Eloise’s December 2023 News – HR News, Recruitment News, Christmas Party, Hamper Winner
Hello…
In the Jobs Market News, it’s almost a wrap.
As usual, the year has flown by, and we’re all having those conversations about how quickly Christmas has crept up on us and that we can’t believe it’s nearly 2024 already. But here we are. And it’s time for a moment of reflection before we plough headfirst into the next Jobs Market news phase.
The past few years have been tricky for businesses. Tricky doesn’t really do it justice does it? It’s been a rollercoaster ride for the majority of us. At this time of year, we like to think the incoming year will be different, but we’ve learnt to focus more on the ‘now’ and not to second-guess anything. Although we have our fingers tightly crossed for a calm one!
We’ve had some really lovely end-of-year moments here at Vanilla with my incredible team, our amazing temps, our wonderful clients, and our fantastic HRHuddle community.
You can see a short video of our Christmas party highlights here.
HRHuddle Christmas gathering
Some of our HRHuddle members joined us at our Vanilla office in Market Harborough, for Christmas drinks and a buffet lunch. With the majority of our meet-ups being online nowadays, it was a real treat to see people face to face.
There was lots of chatting, networking, catching up, eating, sharing of Jobs Market news, and me forgetting to take photos for most of it right up to the very end when only the last few guests remained – always a sign of having a good time though, right?! It really was a great event and so good to be able to take the time to come together.
HR news
Whilst we’re talking about our HR community, there are lots of confusing new holiday pay rules coming in January. We’ll be hosting an HRHuddle to cover these changes, and other employment law updates in a session with Keeley Baigent of KsabLAW early in 2024 – Click here for that one.
The holiday changes are being put in place to make the complexities of calculating holiday and holiday pay easier. Although some of the new rules seem very complex at this stage. The new rules come into play from 1st January, so do bank up your questions ready to ask Keeley.
In the meantime, here is a document outlining the changes that you might find useful: https://hr4uk.com/blogs/holiday-pay-changes-entitlements-simplified-2024/
Also, don’t forget the National Minimum Wage is going up from April. You’ll, of course, need to factor that into your planning. Details can be found here.
Next HRHuddle – you’re invited
Our next session is an Employment Law Update 2024 and is taking place on Wednesday, 17th January, 2pm till 3pm, via Zoom.
Sign up here to reserve your free place at the HRHuddle – Employment Law Update 2024
The session after that only a month later is all about neurodiversity and is taking place on Wednesday, 14th February, 2pm till 3pm, via Zoom.
Sign up here to reserve your free place at the HRHuddle – What HR should know about Neurodiversity.
What HR should know about Neurodiversity and why it matters.
Our speaker for the session is Mo Bury. After 20 years in sales and sales management, and 15 years as a corporate behavioural change trainer, Mo decided to completely change her focus and concentrate on waking businesses up to the incredible resource of people whose brains work differently.
As co-creator of the CPD-accredited training Thrive Neurodiversity For Managers, Mo is delivering neurodiversity training to companies like Coca-Cola and Pro Global Insurance.
With potentially 40% of the workforce being neurodivergent, diagnosed, and undiagnosed, neurodiversity training for workplaces is essential, and it’s evolving.
Exploring appropriate language, how to interview, and compliance with the Equality Act 2010, is only part of it.
With the right understanding, you can guide your organisation to be able to better tap into the phenomenal resources of different neurotypes and to allow neurodivergent people, and your business, to thrive.
In this event Mo will cover:
- How easy and low-cost reasonable adjustments can help all people to thrive.
- What the neurodivergent experience can be like and how to support neurodivergent people
- How proactive inclusion is best for everyone and actually supports all types of brains, including those who are struggling with fatigue, burnout, menopause, stress, and anxiety.
This is such an important session and topic, that I expect places to fill up fast. Sign up here to reserve your free place.
Recruitment news
After a few years of good available candidates being like finding a needle in a haystack, it’s exciting to read in the KPMG and REC, UK Report on Jobs, for the third consecutive month running, that candidate numbers are on the rise, and that in fact for November ‘supply of candidates expands at the fastest rate since the end of 2020’.
This good news is coupled with Jobs Market news that in November permanent staff placements and temp billings declined, and that starting salary inflation has dipped to a 32-month low.
It’s obvious why a rise in available candidates is good news for all. But maybe not so abundantly obviously as to why fewer jobs in the market and lower starting salaries are a good thing. For businesses that have been struggling to compete when recruiting against organisations that have been able to pump up salaries, this is great news.
There is currently less competition in the market, and the competition that is there is less aggressive in their salary positioning.
So, if you have been trying to recruit in 2023 and have lost out to other businesses. Or you’ve put your recruitment on hold because you’ve been priced out of the market. Now is the time to test the water again.
Drop us a line if you’re thinking of recruiting, we’d be delighted to partner with you to find you the right talent for your business.
Recruitment in 2024
Final Jobs Market news note from me. If you are looking for people for your business in 2024, we really would be delighted for you to choose us as your recruitment partner. And, here are some of the reasons why Vanilla Recruitment is the right fit for your business:
- Top-notch Talent: We understand the importance of finding the right fit for your team. Our extensive network and rigorous screening process ensure that you get the best talent suited for your business.
- Efficiency & Speed: We know time is of the essence. Our dedicated team is committed to delivering prompt and efficient recruitment solutions tailored to your unique needs.
- Reliability: With a combined 85+ years of experience in the industry, we’ve built a reputation for reliability and excellence. Your satisfaction is our priority.
As I said above, drop me, or any of my team, a line if you’d like to discuss your recruitment plans or requirements. We’d love to work with you.
Our Christmas hamper winner!
We’ve been running a Christmas hamper giveaway that concluded this week. For every vacancy registered with us between 27th November and 18th December, by quoting the word ‘hamper’, the client contact was entered into a prize draw to have the chance of winning a hamper crammed full of festive goodies.
I’d like to thank everyone who registered a vacancy with us and who took part in our bit of Christmas fun.
And the winner is…
Sherrilee from King Group
Huge congratulations to Sherilee. We hope you enjoy your lovely hamper and have a wonderful Christmas.
And now that really is a wrap…
Thank you for supporting Vanilla Recruitment. That’s if you have recruited with us, read our emails, been to an HRHuddle session, liked a social media post, or mentioned us to a friend or colleague. Whatever your contact has been with us this year, I appreciate it all.
I wish you a joyful holiday season.
Thank you.
Our temps do an amazing job for a wide range of clients in the area. They are some of the most flexible and hardworking people and we want to recognise that every month.
So, if you have a Vanilla temporary worker on assignment, or who has just completed an assignment, who you think has gone above and beyond or exceeded expectations in any way. You can nominate them to receive our Temp of the Month Award.
We recruit throughout the East Midlands covering Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Rutland and the surrounding areas, especially Market Harborough, Lutterworth, Leicester, Corby and Kettering. We help people find their perfect job and match suitable jobseekers with businesses looking to hire the best candidates across our four specialisms – Marketing, Accountancy & Finance, HR and Office
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