in a job, their value as an employee. Find out starting and leaving salary for each job. Context is important here. A lack of any visible salary increase doesn’t necessarily indicate a bad candidate. Market forces and a previous employer’s modus operandi might have prevented an increase. You may like to familiarize yourself with position salaries beforehand so you can benchmark their previous salaries against what you’re offering.

Benefits can also make a huge difference to an offer, so it is worth asking what benefits the candidate was enjoying at their previous company. This ensures full transparency and gives you an opportunity to discuss your own benefit packages.

Please explain the gap in your resume.

Many people have taken time out of their career; maybe to start a family, a sabbatical, or go travelling. However, it is common knowledge that every gap should be explained on a resume so there should be no discrepancies.

If dates don’t line up, it is reasonable to ask the candidate why – this could also trigger a conversation that reveals a little more about their life experiences and personality.

Personality

Many employers want to make sure that a candidate is going to fit in to the culture of the company, regardless of whether or not they have the technical skills to do the job. Here are a few questions that can help you in assessing a candidate’s fit.

Who are your referees and why have you chosen them?

This is a question that candidates don’t necessarily expect and therefore prepare for. The answer often gives a good insight into a candidate’s reasoning and their level of confidence in the opinions of their peers. The split between personal and business references can be particularly interesting.

Discuss your interests and achievements.

This perhaps gives the most accurate assessment as to a candidate’s personality and without delving too deep, you can quickly determine whether there is common ground between the interviewee and the people he/she will be working with. Candidates are advised to take this section of their resume seriously so should be able to talk animatedly about anything listed here.
—
There are obviously many questions to ask an interviewee, but the above are ones that can elicit a telling response and help you make the right hiring decisions quickly and efficiently. There are also some questions you definitely shouldn’t ask in interview.

If you’re ready to hire a PA or EA, get in touch today. If you’re looking for guidance on interviewing, read our guide on how to choose the right candidate.

The post Questions to ask every interviewee appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Regardless of the market, finding the perfect candidate for the role can be tough. To ensure you win the affections of your chosen star, stick to these five rules:

1. Become an employer of choice

Becoming an employer of choice is as much about employer branding as it is about simply being a fantastic company to work for. Increasingly, younger generations are seeking to work for a business that aligns with their personal beliefs and sense of moral purpose. In addition, they’re looking for employers who will nurture their talent and provide exciting opportunities for professional growth.

To be an employer of choice, you must first act like an employer of choice – this is the only way to win over a candidate.

If you’re already doing it, congrats! Just ensure that you’re communicating these positive messages to prospective candidates too.

2. Keep them engaged in the hiring process

In-demand candidates will be able to choose exactly where they want to work, so it’s important to keep them engaged throughout the process. Little things, such as returning calls promptly, responding to emails, and providing feedback – both positive and negative – will go a long way to setting yourself apart from the crowd. Effective interview follow-up will keep them engaged and deter them from backing out because they received another offer.

Acting speedily will set you apart from your competitors. There will be times when the timeframes change, but a simple message or phone call to communicate those changes goes a long way toward keeping candidates engaged. It shows that you value their time, and also gives you the opportunity to find out how their job search is going. If you find out that your preferred candidate has another offer on the table, for example, you might expedite the interview process to get an offer out more quickly.

3. Close your best candidates

In addition to keeping your preferred candidates engaged along the way, effective interview follow-up can also help you close them. The best candidates will be in high demand and may receive multiple offers. Even if you’re not ready to offer, your positive follow-up could dissuade them from accepting an offer elsewhere.

Staying in regular contact also gives you the opportunity to continue to sell the business to them, as well as reiterate the ways in which your position would be a strong fit for them. When you present your offer, share specific interview feedback so that they know exactly why you chose them. A more personalized candidate experience is more likely to impress and will help them to become excited about accepting the position.

4. Maintain your talent pipeline with candidates who do not receive offers

For every candidate you hire, there are likely to be many more high-quality candidates who weren’t successful. Effective interview follow up with these candidates can help maintain their interest for future opportunities. At the very least, notify every rejected candidate that the position has been filled, and encourage them to apply for future opportunities. If you can, offer personalized feedback to rejected candidates. LinkedIn* found that candidates were four times more likely to consider a job with a company in the future, if they were given constructive feedback, after being rejected from them the first time.

Gathering post-process insight from all your candidates will also inform any future improvements to your process next time.

5. Use a good recruiter

A good recruiter will work hard on your behalf to ensure your star candidates are engaged and more likely to accept an offer. A good recruiter that you have a long-standing relationship with will go the extra mile in proactively suggesting good candidates to you, making the recruitment process that much easier.

Get in touch with Tiger if you’d like a head start on finding your next great candidate. If you’re looking for more best practice advice about the hiring process, read our guide in helping you select the best candidate.

*https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/resources/recruiting-tips/talent-trends-global

The post Five secrets to winning over your chosen candidate appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

20 years ago, most workers would leave school or university, find themselves a job and work their way up the ladder, staying within the same company for five, 10 or even 20 years. As such, the idea of ‘longevity’ on a resume stuck, as employers looked for employees who could demonstrate their loyalty.

The idea of longevity is now a thing of the past, thanks to a millennial sensibility that’s seen the average jobseeker spend less than two years in each position. This is especially true of PA recruitment in NYC.

So, what does this mean for employers examining resumes now?

The stats

Tiger’s UK Salary and Benefits Review 2021 revealed that 40% of staff were planning on leaving within the next 12 months. Similarly, a survey by Gallup found that half of millennials show less willingness to stay in their current job [1]. The same survey revealed 60% of millennials say they are open to a different job opportunity.

This shift, led by the younger workforce and encouraged by the global recession in 2008, has seen the norm shift from a ‘job to life’ to workers who aren’t afraid to move on, search for new opportunities, a pay rise, better benefits, a sense of purpose or simply reaching the ceiling in their organization. Even despite the financial uncertainty of the pandemic, many are willing to move on due to the way their organization handled the crisis.

What does this mean for hiring managers?

With all of this in mind, the approach to jumpy resumes must now shift. The definition for ‘hoppy’ has now changed – a candidate changing jobs every two years is the new standard, provided that they can validate their reasons for leaving. Therefore, the baseline for loyalty must change – instead of judging on longevity, hiring managers need to examine the scope of work completed by the candidate in their role and the impact they were able to have on the business. Instead of wondering ‘when will this candidate leave?’ or ‘is this candidate career hopping?’, it is up to the hiring manager to harness their ambition and highlight what the business can do to encourage their growth and career progression. At the end of the day, which would you rather – a high-performing candidate that excels over 18 months before moving on, or a candidate that does what they’re meant to and nothing more for five years?

The benefits of job hopping

There are many reasons that a candidate may change jobs more regularly than before, some of which will be outside their control. Post-2008, most support staff roles in the banking and financial services industries, for example, are based on two-year or 20-month contracts.

A candidate with job jumping experience has usually experienced different working styles, personalities and processes, meaning they’ll be able to adapt to new procedures easily. Their depth of knowledge and skillset also tends to be wider, as they have encountered a variety of programs and techniques.

Often, candidates who do move jobs within two years are doing so for progression, or for an opportunity for professional development. This demonstrates a drive for self-improvement and a desire to keep learning, which only bodes well for a business – an employee willing to upskill and develop their knowledge will bring this back into the business.

What to look for instead

When hiring a personal assistant or looking at HR recruitment, it’s important to focus on the experiences they’ve had, rather than how long they’ve had them. An EA that’s worked in a fast-paced private equity firm may have experienced a much steeper learning curve and been exposed to much more than, say, a PA who has stayed in the same role for 18 months.

As above, when hiring private household staff, it’s important to look at the skillset that you know your role needs, rather than the length of time a person has been in each role. It’s also worth looking at references, as this will give you a better indication of their performance in their past roles.

When looking at technology recruitment, it may actually be an advantage to employ someone who has experience working in many different environments, as this should mean they have been exposed to multiple interfaces, systems and programs.

It’s also worth discussing with your recruiter, or the candidate themselves, the reasons for a candidate’s job hopping. Understanding their reason for leaving can go a long way in understanding their career goals and the value they could bring to your business.

—

Looking to hire? Tiger works with candidates from a range of industries and backgrounds. Get in touch to see how we can help, or read our interview guide for the best candidate selection.

[1] https://www.gallup.com/workplace/231587/millennials-job-hopping-generation.aspx

The post What should a good resume look like? Re-defining job hopping appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Unconscious bias: educating teams towards diverse hiring

The positive impact of diversity in the workplace is not news. For many years we’ve known that business productivity, company culture and employee satisfaction improve with a workplace made up of diverse genders, nationalities, sexualities, ages, ethnicities and educational backgrounds.

Despite all this information, the reality of adopting diversity and inclusion in the workplace is not as easy as simply implementing policy change. Unconscious bias (also known as implicit bias) also plays its part in a well-meaning hiring manager not hiring diversely. Unfortunately, the negative impact of non-diverse hiring falls on the minorities themselves. 40% of LGBTQ+ employees say they are not open with sexuality at work [1],  and  women earn on average 81 cents to every dollar a man earns [2]. It is therefore very clear that bias has long-term consequences.

So, what is it? Unconscious bias is the subconscious prejudice we all have against different groups of people. This can manifest itself in preferencing one candidate over another, purely based on their personal characteristics, rather than their skills and experience. If it goes unexamined, increasing diversity in the workplace will be almost impossible. HR managers, if you’re working with hiring managers who you suspect might be hiring with unconscious bias, consider the following steps to help kick-start a change.

Unconscious bias training

Unconscious bias training has been criticized in the past for not being an effective solution to the problem. In fact, some argue that it may reinforce stereotypes in the workplace, as the training clarifies existing stereotypes and may give people permission to use them in the office[3]. Another problem is that people may become defensive when confronted with their own ability to discriminate against others.

In order to make training effective, it has to be part of a multi-pronged approach that targets specific actions rather than hypothetical situations. It must also be tailored to your company and your hiring manager. Don’t set unrealistic expectations about timing: it is unlikely that there’ll be a major increase in diverse hires immediately. Just focus on making a small change at first.

Revamp job descriptions

A job description may be the first piece of communication a potential hire receives from your company. There are many subtle ways the wording of a job description can either encourage, or completely discourage, different people from applying. Work with your hiring manager to understand that words like ‘dominant’, ‘rock star’, ‘expert’ and ‘superior’ are problematic as they are seen as gendered and can discourage women. In addition, if you want to attract individuals of varying sexualities, nationalities or ages, include a line about your diversity values within the job description. It will imply that you are open to hiring a more diverse range of people.

Change the way you assess resumes

A blind resumes assessment is the easiest way to eliminate bias from the first stage of the selection process, however it may not be enough. It has been found that the types of words used on resumes can actually give the hiring manager an indication of gender, without knowing a person’s name. Using blind resumes alongside other techniques, like an AI software, which is programmed to ignore all demographic information and use data reference points instead. Discuss adopting this change with the head of recruitment at your business, because it does make a monumental difference in the number of minorities considered for the role.

More focus on skills tests

For some positions, a skills test is integral to hiring successfully. But what if the only candidates that progressed to that stage were selected through a biased process? Talk to your hiring manager about re-examining their recruitment practice to put more emphasis on skills tests. Once the results come in, take the people with the best scores through to interview stage as a non-negotiable, regardless of who they are.

If you’re looking for your next great hire, contact our team today!

[1] https://www.bcg.com/publications/2020/inclusive-cultures-must-follow-new-lgbtq-workforce

[2] https://www.payscale.com/data/gender-pay-gap

[3] https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-01-04/implicit-bias-training-isn-t-improving-corporate-diversity

The post HR managers, how are you educating your staff about unconscious bias? appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Every year, Tiger Recruitment releases a Salary and Benefits Review. This year, information was extracted from roles placed, rather than candidates interviewed, and is reflective of the impact that COVID-19 has had on our lives.

What’s included in the report?

Within the report, you’ll find guidance on salary ranges and trends for roles within the business support, private, hospitality and HR sectors. Alongside this, we’ve outlined the benefits offered to employees this year and shared how employee priorities have changed following the pandemic. It also includes commentary from our management team.

How the report can benefit your business

A high quality, independent salary survey is a key component in your compensation strategy and will help you stay on target to attract and retain the best talent in your industry.

Having access to a comprehensive data set ensures that your HR team stay abreast of changes in the employment market and has a thorough understanding of pay rates and trends, helping you to maintain your competitive position.

The report provides valuable statistical insights into the markets in which your business competes for talent and serves as a benchmarking tool enabling your business to make informed remuneration decisions.

Referring to credible survey data can also help to increase employee motivation as it will be clear that diligent decisions have been made around compensation.

Highlights of this year’s survey

The results of this year’s survey highlight what employees and jobseekers want and to what extent they feel their expectations are being met. A selection of the major findings in this year’s review include:

• With the US’ restrictions on travel continuing to ease, the talent shortage should ease in kind, as foreign candidates return over the coming 12 months
• With the increased confidence of the second half of 2021, the market has swung back in favor of candidates, creating fierce competition for talent amongst businesses
• The Great Resignation continues unabated, and employers must work on more innovative and effective strategies to retain talent
• While salary remains the most important factor for employees and jobseekers, there’s growing awareness of the need for employers to offer personalized benefits, chief among them being flexible working options
• Many employees are seeking more support from their employers, including provisions for mental health and practical support for remote working.

Request your copy of the Salary and Benefits Review here.

We hope you find the document useful. Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

The post Tiger Recruitment’s Salary Survey 2022 has arrived! appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

It is now widely understood that job loyalty is a thing of the past, especially among millennials. Despite the effects of the pandemic, the latest Deloitte Millennial Survey revealed that 31% of millennials envision leaving their jobs within two years[1].

This approach to working represents a serious challenge to businesses’ employment strategies. It’s now widely understood that millennials now make up 50% of the global workforce[2], so it’s absolutely a concern worth addressing. When most young professionals choose to work for organizations that share their personal values, these latest stats present great opportunities for an employer brand to engage with talented existing and prospective employees.

And the good news?

You don’t need a big budget (or ping pong tables) to take a step in improving your employer brand.

Tone of voice

Gone are the days of preachy language, a ceremonial ‘yours sincerely’ and formal communication practices. If you want to attract great talent, start speaking to them in a language they will appreciate and understand. Consider a tone of voice that’s approachable and genuine. Imagine the questions that jobseekers are likely to want to ask, and answer them head-on. Consider asking recent starters for their opinions on how your business communicates compared to others.

Social media

The existence and dominance of social media in our lives mean it’s never been easier to engage and interact with your existing and prospective employees. In a world where two-way conversations have become increasingly important and authenticity is key, social media provides brands a huge opportunity to positively engage with candidates. Depending on your business’s size, you may already have corporate business handles. If you don’t, create them and get communicating.

Your people

When it comes to your employer brand in recruiting new staff, your current employees are your best brand ambassadors. Look after them, treat them well and they’ll tell the world about it. A proud employee who enjoys their work will share your business’s achievements with their friends, families and online. Those testimonials are priceless and are undoubtedly your most powerful marketing tool.

Have clear values

According to Deloitte’s 2020 Millennials at Work survey, just over half of millennials are attracted to employers because of their CSR values, and 56% would consider leaving an employer that didn’t have the values they expected[3].  Review and communicate your business’s carbon footprint, CSR programs, and the ways in which you positively impact the lives of your consumers. These principles could potentially make or break the decision by a person looking to work for you.

What next? What’s the retention strategy?

If you’ve successfully attracted great talent, congrats! Now for the long-term retention. Your employees want to learn, and they’re looking for inspirational leaders. Most would prefer to work with subject matter experts who work as hard as they do. Employ the best, and put in place leadership programs or succession plans to ensure clear progression opportunities.

Be prepared to be flexible. Increasingly, emerging generations value their contribution to their employer not by the hours they put in, but by the quality of their output. Work-life balance has never been more important. Take cues from the likes of Amex, who have put in place a Bluework program that connects different work styles to work places (they’ve also saved millions on real estate).

The perception of your employer brand depends on much more than promotional advertising and bonus packages. Think about how the above points can be dovetailed into a long-term business strategy and you’ll undoubtedly reap the rewards of a talented and loyal workforce for years to come.

Looking to employ someone new? Get in touch today. If you’re looking for more guidance, check out our interview guide for the best candidate selection.

[1] https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/millennialsurvey.html

[2] http://www.marsdd.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Insiders-Guide-Finding-Meaningful-Work-Attracting-Talent.pdf

[3] https://www.pwc.com/co/es/publicaciones/assets/millennials-at-work.pdf

The post Employer branding in recruitment: how you can set your business apart appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

When hiring permanent staff, good open-ended interview questions can provide a perfect opportunity to break the ice with nervous candidates. They can help to paint a picture of prospective employees in a broader sense by allowing them the opportunity to tell their story in an unstructured way. Hopefully, these should prompt unrehearsed responses, resulting in more genuine and uninfluenced dialogue.

By asking the right open-ended interview questions, candidates may well unknowingly reveal personal attitudes and opinions. In doing so, you’ll be able to read between the lines and learn much more about your prospective new hire. Here are some of our recommended open questions that will see you getting the most out of your interviewee.

1. What do you like most about [name of profession]? What do you like least, and what do you find the most challenging?

By asking about likes and dislikes, you’ll be able to get a good overview of a candidate’s perception of their role. Reassure candidates that there’s no right or wrong answer here!

2. Tell me about a typical day in your current position.

A resume can only say so much. By asking interviewees to describe a typical day, alongside the question above, you’ll be able to quickly understand the bigger picture of their role and their key motivators for leaving.

3. What was your primary contribution or achievement in your last or current position?

This is a good alternative open-ended interview question to the traditional ‘what are your strengths’ as it allows them to give you a real-life example (as well as a barometer) of what they consider to be strong performance.

4. What was the best job you ever had? What was the worst? Why?

This question will shed light on what the candidate is really looking for moving forward. In describing the reasons for their likes and dislikes, you’ll gain a more honest assessment of what they’re really looking for moving forward.

5. What are your short- and long-term career goals?

By asking candidates to define both long- and short-term goals, you’ll be able to evaluate how your business might be able to accommodate their progression – if at all. If the candidate is particularly ambitious with notions of moving up the career ladder quite quickly, it’s possible they might not be the right fit for a permanent appointment if you can’t offer that.

6. What’s the best book you’ve read in the last year?

Tell me what you liked about it. Interviews are as much about discovering candidates’ personalities as they are about their skillsets. Their favorite book will offer a glimpse into their potential cultural alignment.

7. What is your interpretation of “success”?

You can set so many KPIs, goals, success measures as an employer, but it’s the candidate’s own yard stick that you’ll want to truly have a measure of. With insight into their personal drivers, you’ll be able to better manage them as employees and push them to exceed expectations.

We believe interviews should be organic conversations. While these questions serve as a guide, don’t be afraid to let the conversation run a natural course with a little prompting and direction from you at points. Rigid interview formats will not serve you or the candidate best in being able to show off your best selves.

Get in touch with us today to get the recruitment process started. If you’re looking for more guidance on the interviewing process, read our interview guide for the best candidate selection.

The post Hiring managers: What you’ll learn from these seven open-ended interview questions appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

Are you an HR professional looking for guidance when it comes to creating your return-to-office plan post-COVID 19? Our Head of Marketing and Communications, Coralie Fernando, interviewed Erin Taheny, Head of HR and Operations here at Tiger, on how we’re planning for Tiger’s return to the office in London.

Erin started at Tiger mere weeks before London went into lockdown, so her experience has been incredibly unique! In the interview, they discussed how Tiger is approaching the return to the post-COVID office. They discuss the main concerns for our employees, the importance of conducting employee feedback surveys and risk assessments and how important communication has been throughout the process. Listen to the podcast and read the full transcription below.

The post LISTEN: Everything you need to know about creating your return to the office plan appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.

For business owner’s, executive assistant recruitment offers numerous benefits. A skilled EA can handle administrative tasks, manage schedules, and support personal errands, freeing up your time to focus on more strategic activities.

Finding the right EA can come with its challenges. The process requires identifying a candidate who not only has the necessary skills but also fits well with your personality and work environment. It’s about striking the right balance between professional competencies and personal dynamics, which can be a time-consuming and difficult task.

We’ve put together our top five tips on how to hire an EA, plus how a professional recruiter can help.

How To Ensure EA Recruitment Success

Recruitment of any kind presents a fantastic opportunity to refresh a team, job function or business culture. That being said, it’s not uncommon to feel some trepidation at the start of your recruitment journey. The process can take time and in a candidate-short market, you may need to shortlist multiple times before securing a suitable candidate. This is where working with an experienced recruiter can help.

Executive assistant recruitment, in particular, is unique as the values alignment plays such a significant role in ensuring a candidate’s success. An executive assistant works so closely with their managers and team that it’s crucial to get the personality mix right. This is crucially relevant to permanent recruitment while hiring a temp EA can generally be recruited quickly to fulfill the short-term functional requirements of the role.

If you’re considering hiring using AI-based software for certain steps, such as resume screening, we would ask you to consider a different approach. While there is a place for this type of technology, especially when it comes to advanced candidate testing such as gamification, the ultimate decision for a candidate’s fit for a business should remain with human recruiters.

With this in mind, we’ve put together our top five tips on how a recruiter can help to ensure you hire an executive assistant who lasts the distance.

1. Personality fit

Personality fit is crucial when hiring an executive assistant. An EA will work closely with you, often during stressful times or in personal spaces. A candidate whose personality complements yours can make the working relationship more enjoyable and productive.

You can ensure the right personality fit during the interview process by asking the right questions. These questions should encourage the candidate to share their values, work ethics, and how they handle stress and conflict. Observing how they interact with you and others during the interview can also provide insights into their personality and how well they might integrate into your personal and professional life.

A professional recruiter can help you source candidates with the right personality fit. They can pre-screen candidates, saving you time and ensuring that you meet only those who have already passed a preliminary fit assessment. For example, if a candidate communicates quietly and seems withdrawn in their body language, a good recruiter will never send them to a workplace where they will be supporting outspoken, straight-to-the-point management styles.

2. Consider Previous Experience

Previous experience is a critical factor in EA recruitment. Their track record can showcase how they will handle the demands of your role and reduce the risk of a mismatch. A candidate with experience in a similar industry or who has supported professionals with comparable responsibilities to yours might adapt more quickly to your requirements.

When interviewing a candidate, you should ask them to tell the story of their career to date, with a particular focus on how long they stayed at each job and why they left. If a candidate has previously jumped around from one role to the next, it generally does mean there’s a higher likelihood they’ll do the same again. Similarly, their reasons for leaving will often paint a more colorful picture of what they’re looking for now.

A recruiter can help you evaluate a candidate’s previous experience. They have the expertise to spot red flags or patterns of excellence that you might overlook. Recruiters also verify references and past employment details, ensuring that the information presented is accurate and relevant to your needs.

3. Trust Your Recruiter

When looking for a PA, it’s essential to secure a robust shortlist to get an accurate overview of the market and available candidates. A recruiter should send you a few strong, but different options, to ensure you have a range of choices. They might even suggest a candidate who seems to lack certain technical skills but has the right personality fit, adhering to the philosophy that specific skills can be learned, whereas the right cultural fit is priceless.

It is essential to trust your recruiter’s recommendations. Recruiters have a deep understanding of the job market and the qualities that make a candidate a good fit for a role. By relying on their recommendations, you can increase your chances of finding the right person for your EA position.

4. Identify Soft Skills

For an executive assistant, essential soft skills include effective communication, adaptability, problem-solving, and time management. An EA will also be savvy to the ways of the city, including the best transport, food, and gifting options: characteristics that are also important when supporting management. You would be surprised by how much these little details make a difference when working with your EA!

You can identify these essential soft skills by asking specific behavioral questions during the interview. For example, you can ask about a time they overcame a challenge or had to adapt quickly to a change. Their responses will give you insight into their problem-solving abilities and flexibility.

An executive assistant’s soft skills may not always be obvious from their resume. A recruiter will be able to gauge an EA’s transferable attributes, such as emotional intelligence, leadership traits, and communication style from an initial face-to-face registration. Recruiters can also interpret subtle cues in candidates’ responses and behaviors, ensuring you meet only the most suitable individuals who possess the soft skills essential for the role.

5. Manage Expectations and Be Responsive

Managing candidate expectations and being responsive is essential during the recruitment process. This includes keeping potential candidates informed about their application status, the recruitment process stages, and expected timelines for your decisions. In our current market, speed is of the essence, especially with recruiting for EAs. We have seen hundreds of employers miss fantastic candidates by being unavailable or inflexible to interview or delaying feedback.

Being unresponsive with your recruiter will be especially detrimental to you finding the best person for the job. Responsiveness enables a smooth and efficient search, allowing recruiters to quickly refine their selection based on your feedback. This collaboration ensures that the candidates presented match your requirements, saving you time and resources.

Expert PA Hiring with Tiger Recruitment

At Tiger Recruitment, we pride ourselves on our expertise in pairing top-tier executive assistants with professionals and business owners. We are committed to understanding your unique needs and preferences, enabling us to find the right candidates for your requirements. With our bespoke approach, you will receive support throughout the recruitment process.

If you are thinking about hiring a new permanent or temporary EA, read our ultimate guide to hiring an EA and, for further information, contact us today.

The post Five PA recruitment tips appeared first on Tiger Recruitment.