Finding The Right People For The Job

by | Blog, Contributed Post

If you are a business owner, then you will want the best people working for you. You probably don’t have the time or money to waste on bad employees. Having a well- managed and productive workforce will mean that you get work done in a timely manner so that you can continually be looking toward the next project or moving onto the next phase or season. 

Having the right people by your side will make your life so much easier. But finding these people can be hard work. Recruiting and interviewing a team can take a considerable amount of time, and, if you get it wrong, you will be stuck with people that may become a hindrance rather than a help. 

Hiring a company such as DSC Personnel may be the answer that your business needs in terms of finding the right people for the job. 

Using A Recruitment Firm
Using a recruitment company to bring talent into your company is a great idea as it will save you a lot of time and effort. While you may know what you want from your new employees, identifying someone with those skills can be harder than you may think and using a specialist recruiter will mean that you can take advantage of their skills and expertise in the area. 

From advertising the role in all of the right places, through to sifting the applications as they arrive, you can save yourself considerable effort leaving you free to run your business. Then, your recruitment firm can run a series of interviews on your behalf and work towards finding people with the specific skillsets that you need. 

Use Temp To Permanent Solutions To Ensure That You Have The Right Person
Getting the right person for the job can be tricky. And, if you bring the wrong person into your business, you will then have to deal with the stress of performance managing them or even sacking them eventually. This can be an inconvenient and costly process that can also have a severe impact on your productivity. 

By hiring people as temporary staff with a view to making them permanent will mean that you are not obliged to renew, extend, or replace their contract at the end of their fixed term. This period will allow you to assess the workers on the job and to see whether they are the right fit for your company. 

Having the incentive for a temporary position to become permanent can also help to bring out the best in potential new hires, especially if they are working alongside competition for the role. 

All Your Legal Checks Are Covered
With so many legalities surrounding an employee’s right to work, you cannot afford to put a foot wrong. But by using a specialist recruitment company, this can all be managed during an on boarding process that they can assist with. All identity and reference checks can be carried out ahead of your new employee’s first day with your company. 

This is a contributed post.

 

How to Find Reliable IT Technicians You Can Trust

by | Blog, Contributed Post

IT Technicians are crucial for any business. Ensuring that your computer equipment is up and running 24/7, fixing any issues that occur and maximizing efficiency within your workforce, it’s essential that you find reliable and trustworthy staff. You don’t want to lose money because your equipment isn’t working. So cut any issues in the bud by investing in an IT technician/s for your business. 

But how do you find reputable IT technicians in your area? To help you through this process, here are the four key methods that you can try:

Word of Mouth 
Know of other companies within your industry that have a credible IT technician? If they are outsourced and not hired as full-time staff, you could get in contact with them and see if they would have the capacity to work for your business too. 

Through this method, you’ll also get an idea of their performance – comparing and contrasting their services along with others that you have found during the research process. 

As it’s such an important role to play within your business, these customer testimonials can prove to be an invaluable resource that helps with your final decision.

Recruitment Websites
Whether you’re looking for a temporary or full-time IT technician, you can find them through recruitment websites. By advertising the position, you can list the responsibilities, skills and experience that they must have for the role. 

Once the applications start to come in, you can then take a look at the various CV’s – paying attention to how closely they align with what you require.

Through Social Media
Nowadays, a lot of people within the service industry post about their business on social media platforms. So it’s always a good idea to check the various platforms whilst on the hunt for an IT technician. Many companies also post job adverts on them – in order to appeal to a wider breadth of employees. 

However, with this method, it’s important that they have experience and have customer testimonials showcasing their skills. Without doing this, you might hire an IT technician with little knowledge or experience in the field – costing your business far more in the long run. 

Just as vital as keeping your business safe online, you also want an employee that will be there to help when you need it and that you can contact any time of the day.

On a Local Marketplace Platform
Similarly, when outsourcing for IT technicians, it’s worth looking at marketplace platforms. A website for businesses, they will list various IT and computer technicians in your local area. Snapshots of what they can offer you, you’ll be able to filter the results based on your bespoke budget.

Final Thoughts
So, there you go! Those are the key four techniques that you could use to find reliable IT technicians that you can trust for your business. Of course, the method that you use is completely up to you and what hiring practices you use. 

Whether you opt for a local marketplace platform or hiring through word-of-mouth, you’re bound to find a credible IT technician that will help with the growth and success of your business.

This is a contributed post.

Common Workplace Injury: Rotator Cuff Injuries

by | Blog, Contributed Post

The term ‘rotator cuff’ refers to a group of muscles that attach to the upper arm bone from the shoulder blade, and they have the important function of assisting with rotation movements and elevation movements while also providing stability to the shoulder joint. If you experience a muscle tear, not only can it be very painful, but also it can have an impact on your normal functionality, which can be extremely frustrating. This is one of the most common injuries that happen in the workplace. 

Rotator cuff tears can occur when high force, repetitive or excessive tension is placed on the rotator cuff tendons and muscles during contraction of the muscles. There are several different causes of rotator cuff tears, with the most common being awkward lifting or heavy lifting, as the muscle and tendon experiences a force that is beyond what they can usually withstand. Other causes include a heavy pulling or pushing as well as falling in an awkward position while rotator cuff tears can also be a form of repetitive strain injury too. In the workplace, a DSE workstation risk assessment is necessary to make certain that there is not a risk of such injuries. 

How can you tell if you have a tear? You may actually experience the tearing sensation, and this will leave you in no doubt of what has happened. Yet other symptoms include sudden pain, referred pain to the neck, upper back or upper arm, difficulty when elevating the affected arm and weakness. If this sounds familiar, you should book an appointment with a specialist physiotherapist as soon as possible. Also, if the issue is to do with your workplace, you need to make sure you report it as soon as you can. 

When you visit a practice, one of their friendly and experienced therapists will carry out a full assessment of your condition, which may include an MRI scan or an ultrasound. If they conclude that you have a serious condition, they may advise you to see a doctor for surgical intervention, yet most instances can be solved with physiotherapy. 

Specialists use a wide range of techniques to treat rotator cuff tears, including progressive exercises, ice or heat treatment, the use of a sling, joint mobilization and soft tissue massage. They don’t simply provide you with your treatment and then leave you to it; they will give you all of the advice and education you need to manage the condition at home so you can facilitate a fast recovery. 

If you have any further questions about this condition, or you believe you are suffering as the result of a rotator cuff tear, you should get in touch with a physiotherapist as soon as you can. You do not want to run the risk of it getting worse.

This is a contributed post

 

The Telltale Signs Of An Unhappy Employee

by | Blog, Contributed Post

So, how happy are your employees? 

Do they whistle as they work, welcome you with a cheery smile, and go above and beyond what you ask of them? 

Or could it be that you have unhappy employees on your hands? 

Hopefully, it’s the former, but if any of the following signs relate to the employees in your workplace, then they might not be very happy at all. 

The signs of an unhappy employee 

Low productivity
When employees have high morale, they will typically work harder for their employers. However, if you have noticed a downturn in productivity, then unhappiness may be the cause. It might be that they don’t care about the work they have to do, or the unhappiness they feel could be reflective of their overall levels of stress, and so their performance might be affected as a result. 

Extended break times
A happy employee will enjoy the work they have to do, and might even skip over their break times because they are passionate about what they are doing. On the other hand, an unhappy employee will take longer breaks than they should, as the thought of getting back to work will be unappealing to them. You might also have employees who turn up for work late in the day or leave for home early, as with that ‘anywhere but here’ mentality, the less time they spend working, the better! 

Whispered complaints
Those hidden whisperings in the corner of the break room could be about something that isn’t work-related. On the other hand, if you notice your employees looking at you when they’re whispering, or if you hear anything that is clearly related to your workplace, then you need to take heed. Whispered complaints can quickly spread, as when an unhappy worker talks about their feelings, there might soon be motions of solidarity from other employees. 

Complaining customers
When an employee is unhappy, the quality of their work is going to suffer. As a result, you might see a rise in complaints from your clients or customers. It might be that your customer-service employees perform poorly too, as if their feelings are reflective of their attitudes, you are bound to see a rise in complaints from your customers. This will be bad news for your business, as not only will you see a drop in existing customers as a consequence, but you will also lose prospective customers when the word gets around online about your business. 

Obvious signs of unhappiness
While you can make educated guesses that your employees are unhappy, it might be that it’s clear from how they appear on a daily basis that something isn’t right within them. Hunched shoulders, furrowed brows, sensitive outbursts, and a tendency to cry are obvious signs that your employees aren’t happy. 

What to do?
As an employer, it’s your duty to both improve the morale of your employees and reduce downtime in your business. The two go hand-in-hand, so take the necessary steps. 

Through 1:1 and group meetings, employee engagement surveys, and break room conversations, you will be able to learn more. When you discover the source of your employees’ unhappiness, you can then take the relevant next steps. We don’t know what these might be in your business, but you will be able to research what to do when you are able to pinpoint the struggles your employees are having. 

By taking action, the morale of your employees will improve, and in line with this, so will the happiness of your customers and your own morale when your business starts to make a profit. 

 

This is a contributed post

 

Finding Extra Funds to Accelerate Growth

by | Blog, Contributed Post

While the Holiday Season means people might need to scrimp, save, and seek out extra funds hidden down the side of sofas, you can say the same of small businesses, too. It’s a time for overindulgence and merriment, but with one thing seemingly always after the other, the costs pile up too quickly for your liking.

You don’t want to go overboard with your spending, but you do need to look for some extra funds and cash to help you get through the rest of the year and into the new decade. If you’re a small business owner who wants to treat their staff, throw a party, or feel a little more comfortable heading into 2020, here is how to find extra funds to help accelerate growth.

Invoice Finance
If you sell wholesale goods and services and are always waiting for clients to pay up, you should take a look at what is Invoice Finance and how it can help you. With invoice finance, you can borrow money from the invoice while it is still owed.

This saves you waiting around for payments that are late or may not even come at all without risking your business growth because a client is negligent with paying you on time. It prevents any payday panics and ensures that you can continue business operations as usual.

Outsourcing Tasks
Even though outsourcing still costs you money, the difference in cost between a full in-office team and one that works remotely is staggering. If you’re looking to save some cash to put towards further growth either now or in the New Year, it could be worth investigating your options.

The great thing about outsourcing is that you can apply it to most of your business operations, but the most common include payroll, IT management services, and marketing. Using these services does not mean you must put your current staff out of a job, though. Instead, you can reposition them within the company and give them a more significant role that can make them feel more valued as an employee.

Savings Account
Your business savings account is something that you are keeping separate for a rainy day. However, when it comes to growth, dipping into the account here and there could prove highly beneficial for your business.

If you’re currently struggling for funding to take that next big step, a small withdrawal from your savings account to push you over the finish line could be useful. You can focus these extra funds on processes and plans you’ve had your eye on for a while, and then pay the profits back in once it proves fruitful. However, you must be responsible and ensure you do not make a habit of doing this whenever money seems tight.

Uncovering Hidden Cash
Okay, so it’s not technically hidden, but this cash is something that you can easily forget about when running a business. You mustn’t rely on this hidden cash too often, but using it for things that will benefit the company, your employees, or customers rather than yourself (like buying a yacht) means you will reap the benefits.

 

This is a contributed post.