AAT helps employers to PowerUp business skills Posted 04/02/2019 by The content team & filed under AATPowerUp, Employers. AAT is launching a new programme of content on business skills in order to support employers and finance teams. Over the next three months, the #AATPowerUp series will cover a broad range of skills and qualities financial professionals need to embrace to be successful in the modern workplace. Mark Farrar, AAT Chief Executive, commented: “The world of work is evolving. Businesses are more aware than ever of the benefits of a diverse workforce which has the skills, knowledge, and talent they need to prosper. “If we want a competitive, high-performing country of highly skilled workers, then it is important that we develop employees to ensure they have the chance to reach their full potential. AAT wants to play its part in supporting that.” Changing skills requirements The World Economic Forum predicts by 2022 the skills required to perform most jobs will shift significantly (The Future of Jobs Report), indicating that the future of work will be increasingly about skills training. Changes can already be felt in the accounting profession with automation and AI fuelling demand for new skills. A recent poll of AAT members confirms that it is now essential for finance professionals at all levels to have a more rounded skill-set. A full 75% of members said that “developing key business skills is essential to career success and progression”. The #AATPowerUp Business Skills programme will cater for all AAT audiences, from apprentices and students to experienced members, and leaders of finance teams. It will focus on the three most-requested in research. They are: Leadership and management – 52%Digital skills – 50%Communication – 44% Communication The first pieces of content will feature foundational skills around confidence, motivation and personal communication both verbal and written. It will also examine rapport-building, managing client relationships, and the effect that creating a confident workforce has on productivity. Digital skills Automation is already altering the way financial information is processed and presented. AAT will be responding to this with primers on acquiring basic digital skills to a miniseries on data analytics, visualisation, and reporting. Leadership and management Managing and leading change is a growing requirement for finance professionals, especially in uncertain political times. AAT will be offering tips and techniques and also inspiring stories of how others have achieved change. Check back for updates These are just some of the highlights we will bring over the next three months. You can follow the latest on Twitter with #AATPowerUp, or check back here for more.
How to retain your staff and keep them engaged Posted 04/02/2019 by Iwona Tokc-Wilde & filed under Run your business. Skills shortage is a real issue so you need to do everything you can to hold on to your talent. According to the Hays UK Salary & Recruiting Trends 2019 guide, the majority of accountancy and finance employers continue to find it a challenge when trying to attract and retain the right candidates. What’s even more worrying, the survey shows that 52% of accountants are planning to move jobs over the next 12 months. Employees quit their jobs for many reasons. Some want better pay, some change careers or go self-employed. Others follow their partners and relocate to another part of the country, or decide to stay at home with the children. Many, however, look for a new opportunity elsewhere because they don’t feel connected with and committed to their job, team and organisation. In other words, they are disengaged. You cannot do much (if anything) when someone’s decision to quit is driven by a life event. But there’s a lot you can do to bring disengaged employees back into the fold. What causes disengagement? People want to work where they are trusted, respected and valued, says Liz Sebag-Montefiore, director and co-founder of HR consultancy 10Eighty. She adds: “They also need to have confidence in the leadership, they want a boss or manager who empowers them and who shows commitment to their personal development. They need to have a voice too, they need to feel they are listened to and that their opinions count and make a difference.” Increasingly, they are also looking for more autonomy, more responsibility, and more opportunities to learn new skills and grow. When these ingredients are lacking, their motivation and commitment go out of the door, and they soon follow suit. Tell-tale signs Often, you simply feel something isn’t right. “The brain is a social organ so we know immediately when someone is unhappy,” says Kate Lanz, neuro-psychologist and chief executive at business consultancy Mindbridge. Lanz explains: “Neuroscience has shown us that we feel before we think rationally. The brain works from the bottom up, with the limbic system (at the centre of the brain, it controls our emotional responses) activates three times faster than our rational brain. So trust your intuition, you will be able to tell if someone is disengaged.” But there are also obvious warning signs that you mustn’t ignore: Drop in quality of work Mistakes, overlooked priorities and missed deadlines could mean your employee is being overloaded with too much work, but if it isn’t the case and you’re hearing a lot of feeble excuses, this could be the writing on the wall. Perhaps they don’t deliver because they are doing other things when they should be working? “Frequent use of working time to browse the internet, talk on the phone or shop online is a clear sign of disengagement,” says Alan Price, Group Operations director and HR expert at business consultancy Peninsula. Lack of interest and participation Price points out that engaged employees usually show curiosity and enthusiasm for company and sector developments, because these could affect their employer’s growth and, therefore, their role. “Lack of curiosity is a sign that the employee may not care about their future with the company.” If they are avoiding company events, team-building or social activities, this hints at disengagement too, especially if they participated in such events regularly in the past. Conflict “When people aren’t collegiate and stop sharing information, they are effectively taking a stance against teamwork,” says Sebag-Montefiore. Others are bound to grow resentful and frustrated, and the potential for these rising tensions to escalate to conflict is very high. Absenteeism Have you noticed higher rates of frequent or unplanned leave, or an increase in sickness or lateness? These may be signs that the employee is giving up on you. “Also, when someone keeps going to doctor’s or dental appointments, this may indicate they are already interviewing,” Sebag-Montefiore says.null Lack of discretionary effort “Disengaged employees typically do the bare minimum and resist taking on extra projects,” says Sebag-Montefiore. They are also unlikely to want to try new ways of doing things. Apathy and negativity “Watch out for people who have gone very quiet when once they would’ve eagerly contributed in company meetings,” says Price. Also, has someone turned very negative, all of a sudden? “Particularly if they used to be ‘the glass is half full’ type of person,” says Sebag-Montefiore. How to re-engage your staff Of course, disengagement can be a by-product of personal issues and other external factors, says Steve Preston, managing director at Heat Recruitment. “Your staff member could be having a bad time at home or they could be facing money problems. It’s crucial that you handle these situations sensitively.” But handle them you must, especially if you cannot afford to lose them. Also, you don’t want the rest of your staff affected. “A negative nelly in the office can drag others down,” says Preston. Finding out why the employee is disengaged is a potentially difficult conversation, so Lanz suggests that you follow the four Cs model™: Connect Asking someone what they did at the weekend isn’t just small talk, it makes them feel noticed and valued and creates an important emotional and relational connection.Compassion Put your small judgements to one side and accept people for who they are.Curiosity Ask questions and get them to share their views.Control Give people control of their airtime by not interrupting. Only by asking questions will you find out what could re-ignite their commitment. Are they bored because they aren’t being stretched? Do they want more responsibility? Giving them more senior duties and more complex projects is easy enough, but they’re likely to need additional training or mentoring, too. Are they unhappy with you or the way you run your business? Not everyone would be brave enough to give you negative feedback face-to-face, so James Brent, business director at Hays Accountancy & Finance, suggests getting your staff to contribute to an anonymous survey or “questions box”. Then you must act on their concerns. “Maintaining engagement is a two-way street,” says Brent. “You need to work hard to engage your staff so that they can then decide how engaged they will be in return. If one side fails to back the other, engagement can deteriorate rapidly.”
How to keep investing in your education without spending money Posted 04/01/2019 by Sophie Cross & filed under Career, Students. So you’re fully qualified? Congratulations! But the learning shouldn’t stop here or you’re in danger of being left behind, however many qualifications you have. We all know just how quickly the world of business is moving and without continual learning and development, you’re effectively going backwards. Adopting a ‘never graduate’ attitude will make you stand out in the workplace as someone who’s intelligent, forward-thinking and driven which can only have a positive effect for you professionally and personally. Some of the main benefits of continuous learning It will reinforce the things that you’ve already learnt. It will provide you with a wealth of inspiration and ideas.It will accelerate your career progression. It will help you win and retain clients. It will allow you to adapt and respond to changing business environments. It will help keep your mind sharp.It will give you a great sense of achievement. Ways you can continually learn for free How can you maintain a breadth of knowledge without going back to school or spending lots of money on courses? There are plenty of online and offline tools that you can explore like webinars and events which can be a really good way to learn for free and in a varied manner. Take a look at the recommendations below to get you started. CPD with the AAT The AAT’s continued professional development (CPD) will help you to develop your existing skills, as well as keeping you up to date about changes in legislation, technology and working practice. AAT members can attend networking events where they’ll meet lots of other like-minded professionals. Members also have access to a huge range of online resources including award-winning e-learning with tests, podcasts, blogs, videos, webinars, articles and forums. Podcasts Podcasts are a brilliant way to consume information without lifting a finger. You can listen to them on your commute, at work, in the gym or while cooking and they’ll make mundane tasks seem like they pass quicker. You needn’t even listen to purely accounting and finance focused podcasts. They are a great way to acquire a wide range of expertise and inspiration about all aspects of business. You can play these podcasts online from a variety of apps including Apple, Spotify, Stitcher Radio and Podbean. 10 podcast recommendations for accountants: Accounting Best Practices with Steve BraggGrow my Accounting PracticeThe Tim Ferris Show Freakonomics Radio The Big 4 Accounting Firms Podcast TEDTalks BusinessPwC’s Accounting and Reporting Podcast Series Accounting Today Podcast The Accounting Success Podcast The Journal of Accountancy Podcast Books Get down to your local library and pick up a few books or ask your fellow accounting colleagues if they have any good books that you can borrow then set aside a bit of time to read each day. Here are a few books recommended by accountants to get your reading list started… 5 must-read book recommendations for accountants: Selling to Serve by James Ashford The Numbers Business by Delia HudsonThe Go To Expert by Heather Townsend The Highly Profitable Accountant by Rudi Jansen The Pioneering Practice by Amanda C. Watts Blogs If you don’t feel like you have the time to get through a whole book right now then blogs are a bite-size way to consume information. Perfect for reading on your lunch break or before you check your emails in the morning. Blogs and podcasts are also a really good way to find out the latest information, where books can quickly go out of date. Sign up to your favourite ones to get them delivered straight to your inbox or start an RSS feed. Maybe you’ll even be inspired to start your own blog. 5 brilliant blog recommendations for accountants: AccountingWEB Gorilla Accounting AAT Comment Accounting Insight News BookMarkLee Other ways to invest in your education with the AAT The AAT has many events running including the two-day annual AAT Conference where members come together for inspiring talks, debates and workshops about the major issues facing the industry today. There are also lots of accountancy and finance courses and masterclasses to help with professional development which are open to AAT members and non-members. AAT accredited employers can get a discounted rate on these courses.
Why happy healthy employees equal higher profits Posted 03/29/2019 by Jessica Bown & filed under Employers, Run your business. What is your company’s most valuable resource? If you work in the financial services sector, the answer is almost certainly the people who work for it. “For employers in sectors such as accountancy, overall performance is largely dependent on how good their employees are,” said Faith Howe, director of talent at communications agency FleishmanHillard Fishburn. And while offering competitive salaries is undoubtedly a good way to attract high quality staff, money alone is often no longer enough to keep them. “Quality employees can and will vote with their feet,” Howe said. “So you need to create the right working conditions to both attract and retain them.” Once you have a competent team in place, the next step is to ensure each member is performing as well as he or she can. “It’s about helping people to reach their full potential,” said Anna Rasmussen, founder of Open Blend, a software company that develops tools to help employers support all aspects of staff development. Meeting their health and wellbeing needs is a good place to start. The cost of an unhappy workforce Given the costs involved in recruiting new staff, it’s easy to see how attrition, or loss of employees, can become a big burden on profitability. According to Xpert HR, one in five UK workers resigned from their jobs last year. So how can you hang on to the high performers who can take your business to the next level? Tim Houseman, HR manager at a multinational organisation, said: “Taking steps to improve health and wellbeing can make your business a more attractive place to work, and help to differentiate your company from your competitors. “This is particularly important when it comes to attracting and retaining millennial talent.” Setting up good communication strategies to ensure managers step in to help good employees who are going through a tough time is also crucial. “Having skilled managers who can react when people are struggling is really fundamental to creating a positive working environment,” Howe said. The importance of good health According to research from the Centre for Mental Health, absenteeism due to mental health alone costs the UK economy some £8.4 billion every year. Across physical and mental health, the total is much higher. “Health and exercise is the work life driver that is most often flagged up as needing attention by the 4,000 employees who use our software,” Rasmussen said. So taking steps to look after your employees’ health can be a great way to boost profits – not least because it should mean you have more staff operating at the top of their game. “It makes business sense to have a healthy workforce,” Houseman said. “Healthy individuals and teams can solve problems in a more creative way, more quickly, and can adapt more easily to shifting demands and market conditions, as well as technological and regulatory changes.” On the flipside, ensuring the workplace culture does not discourage people from taking time off when they need it is also important. If, for example, an employee feels comfortable asking for half a day off to go to the doctor, that may avoid them having to take three days off later in the week. That’s why employers also need to watch out for “presenteeism”, which is when poorly employees come to work anyway because they fear being judged by their superiors. How to improve the working environment If you want to attract, retain and maximise the potential of high quality employees, you need to focus on making your company a great place to work. How? According to HR experts, investing in good management is key. And that includes training manager to cope with employees of all kinds. “A manager today might be dealing with a baby boomer and a millennial, each of whom needs a very different type of support,” Rasmussen said. Once you feel confident you have a good management style in place throughout your business, you can also think about introducing measures specifically aimed at improving employee wellbeing. “The measures we have introduced over the last few years range from simple things like having fruit available in the office, to seminars on issues such as anxiety and sleeplessness,” Howe said. At Houseman’s company, meanwhile, strategies to boost employee health and wellbeing include flexible, remote and part-time working options, courses on subjects such as healthy eating and mindfulness, and a corporate volunteering scheme allowing staff to take a couple of days off a year to volunteer with local charities. “We also sponsor sports teams and reimburse staff for their entry fees for any running, cycling or swimming competitions,” Houseman said. “But whatever you do, tone from the top is very important. “That’s why our chief executive encourages his immediate juniors to take wellbeing seriously.”
Career profile: Credit controller Posted 03/28/2019 by Ebony-Storm Halladay & filed under Career, Career profiles. Credit controllers are responsible for deciding when credit should be given to debtors. In companies, this means managing all money that’s borrowed and owed. Returning lost money is a complex task that involves managing finances, record-keeping, negotiating payment plans, and navigating through endless financial jargon. Samantha White, founder of financial consultancy My Credit Controllers, explains what she loves about the profession and its challenges. What led you to pursue a career as a credit controller? It’s just something I’ve always been interested in doing. I’ve worked for a lot of small companies and I often saw that they were struggling to get paid. I find it interesting and challenging, so much so that I setup my own business doing it. How did you find yourself coming into it? When I started out, I began as an accounts assistant in various companies. While I did AAT I gradually progressed more towards cash and financial controller roles. As I took on more of that side of the business, I naturally became an “all-rounder” and got into credit control that way. What does an average work day look like for you? Hectic! I’ve got my own business and I employ two people who work with me full time. We’re an outsourced credit controller, so we collect over £2 million a month for various companies across different sectors. It’s quite busy and full on, and it’s not just about collecting the cash. It’s about maintaining credit limits, credit-checking companies and keeping up to date on information. What are the challenges of your role? One of the challenges that I think most people face is late payment culture. It’s quite a common thing, so a lot of people really struggle to get paid. The challenge is getting through to the right people and speaking to the right departments, especially if you’re dealing with larger companies. You’ve got to be persistent. What other challenges do you face? We have an online portal where individuals can register their commercial debts and that brings in a huge variety of different cases. One of the greatest challenges is when there are disputed payments that we need to resolve. All companies face cash flow problems at some point, so it’s just about building up good relationships with people. What do you find most rewarding about your role? We’ve helped customers that have had invoices outstanding for five years to finally get paid. It might be a bit geeky, but it’s just nice helping people. Some people probably don’t agree because they think it’s like on TV, but credit control is about more than that – it’s all about building relationships. What should you know before starting a career as a credit controller? Knowing how businesses work and what’s involved in the day-to-day running of a company. Students need communication skills, not just by email. A lot of it is telephone work and many people are quite daunted by using a telephone in this day and age. You will have difficult conversations sometimes, because if you’re chasing somebody who hasn’t paid for ages they’re might be disgruntled, especially if the payment is being disputed. What makes a good credit controller? Handling pressure when it comes to month’s end and year’s end trying to collect everything. You’ve got to be diligent and make sure people stick to their credit limits. You have to do regular credit checks so that your information is up to date. You also need to be a good negotiator and be able to resolve issues. Striking the right balance between persistence and consideration for other people’s situations is crucial. What surprises you about your career? How bad the late payment culture is, especially for small traders. With large, blue chip companies, their attitude towards smaller firms can be bad. I found that surprising initially, but now I’ve become accustomed to it.
Preparing for the new tax year – part 3 Posted 03/28/2019 by Julie Hodgskin & filed under Members, Pensions and payroll. In this, the final of the Preparing for the new tax year blogs, the payroll areas covered are perhaps less common, but nonetheless very important, and mistakes and non-compliance can lead to financial and reputational costs. Apprentice levy and funding There will be changes to the apprenticeship transfer allowance. From April 2019 the amount that can be transferred from a levy-paying employer to a non-levy paying employer increases to 25%. The number of employers to who the funds can be transferred is unlimited. It is worth noting though that the employer sending the transfer funds cannot receive funds from another employer, and the employer receiving funds cannot in turn transfer funds to another employer. Currently non-levy payers must pay at least 10% of the apprenticeship training costs. This is paid directly to the training provider. In the Autumn Budget last October it was announced that the co-investment percentage would decrease from 10% to 5%. Details have yet to be announced but the change is expected sometime this year. Finally, it is proposed that training providers will soon be able to create apprenticeship cohorts in the employer’s online service account on the employer’s behalf. The employer has first to grant the training provider access, but once done, all necessary administration can be done by the training provider. For more information on this please see the February 2019 Employer’s bulletin. As apprenticeship funding is a devolved matter all of the above relates to employers in England only. Changes to the benefits regime Over the past few years there have been big changes to the benefits regime and below are some of the updates for 2019-20. Cars In the tax year 2019-20, there will be changes to the fuel rates and charges and to the CO2 emission rates. There is not the space to outline the annual increases to benefit rates that the government announces, but there is space to highlight a few non-regular changes. The good news is that the current 100% First Year Allowance on low emission cars will be maintained until April 2021. The bad news is that eligibility for this was reduced in April 2018 to cars with CO2 emissions of 50g/km or less. The capital allowance threshold for business cars was reduced to 110g/km at the same time. For cars emitting more than 75g/km there will be an increase of 3%, with a 3% differential between 0-50 and 51-75 g/km bands and between the 51-75 and 76-94 g/km bands. There will be many additional updates that you should keep up to date with, such as new fuel types. Optional remuneration April 2017 saw the introduction of the Optional remuneration arrangements (OpRA). The arrangements saw the introduction of definitions ‘type A’ (salary sacrifice) and ‘type B’, other arrangements. As just a reminder, most national insurance contributions (NICs) and tax advantages have been withdrawn. The only benefits that retain the NICs and tax advantages are: Pension contributions and adviceEmployer Supported Childcare (childcare vouchers)Cycle to workUltra-low emission vehicles (at or below 75 g CO2/km. There are also transitional provisions for cars and vans, accommodation and school fees. From April 2019 ancillary benefits such as insurance, MOT and such will remain tax exempt when not provided through an OpRA. The capital contribution towards a taxable car will be adjusted if the car is available for only part of the tax year. Payrolling Any employer that is registering for voluntary payrolling of benefits for the first time must do so before 6 April 2019. Once registered though the process does not have to be repeated unless the items payrolled change as there is an automatic carry forward each year. Termination payments April 2018 saw several changes to the treatment of termination payments. April 2019 will see more changes in that the amount calculated by the post-employment notice pay (PENP) . They will now also become subject to employers’ NICs. However, the employee will continue to have full exemption on any termination paymentsSecondary NICs liability will be due on amounts above £30,000 (the maximum tax free amount), but this additional cost has been deferred to April 2020. It is to be hoped that no more changes are forthcoming in the near future as there is more than enough to be getting on with. CEO pay ratio For organisations with 250 or more UK employees, this is already in force as it applies to companies whose fiscal year begins on or after 1 January 2019. The report measures the Chief Executive Officer’s total pay as a ratio to the median (50th percentile) employee’s remunerationthe 25th percentile employee’s remunerationthe 75th percentile employee’s remuneration using the full-time equivalent remuneration of the company’s UK employees. There is a choice of methodology to use when calculating the ratios. As stated, this is already in force so if no action has been taken on this yet, it is advised to ‘get a wiggle on!’ and start preparing. Data Protection Act 2018 (incorporating GDPR) This is now a ‘business as usual’ item. However, that does not mean that it can be ignored, or the assumption made that all staff are conversant with the requirements of the act or are meeting the requirements. ‘Refresher’ training should be regular as should reviews of workplace practices, both formal and informal. Never take for granted that all staff are knowledgeable of the act or that they are conforming to the policies and procedures laid out. Regular training, discussions during team meetings and updates to employee contracts should be considered. A data breach is potentially damaging to the organisation’s cash flow, reputation and customer loyalty. Data protection should never be taken lightly. Conclusion In this last of three blogs are highlighted some of the less regular changes and increases that affect payroll. For a government that is otherwise preoccupied it has somehow found the time to play with payroll. For more detailed information on any of the above CIPP runs half day and one day courses that cover all payroll matters.
How to keep up to date with training when you’re self-employed Posted 03/27/2019 by Charlotte Beugge & filed under Career, Members. Being self-employed has many advantages. You can pick the hours you work, fitting around your home life, plus you can choose what kind of projects and clients you take on. And you can do it all from your spare bedroom in your pyjamas. But if you’re working as a self-employed bookkeeper or accountant, you need to be able to motivate yourself to carry on training while you work. After all, you won’t have a boss or HR department to remind you that you have to keep your skills up to date. It is your responsibility alone to ensure you carry on training throughout your career. Why Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is vital You work hard all day running your own business. So why should you be making time for more learning? After all, you’ve got the qualifications. Do you really need to worry about CPD? Emphatically, the answer is yes. If you don’t keep abreast of changes in accountancy and bookkeeping rules then you could be endangering your business. CPD means your skills and knowledge are kept up to date. Remember, when you’re running your own business you need to make sure you have the same standards – or higher – than others in your profession: otherwise, you risk losing clients. And not keeping up to date with your training could be potentially dangerous too. If you made a serious error because you didn’t know about legal changes you could end up being sued by a client. Keeping track of legislation and regulation Julie Hodgskin combines running her own practice, JLH Accounting Services, with working as a technical material author for the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals, lecturing on tax at her local university and also writing on payroll and study tips for the AAT. Why does she think CPD is vital? ‘Some bookkeepers have very complex duties and /or clients. Others don’t. And the same goes for an accountant. In a nutshell, if a bookkeeper or accountant is dealing with tax in its many forms, for example, payroll, tax returns, letting agencies, public sector, charities, the private sector, then yes, they will need to keep up to date’. Julie says keeping up with your CPD means staying abreast not only with changes to legislation ‘but if dealing with payroll, with all the consultations and regulations that result from them, and so on for each individual sector. As an accountant, I prepare client’s tax returns and submit said return on their behalf. The clients may also ask advice on the financial effect that various decisions may have on different areas of their business. I, therefore, need to be completely up to date on all the relevant laws, regulations and accounting standards to give sound, ethical advice’. How the AAT can help Members of the AAT can access training resources on the website, via the magazine and through email alerts. There are webinars, podcasts and free branch networks, master classes and the annual conference, all of which can boost your CPD. But what sort of training do you need to do – and how much? If you’re considering expanding what kind of services you offer, you will definitely need to update your training. ‘AAT approves activities that a licensed accountant or bookkeeper may perform’ advises Julie. ‘The member has to then ensure that all areas of that licence are covered by CPD. If the member wants to extend their range of activities on offer, then the member must take the appropriate measures to prove competence in that area’. Quality, not quantity Keeping up to date with your CPD doesn’t mean hours of book work. Julie says: ‘It’s not the quantity, but the quality. CPD and updating knowledge can be done anytime, anywhere. Even listening to the radio in the morning can give insights and update knowledge – provided, that is, you are listening to one of the more informative programmes! Watching the news on television can be equally thought-provoking’. One downside with being self-employed is the potential isolation. It’s a good idea to make use of the networking opportunities offered by AAT branches and conferences. You can learn so much from others doing the same kind of work as you. ‘Each person receives and analyses information differently. Discussing something with a knowledgeable peer can deepen the understanding that the individual has gained’ adds Julie. And here’s another reason to make sure you keep up with your CPD: it can be both intellectually stimulating and enjoyable too. Adding to your knowledge could help you find renewed zeal for your work. And carrying on learning will also help your business: you’ll be more confident and thus find it easier to attract new clients. So it’s a win-win situation all around!
What recruiters are looking for when taking on new candidates Posted 03/26/2019 by Charlotte Beugge & filed under Students. A recruitment consultant – whether in house or with an agency – is your gateway to a new role. But what are they looking at when they have a job to fill? And how do you make sure you get their attention? The first step: your CV You’ve seen a job advertised. It’s right up your street; you have the correct qualifications and experience. What do you do now? Unless the recruiter already knows you and has your CV on file then you’ll need to send yours off to the recruiter. But don’t dust off an old CV and hope that it will do. It won’t. Dan Brown is Senior Manager at recruitment specialists Robert Walters. He says: ‘You’d be surprised the amount of bad CVs we get sent. Your CV is an extension of you and you should make sure it is professional and accurate. And Lee Owen, director at Hays Accountancy and Finance said: ‘Recruitment consultants are motivated by finding others the right career opportunities. However, to do this, they need the right information and can be drawn to certain qualities in prospective candidates. Presenting an impressive CV is central to any strong application and should highlight your education and qualifications followed by work experience in chronological order’. So what does a good CV look like? A recent survey by recruitment agency Reed found that more than 50% of recruiters said that having a logical order for a CV is the most important thing. And size was important too: 91% said that the ideal CV is a word document of two to three pages. The survey found the biggest pet-hate in CVs was the phrase ‘I enjoy socialising with friends’. Reed comments: ‘Let’s face it we all enjoy socialising with friends. The same goes for ‘good team player/working in a team or as an individual’ with 28% of hiring managers surveyed identifying it as their own pet peeve. When you’ve only got two or three pages to stand out don’t waste valuable space by using the same stock sentences’. Creating the perfect CV Your CV should show you in a good light but not be overcooked. Owen adds: ‘Ensure the CV is formatted in a professional manner with consistent font size and sub-headings added to add impact where required’. Brown adds that your CV needs to tell your whole story – but must not be embroidered or exaggerated. ‘Any recruiter will spot gaps in your work history so make sure everything is covered. A good CV is clearly written and not too long. And it should be relevant to the job you’re applying for: just sending out an all-purpose CV is not a good idea. If you do think your CV is too general, then it is a good idea to include a covering letter explaining why you should be considered for the job’. And Owen adds: ‘See the CV as an opportunity to showcase one or two unique selling points to differentiate you as a candidate, such as a high academic achievement or a successful project at work. This will be attractive to recruiters and help them best understand your experience and career options’. Preparation is key So your CV has got you an interview with a recruiter. What now? Brown says: ‘Clients who are looking for AAT qualified staff want up-and-coming people who will progress through the ranks. They want people who are bright, engaged, knowledgeable and professional. These are the kind of qualities you need to get across in an interview’. Preparation is key to making yourself stand out to a recruiter says Owen. ‘Appearing confident, well prepared and in possession of the skills the job requires are essential for standing out in the right ways. In addition, show you are passionate about learning and developing in the role and let your personal qualities come through. The recruitment consultant will typically begin streamlining potential candidates when it comes to a shortlisting process therefore it is essential you create a positive impression at all times’. Brown says that a recruiter is looking for job candidates who ‘show interest in the role. So ask questions: show you are interested in the business. Don’t just talk about yourself. And treat an interview like a conversation. People are too often petrified, but confrontational interviews are in the past. These days, interviews are a two-way conversation: you need to find out if the job is for you just as much as the recruiter needs to decide whether you are fit’. But how much is down to personality? Does a recruiter need to like a candidate? No says Brown. But they will be trying to decide whether the interviewee’s personality will fit in with the culture and working practices of the company. So someone who expresses their love for the world of fashion may not be a good fit in the exacting world of a law firm. ‘You’re thinking will this person fit with the client? Can they do the work?’ says Brown. Finally, all might be different in the future. Swedish scientists are developing a robot which can perform unbiased interviews, but will the robot be able to detect if you’ve got sweaty hands or spinach in your teeth?
Why don’t men choose flexible working? Posted 03/25/2019 by Charlotte Beugge & filed under Career, Members. Fed up with commuting? Want to carry on working while participating in your children’s lives or helping care for elderly relatives? Then flexible working could be the answer. Yet many workers baulk at asking their employers if they can work flexibly. And it seems men, in particular, don’t like stepping off the nine to five treadmill. Why is this and why should men and women request flexible working? Your rights All employees have the right to ask their employer for flexible working as long as they have worked for their employer for at least 26 weeks. To do this, you need to make a statutory application in which you make your case for flexible working. You can be turned down but you have a right of appeal. Professor Sir Cary Cooper, Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health at the ALLIANCE Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester says that probably half of all employees in the UK have the kind of jobs where they could work flexibly, yet probably only about 15% do so. And a survey by Powwownow last year found that while 58% of workers are offered flexible working, 24% don’t make use of it. But while 6% more men than women are offered flexible working, 34% of women are more likely to ask for flexible working rather than a pay rise than men. Professor Cooper says: ‘We did a study looking at one large public sector body and one large global private company. We wanted to find out if men take flexible work and if not, why not. What we found was that men apply for flexible working far less than women. They didn’t apply because they were worried that if they did opt for flexible working, it would impact on their careers’. Gender differences Professor Cooper adds that the study found that women did also worry about their careers and how they would be impacted by flexible working. But women found it easier to request flexible working ‘because employers perceived that women have a more caring role in society so it seemed easier to ask for it’ says Professor Cooper. He adds: ‘I think that one of the reasons why men don’t choose flexible working is they find it difficult to let go. And you should also remember that some people just don’t want to work flexibly. They like the division of home and work: with flexible working, those lines are blurred and your work could intrude into your home life. But a man might, for example, want to go to the office from Monday to Thursday but say I want to work from home on Friday because I want to take my children to school and pick them up after.’ A study by the University of Kent’s Dr Heejung Chung working with Dr Mariska van der Horst from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam found that flexible workers do tend to do more unpaid overtime with professional men putting in an extra hour’s free work a week and part-time working mothers working 20 minutes unpaid overtime a week. Flexible working works While there’s lots of evidence that flexible working works, uptake has stalled. A report earlier this year from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development Megatrends: Flexible Working found that the number of employees opting for flexible working has ‘flat-lined’ since 2010 even though the right to request it has been open to all employees since 2014. The Flexible Working Task Force, a group made up of representatives from government departments, business groups, trade unions and charities, is campaigning to increase uptake of flexible working. Peter Cheese, CIPD chief executive and co-chair of the task force says: ‘Providing more flexible opportunities for how, when and where people work should be part of every organisation’s strategy to attract and retain the talent and skills they need. Employers need to consider and address the barriers holding them back from adopting flexible working practices more widely, be in entrenched organisational cultures or making sure line managers are trained to support and manage flexible workers’. Professor Cooper adds: ‘Every organisation will have a menu of flexible working options but how many employees – male or female – take it up does depend on whether senior management believes in it. Our study – and our ongoing research – shows that companies should promote flexible working because it has a positive effect on the bottom line. If flexible working was promoted by their employers then more would apply for it’. The bottom line For employers, it makes sense too. Professor Cooper adds: ‘As a country, we need to improve productivity – we are only ranked 17th in productivity terms in the G20 – and if both men and women embrace flexible working then that would help. The culture at some organisations – some of those possibly in more traditional industries – does need to change. Managers need to see that the amount of work being done isn’t simply down to how many heads they have in their office.’ He adds: ‘Flexible working works for organisations because it creates a happy, loyal, trusted and valued workforce. And they tend to put in longer hours too – though I hope they aren’t overworking. Because they feel trusted by their employers to work from home they feel that they cannot let their employers down and put in more hours and are more productive. The trust and value placed on them also can lead to higher retention rates’. However, not all businesses are in favour of flexible working. A survey of medium-sized businesses by professional services company RSM found that while three-quarters of medium sized companies are looking to increase flexible working, 32% said that they were concerned about IT security issues and 28% worried about the impact on customer service. And 26% expressed fears about employees ‘exploiting the system’ and worried about the dynamics of teams being affected. It seems that some employers might still need convincing of the benefits of flexible working – just as some male employees do.
Speed reading: Revise like a pro Posted 03/24/2019 by Lily Howes & filed under Study tips. Speed-reading is an underrated skill. Get it right, and you can be speedy without sacrificing quality while studying. When you’re juggling your studies with a job, family, social life and other commitments, time is precious. It’s important to get the most out of the crucial hours you set aside to revise for exams and complete assessments. So it can be frustrating when you spend an hour reading in exceptional detail, only to find that just two out of 20 sections were relevant to the task in hand. The solution is speed-reading. This doesn’t mean casually glancing at the page with the TV on in the background, while checking Facebook. Speed-reading is an art that, when practised and perfected, can increase your productivity immeasurably. Read on for the three proven strategies for faster but effective reading. 1. Preview reading First up is a technique for heavy reading material, such as long chapters or reports. Start by reading the whole of the first two paragraphs of the piece. Then read just the first sentence of the following paragraphs, until you reach the final two paragraphs – read these in their entirety. This method will let you decide which areas of the text are worth examining more closely, so you’re saved from spending time on areas that aren’t relevant or of interest. 2. Skim reading With lighter pieces or text you’ve read before, try to skim read. To do so, think of your eyes as magnets and force them to sweep across the page in fast succession. You’ll pick up a few words in each line but this will be enough to get an idea of what it’s all about. 3. Cluster reading The final approach provides the most detailed understanding of the three. When we learn to read, we are taught to look at each word in a sentence individually. For example: ‘The – girl – went – to – the– park…’ It’s likely you still sometimes read in this way, particularly when the subject matter is complex. There’s no shame in this but it’s incredibly time-consuming. Instead, cluster groups of words in a sentence together. Train your eyes to see words in clusters of three to four words at a glance. This is not something your eyes do naturally. Reading as fast as you can, while concentrating on multiple words at once, will take a lot of practice, but it will be well worth the effort. Before you get going, here are some helpful tips….. Get rid of distractions You might think you work better with some background noise, but it’s more likely that these distractions are having a detrimental effect on your reading speed. Work in a quiet room, with the television off, no music and your phone out of sight. Train yourself not to re-read It’s common to frequently stop and skip back to words or sentences and try to really understand the meaning. However, this is usually quite unnecessary and often you won’t even notice you’re doing it. To avoid rereading, take a sheet of paper and drag it down the page as you go, covering each line once you’ve read it. Stop reading aloud Whether you’re reading whole chunks out loud to yourself or pronouncing just the odd word – don’t. It will dramatically slow you down. If it’s a habit you really struggle with, then simply put a finger on your mouth and keep it there while you read. Practice makes perfect If you’re really looking to hone your speed-reading skills, then schedule in regular practice slots. Completing daily 20-minute periods of practice and timing your reading rate will get you results in no time. It’s a common belief that highlighting text in bright colours will improve reading speed, comprehension and recall. The opposite can often be true. Highlighting signals that you want to go back to the material later, meaning you’ll have to read it over a second, or even third, time – not exactly a time-saver. Read more on studying effectively; Study hacks to help you slay your final assessment Study tips: Write in a more professional way How to learn smarter and faster Browse the full range of AAT study support resources here