Eloise’s April 2020 News – Positivity, Gratitude, Help and Support
Some positivity during these unprecendented times
As we all try to make sense of everything and put plans and processes into place, the team at Vanilla want to try and do our bit as much as possible to help fellow business people, our clients, our candidates and jobseekers or employees in general through this situation in any way we can, using our experience and any specialist knowledge we have that might be of help to you.
We know that everything that is going on might bring about questions relating to HR matters, recruitment contingencies, future job prospects, or even just general questions about business planning for the months ahead.
Talking and sharing will help in situations like this, so if we can be of assistance in any way then please reach out to us; we can arrange a telephone or video call, or even just chat via email correspondence if that is easier for you at the moment.
As we move through the coming weeks we will do all we can to assist you by offering our skills, expertise, help and guidance in getting business back to normal, keeping people in employment and getting job seekers into work.
We know that this situation can lead to feelings of loneliness and generally have a detrimental impact on your mental health. I’ve included some links at the end of my blog post to some places that can help.
If we work with one another with a positive mindset and kindness and consideration for others I’m confident we will all get through this together!
Welcome to April!
We hope you and your loved ones are all doing well and staying safe in these unprecedented times.
With everything going on at the moment it’s not surprising that many of us will have missed the beginning of Spring! The clocks have gone forward, it’s British Summer Time which means lighter nights, and recently we have had some really sunny days. We actually had our own little family BBQ last week to cheer ourselves up. And anyone who knows me will know that I do not like the cold, so it has to be warm if I’m eating outside 🙂
Working from home
March has been an incredibly difficult and challenging month for many people and businesses. We have all had to adapt to a new way of working, be that working with a reduced number of staff or working from home. Both of these elements will have included setting up new processes and ensuring that we can all keep our teams and colleagues engaged and motivated.
Here at Vanilla HQ, we had a team meeting where we were all able to add ideas and value to how we can make this challenging time work in the most positive way. We all found this really useful and we now have a strong internal process set up that we’ll all benefit from now and in the future. If you’d like to hear what processes we’ve included, please contact me and I’ll share these with you. We may have some ideas that you could find useful for your business or team.
Positive News
With everything going on in the country and the world at the moment, we thought it best to only focus on the positives! We’ve had an internal promotion at Vanilla HQ! Jaimini Tailor, who works on our Office Division has been promoted to Managing Consultant. Jaimini has been with the business Since October 2018 and has been a wonderful support to many of our candidates and clients. I’m sure you’ll all join me in congratulating her on her exciting news!
New Recruit
At the beginning of March, we were also very busy with growing our office team once again! I’d like to introduce to you to our newest member of the Vanilla Family, Jodie Clements. Jodie joins Vanilla with 4 years recruitment experience and will be supporting Sarah Clarke on the Temporary Division within the office team. Jodie is on hand to support you all with any temporary requirements.
We are grateful
During these extraordinary times, it’s very important that we take a moment to look at the things we are grateful for. One of the biggest things is the work that our NHS staff are doing for our country. Last Thursday we all came together to clap and cheer to thank them for the hard work and dedication they give to us all. It was a really uplifting feeling seeing everyone come out and thank them. I also read earlier this week that the NHS has received over 750,000 applications for volunteers to support local communities which is fantastic and gives everyone a sense of support and comfort, especially the more vulnerable people in our communities.
But it’s not just the NHS we need to thank. These unusual times have highlighted so many workers that we should be very grateful towards, from delivery drivers and shop workers, to carers, the police, teachers and so many others that have helped keep everyone safe and fed and are basically keeping the country running while we’re all forced to self isolate.
As we all move forward and take each day and week as it comes, please rest assured that the Vanilla Team are here for you with any concerns or requirements you may have. Remember, we are all in this together and will all come out the other end stronger.
Useful recruitment advice and guidance
We are on hand to help you through this difficult time and will do all we can to listen, help and guide you through these exceptional circumstances. We will be updating our social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn) regularly.
We are also updating our blog posts as regularly as we can and our latest posts are titled ‘Candidate and job seeker advice during the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak’ and ‘Client and business advice during the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak’, which include recruitment advice, help and links to beneficial sites.
Hopefully you will find these and our future posts useful and informative during this time, and remember we do have dozens of previous blog posts that have been categorised to make it easy to find exactly what you want. Our two most popular categories are ‘Client Recruitment Advice’ and ‘Candidate Job Seeking Advice’, but there are several others too.
Vanilla are here for you now and in the future
I think it’s fair to say that life as we know it has changed for the foreseeable future. There are so many unknowns but we’ll do our best to keep you informed and up to date on any important information and advice, especially with regards to employment and recruitment in general.
That’s all from me this month. Let’s all focus on the positives, getting out in the garden, enjoying the better weather and being kind to one another in all we do. Stay safe and I’ll be back in touch in May.
Best wishes
Please find below some links including those that will always have the most accurate information from the Government:
- Mental Health https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/looking-after-your-mental-health-during-coronavirus-outbreak
- Mental Health https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/
- Mental Health https://www.mind.org.uk
- Samaritans https://www.samaritans.org
- Tips for working from home https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-51868894
- Tips for working from home https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-seven-essential-tips-if-you-have-to-work-from-home-11950757
- Tips for working from home https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrobinson/2020/03/14/9-tips-to-be-productive-when-working-at-home-during-covid-19/#45f42345a38b
- How to keep remote teams engaged and productive https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200312-coronavirus-covid-19-update-work-from-home-in-a-pandemic
- How to keep remote teams engaged and productive https://www.business2community.com/crisis-management/how-to-keep-employees-productive-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak-02292676
- How to keep remote teams engaged and productive https://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2019/07/24/how-to-keep-remote-employees-engaged/
- National minimum wage changes https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates
- Government advice about coronavirus https://www.gov.uk/
coronavirus - Government advice for businesses and employers https://www.gov.uk/
government/publications/ guidance-to-employers-and-b usinesses-about-covid-19 - Government advice for the public https://www.gov.uk/
guidance/ coronavirus-covid-19-inform ation-for-the-public - Information from the NHS https://www.nhs.uk/
conditions/ coronavirus-covid-19/
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 five specialisms – Sales, Marketing, Accountancy & Finance, HR and Office