Does WiFi kill coffee shops?

This could be contentious....and I love nothing more than whiling away a few hours chatting in coffee shops, but today, while desperately trying to find  somewhere to have such a chat, I realised that free WiFi could be killing the coffee shop.

Three times I tried, in three different places, to no avail, but these cafes were not packed with the hubbub and murmur of old friends and colleagues catching up over coffee, oh no, I was met with practical silence, abandoned empty espresso or flat white cups, and single users, headphones in, staring at laptops or smart phones.

Nicholas Howard relies as much as any business on coffee shop space and WiFi accessibility, so don't think I am anti it, but I personally adhere to a pack up once you've drunk up rule.

Ordering one drink, then sitting on free WiFi for hour after hour just doesn't seem fair - even less so when single users take up four-seater tables.

This sounds like a rant, but I reckon coffee shops should introduce the WiFi space, single seats, on rows, for longer term users, stick a usb charging point in the arm of the chair, embrace that some people don't want to chat, but simply surf for free, and leave the main communal space to those using the coffee shop for genuine socialising and meetings?

Better atmosphere out front, easier to concentrate in the rows - sounds like something for Dragons Den?

I think I am getting old, but I also think it would work.

The Ultimate Temp to Perm?

I will admit, I love sport, and high among my favourites is football, and therefore I follow England with keen interest.

I have often critiqued the recruitment process in football, especially for players, but that is for another time.  I was taken over the last month with the Gareth Southgate story.  I obviously don’t know Southgate, but in my opinion he should get the job; that said, I’d have given it to him permanently as soon as the position became available.

What the FA decided to do, was something akin to a temp to perm.

When you take someone temp to perm, you get all the benefits of trying before you buy, checking out how the candidate operates before you commit, getting to judge them over time, rather than just in an interview….it can be a great scenario.

There is a flip side though, the candidate is sometimes left with everything to lose!

At the outset of the contract, the candidate has the job - it’s only theirs to lose.  They then work through a trial period where they may feel everything is under the microscope; they ‘cannot make a mistake’.  It is possible that this pressure of having to prove oneself over an elongated period could prove uncomfortable for some candidates.  The same individual may blossom given the full sponsorship of a permanent role offered from day one.

Don’t get me wrong, temp to perm can be a great solution for candidates and employers alike, but don’t underestimate the value you get from making a strong and committed offer from day one.

I wonder how great Gareth may have felt had the FA said you are our man, and if the players could have worked any harder knowing they were impressing their long term boss?

You never know, but it’s worth a thought!

Social media in recruitment, the way ahead?

At Nicholas Howard we are trying (again) to embrace new media, particularly social media.  Often we are criticised for not doing this enough, and deep down, we know we have to get better at it.  We are trying, and hopefully over the coming weeks and months, we will nail it, and finally get our social media presence to where it should be.

I have taken some time recently to try and get under the skin of why we haven’t got it off the ground, and I think I have some idea. 

What we do, what we are good at, isn’t best captured in 140 characters, or by broadcasting vanilla data, but by getting to know the intricate details of what clients want, and the minutiae of what makes a certain candidate stand out. 

Our real value comes from standing in a room with client or candidate, and really selling the suitability and excitement of a role, or the relevance or potential of candidates.  This is so much more powerful when done face to face, in situations where you really sponsor the opportunity or candidate personally, and are willing to state your reputation on them.

At Nicholas Howard we strive to make this possible, spending more time than we need to, searching and understanding, more time than we need to asking questions, and developing answers.  We spend more time than we have to, so that clients and candidates can spend less time than they have done with our recruitment partners, in order to make the processes we are involved in as efficient and value added as they can be.

We will make social media work, and I hope this blog is the start of adding value in that space as well, not just a space for generic information to float out into the ether.

Whether we are meeting people, using job boards, using new media, at conferences or utilising the next generation of social media to find candidates and opportunities, we will embrace and master them all – but not using the new products at the expense of the good old fashioned ways.

As I have said before, it isn’t where you look, but how you look that sets good recruiters apart, and I hope we can look everywhere, for everyone but with the ‘Nicholas Howard’ eye for detail that is so important.

All the best,

Nick

Others get out, when you put in...

I hope that my children (well two of them) forgive me for using this picture!

Recently family trip in Madrid, they had great fun on what can only be described as a futuristic see- saw.

While watching them have such fun, it struck me that neither of them was doing anything other than entertaining themselves, and deriving their own entertainment from the effort they were putting in. At the same time, on the other end of the bar, quite oblivious to these efforts, was their sibling, getting even more fun, from the efforts of the other.

It seems to me that this should be what good working relationships are about.  If we look after our own responsibilities, putting effort into making our own lives and careers successful, there will be a natural positive impact on others - and in most cases, they will not realise, they will just benefit from our actions, and be happier.

This cycle of giving benefit to others, simply from being happy and enjoying what we do, is surely the key to a successful working and home life.

Office Attire?

Office Attire?

In my role, I am lucky to meet so many people, from so many places.  During these meetings, I often consider the office environment people fit well within, and any peculiarities.

One of the regular observations for me, is the office attire.  For so long, a suit, shirt and tie for men was the option, leaving very little for any creativity.  

Now though, more and more variances creep in, and I have to say, I haven't been able to hit upon a rule of thumb.  It isn't the fact that it is such a grey area, but more how some people seem to have a flair for what looks appropriate and 'smart', and others struggle.

Even more difficult is the fact that an outfit on one individual can look snappy, fashionable and appropriate, yet the same outfit on someone else, can look so wrong.

I have often bought something on the basis of it looking great on a colleague, or someone you see on the street, only to put it on before going out to realise, I'm just not cut out for a particular look.

So what is the answer?  

I am not sure there is one, but my advice would be, go safely, go moderately, and go with something that you feel confident and comfortable in...and when in doubt, I'd rather be in a suit surrounded by jeans, than in jeans surrounded by suits!

New brand

I am using this blog to really let everyone know about the latest Nicholas Howard re-brand.  We have had the very talented guys at Design Villens give us the once over, and we are very pleased with what they have produced.  Tying that in with the guys at Ross Tech who have made it come alive via our website, we hope that it all comes together to really freshen things up.

What struck me though, was how little content I needed to change, we still do what we do, deep diving candidate markets, filling both the tough to fill, and more straight forward roles by really getting into the candidate market and returning the most accurate and relevant candidates available.

This has been working for 7 years now, and however much we may freshen up the look, we will always hold firm to our service level fundamentals, to ensure we remain a supplier of choice for our clients

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