We are now 6 weeks into the New Year and the permanent recruitment market is looking strong. Reports suggest that overall permanent placements have reversed a four month decline and candidate availability has increased. While it is unlikely that all the job losses in the Public sector are being replaced by jobs in the Private Sector it is certainly encouraging news that Employers are looking to hire and have confidence in the UK.

Here at Delta Consultants we have certainly seen a brisk start to the year with an above average number of new jobs in January and market confidence looks positive.

Candidate availability has increased, but this could be due to mergers and acquisitions causing redundancies and adding to the UK employment statistics.

But the good news is that the jobs are out there (in the Scientific and Medical Devices market areas that Delta deals with at least) and for candidates either looking to change careers or seeking employment due to redundancy now is a good time to be job hunting.

While salaries are not increasing rapidly we are finding that employers and candidates are being realistic in their demands and pay levels are where we feel they should be for the experience and knowledge that our clients are looking for.

So, contrary to what you may be reading in the media and all the woes and depression coming out of Europe you can be successful in your job search, jobs are available and with a positive attitude and realistic demands you will find one.

Delta Consultants recruit into the Scientific and Medical Devices sectors and the positions we recruit for include Sales, Marketing, Field Service, Applications, Technical Support and all levels of relevant Management.

Let me warn you girls with your 6 inch heels of the pain that may await you in the future. I too trotted around in impossible shoes for most of my adult life – being 5ft 3ins it was compulsory and looked good. The medical evidence points towards this footwear causing bunions and bunions causing claw toes which is why I am writing this blog because it happened to me.

I have always had pain in my feet – not surprising with those heels I hear you say. But one day it just got too much and I limped off to my GP who blithely informed me I had bunions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunion and surgery could be a solution but not to think any surgeon would operate if he thought I would go back to wearing ‘those’ shoes. I was devastated – far too young for bunions – everyone would laugh. But they didn’t as they had been there themselves. We are a nation of poor feet if you can get people to admit it.

I was referred to the Oak Tree Centre in Huntingdon http://bit.ly/sk8DLi and was immediately impressed by the professionalism and enthusiasm of the staff. I no longer felt a freak – they really wanted to help. There was no waiting list to speak of – I could book in practically when I liked. It was all done on a Monday morning in at 8.00 and out at 13.00 with a bandaged foot and crutches. Although the injections were painful I felt nothing during the operation and the staff were kind, courteous and truly caring. During the aftercare I never had to wait beyond the time of my appointment and once I got there early and was seen early. They were delighted with the result as was I. The whole process was a pleasant surprise as we hear so much negativity about the NHS.

I just wanted to share my positive experience and to say thank you to Oak Tree for giving me back a pretty foot (well it will be when the swelling goes down) and, in the future I hope, the ability to walk without pain. And I promise I will try very hard to avoid those 6 inch heels.

There is much in the news today about the protestors camping outside St Paul’s Cathedral in London making their opinions known about our capitalistic society and demanding something be done about the banks and greed in general. I can’t say I disagree with the points they are trying to make and it does seem a lot of the time big business surges forward doing what it likes and leaving us all drowning in their wake.

 It made me think of the pleasure of dealing with small businesses.

But how does it all begin? When a business starts it is usually small with one or two people -maybe more – who have an ideal and a product they believe in which will delight the consumer and also make money for themselves. Their enthusiasm and drive will push them forward to work silly hours, probably put their houses up as collateral and generally affect their personal lives. To make it a success they know one of the most important aspects of business is customer satisfaction and they will go out of their way to ensure they keep that close personal touch with the customer.

That’s the nicest thing about dealing with small businesses, isn’t it? The fact they know you personally and you have someone who looks after you. Any issues and you can just call them and they sort it out. You think – what a nice company – and when the ‘big boys’ come calling to try and lure you away, you wouldn’t hear of it.

Their commitment to excellence and this personal touch give them more and more customers and so naturally they grow. As they grow they need new staff, new procedures, and new premises and gradually they are not a small business any more. Great for them of course – they are a success, mortgages can be paid off and the owners / shareholders can have a better life. But when you try and report an issue you suddenly find you can’t get hold of the person you knew there. Now there is a ‘procedure’ you have to follow, a faceless voice on the end of the phone and you find yourself thinking ‘what happened to that nice, friendly, SMALL company’ and you feel just like a number. This growth and total disregard of the customer is all due to greed.

Sometimes of course businesses reach a certain size where they can still give the personal service and we know some of those who are still a delight to work with. But we also know ones who somehow lose it along the way – something I hope Delta will never do.

This week we attended the Institute of Biomedical Sciences (IBMS) Congress at the ICC in Birmingham which in my humble opinion is a fabulous venue. It’s easy to get to and has some great facilities around the area for weary exhibitors, delegates and visitors to replenish their energy after the excitement of the day.

There was a competition for the Best Shell Scheme stand and the Best Space Only stand – Delta was proud to sponsor the former and going around the exhibition with the other judges was an interesting experience.

We started at 9.00 on Monday morning and observed various criteria we had set.
For instance, was the stand up and running and the exhibitors ready to receive visitors? We observed that ‘no’ it wasn’t always the case. People not there, instruments not working, lights not lit.
Were the people on the stand welcoming? Did they step forward to say ‘hello’ and ‘how can we help’
It was surprising to see that some of the stands had staff on the stand who were too busy talking to each other, checking their e-mails, looking at their PCs or talking on their mobiles to stop and speak to the potential customers in their midst.
In some cases we were just ignored.
Did the stands have scientific equipment for visitors to see and assess potential for a sale? Although they might not be the decision makers, couldn’t they in theory return to their labs and speak to the powers that be to recommend the product they had seen?
Most of the exhibitors did have products on their stands but just tables and chairs and a coffee machine didn’t go down well with the scientific based judges amongst us.

All this made me think about exhibitions and how we should make the most of them. The IBMS Congress is the busiest one I know with companies putting their names on a waiting list to exhibit. Why then do they not make the most of the opportunity of having a captive audience for a change? You would have thought it would be a salesperson’s dream to be passive for a change and not have to drive anywhere! The companies spent all that money and just didn’t make the most of it and there’s only two who have a nice trophy to prove some of them are committed to making an exhibition of themselves.

I just got back from the morning trip to a certain coffee shop (who will remain nameless) for the usual caffeine buzz for the staff and I can’t say it was an enjoyable experience today.

The staff didn’t look happy to be there, obviously didn’t want to serve me, got my order wrong and one of them showed a real flash of temper with his colleague. I was surprised because the usual people there are so pleasant and greet you with a smile

A lot of us work in customer orientated environments and it can be a real challenge to stay positive, friendly and polite. However I look at it like this: the people who choose to work in front of customers do so because they get on well with people and relate to them – surely this must be the case or you wouldn’t do it? Don’t the employers pick up the sulky ones when they go for the job interview? (Perhaps not – come to us for interview tips!)

I read somewhere once and it has always stayed with me that if you feel unhappy in yourself the best way to get out of it is to do something good for someone else.

So the people in the coffee shop could have come in to work with a smile and thought to themselves ‘regardless of how I feel I am going to make my customers happy today and serve them well’ and they would have had a much better day than I think they are going to have.

It puts me in mind of the time when one of my colleagues had a very difficult call with an HR manager who was obviously not going to be pleasant at all to her on the phone. Taking a deep breath my colleague said ‘Oh dear, you’re not having a good day today are you? I am sorry’ That was the beginning of a great relationship. All they needed was a bit of empathy and everyone was happy.

Try a smile and being nice to your customer – it always works. Oh and by the way, the people in the coffee shop were so miserable and distracted this morning I got one of the coffees free – I did offer to pay of course but they wouldn’t hear of it. Some sort of customer service after all!

Well it’s back and the mighty Seagulls of Brighton and Hove Albion will be strutting their stuff in a brand new ground with aspirations of Premier League and European glory. Don’t mock, especially you Crystal Palace fans out there!

But, on a serious note, how much time in the workplace is lost by the inevitable Monday morning inquests on the weekend’s games (men and women), and does it really matter?
Or should it be encouraged as part of the general team spirit and ambience that it can create. Well, for those whose teams have won of course.
Perhaps the first 30 mins on a Monday morning should be devoted to re-living the weekend and generally “getting in the right frame of mind” for the arduous tasks ahead.
Not just football of course, but somehow Rugby, Tennis, Cricket, Motor Racing etc. don’t seem to embrace the same passion in the workplace.

I don’t presume, of course, that football is everyone’s passion and for many people it is overrated, boring and the players earn way too much at the top level I am sure.

But how do you get away from it as we are bombarded with it on TV, in newspapers, pub discussions and the office and is it good for business?

My guess would be that it depends on the type of business, whether you are customer facing or not and whether your boss is a football fan. We all want motivated staff and encouraging office “banter” (within the law, of course) is one way to keep the atmosphere buzzing.

It doesn’t have to be football but with the new season in England starting (Scotland are already ahead of us) you can bet that the first Monday will be full of what should have happened, we were robbed, useless referee (I have noticed that referees are generally only rubbish when you lose!) etc.

Oh well, just some thoughts as I prepare for the highs and lows of a new season, while focusing on the business, of course.

Having been scrolling through the newspapers I have definitely come to the decision that nobody has a clue what to do about the economy.
Everyone has their own vested interests and doing the right thing for the country has disappeared up the self interests of greedy people, or so it seems.
Nothing that new perhaps, but it would be nice if in today’s austere times the pain was felt equally.

For instance, apparently interest rates are going to go up or stay the same, and according to one paper they are going to remain at 0.5% for the next 3 years.
This article was sitting not a million miles away from another article spouting more doom and gloom about the European debt crisis and how interest rates were going to rise.

Now call me an old cynic but how come base interest rates are 0.5% but mortgage rates are considerably higher by a minimum multiple of 8 as far as I can see.
Memory has faded a bit these days, but I am sure when I bought my first house (which was a struggle, something that just seems  to be an issue these days!) the bank rate was around 5% and the mortgage rate just above at around 5.5 or maybe 6%.
With the bank rate at 0.5% mortgages should be around 1% surely.

Ah, but no someone has got to make money so what a jolly good wheeze, let’s charge people obscenely high interest rates to borrow money, give them obscenely low interest rates for savings and make pots of money.

Then, of course, a decision has to be made on what to do with the money.

I know, let’s pay all the people who thought up the idea of high borrowing rates and low interest rates the money………………..job done…………..economy saved.

But apparently it isn’t and we are all doomed, well until tomorrow when the economy is recovering.

Until then let’s try and find some good news in the papers…………..got it………..the Beckhams have had a baby girl.

Candidates are our lifeblood and the purpose of our existence is to find you the perfect job where you will stay and grow and come back to us when you are recruiting staff.

In order for us to be successful we make sure that you, the candidate, have the best chance possible of success by:

• Thoroughly discussing what you are looking for and only sending your CV by agreement
• Getting feedback on your CV/interview as soon as we get it
• Ensuring you have all the information about the job and company you need
• Supporting you through the interview process including what to wear, what to expect, how to “ask for the job” and we will even critique your presentations
• We will soothe you through the resignation process including how to handle a counter offer
• When you have started we will keep in touch to ensure all is going smoothly and will mediate for you if you have any issues

Also as an ethical company, following the REC Code of Professional Conduct, you can be sure that we will not call you after a few months with another “opportunity”.

All these things we do gladly and more if you ask us.

But recruiting is a two way process and we would be very grateful if you could help us a little in our endeavours to get it right for you. Here are a few requests!

•  Please tell us if you have another job offer – it’s OK, we are not going to talk you out of it if it’s right for you. We do not want to aggressively get you into “our” job. It’s not our style
• Please don’t accept a job offer if you really have no intention of taking it. It makes you look bad and companies have long memories – in a small industry you shouldn’t burn your bridges.
• Please keep a record of all the companies where your CV has been sent so there isn’t a duplicate with our clients making everyone look silly.
• Take our advice on interview technique –if we say wear a suit, wear one. If we advise you to keep to the point and focus on what your interviewer is saying, try doing just that. Do your research on the company – how many times have we heard ‘They didn’t know anything about us’
• Please return our calls and e-mails – just a brief line to say ‘no thanks’ ‘yes please’ ‘can’t make it’ ‘not looking’ ‘just what I have always wanted’

 We love working with you and changing your life – yes, we do that – a new job is a life changing experience and can be very stressful – you need support!

 We are your support – but we also need your support.

Perhaps it is just me but it seems you cannot do anything these days without some sort of charity tin being rattled at you, a receipt saying 1p is donated to a certain charity, £2-00 has been added to your meal bill for a particular charity (not mandatory, but they know it is embarrassing to ask to have it removed) and companies making sure you know they support a certain charity or charities.

I also read recently that, as a general rule, we are giving less to foreign charities than we have in the past due to the government giving out more in foreign aid (isn’t that our money anyway or at least whoever loaned it to us). Now I don’t disagree with helping out but was always told that you don’t borrow money from one loan to give to another, although I am not sure I always listened.

But, what I am really getting at is are purchasing decisions based on who gives what to which charity or are we are “charitied” out in the UK, don’t take any notice and just buy what we wanted to and if charity benefits as a by product so be it. Of course, if you really don’t like cats you may not want to buy from a shop that gives to the local cats’ home. But this is negative purchasing rather than positive.

Surely the best way to support your favourite charity is just to do it and no need to advertise, unless you really are “going the extra mile” and running the London Marathon. Are the companies that advertise they support a particular good cause saying so because they hope to be seen as “really good eggs” and consequently get more business or out of a genuine concern?

Just some random thoughts based on why do people advertise they give money to charity and what do they, if anything,  expect to get out it (Or is it no different from sponsoring your local football team?). Hopefully the answer will be to encourage others to give to the same charity and not necessarily buy from that particular company.

Whatever you think of the above, doesn’t it make you proud to be British everytime a natural disaster occurs in the world and the “widows mite” gets sent again…………….so long as you own it and you haven’t borrowed it !!

 Didn’t it warm the cockles of your heart to see Andy Murray and Jenson Button power to victory earlier this week?
Always the gallant losers us Brits, but these two showed just what can be great about “Great Britain”.

Andy Murray who takes some stick because of what could be perceived as failure to win the big events lost the first set, and I bet the usual comments started to come out, but has set himself up nicely for Wimbledon and at 5:1 to win it – I know where my tenners going.

Then take Jenson Button, a former world champion seemingly outgunned by his junior partner in Lewis Hamilton, but having the resilience (not withstanding nerves of steel – would you drive down the M1 at 70mph in that rain yet alone 200mph?) to keep going and win the race in the last few yards of the last lap.
My overwhelming memory of the race was his race engineer saying to him 2 laps from the end “you can win this race” and wow he did!

So what do these two say to us about overcoming adversity?
Well, think about.
I bet at no time did either think they were going to lose, because they have a winning mentality.
They never gave up.

Of course they cannot win everything, but with the right attitude and a positive outlook they will always be in with a shout. Even when they do lose I am sure neither blames someone else (we all know people who can never do anything wrong, don’t we) but learns from defeat and practises to put it right.

We can all overcome adversity if we want to, it’s just that some people don’t want to.

After all they may not have something to moan about then!

Ian Pinn – Operations Director