Direct Fee Earning staff

If your vacancy is for a role that is directly fee earning such as sales or a billable role, the cost is obvious. For every day the role is not filled, there is the measurable, direct cost of unearned income.

Threat to existing staff

So, you think you have a problem now?  How would you cope if you lose more staff? Existing staff will have to pick up the slack if roles are left unfilled.  Workload on the business doesn’t fall off just because you are down an employee, even though it might if the situation goes on for too long.  This in turn leads to these employees being overworked and eventual burnout and a real risk that you will lose them as the situation is not sustainable.

Opportunity lost

As less staff have to cover more bases, existing staff are pulled in different directions and  potential to attract more clients, solve more problems, drive more initiatives and contribute more ideas are all minimised which in turn impacts the business’ overall performance.

So what can you do?

Plan for the future

Think ahead about who you may  need in the medium term and have a plan around where you will find them.  Take the pressure off and advertise the roles nice and early.

Tap into a wider market

Do you go back to the same well all the time?   A lot of us fear change and old habits die hard but the labour market is changing and what has worked before won’t necessarily work going forward.  Consider new talent pools.  If existing methods aren’t working, try new ones.

Embrace diversity and inclusion

It is now widely accepted that diversity in the workplace is not only the right thing to do but also makes great business sense.  If your business is looking a little ‘pale, male and stale’, it’s time to take a look at your hiring practises and see are you looking for the right talent.

Examine your company brand

How do others perceive your business as a place to work?  How you treat your existing employees will be the first yardstick future candidates look to when considering a role with you.  Investing in employee welfare is crucial to attracting talent and free snacks and lunchtime pilates is no longer enough.  The top benefit employees are looking for is flexibility so if you can offer this, you are way ahead of the field.  Happy workers are much more productive so this is one way to reduce cost and make a real difference to employee satisfaction levels.

If you are considering hiring, we’d love to help – visit FinanceTalent.ie or contact Jane on janedownes@financetalent.ie

The study also revealed that the top hiring challenges encountered by enterprises include having an undesirable office location, which was cited by almost a third of respondents.

A lack of the right skillsets in applicants was also referenced by around one in three firms.

Unrealistic demands regarding hybrid and remote working arrangements was also a significant challenge listed by 29% of businesses.

Cumbersome visa processes, a lack of available housing and rising salary expectations were all cited by a quarter of the 202 businesses from across the island of Ireland that were polled by Censuswide on behalf of Expleo.

More than half of respondents said they expect their businesses to grow in the next year, while three quarters said they are preparing for a stronger domestic economy in 2025.

87% said they had experienced setbacks in their transformation plans in the last year, while 55% of decision-makers said a number of customers, concerned about the economic outlook, have ceased doing business with them in the last year.

“Even though more than half of them lost customers last year, they are nevertheless preparing for better times ahead for them and therefore, our economy,” said Phil Codd, Managing Director, Expleo Ireland.

The Business Transformation Index also found that when it comes to cybersecurity, 31% of firms surveyed reserve budget for the payment of ransoms to hackers.

A third also said they had paid a ransom in the last 12 months.

While of the 89% of businesses that were targeted with social engineering cyber-attacks last year, 60% failed to stop the hackers.

Nevertheless, three quarters of business and technology leaders said they anticipate that their IT budgets will remain the same over the next year.

On average, the survey found each enterprise is planning to spend €1.34m on artificial intelligence solutions over the next 12 months, with a third expecting AI to streamline their operational efficiency.

However, two out of every five decision-makers said they believe their CEO, managing director or equivalent lacks sufficient knowledge to maximise the potential of AI.

Only 28% of enterprise and IT leaders whose organisations fall under the EU AI Act said they are confident that they are compliant with it.

https://www.newstalk.com/podcasts/highlights-from-the-pat-kenny-show/the-best-approach-to-getting-a-raise

Direct Fee Earning staff

If your vacancy is for a role that is directly fee earning such as sales or a billable role, the cost is obvious. For every day the role is not filled, there is the measurable, direct cost of unearned income.

Threat to existing staff

So, you think you have a problem now?  How would you cope if you lose more staff? Existing staff will have to pick up the slack if roles are left unfilled.  Workload on the business doesn’t fall off just because you are down an employee, even though it might if the situation goes on for too long.  This in turn leads to these employees being overworked and eventual burnout and a real risk that you will lose them as the situation is not sustainable.

Opportunity lost

As less staff have to cover more bases, existing staff are pulled in different directions and  potential to attract more clients, solve more problems, drive more initiatives and contribute more ideas are all minimised which in turn impacts the business’ overall performance.

So what can you do?

Plan for the future

Think ahead about who you may  need in the medium term and have a plan around where you will find them.  Take the pressure off and advertise the roles nice and early.

Tap into a wider market

Do you go back to the same well all the time?   A lot of us fear change and old habits die hard but the labour market is changing and what has worked before won’t necessarily work going forward.  Consider new talent pools.  If existing methods aren’t working, try new ones.

Embrace diversity and inclusion

It is now widely accepted that diversity in the workplace is not only the right thing to do but also makes great business sense.  If your business is looking a little ‘pale, male and stale’, it’s time to take a look at your hiring practises and see are you looking for the right talent.

Examine your company brand

How do others perceive your business as a place to work?  How you treat your existing employees will be the first yardstick future candidates look to when considering a role with you.  Investing in employee welfare is crucial to attracting talent and free snacks and lunchtime pilates is no longer enough.  The top benefit employees are looking for is flexibility so if you can offer this, you are way ahead of the field.  Happy workers are much more productive so this is one way to reduce cost and make a real difference to employee satisfaction levels.

If you are considering hiring, we’d love to help – visit FinanceTalent.ie or contact Jane on janedownes@financetalent.ie

All workers are entitled to have breaks while they are at work and rest periods between working days or nights.

Minimum break and rest period entitlements are set out in the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. These rules apply to most workers but there are some exceptions.

How many breaks should I get?

You have a right to:

• A 15 minute break when you have worked more than 4 ½ hours
• A 30 minute break when you have worked more than 6 hours, which can include the first 15-minute break.

The break should not be at the end of the working day.

You have no legal right to be paid for these breaks and they are not considered working time. Whether you are paid for them depends on your employment contract.

Example

If you start work at 8am you are entitled to take a 15-minute break at 12.30am.

At 2.15pm when you have worked 6 hours you are entitled to take a break of 30 minutes. As you have already taken a break at 12.15, your employer can limit this break to 15 minutes.

If you start working again at 2.30pm or 2.45pm and continue working until 7 or 7.15pm you are entitled to another 15-minute break.

Are you thinking of returning to work after a career break?

Many of us will take a career break at some point in our lives to accommodate travel, family, study or well-being.  In some careers, such as teaching, career breaks can be structured and your role will be there on your return.  But for most people a career break means cutting ties with your old job completely and therefore the return to work can be a more daunting experience as there are so many variables to consider.   Here are a few steps to take if you are considering re-entering the workforce.

What do you want?

Make a list of the must haves for your next job.  What is the minimum pay, possible locations, maximum hours you can commit to and skills you can offer?

After that make your wish list, so similar to the above but identify the ideal job for you.

It is great to check any jobs you are considering against both lists.  It helps keep you focused and also it makes it easy to assess which jobs are worth applying for.

CV

Prepare a good CV.  You should have a paragraph summarizing your strengths at the top and after that it should include contact details, employment history and education summary.  I really believe a CV should be job specific so it should be reviewed for every job application and ensure that you accentuate the relevant experiences for the role in question.  Put yourself in the employer’s shoes and make it easy for them to see that you are a good fit.

Get connected

Think about your network of friends, ex-colleagues, family and neighbours.  Who works in a similar sector or who works in a company that might suit you?  Let them know you are available.  Update your Linkedin profile and say that you are seeking opportunities.  Recruiters will find you much faster that way. Sign up to websites that you think will have roles to suit you and if there are agencies specialising in your sector, arrange to meet them.

Prepare for interviews

Once you secure an interview, make sure you prepare well.   Find out all you can about the company, get used to talking through your CV out loud, think of your achievements, how you solved problems, what your strengths are, what your 5 year plan is and most of all why you want this role and what you can bring to it.  We find it hard to talk ourselves up but you have to make it easy for the employer to believe that you are the person for the job.

Be proud of your career break

Taking a break in your career means you made a brave choice at some point to step back for personal reasons.  In that time, you have probably mastered a whole new range of skills from conflict resolution to time management to budgeting.  Identify those skills and show how you can bring them to the workplace.

The workplace is changing and employers are becoming more flexible, a trend that is only set to continue.  According to the ESRI, one of the biggest threats to growth in Ireland is a talent shortage, so the economy needs as many people as possible to re-enter the workforce.

Jane Downes is founder of FinanceTalent.ie.ie.  For more see FinanceTalent.ie or email janedownes@financetalent.ie

The Workplace Relations Commission (the “WRC”) has published its Code of Practice on the Right to Disconnect (the “Code”). The Code came into effect as of 1 April 2021 and defines for the first time in an Irish context the Right to Disconnect.

What is the Right to Disconnect?

The Code states that the Right to Disconnect refers to an employee’s right to be able to disengage from work and refrain from engaging in work-related electronic communications, such as emails, telephone calls or other messages, outside normal working hours.

The Code states that the Right to Disconnect has three main elements:

1.  i)  the right of an employee to not routinely perform work outside normal working hours;
2.  ii)  the right to not be penalised for refusing to attend to work matters outside of normal working hours; and

iii)  the duty to respect another person’s right to disconnect (e.g., by not routinely emailing or calling outside normal working hours).