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How to Attract Top Talent: Employer Branding Strategies for Irish Companies

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How to Attract Top Talent: Employer Branding Strategies for Irish Companies

No matter what industry your Irish company is in, it is essential to step up your employer brand in order to attract and retain the best employees. There are some straightforward strategies that can help even the smallest organisations win over potential candidates and convince them that they are the right choice for their next career move. Recruit Island is on hand to give helpful advice on how to attract top talent and what employer branding strategies for Irish companies can be used.

Define your company culture

Your company culture represents who you are as an organisation, and it can attract or repel potential employees and customers. With many successful businesses in Ireland, it is no surprise that corporate culture has become a vital aspect of doing business. It is important to consider what values, beliefs, and traditions you want to uphold within your team, as this will shape the overall atmosphere of the workplace. It can be done in the following ways:

Outlining your mission and values.
Highlighting your company’s unique traits.
Demonstrating the benefits available for employees.

Before developing your company culture, ask yourself what kind of environment you want your employees to thrive in, and how you can foster a sense of community and collaboration. This will help to attract candidates who share the same values as your business, who share your vision, and who are more likely to excel within the organisation. It is beneficial to outline why your existing employees enjoy working for you and what makes you stand out from the rest.

How to Attract Top Talent: Employer Branding Strategies for Irish Companies

Enhance your online presence

It is crucial for Irish companies to have a strong online presence. Pay close attention to this aspect of business in order to stand out among the competition and attract quality candidates. Company reputation is a key factor in attracting the right candidates and a strong online presence can bolster this reputation. It can include the following strategies:

A well-designed website that showcases the company’s message.
Active social media accounts such as LinkedIn and Facebook with business updates and news.
Engaging marketing content such as flyers, online advertisements, and press releases.

Having a strong online presence can attract high-quality candidates with valuable skills and experience. The company website should highlight the culture, job opportunities, and employee benefits. Social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter can also be leveraged to showcase the company’s values and connect with potential candidates. Engaging marketing content can boost the company’s popularity within that particular industry as it is vital to stand out in today’s competitive hiring market.

Did You Know?

72% of recruiting leaders worldwide agreed that employer brand has a significant impact on hiring.

Create a positive candidate experience

This starts from the moment a candidate applies for a job. It ends when a candidate accepts or declines the job offer. In an increasingly competitive job market, employers need to up their game when it comes to attracting potential employees. The first interaction with a potential employee should convey a message that they are a great place to work and that they value their employees. Employers should focus on creating a positive candidate experience in the following ways:

Providing timely feedback with interview results.
Keeping candidates informed about the hiring process.
Providing a smooth onboarding experience.

By showcasing their company’s unique culture, offering attractive benefits packages, and providing opportunities for professional development and growth, they can establish themselves as top employers in their respective industries. In doing so, they are more likely to attract and retain the best and brightest talent for their teams.

Attracting and retaining employees is essential to the success of any business. Employers need to consider their employer branding strategies in order to stay competitive. Developing an effective employer brand requires a thoughtful approach that includes highlighting the company’s benefits and values, creating a positive candidate experience, and enhancing an online presence.

By optimising these elements, Irish companies will be perfectly positioned to attract and retain top talent. With dedication, consistency, and creativity, it will pave the way for a dynamic professional team that can take the organisation to greater heights of success.

Contact Recruit Island for all your recruitment needs.

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Career Guidance, Employer Advice, Events, Job Search

5 Benefits of Networking at Work

Networking at work is a vital pathway to career growth and there are many benefits to it. Sometimes networking can be confused with selling, but it actually means creating long-term relationships that are mutually beneficial. This in turn, leads to building a good reputation over time.

Networking is not about trying to meet as many people as possible, but rather it is trying to meet the right type of people that will be able to endorse your specific skillset, show you opportunities and point you in the direction of other well-connected people.
It is an essential process that should be implemented throughout all stages of your professional journey. Here we take a look at 5 benefits of networking at work.

85% of job positions have been filled through networking.

Almost 100% believe that face-to-face meetings build stronger long-term relationships.

70% of jobs are never published publicly.

Here are 5 of the biggest advantages of networking:

1. Raise Your Profile

One of the first benefits of networking that is extremely important in career building is being able to raise your profile, you can do this by being visible and getting noticed. The way you can do this is by attending as many social and professional events as possible which will help get your face known.

When you are attending these events, you must provide value for other attendees (it’s not all about you), long lasting relationships are built on trust and providing value to each other. You can create value by listening carefully, following up on conversations, remembering names, and offering your knowledge and expertise.

2. Advance Your Career

Having the ability to go out and network with people within your industry can hugely benefit your chances of climbing the ladder in your industry.

You can advance your career and build your reputation by being knowledgeable, reliable, and supportive by providing useful information to people who need it.

3. Strengthen Business Connections

“Sharing is caring”, for lack of a better term, is what networking is all about. You must be willing to share the information you have and not just take information from other people. It is about forming trust and helping each other reach your individual goals. Staying in regular dialogue with your contacts and finding ways to assist them will help strengthen your relationship. This will plant the seed for a long-lasting relationship and for when you need assistance to achieve your goals.

4. Access to Job Opportunities

Having the ability to expand your contacts can lead to many new opportunities for business, career advancement or for personal growth. When you are actively networking it keeps you at the forefront of people’s minds when new job openings become available, and it will increase your chances of being introduced to relevant people or potentially even a referral.

As your career advances a lot of jobs do not get advertised, so being recognised in the right network of people can open the door to more career opportunities that you may not have otherwise.

5. Career Advice and Support

Receiving career advice from experienced people within your industry is another important benefit of networking. When you are discussing your common challenges and opportunities this can lead to important suggestions and guidance. When you can offer good advice and support to your contacts this will set a strong foundation when you need support in return.

So why not get networking and soon you’ll be climbing up that career ladder in no time!

View all our current vacancies on Recruit Island that can help you get your foot in the door and start networking.

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Employer Advice, Industry Sectors, Innovative Ideas

How to Attract Top Talent: Employer Branding Strategies for Irish Companies

How to Attract Top Talent: Employer Branding Strategies for Irish Companies No matter what industry your Irish company is in, it is essential to step up your employer brand in order to attract and retain the best employees. There are some straightforward strategies that can help even the smallest organisations win over potential candidates and…

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Article written by:

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Career Guidance, Employer Advice, Workplace Wellness

Is Hybrid Work the New Normal?

It’s no secret the pandemic has upended our lives. With remote work becoming more commonplace, hybrid work has become the new normal for many organisations. Hybrid work is a combination of working from your own space as well as a company location. This may come in the form of say 3 days at home and 2 days in the office or any other combination.

It’s not an easy process moving from a fully remote working environment into a hybrid one. It may take time to adjust back to office life, after all, the pandemic is still present in society and it’s important to put health first, especially your mental health. Employees have become accustomed to the working from home ways with many starting new roles fully remotely, this is why most employers want to ease their employees back, instead of forcing them into how work life was pre-pandemic.

3 Ways Businesses Can Make Hybrid Work a Success:

1. Develop a work culture based on mental health and well-being. Whether it’s creating a free counselling programme for employees or organising online meetups such as Pilates classes, ensuring a happy work environment should be a priority. At Servisource we have a dedicated space for our Mental Health Toolkit which can be accessed by all employees of CPL. It includes group exercise activities, virtual cafes to discuss important topics relating to mental wellbeing as well as access to a free counselling service. This gives employees the reassurance that their employer knows how important they are.

2. Create a safe office working environment with health monitoring systems in place such as hand sanitisers available at desks and perhaps allowing only a certain amount of people in workspaces at the one time. If someone’s sick, it’s best for them to stay at home in case other people are infected. These small changes can help people feel at ease who might have some lingering anxieties about returning back to the office.

3. Sending the proper work equipment to employees so they have the ability to work efficiently during their workdays at home. This allows them to feel confident while away from the office. Many companies use the hot desking system in the office whereby desks are allocated to workers when they are required or on a rota system, which ensures everybody has a desk when they are working from the office.

4. A proper work/life balance is important and this is why Sevisource has created a new Balance Time scheme for its employees. This is a flexible time currency for everyone in CPL to cater for all of the non-work commitments as and when they arise. It is our unique flexibility offering, reflective of the people that work for CPL. Whatever your reason, we want to empower you to best balance your time and to be proud to do so. This means if you have an appointment or task that you need to fulfil during the working day, Balance Time can be used. You essentially take the time to fulfil the appointment or task, but you make back the time within 1 week.

Technological advances since the pandemic began also make it easier to stay connected remotely. This has resulted in the popularity of flexible working arrangements throughout the workforce. Workspace systems such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom can allow workers to message and video each other, enabling everything to run more smoothly.

However, just like everything else, there are some advantages and disadvantages to the hybrid working setup. Let’s take a look at these.

Advantages of Hybrid Work:

The hybrid working environment can allow employees to have a nice balance between home and office life. Having the option to go to work and see colleagues but also spend more time at home with family, is ideal for most workers. They have the ability to look after their children or older family members and it allows them to be more flexible.
That work camaraderie is still present when they are in the office which prevents feelings of isolation from creeping in. Stress levels are also lowered because of this flexibility and less time spent travelling to work in heavy traffic. Costs on office expenses and travel are also avoided.

Advantages of Hybrid Work

Improved work/life balance
Lower stress levels

Flexible hours
Less time commuting to work
Lower costs

According to statistics, the most frequently mentioned benefit of homeworking was increased well-being through avoiding the commute (46% of survey participants), followed by enhanced well-being because of greater flexibility of hours (39%).

Disadvantages of Hybrid Work:

However, there’s a real probability that when you work from home you end up spending too much time at your desk and work time can eat into your personal time. You might end up going over your required work hours without realising it or going back to your computer to finish something off. It’s important to separate your work time from your personal time while working the hybrid life.

Disadvantages of Hybrid Work

Feelings of isolation
Work intrusion
Reliance on technology

Distractions at home
Scheduling difficulties

Statistics also state a reduction in distractions while working hybrid also featured at 33%, although given that lockdown enforced homeworking regardless of home circumstances, some employees were still dealing with increased distractions.

There’s also a reliance on technology and if the WIFI happens to malfunction, then certain tasks can no longer be fulfilled. A stable internet connection can be difficult in rural areas, but it has greatly improved since the pandemic. Distractions while working at home can also occur especially when taking care of family members. A comfortable environment with a proper work set-up is important which allows you to keep on top of work duties and schedules.

What does the above tell us?
Overall, there are advantages and disadvantages to working hybrid, both for the employers and the employees.
Companies are making time to allow employees to work in a way that is most comfortable to them, especially in a world that has changed so much since the pandemic began. Mental health is important and when you have happy workers, you have a happy, thriving business.

Managing Employee Performance and Engagement levels – Succeed or fail

As an employer, managing employee performance and engagement levels is your responsibility. Unfortunately, employees can’t reach their full potential at work 100% of the time as workload can build up, causing a dip in productivity and creativity. Being happy in one’s role at work is one of the most important factors to an employee giving their best efforts and for a successful company. Low morale leads to a high turnover and poor efforts which hinders the company from succeeding.

Managing employee performance in 12 easy steps

1.Training

New employees should receive proper training and induction. This will give the employee clarification on what exactly they should be doing and how they should be doing it. Training should also be provided to long-term employees so as they can continue to develop skills and performance.

2.Communication

Communication is essential. Employees prefer it when they are firstly treated as a person and then an employee. Keep employees up to date with everything that is going on within the company, this will make them feel a greater sense of importance and responsibility.

3.Set Goals

Clearly setting out the company goals and visions lets the employee know exactly what is expected from them and what they are supposed to be doing. Discuss with employees what their employment/career goals are and work towards them. To learn more about setting career goals check out our article How to set and achieve long-term career goals.

4.Encouragement

Encouragement is a win-win. Support employees and let them know what they are doing is worth it and not going unnoticed. Encouragement will make you feel good as you build your relationship with employees and it will encourage employees to keep up their hard work.

5.Team work

Set tasks for employees to complete in teams.

6.Feedback

Provide feedback to employees. This allows the employee to share their opinions and inform of any struggles that they may be experiencing. Providing feedback can also be a good motivator for the employee to do better or change how they are doing something. Feedback provides openness which allows honesty and loyalty.

7.Delegation

Delegating roles on to employees gives them the opportunity to learn and grow. It shows that you trust them to do the job and it also frees up your workload. Involve them in decision-making roles, ask for their input and ideas, if they have been involved in every step of the process and invested a lot of time in it, they are more likely to be emotionally invested in it and put more work in.

Making your employees feel loved

8.Rewards

Give employees gratitude when they are doing a good job or rewards for teams if there is a huge increase in sales from hard work. Rewards are the biggest motivator.

9.Work Environment

Create and encourage a work environment that allows everyone to voice their opinions and that ensures their opinions are heard, for both management and staff. People are more likely to express innovative ideas to those that will listen.

10.Social Activities

Social days and team building activities allows employees to blow off steam and to build on their relationships. A lot of employees spend more time with their co-workers than they do with their family. Strong working relationships are important as there is personal and professional gain.

11.Competitions

Holding competitions gets the adrenaline pumping and people go the extra mile to win if it is a competition. They also make for a fun office environment.

12.Take a Break

Studies show that not everyone takes breaks while working. Lunch breaks should be encouraged as working non-stop in the same environment can have negative effects on creative thinking.

Some Tips on managing employee performance from Office Manager Patricia Mackin

Introduce a clean desk policy, this ensures employees are working in a clean, fresh and comfortable environment which increases productivity. It also reduces stress as everything is organised – A place for everything and everything in its place.
Plants offer more than just visual value. Studies have shown they also help reduce stress, enhance employee attitudes, increase productivity and improve air quality.
Drinking water is critical for productivity and mental alertness, it also increases energy levels and relieves fatigue. Experts suggest drinking at 2 litres per day. Providing a water cooler ensures your staff can avail of a continuous supply of filtered cold drinking water on tap all day long.
Provide employees with the right technology and training so they can enjoy their job more. It will enable them to work to the highest standard giving them a sense of satisfaction.
Effective communication can form a good working relationship between Managers and Staff. The result of a team that works well together is high productivity, integrity and responsibility.
Providing Tea & Coffee in the workplace is a small bonus that staff really appreciate. Adding additional treats throughout the year such as biscuits, cakes etc. is a simple way to keep your staff happy and make them feel appreciated.

To learn more about managing employee performance and problems we recommend this short course available on lynda.com: https://www.lynda.com/Business-Skills-tutorials/Managing-Employee-Performance-Problems/144199-2.html

How to Attract Top Talent: Employer Branding Strategies for Irish Companies

Define your company culture

Enhance your online presence

Create a positive candidate experience

Contact Recruit Island for all your recruitment needs.

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Is Hybrid Work the New Normal?

3 Ways Businesses Can Make Hybrid Work a Success:

Advantages of Hybrid Work:

Disadvantages of Hybrid Work:

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Managing employee performance in 12 easy steps

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