All posts by SarahWatts

Uncategorized

Flexible Work Arrangements Attract Highly Skilled and Experienced Applicants!

When White Now placed an advert on www.whitenow.com.au and SEEK on behalf of a client looking for an Office Assistant 3 days per week, the client received 345 applications! The good news was that there was a large percentage of high calibre candidates which made the job of choosing a short list really tough, but ultimately led to a great result because it was such a strong field.

So why was this such a popular job?  Well, this client recognised that whilst work is an important part of life, people have other commitments and interests that are equally important and if all these things can be accommodated or balanced, they are going to have happy, committed employees!

Lots of employees enjoy working and WANT to work, but also have family commitments or interests they want to pursue. There is a HUGE market of ‘return to work’ Mums and Dads, semi-retirees, part time students etc that have valuable skills and experience, often at a much higher level, who still want to contribute to a workplace that they can enjoy and add value to.  Just not necessarily in a full time or 9am-5pm capacity.

How can you tap into this great resource?  Take a look at the roles that you have and think a bit ‘outside the square’ about the way work is done and how you can build flexibility into your workplace. Offer school hours or the flexibility to take time out during the day to attend school activities and make the time up later.  Can work be done remotely (from home) on some or all days, or after hours?  Ask an employee ‘how can we make this work for you?’ and negotiate a mutually suitable arrangement.   And don’t forget to ask yourself, “is job-sharing an option?”

Offering a flexible workplace can often open up the the job to a larger pool of higher calibre employees to chose from.  And often these employees come with a high level of commitment and and work performance because they have a great work/life balance.  Flexibility in the workplace can also be a great retention tool.  Offering your existing employees more flexibility maybe one reason that will keep them working for your organisation rather than them looking elsewhere.

Next time a vacancy comes up, take a different look at it:  how can you incorporate more flexibility and attract a whole new candidate pool?

Uncategorized

Head Hunting Vs Advertising

head-hunterSo what are our thoughts at White Now on ‘Head Hunting’ for candidates versus Advertising your vacancy?

Both certainly have merit and we would recommend using a combination of both.  You may know of some people in industry that seem to be perfect for your role and may very well be, but what about those you don’t know of?

‘Head Hunting’ usually involves ‘tapping’ potential applicants on the shoulder and asking them if they would be interested in the vacancy.  It may seem to be an easier and quicker option to fill your vacancy.  But what about all that talent out there you don’t know about?  By ONLY head hunting, you are missing out on a whole pool of potentially great candidates who may just be the perfect fit for your vacancy.

At White Now, we would suggest using both methods.  If you have some candidates in mind that you think would be great for the role, then they can certainly be approached to apply, along with opening the role up via advertising and therefore getting a wider range of suitable candidates.

Its the best of both worlds and give the opportunity to compare candidates and get the BEST possible pool of applicants!

Recruiting Tips, Uncategorized

Closing Dates on Position Vacant Ads – to Include or Not to Include?

closedA common question we are asked at White Now is whether or not to include a closing date on a Position Vacant ad and our recommendation, is not to.  The reason for this is to gain exposure to the widest possible pool of applicants and not limit your possible applicants.

The majority of applicants will apply within the first two weeks of placing and advertisement and will be actively looking for a new role.  But what about the applicant who is on holidays and not checking the Internet for those two weeks, who just might be the perfect applicant? You just missed out on them!  What about the applicant who is not necessarily looking for a new role, but casually keeps an eye on job boards to ‘see what’s out there’ every couple of weeks or so, they might be the perfect applicant, but they missed seeing your ad!

Not all applicants check job boards every day.  Not all applicants are actively looking, but might be inspired by the perfect job they just happen to see.  You want to have the best possible pool of applicants to chose from, so you need to give your position vacant the best exposure possible to reach ALL those possible applicants.  Ads can remain on www.whitenow.com.au for up to 30 days, with applications coming directly to your nominated email address.  You can start assessing applications before the ad expires and then add in any additional suitable applicants as they apply with little disruption to the recruitment process.  This ensures you have ‘spread the net’ wide and given your position the best chance of reaching the best pool of applicants.

It is always your choice to include a closing date, but remember, it may just eliminate the BEST candidate !

 

Business Brands

Your Image at Work – Does it Matter?

Poor old (or is that young?) Gen Y, they are in trouble again for not understanding the rules and dress codes for the workplace and taking a too casual approach! Isn’t it okay to wear a t-shirt, Havianas and have the band of your undies showing, when you are meeting clients? Does it affect your ability to the job? Doesn’t Mark Zuckerberg (facebook founder) LIVE in a hoodie? And he’s a Billionaire!

Ettiquette and dress codes have definitely relaxed in recent years. Some of us can remember a dress code at work that included skirts, not pants for women, only black or navy suits for men and NO coloured shirts and women required to wear stockings all year round.

While it is great that some of those rules have relaxed, for many there is still the expectation you will present a certain way at work and after all, first impressions DO count. Plus, many bosses (and customers) are either Baby Boomers or Gen X with a different perception of what is the right dress code for work. Some companies have resorted to hiring Image Consultants to advise staff on the appropriate dress code. This was usually spelt out in the past when you were hired. If your workplace has a uniform much of this dilemma is solved, although ‘policing’ the wearing of the uniform, including name badges and appropriate makeup, hairstyles and jewelry/piercings may still be an issue!

So who is right? Well if the person making the decision about your pay rise, hiring or promotion is from the ‘Baby Boomers or Gen X’ generations, then you probably will need to dress to suit their expectations to get the pay rise, job or promotion, rightly or wrongly. One way to look at it is that the Company ‘pays you to present a certain image’ to the community/clients, so at work you dress the way they expect and leave the ‘self expression’ for your spare time. Another school of thought says ‘dress for the job you want, not the one you have’ and that will help you take the next step up.

If image doesn’t matter, why do organisations have uniforms? Qantas and other large corporations even go to the expense of employing Fashion Designers to design their uniforms. Imagine an Airline Steward in hoodie, baggy jeans and thongs giving the safety demonstration, how would you feel – safe, confident, sure they could do their job?

While the way we dress may not effect our ability to do the job (other than in the case of PPE and safety clothing) it can effect others’ perception of our ability and therefore whether or not we are hired, promoted or given the pay rise. So maybe image is worth thinking about.

Business Brands, giving, Life Experiences, The 'Read & Recover' Initiative - Helping sick kids!, Values

Read and Recover is on Again!

‘White Now‘ in conjunction with Brad Sugars of ‘Action Coach’ is again running the ‘Read & Recover Program‘ in 2011 which will see us donate 1600 books to 100 hospitals across Australia!

The books have already arrived and now we need nominations for Hospitals and other Children’s organisations that will benefit from receiving these books.

This great initiative came about after ‘White Now‘  MD Jenny White spent some time in a children’s ward of a hospital with her son when he was ill and found that the only books available were few and in poor condition.  She decided she would like to help out by donating books to hospital children’s wards, so other parents and children could benefit.  Brad Sugars was calling for suggestions for his ‘Santa Brad’ project through Facebook, so Jenny told him her idea and he was happy to get on board and Read & Recover became a reality.  The initiative went from 100 books to 10 hospitals and rapidly moved to 1500 books to 100 hospitals.

So, now we have the books (and they are filling up our office) we call for nominations from the community for hospitals and children’s organisations they have either been involved with or know of, who would benefit from the donation of some books for the kids and families who the help.  We do this via Facebook and our newsletter (Click here to sign up for the newsletter) to our contacts at White Now and want to hear from YOU!

Later on we will also ask for volunteers to help us pack and deliver the books, so stay tuned!

I joined the ‘White Now’ team at the end of last year so this is my first experience of the ‘Read & Recover’ Program and I am already caught up in the excitement and can’t wait to be more involved.  It is great to receive your nominations and learn about the positive experiences people have had with our great hospitals and other organisations and know how these books will be of benefit and bring a smile!

Click here to read more about this great program and PLEASE contact us with your nominations through info@whitenow.com.au.

All the best
Sarah Watts

Recruiting Tips

Job Application, Resume and Interview Tips

Helpful TipsThere are plenty of ‘What To Do’ and ‘What Not To Do’ tips for job applications, resume writing and interview skills out there if you care to look and most will say much the same thing including us at White Now:

  • Be active in your job search and keep a record
  • Network
  • Write a cover letter for EACH job application you make
  • Address the selection criteria in the advertisement
  • Have more than one Resume tailored to each job/industry you are applying for
  • Keep your Resume professional and only include information relevant to your ability to do the job not your date of birth, religious beliefs or hobbies
  • Include achievements on your Resume for each role
  • USE SPELL CHECK!
  • Dress professionally for job interviews
  • Practice your interview responses – BE PREPARED
  • Plan your travel to your interview

Amongst others…..

Most of these are probably ‘common sense’ to most people, but then ‘common sense’ isn’t necessarily ‘common’ to every one!

Some tips will also be quite subjective, whether or not to include your photo on your Resume, for example. Personally, I am not a fan of this, but some will recommend it – personal choice I guess. Please, do make sure it is an appropriate photo that presents you in a professional light and suitable for the job you are applying for.  A photo of you skiing may not be the best representation of you as a professional, committed manager.

So the advice you do get can be conflicting. The thing that is important to remember is that your application letter and resume is likely to be the first impression the recruiter will gain of you and like it or not, FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT! Especially if the recruiter has received 100+ applications and they are looking for a reason to exclude, rather than include an application.

Therefore: make sure you create a great first impression, use spell check, get a trusted person to review your application/resume honestly, check details of the contact person, company and position you are applying to and make sure the documents are presented professionally and that they are easy to read.

Your resume is a marketing tool for YOU, so think about how you want to market yourself to potential employers.

You can get daily tips on ‘What NOT To Do’ from Wiz Whitenow on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/wizwhitenow – there is a new Wiz’s WOT NOT every day to get you thinking and maybe even make you smile! Check it out!

If you would like to chat for some advice please call the White Now Team in the office or check us out on the website at www.whitenow.com.au for lots more information and positions vacant!

Business Brands, Life Experiences, Values

What to do When Attacked by ‘Aliens from Planet Hack!’

As many of you may know, www.whitenow.com.au was recently attacked, YES, attacked! – by ‘Aliens from Planet Hack.’  What this means, is the company that hosts our website and emails was externally and deliberately attacked and this effected our website and emails (along with lots of others) for about 6 days.  Not good for a web-based business!

Anyway, we are now back, the Aliens DID NOT win!

As with most experiences some good things did come out of it.  As an employee of White Now, I was really impressed with the response of those managing the company and our IT resources (Jenny White, Toby Kennett and Andrew Bassett-Smith).  There was no time wasted on ‘wringing hands’, feeling sorry for ourselves or laying blame.  Our management team was straight into ‘solution- finding’ mode and minimising the inconvenience for our clients and website users.  As soon as the problem was discovered, they were onto letting people know as best they could (via Facebook,LinkedIn and twitter initially) and setting up a temporary site so at least our current positions vacant could be seen.

It is really refreshing and inspiring to work for a company like White Now that concentrates on being positive, focused and professional and getting the ‘crisis’ resolved.

This is also a management team that regularly acknowledges the work of staff both publicly and privately – we always know we are appreciated, which makes a BIG difference!  So now its my turn to acknowledge them and say ‘you guys ROCK’ and are great to work for!

There is a definite lesson for ‘What to do When attacked by Aliens from Planet Hack’ or any other ‘crisis’ that befalls your business (or life for that matter), stay positive, focused and look for solutions.  That way you retain your power over the situation and leave the blame laying alone,  get on with the job.

Business Brands, Life Experiences, Uncategorized, Values

Listening to Customers

listening

I recently purchased the NEW Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief Toothpaste that has been advertised widely.  Having sensitive teeth, the ad totally hooked me and the next time I was looking for toothpaste I decided to give it a go!

When I first went to use the product I was unable to open the ‘tamper-proof’ cap, so went to my husband for help.  In the end, we had to take to it with a knife and cut the secure cap off!  Rather extreme for toothpaste!

I thought that this was so dangerous and ridiculous that I decided to contact Colgate and let them know.  If we had this much trouble, how would someone like my 84 year old mother in law, with arthritic hands and living on her own, ever get the cap off?!  I went onto their website and found the ‘contact us’ section and sent them a polite email describing the problems I experienced.  I quickly received back an equally polite email that essentially ‘fobbed’ me off. Oh well, I thought, I won’t be buying that product again, regardless how good the toothpaste maybe, it’s just too hard to get to.

I forgot all about it and returned to another brand of toothpaste with any easy-access cap.  This week I received a parcel in the post from Colgate.  Seems I must not have been the only one to comment on the cap and they have redesigned it and sent me a tube to trial plus a questionnaire to answer.

Well today I tried the new cap which is still ‘tamper-proof’ but I am pleased to say VERY easy to open and access the toothpaste inside!

All of this really impressed on me how important it is to listen AND respond to customers.  I felt great that my comments had been heard and acted on and my further opinion was then sought.  I am sure I was one of many people who made comments about the cap, but if no one had said anything and had just never bought the product again, Colgate would have been left wondering what the problem was – the toothpaste?  the taste? packaging – WHAT?!  By receiving and acting on the feedback they have been able to make a small change and thererfore, hopefully retain customers and gain new customers, when they spread the word.

So, the moral of the story is to firstly let companies/organisations know if you find a problem with their product or service so they can take action – its then up to them.  Secondly, if you are that company/organisation receiving that comment, WELCOME it with open arms and see at as the opportunity that it is to make your service or product even better!  I will now continue to buy Sensitive Pro-Relief Colgate!

Life Experiences, Values

The Future of Work – Workstyle

Recently I have noticed a few articles discussing the predicted trends for the workplace and how we will work in the future and was interested to note that some of these trends already apply here at White Now!

Forecasters predict that women will account for 46 % of the workforce by 2020, more Australians will work part time, the median age will be 38 and more of our colleagues will be over 65, thanks to a growth in ‘grey power’.  Women will hold more management roles and our leadership style is expected to become more collaborative, motivational and engaged.

There is also a trend towards what is being termed as  ‘workstyle’ (rather than lifestyle) where you fit work AROUND your personal life and family commitments.  Makes sense as more and more, both partners are in the workforce and the responsibility for care of children is being shared more equally.  And who says you have to get your work done between 9am and 5pm – what about the rest of the hours in the day and night??

‘Workstyle’ allows the worker to attend school events, go to the gym or attend appointments in traditional work hours, do an intersst course and work when and where it best suits them – perhaps from home after the kids are in bed, in the early hours of the morning or on the weekend.  It means that the worker is always ‘on’ but with the ability to work around other commitments whether that be family or other interests and use ALL the time available to them.

With access to the internet and mobile communications tools, we can now work from almost anywhere and at anytime so work and life can intersect and ‘seep’ into each other.

This was one of the things that attracted me to working with White Now, having the flexibility and tools to manage my work and life and make the most of both.  I was interested and pleased to realise, when reading these articles recently, just how forward thinking this company is!

While not every job can operate this way, (hard to deliver great face to face customer service from home or when your venue is closed!)  there still may be opportunities for greater flexibility and incorporating some aspects to give ourselves or staff more of a ‘workstyle’ lifestyle.  Start the conversation with your Manager or staff and find out what could be a ‘workstyle’ for both! 

Being happy at work, having an enviable workstyle, may just be how we will measure our career ‘success’ in the future!

Life Experiences, Values

Out with the Old and In with the New!

The end of a year is certainly a time for reflection on what has happened this year and what we would like to do differently or how we would like to be different in the new year.  So, many of us will make New Years’ Resolutions for the year ahead and there will be plenty of articles appearing in newspapers and magazines with advice on ‘how to keep your resolutions,’ such as;  write them down, tell a friend, post them on the fridge or even register them on a website www.newyearsresolutions.com.au. 

Apparently 69% of Australians make at least one New Years’ resolution yet less than a quarter actually stick to achieving our goals!  One suggestion I saw recently is to only make short term resolutions (say 3 months at a time) rather than for the whole year, then review them regularly and make the next one – could work.

Along with the old year we want to get rid of the old us, our old job, our old habits and bring in new, fresh and exciting ones!  Resolutions tend to be around improving our fitness, health or appearance, becoming better people, giving up smoking and other bad habits, saving money and getting that new job.  Having worked in recruitment for a number of years I have certainly seen an increase in both ads and applications for jobs,  occuring in the ‘New Year’ and this is certianly true here at White Now.  Whether this is due to holidays and festivities finishing, people making New Years’ resolutions to get a new job, or a combination of both, I’m not sure!

For me, I am still deciding on what my New Years’ resolutions will be and how I will ensure I achieve my goals.  I’m sure straight after Christmas I will swear off food and alcohol – but I doubt that will last long!   Then all of a sudden it’s Easter and life is busy and nothing has changed and ‘what were those resolutions again?’

So good luck with any resolutions you make, may you achieve your goals and may 2011 be everything you want it to be!