Author: Marietta

What impression are you giving to applicants during your recruitment cycle? Do the candidates you want in your team accept the offers you extend? With a global talent shortage, it is more important than ever to make a positive impact on the candidates you interview.  Even when the outcome is that the candidate is not the right person for the position it is crucial that you leave them feeling positive and saying great things about your company.  Malta and Cyprus are small islands and word of mouth is still the strongest form of marketing and PR you can have!

Have you focused on your recruitment cycle? Is it regularly evaluated and changed to suit the market? What things should you focus on?

It’s important to remember that the candidate experience starts right from their application, and a candidate will start evaluating you as a future employer as soon as they have clicked send. Here are some helpful hints to create a winning candidate experience.

1. Candidate Attraction

Be sure to have well written and engaging job adverts/job descriptions, include all the benefits you offer even down to free coffees as it all counts.  The adverts should look attractive and in line with your branding and values in both look and tone.  The application process should be easy, do you partner with other job sites and recruitment agencies or only your careers page? Be strategic about where you are posting your adverts to make sure their platforms are also user friendly on desktops as well as mobile devices, test them yourself to make sure.  If you are partnering with a recruitment agency does your consultant know your company values and benefits, do they understand where the role fits and the core skills, competencies and characteristics which are important. You should view your consultant as an extension of your HR department, and they should be educated to the same level in order that they are “pitching” your opportunities in line with your own representatives.  All of this will ensure the candidate has a clear and conducive experience regardless of the channel in which their CV comes to you.

2. Communication and Regret Letter after Application

Do you have an in-house ATS and are you using it to its full potential, are you communicating with your recruitment agent? Think about when you have been a candidate applying for jobs yourself, how frustrating is it when you have applied for a job and had no acknowledgement and no feedback or update on the outcome of your application.  Even if a candidate does not meet all the prerequisites for the job, if they have received an email or call acknowledging their application, thanking them for their time in doing so and advising on the next steps you will maintain their interest and create a positive impression.  If it an immediate rejection it is good practise to explain the reason why so they can understand the decision.  If they are being considered state a fair but realistic timeline. This is where many companies faulter, the timeline from application to interview. If the line manager is away on business or on annual leave and not available to schedule interviews, then hold back on advertising.  From receiving a CV, reviewing and inviting to interview should really be no longer than a week.

3. Inviting to Interview

Personalise this process and call the candidate to invite them to the interview! In this digital and automated world, we forget that a phone call can hold so much more power. Also, an automated email could end up in their Junk Folder and that star candidate could be lost. Make sure that all the information is clear, who will be interviewing them? Provide them with the full name/s job title/s of the people they will meet so they can do their research. Which job are they being interviewed for, re-confirm the title and provide a job description? Where will the interview take place, if it is in person provide a full address and directions, ideally a link to Google Maps to save them getting lost and advise on parking options. Lay out your expectations for example how you expect them to be dressed, if you are casual office environment and everyone is wearing jeans then the interviewee may feel embarrassed turning up in a full suit and tie or vice versa.  If the interview is happening on video conference be sure to choose a platform that both your business and the applicant are familiar with and already have an account whether that be MS Teams, Skype, Zoom or Google Meets. Be flexible as it is hard for working candidates to have time to attend an interview so your flexibility will be appreciated and go a long way.

4. The Interview

Historically interviews have been perceived as a one-way street, the company is interviewing the candidate, as time evolved it became a bit more of a 2-way street.  With such a global shortage of talent and new generations moving jobs more frequently looking for advancement and the best opportunity, it is becoming more and more like the candidate is actually “interviewing” the company to assess if this is the move they want.   Use the interview to ascertain if the applicant meets the criteria for the job and if they will be a fit for your team, but don’t forget to use this opportunity to sell the position and the company.  Why would they want to join you? Sell the benefits and use examples of staff who are happy, been with you a long time and progressed their career with you successfully, get them to meet someone who would be a peer not just a line manager.  Be creative, give them an office tour, invite them to a team event if you want this candidate onboard think about what they want to see or hear to make you, their choice! You should use this time to get to know the applicant that you desire so you can make them an attractive offer that they could never refuse!

5. Communication and Feedback after the Interview

Similar to point 2 it is even more frustrating when someone has given up their time to attend an interview and then waits weeks for feedback or an outcome, or worse still no feedback at all.  Again, feedback should be given no longer than a week after the interview, consider calling rather than emailing and ensure reasons are given if the applicant is unsuccessful.  If there is to be a second and third stage, ensure this is communicated in a timely manner and ensure it is actually necessary.  If the applicant needs to meet multiple people can this be done in the same interview, can you condense your process? The length of your recruitment cycle could be the deal breaker in securing the talent you need.

6. Extending an Offer

Before making an offer, you should know if the applicant will accept or not! You should understand what they need to accept and not just from a financial perspective.  If you have followed the process quickly and asked all the correct questions in interview you will know what you need to offer. You need to understand everything about their current package including 13^th salary, flexible working hours etc and also their expectations in a new role.  Is the most important aspect a parking space? If so, make sure you have allocated parking space, and this is written into their offer. If they are currently on an annual basic salary of 40K and they have clearly said they will not consider anything less, don’t even offer 39K.  Assess what your best offer can be and make it, so they feel valued from the outset and always ask yourself “What is the cost to the business of not having this person on board?” and that is their worth.

7. Notice Period

Be sure to keep in contact with the candidate during their notice period and ensure that they have all the information they require before starting.  Be organised internally to ensure they have everything they need on joining, you don’t want a new employee starting and not even having a laptop/PC for them to work with.  If you have any paperwork that needs completing for immigration, purposes or any privacy notices etc, send this to them ahead of starting so you look efficient and organised and create a good impression even prior to their joining date.

8. Onboarding

You should have an organised and consistent onboarding process, so all of your employees get the same experience and information on joining.  Have a checklist! Make sure that all paperwork is complete for payroll purposes if they join ¾ of the way through the month it is vital to get them set up as imagine not getting a new employee paid on time!  Have a training and orientation schedule mapped out before their first day and give it to them so they know what to expect in the first week.  Don’t forget to introduce them to everyone and show them where the bathroom is, small things but very important and often forgotten.

What do GRS do to Assist in this Process?

GRS Recruitment invested in a new, sophisticated recruitment specific software at the beginning of 2021.  We wanted an integrated applicant tracking system and recruitment CRM.  Our system enables us to quickly and efficiently respond to candidates and make sure they receive feedback for the jobs they are applying to and interviews they have attended.  Where possible we always call a candidate and ensure they are well informed of the company, the job and the interview in which they are attending.  We ensure that the candidate is kept updated each step of the way. Communication is key in creating a positive candidate impression, and we love to talk 😊

For more information on our recruitment service and how we can assist you on making sure you have a top-notch candidate journey for all of your applicants, please contact the team today info@grsrecrutiment.com or call the office +357 25342720

Whether you’re searching for a new job or thinking of a career change you will gain a competitive edge in working with GRS Recruitment. There are a multitude of benefits for job seekers looking for that next opportunity in using a recruitment agency, and when working with GRS you are working in partnership with a top firm and the largest recruitment agency in Cyprus with more than 15 years of knowledge and experience.

Market Knowledge and Exclusive Insights

First and foremost, the service is free to job seekers, and agencies offer an unprecedented amount of market information in terms of salaries and availability of jobs as they have an overview of the demand and supply in the local job market.  Added to this is the huge advantage that some agencies will be working exclusively with clients, so may often have opportunities that you will not find listed in the media or on Job Boards. At GRS we work as an extension of the HR Department of several international companies, and they work with us exclusively in Cyprus and Malta to find the best candidates on the market for them. We can open a network of new opportunities that are not openly available in the marketplace.

Confidentiality is Key

Living and working in the smaller islands of Cyprus & Malta confidentiality is a must when looking for a new position and providing you work with a professional agency you won’t be compromised when engaging in your job search. A good professional agency will anonymise your CV to ensure that your identity is kept confidential until you agree to meet with a prospective new employer. This cannot always be given when you send out direct applications or apply through Job Boards as you never know who will read your CV! A cornerstone of our business has been candidate and client confidentiality and when we started GRS some people said our business would not work as everyone knows each other in Cyprus & Malta. However, the reason we were successful was because we gave people the freedom to find a new job on a strictly confidential basis.

Negotiate with Skill

When it comes to discussing or negotiating a new salary most of us are uncomfortable with the whole process, by using an experienced and commercial recruiter they will do this job for you. By negotiating with the Client, the recruitment agency will be able to get you the best financial offer and benefits package available within the parameters given. Through effective negotiation a good recruiter will present you with a financial job offer that they know you will accept as it fulfils your financial aspirations and as we say ‘ticks most of your boxes’.

With You Each Step of the Way

With a vast range of local industry knowledge, a good recruiter will be able offer you advice on your career and CV. Offering ad-hoc career advice to ensure you are on the right track to achieve your aspirations and long terms goals. In summary if you want to get head in your career you need to choose a professional licensed recruitment agency with a well-established track record of placing candidate in jobs. At GRS we have been placing candidate in Cyprus and Malta for the last 17 years from Graduates to Senior Executives. Indeed, graduates we have placed in the past are now Directors, CEO’s and CFO and we now help them recruit for their businesses, as well keeping an eye open for their next opportunity!

For that confidential discussion or your next job or career move in Cyprus or Malta please contact us today on +357 2534 2720 or +356 2168 0800. Together we work in partnership with to achieve your dream.

 

Does your organisation know what employee retention is and are you using retention strategies? Do you have a high staff turnover?

Many reports have shown that post pandemic this topic is more relevant than ever.  With organisations losing a huge amount of money due to staff turnover

What is Employee Retention?

Employee retention is where an organisation implements methods and strategies to ensure its employees are engaged and rewarded. Employees therefore choose to stay with their employer and do not actively seek new opportunities. Globally companies have different retention rates which can vary due to industry sector and location; however, every organisation has the ability to increase their retention rate when focusing on their retention strategy.

What are the Benefits of Employee Retention?

Employee retention can aid your business success and growth in so many ways. It will firstly reduce costs; staff turnover is expensive with an investment of both time and money to recruit and train new hires. It can improve morale, there is nothing worse for team spirit than a revolving door of team members. It can also Increase productivity; it is proven that happy employees are more productive! A higher level of customer experience can be gained through happy and retained staff since your customers will be dealing with contacts within your business who are engaged in what they do, and they will be familiar with your employees over the years. The list goes on including higher employee engagement and increased ROI.

Organisations that fail to focus on employee retention are impacted not only in terms of the costs related to finding, recruiting, onboarding and training replacements, but also in terms of lost productivity and knowledge, impact on customer and employee experiences, and lower morale and weaker corporate culture.

What are the Best Employee Retention Strategies for 2022?

The strategies used can vary and the list is ever evolving with top employers constantly brainstorming and using innovative ways to ensure their work force are happy and they retain them.

Some core strategies which have been successful to date and will continue to trend throughout 2022 are listed but not limited to the below.

• Strategic hiring, can they both do the job and align to the values of your business.
• A clear and structured onboarding process.
• Clear job descriptions and expectations.
• Training and development, tailored to individuals.
• Challenging and cross disciplinary work.
• Personalised benefits.
• A recognition system which is open to even lower performers.
• Listening to employees – try an employee engagement survey!

What GRS Recruitment think about Employee Retention?

GRS advise their clients to have an emphasis on employee engagement and reward to assist in maintaining and increasing their employee retention. As an employer themselves GRS have always adopted many employee reward schemes, and in recent years have introduced different ones in-line with the new world of home-working and online platforms. GRS Recruitment believe you need to know what employee retention is and create strategies for improving retention rates at your company.  Retaining your best employees will become increasingly difficult as the labour market tightens. GRS recommend that you research and invest in employee engagement and monitor how different strategies impact your retention rate.

If you need assistance in both hiring and retaining strategically, GRS Recruitment is certified to administer the internationally acclaimed Hogan Assessments as part of its recruitment & HR service, helping you to identify new potential hires and retain your existing high performing employees.

Recognise and retain your most valuable asset, contact us today on +357 25342720 or email info@grsrecrutiment.com

In less than two years, the interview and onboarding process in Cyprus and Malta has changed dramatically. It started globally with companies like Facebook, Spotify and Twitter introducing hybrid or remote work, and since then many others have followed their footsteps. Now, working from home is ‘the new normal’, and both employees and employers have to adapt to this new reality.

The question is can you really interview a new employee and get them started in your company before physically meeting them? Quite simply the answer is yes.

Successful onboarding helps you to retain your talent – and get the best from them. In the current climate, with the rise of remote working and global teams, you may have to consider doing this online. In this article, we’ll explain how to virtually onboard new employees successfully.

What Is Onboarding?

Onboarding is the process of helping a new employee to fit in with your organisation. That includes welcoming them to the team and making them feel part of the company culture. It also covers getting them up to speed with tools they’ll need to do their job.

Why is Onboarding important?

Ensuring your new employee understands how your company works is key to boosting confidence and keeping them happy in the long run. It is vital to lay the foundations and give them the tools they need to kickstart their career with you successfully. Engaging new employees online can be a challenge but the effort is worth the reward.

Connection

From the moment you decide to have a new employee in your team, you will want to make them feel like they are part of the company. A good idea is to give them a call to welcome them to the team, connect with them on LinkedIn and send them an email to tell them how happy you are that they are joining. Not only will this show your company’s culture but will make them feel part of the team.

Confidence

Once they have started with you focus on boosting self-confidence. Help them understand all internal processes, tasks and goals easily through a clearly defined onboarding process, according to their role and responsibilities. Ensure your employee is enrolled on the video chat and messaging software that your team uses. Add them to the most relevant groups, so that they can connect with their colleagues and start building that connection from day one.

Communication

It’s normal that everyone experiences some anxiety in the first few days, let your new employee know that the team are available for any questions or queries. A helpful tip is to partner your new employee with a buddy they can turn to through the onboarding process. Having a relaxed conversation with an experienced team member will help the onboarding go smoother.

Take interest in how your new employee is adapting to their new role. They will be taking in a lot of new information, so ensure to check in with them daily to see how their training is going. Be flexible to adapt the training programme to ensure the onboarding process is completed effectively. We all have different learning styles, and it’s important that our new team member not only get the right information, but also feels supported in achieving the training goals.

Contribution

As we change our traditional ways of onboarding it is also important that we review its effectiveness and adapt to your employees’ needs. At the end of the training ask your new team member for feedback. Don’t be afraid to ask what could we do better? Remember that your new employee may one day be a resource to you in training future team members, so a solid foundation will provide them with the right tools to support the business as you grow and succeed.

Check all our vacancies here and contact us directly to discuss the right role for you. Speak to our experienced team via telephone, Whatsapp, Skype, Zoom or Teams.

What’s more important when it comes to getting a new career opportunity offered to you? Education or experience? What do employers in Cyprus and Malta value more?

Whether you’re applying for your first job, looking for your next step in your career or thinking about changing your career altogether, your CV is the key to your success at landing your dream job. Education and experience are two of the most important details employers look out for on a CV when hiring.

A recent GRS study revealed that 75% of respondents felt they did not need a degree to do their job, so we decided to delve a little deeper.

What’s the difference between education and experience?

Education is facilitated learning generally from teachers or training.  In a job-hunting situation, education usually refers to someone’s higher learning and mainly their university degree.  The first academy for higher learning in Europe was actually founded in Athens.

Experience is gained through practical, hands-on experience “doing the job” itself.

The benefits of education

Those fresh out of secondary school are often unlikely to have a tangible amount of relevant experience, which could hinder success in finding a job. Obtaining a university degree can therefore offer role-specific skills and specialised knowledge that may be essential for some employers, especially if training is not provided on the job.

Studying at university offers you the opportunity to learn transferable skills, such as critical thinking, researching, communication and presentation skills, which are crucial for your future career.

Sometimes, a university degree alone can be enough to land your chosen career.

The value of experience

There are so many benefits to gaining valuable work experience that can help you impress employers and secure a job.

Working in a professional environment immediately exposes you to develop transferable skills, such as communication, time management and problem-solving, as well as role-specific skills, which will vary depending on your job. Studies show that practical knowledge provides a much more profound understanding than theoretical knowledge.

Education vs Experience: What’s more important to employers?

So, is a First Honours from a red brick university worth more than hands-on experience in a professional work environment? In short, the answer is no; however, this will depend on the role you are applying for and your employers’ preferences.

A university degree isn’t always mandatory and many value experience within the job above and beyond this theoretical learning. Yes, you can learn an awful lot studying at university; however, you can’t learn everything from a textbook and exams do not offer an accurate reflection of your capabilities and potential.  More and more we see employers valuing soft skills and emotional intelligence which can be developed from starting in a work environment earlier.

In some cases, you’ll be able to land your dream job without meeting all the requirements in the description if you have something else of value to offer the role, such as transferable skills from a previous job and live examples of how you can fulfil a role potentially even with a reference from your previous employer.

Luckily, 58% of leading employers value work experience over university grades. Let’s take the technology industry as an example. According to Laszlo Bock, former Google vice president of People Operation, technology firms are no longer concerned with hiring staff from prestigious universities and an increasing number of those entering the technical field do not have a degree at all.

Experience vs Education: What do we think at GRS Recruitment?

At GRS, we believe that both education and experience are beneficial for self-development and career progression in their own ways.  For some professions most certainly a university degree is compulsory such as to be a doctor or lawyer, however for professions and industries that are on the rise and that we recruit heavily for in Cyprus and Malta such as IT, Fintech, Crypto and Gaming we notice that employers are valuing experience over education. Indeed, internally we have also hired on this basis; our Director of Recruitment and Senior Finance Manager as examples, were hired due to their wealth of experience and soft skills, neither possessing a university degree. Both have been with the company 10 and 5 years respectively and have had multiple promotions and successes in their careers with us.

In this respect as a Recruitment Consultancy, we highlight the significance of experience where education is not a “real” requirement to our clients and will continue to do so throughout 2022.

The job market is evolving with the times and many employers are challenging old-fashioned ideals and embracing candidates from all backgrounds, whether they’ve graduated from top universities or not.

Are you looking for your next job move in Cyprus or Malta? Apply now! View a list of our Current Vacancies online or call to speak to a consultant:

Cyprus +357 25342720, Malta +356 2778066

We can’t hear you, you’re on mute! It’s a phrase most of us have got used to hearing in the last few years as we embrace hybrid working in both Cyprus and Malta. For some companies’ hybrid working has always existed, but for others it was completely uncharted waters that we were reluctantly forced to explore in response to the pandemic, in what became the remote working experiment. So, what exactly is hybrid working?  Well to sum it up it’s an arrangement in which an employee is able to work part of their time at the workplace and part remotely.

The benefits of hybrid working

More and more companies are incorporating flexible work schedules into their employees’ lives, with hybrid work becoming one of the most requested benefits from employees. The advantages of hybrid work can range from reduced costs to improved morale and additionally a more environmentally and socially responsible footprint for companies. Adopting a hybrid strategy allows employees to create their own blend of remote and in-person flexibility, empowering them to adjust their workplace to best suit them, whether that be at home or in the office.

Let me check my calendar

But what about the spontaneous conversations that can generate so much creativity. A top tip is to ensure you block time in your calendar each day where you are accessible to others. Let your colleagues know that you are free to jump on a call in order to simply bounce ideas off, talk through a challenge they’re facing, or just have a friendly check-in. It’s important to keep engagement and communication high wherever we are working.

The tools for success

It’s vital with hybrid working that we ensure we have the right tools and processes in place to continue to work with a collaborative culture and engaged workforce. Be creative when planning your next meeting, it need not be online and could in fact be a walk and talk, our normal office is no longer defined. We also must consider that some employees crave social interaction, it is important to strike a balance between home and the office. Some employees may actually prefer to be in the office every day so it’s important to note that one size definitely doesn’t fit all.

At its core, hybrid working is about matching the task to the best location. Some days may be best spent at home where we can focus on the big presentation we have to prepare, but equally a collaborative brainstorming meeting may work better when you are all in the same location. Hybrid working is here to stay and pretty soon it will no longer be a buzzword but simply the way we work.

Check all our vacancies here and contact us directly to discuss the right role for you. Your new office may be only a few steps away!