Kevin Booth - Business Manager
2020 in the Chinese calendar it is the Year of the Rat, What a Rat of a year it has been in terms of running a business. Not a great opening but it will become apparent at the end!
Dare I say it COVID has played an integral part in forcing change and adaption which has changed the way that everyone works. How has it changed my job?
I think form a Business Manager your task is to work out a lot of different elements of the business. Staff are vital to any organisation but to maintain motivation, drive and results it has been a huge challenge for a lot of people. I have been incredibly lucky with the team they have all remained focused and have really pushed themselves to get the job done, that has meant that people have had to do jobs outside their comfort zone but not one has complained about this. Motivation in remote working has been more of a challenge, TEAMS calls have been invaluable and the occasional team quiz has been great fun again the guys have been fantastic, WhatsApp groups celebrating the successes and shouting about the little things that we perhaps take for granted when in the office….and of course the MEME’S bring a lot of fun.
Sales has changed a lot for me. I was unfortunate to have gone down with the dreaded lurgy which was a really unpleasant experience. Before I came back I was intent that I was going to do the old recruitment way…..Calls….calls….calls. My Director told me it is a different world and that it was incredibly difficult to get through to people. For my first day back I was itching to hit the phones but I got told to take the day to make a plan which was the right call. Calls became tasks, getting through to 10 decision makers was a huge task. Calls then became emails or linked in chats which is where we focused our time. And to a great deal of success.
Vacancies absolutely mean vacancies right now by that I mean in the environment we are in if someone has a requirement it absolutely is something they are looking to fill and urgency is important, not that it wasn’t before!! We have changed process to adapt to this to ensure everything is maximised as quickly as possible again meaning other members of the team have pitched in to help each other on the same vacancy giving the clients a confidence that it is ‘all hands to the deck’ for their needs . Again with the sometimes mixed messages from the government on policies there is a consultative side to the role on legislation like Furlough and issues around who, what, where, why and when are often required by our clients.
I have been incredibly lucky to work along side other organisations such as the Job Centre whereby we have worked together assisting young workers with recruitment processes and how they can maximise opportunity with applications. This has been a real pleasure to see the enthusiasm even in difficult times and being able to work with other employers on this has really helped to focus the participants.
SO what has changed in my role?
In essence a lot!
How has the change gone?
Challenging but rewarding just like most things in recruitment.
What am I thankful for?
My team who have been fantastic.
Have I changed?
Yes and no same old me different way of working!
I opened with year of the Rat- Rats adapt to their surrounding they survive, they gather they continue through difficult environments . Just what we have been doing for the majority of the year!!
Happy year of the Rat!
