Giving up your time and energy, not to mention your experience and expertise, to take on an unpaid role is a big ask, but this is what being a Trustee is all about.  The rewards are definitely there but are non-financial.

So why do we become Trustees?

Well, it is flattering to be asked.  If a charity feels you have the knowledge and experience to benefit their board, it’s hard not to be flattered.  But that’s not a reason to become a Trustee.

It may be that you have strong feelings about the charity , the value of its services to its beneficiaries and want to play a key part in ensuring the charity’s sustainability?   I believe that it is important for a Trustee to believe in and be committed to the activities of the organisation they become involved with.  You will then have the opportunity to influence and engage on issues that are important to you.

Developing yourself and learning new skills.  Charity trustees will be expected to have input in all areas of running a charity, contributing with your own specific skills set and developing new knowledge in other areas eg finance, employment law, health and safety,  investments, working on organisational strategy.  Good for the soul and the CV.

Being part of something meaningful.  Most of us are wrapped up in our own lives, making a living and running businesses.  Being a Charity trustee brings a feeling of being part of something that is worthwhile and important.  Making a positive contribution and being valued is important to all of us.

Finding out about Trustee roles is easy, here are some useful links:-

Thinking about becoming a Trustee?

www.shinecharityrecruitment.co.uk

www.do-it.org

www.charitycommission.gov.uk

Applying for a job is time consuming and can be frustrating.  As a recruiter I see a wide range of applications from a variety of people seeking roles in the charity sector.

Here is my advice on making your job seeking more effective.

1.            BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF – just because you see your dream job advertised, does not necessarily mean you have the skills and experience to do the job.  Read the job description and person specification  carefully, if you don’t meet the all the essential requirements and at least 75% of the desirable requirements, you will not be shortlisted.

2.            RESEARCH – there is no excuse for not researching the organisation fully prior to applying, you can then demonstrate your understanding of the requirements of the role more effectively in your application.  Don’t forget the wider research you can also do.

3.            DON’T RAMBLE – keep your supporting statement/covering letter to one side of A4 and make it relevant, addressing the requirement of the role.  Nothing puts recruiters off more than great swathes of text especially when you get a large number of applications.

4.            MEASURE YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS – how do you know you improved staff moral/attendance/productivity/increased income?  Provide evidence and figures where possible.

5.            HOW DULL IS YOUR PROFILE? – have you described yourself as professional and experienced?  So does everyone!  Give some thought to your profile – make it stand out from the rest.  Try and inject something of your personality.

6.            DON’T BE LATE – a closing date for applications is usually advertised.  Try not to leave it to the last day, get your application in in plenty of time and definitely don’t send it after the closing date.

7.            TRY NOT TO SULK – if you aren’t shortlisted for interview, there is a good reason.  Either you don’t meet the requirements of the role or you have not submitted a good enough application.  Don’t ring up a demand an explanation (it does happen!).

8.            ATTEND THE INTERVIEW – if you are offered an interview, confirm as soon as you can.  Most organisations will put a lot of effort into organising interview/assessment days and these are usually stated in the advert.  If you can’t attend the interview, don’t expect it to be re-organised just for you.

9.            SMILE – interviews can be stressful but smiling has a positive effect on both you and the interviewer and suggests confidence (even if you’re having a wobble inside).  Don’t forget to smile at everyone you meet on the day, you’d be surprised how many people are asked for feedback.

10.          SAY YES – if asked at the end of the interview if this is the job for you, make sure your enthusiasm if communicated clearly (but try not to sound too desperate!).

Simple things but even some of the most senior candidates have days when the simple things get forgotten!

There is obviously a common sense approach to this but we would always recommend taking advice.

Belinda Newton

belinda.newton@hrdept.co.uk

Once you have spent a few hours writing a high impact CV and playing with the layout for best effect, you then find that the majority of vacancies require you to complete an application form.  Admittedly, you could cut and paste from your CV, but often you are required to evidence your experience against the job description.

It could be that with the increase in the use of Social Media, in the future you may simply be asked to provide the URL to your LinkedIn Profile, so it is important to ensure that this is as up-to-date and relevant as possible.  In addition, this gives you the opportunity to include recommendations or testimonials from the outset.

Personally, I am a big fan of the CV.  I like to see how candidates market themselves, their presentation and written communication skills can be demonstrated in a CV.  It is quite interesting to see what they include and what they leave out.  Of course, you can’t be sure if they actually wrote their own CV or paid someone to do it for them!

Belinda Newton
belinda.newton@hrdept.co.uk

t 0845 863 065

From experience, I would recommend creating a table and logging the applications as they come in. Make a note of their name, the source of the application, whether you have acknowledged receipt with the candidate, a brief note about their background and any additional notes.  When the closing date passes, it is so much easier to refer to your table and identify those candidates whose applications caught your eye when they arrived.

For charities, it is especially important to ensure that everyone is provided with a response.  This gives you the opportunity to thank candidates for their interest, express regret at not being able to shortlist everyone and invite them to support your charity in another way (never miss the opportunity to do this!).

Alternatively, you could ask me to do it for you.  On a recent recruitment project I took over the entire process from managing the advertising, screening over 200 applications,  carrying out first interviews and producing a shortlist for the client.  I have also worked with a client who had carried out their own advertising, been inundated with applications and simply passed them to me to carry out the screening, which I did producing a shortlist for them to interview and a sympathetically written letter for those candidates not invited for interview.

Obviously, I would say yes but some charities  feel that the benefits working with charity recruitment consultants do not outweigh the cost.  The value of recruiting a great person for the role is huge, and it is important to put in place some way of measuring the success of the appointment.  The cost of poor recruitment can be devastating and ultimately cost an organisation far more than just money!!

Working with an experienced and professional  Consultant should help you to find that great person and ensure good recruitment practice takes place during the process.

But before you do choose who you’re going to work with ask yourself these questions:-

• Does your Consultant meet with you to gain a better understanding of your organisation, it’s culture, it’s challenges, it’s opportunities and it’s objectives?
• Are they happy to provide testimonials and for you to speak to other organisations who have used them?
• Can they demonstrate they understand your requirements in terms of not only skills and experience, but also attitude and personality?
• Does your Consultant help you write your job description, advise you on salary packages, write and handle your advertising campaign?
• Does your Consultant respond to everyone who applies for the job in a professional and polite manner, ensuring that your organisation continues to be viewed in a positive light?  With more and more people considering careers in the charity sector, you could end up with a large number of applications.
• Does your Consultant carry out first interviews with long-listed candidates and provide a shortlist of suitable candidates, complete with interviewer’s report?
• Does your Consultant make themselves available to meet with you to discuss your shortlist in detail and help you to plan your own interview/assessment day?
• Is you Consultant on hand on the assessment day and available to be an  member of the  interview panel or at least to facilitate the day?
• Does your Consultant handle the job offer and any subsequent negotiations on your behalf?
• Does your Consultant handle written references requests on your behalf?
• And does your Consultant keep going, even when the ideal candidate appears impossible to find?

If you can answer yes to all these questions, then you are getting great value for money.  If you aren’t using a Recruitment Consultant then hopefully you will now realise the benefits of finding a Consultant who can provide you with all of the above!!

I think most people would agree that 2011 was a toughie!  But will 2012 be any bettrer?  Well it depends on who you speak to, my thoughts are as follows (for what they’re worth)

If you’re doing well – don’t take it for granted, you need to continue to up your game

If things aren’t going so well – you need to examine why?  Don’t keep doing the same in the hope that something will change.  Doing nothing is not an option!  Sometime you need to take the bull by the horns and sometimes you might need a helping hand.  Whilst my specialist area is recruitment, I also work with associates who can offer expertise in a wide range of areas and am always happy to chat to charities and provide whatever help I can.

HAVE A GREAT 2012 – I HOPE ALL YOUR EXPECTATIONS ARE EXCEEDED.

The right to request flexible working is available to anyone who has a child under the age of 17, or 18 for a disabled child or caring for a dependent adult. With an ageing population, that covers a lot of people. The employee must have 26 weeks continuous service to request a variation to their working patterns. The business may deny the request if it demonstrates that it is not workable for a justifiable business reason – real not imagined!

Dealing with flexible working requests can be daunting for small businesses. Though there are statutory rules on how to process these requests, most small businesses do not understand the consequences of not keeping to the timescales. While there were only 277 cases relating to flexible working out of 218,100 claims in 2010, most are settled out of court because of the cost of defence and the impact on the business. You cannot defend the indefensible when failing to follow a statutory procedure.

Belinda Newton, Director of The HR Dept Exeter says “If an employee is engaged, happy and spreading the word about your brand and delivering value to the business then flexible working can be a powerful resource. It is a shame that flexible working can be seen as a taboo subject, but that is more than likely because of the strict rules around requests and the fear of consequences as opposed to the benefits if a request is accepted and managed properly for the business.”

For further information please contact Belinda Newton at The HR Dept Exeter, 0845 863 0653, belinda.newton@hrdept.co.uk, www.hrdept.co.uk. Belinda is a human resources professional specialising in providing advice to small and medium sized businesses on all on HR and employment issues.

How long does it take to recruit a new employee?

You can never tell is the short answer.  You can take some steps to manage the process more effectively, but it’s not a good idea to be too rigid in your timescales. 

Take for example, a recruitment project that I have been working on and is just not being finalised.  I was instructed in March, the client had already tried to recruit themselves but failed to find the right person.  It was a new role and they had very specific requirements.  We sat down and discussed timescales and agreed an advertising campaign and closing date.  The applications trickled in but no-one ideal was identified.  We had a re-think and the job was looked at carefully to see if we were being realistic in our requirements.  We then re-advertised across a variety of media including social media and still no-one came forward.  After further discussions we agreed to give the advertising a rest but that I would continue looking.  A few weeks later, I was contacted by a candidate who had been recommended to me but had (amazingly) not seen the advert.  I sent her the job description, we met and she then went to meet the client.  BINGO!  My client’s advice is that it is better to wait until you find the right person than to be pressured into recruiting someone, the wrong appointment can prove very costly.

It is hard to believe that we did not have many applications for this role at a time when all we hear about is how many people are looking for jobs.  However, if the role requires specific experience and qualifications and is at a more senior level then it is still difficult to source the people.

So how do you ensure that your find the right people for you organisation within a reasonable timescale?  A recruitment plan is essential and someone to drive it.  Using a Recruitment Consultant is not such a bad idea, they can help you put together your  plan, manage your advertising campaign, search their existing database, screen potential candidates and carry out first interviews, headhunt, co-ordinate your interviews and assessment days, advise on and  negotiate job offers, take up references and deal with unsuccessful candidates.  There is only a fee if they are successful and if you don’t manage to recruit someone straight away, a good recruitment consultant will keep working on the vacancy until the find the right person is found.