Category: Education & Training

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8 Cost Saving Recruitment Tips

Saving companies Time and Money is our mantra. Therefore, we are delighted to provide you with 8 Cost-Saving Recruitment Strategies, generously shared by Recruitment Magic.

Recruitment budgets are being squeezed all the time, from the SME through to multinationals. Employers are having to increase their focus on sourcing candidates in low cost ways more than ever before. This guest post gives you some great tips on low cost strategies for hiring new staff.

Tip 1 – Use Referrals

Your current employees will have friends with similar talents and interests, so let your work force know you’re hiring if you have a key role you’re trying to fill. Many companies now offer a referral bonus, ie. cash compensation if a new hire recommended by a coworker turns out to be a good fit for the company. If you’re wary of shelling out a referral bonus, consider this: A BNET article written by POM8 chief executive officer Grant Powell says recruitment agencies can charge two to three times more per hour than you would pay if you found a candidate through referral channels. Don’t stop at talking to employees, either. If you have loyal customers and suppliers who understand your business, they may be able to recommend candidates who fit the bill too.

 

Tip 2 – Use Social Media

Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are free services, and you’re missing out on top candidates if you’re not signed up. People with profiles on these sites are usually serious about their careers and touting their professional expertise. Connect with coworkers on LinkedIn, then use the site to request introductions to others who interest you. Follow people who tweet about topics related to your industry, as well as recruiters. Use the openness of social networking to get personal with your invitations. For example, if the person has a skill listed in her profile and that’s what grabbed your attention, say so in your invitation to connect.

 

Tip 3 – Think Outside the Box

Anytime you receive fantastic customer service from a retail assistant or from a staff member in a hotel or restaurant think about their fit with your company. If you hire people where customer service and people skills are required and other knowledge can be taught on-the-job, these people could be your next top performers. Be on the look out for top talent in the most unlikely of places. You never know where you might locate your next best hire!

 

Tip 4 – Use Self-Selection

Submitting a CV online is easy, but showing up for an on-site information session takes a little more work. Choose the best resumes from the pile you’ve received, then invite those people to participate in a second step, whether that’s a facility tour, group interview or skills assessment test. People who aren’t really interested in your company will decline to participate, while those who are excited about what you do will be happy to take the next step. By getting applicants to self-select, you ensure that you’re using your time to interview people who are qualified and enthusiastic.

 

Tip 5 – Use a Low Cost Recruitment Solution

There are now companies in the UK & Ireland offering low cost, fixed price packages which give you massive exposure to multiple jobsites, multiple talent pools and large social networks for a fraction of the cost of going to a recruitment agency.

Tip 6 – Job Fairs

Virtual Job fairs are a low-cost way to find employees. If you decide to attend a live job fair, you don’t necessarily have to invest in large, expensive stand, you could also attend and simply network with other visitors on the day. Talk to the other employers who are exhibiting as if you were a candidate and see how they are attracting top talent to learn from others.

Tip 7 – Use Internships

An effective intern strategy within the Company can really give you a chance to meet fantastic employees of the future. Interns are usually very keen to learn and very keen on gaining the right experience in an industry. Many interns are free of charge, you can find companies who supply interns in your area, and often the colleges and universities fund their top stars internships. If you like them after a 3 or 6 month internship then you have the option to offer them full time employment.

 

Tip 8 – Attend Industry Conferences

Attend industry conferences and trade shows that aren’t normally about recruiting. Talk to potential employees through networking at these events. Talent currently employed by your competitors will be there so why not network and meet with others who work in a related industry who may give you access to tap into potential candidates. Awards dinners are usually great for this.

 

Have you any more tips to share?

5 Tips when Sourcing Excellent Accountancy Services

Effectively sourcing Professional Services and particularly Accountancy, requires vast purchasing expertise. Through our sister company, supply.ie, we are lucky enough to have some of Ireland’s friendliest Accountants on-board. So when we asked them for advice they would give to clients when sourcing Accountancy/ Professional Services, this was the response;

  1. Check and make sure the Accountant is registered and fully qualified via the CPA, ACCA or ACA

  2. Ensure you have a dedicated contact person and if you are not happy with the service, an appropriate complaints procedure should exist.

  3. When you get a quote, ensure it includes a breakdown i.e. does it include Bookkeeping, VAT returns, Payroll, Tax Returns and Financial Accounts or does the price only cover one particular aspect of the accounts such as the VAT returns.

  4. Identify (and negotiate) the payments terms as quickly as possible.

  5. Check to see when was the practise established. Take note of their Profile and existing clients

Finally, as when sourcing all service providers and suppliers, ensure your tender/request responses seek expertise, integrity and honesty. Or, have you any other considerations to add to this list when sourcing Accountancy services?

Le Chéile Procurement Does your Credit Union want to make significant savings to your running costs?

With so much additional cost involved in running your Credit Union in current times, would it not be a major benefit to have specialist external support in managing cost while maintaining service delivery to your members? In most cases it simply is not viable to employ a full time procurement specialist, yet never has such a focused approach to cost management been more necessary and more needed.

 

The good news is that your Credit Union can either, as part of a localised group, or on a stand alone basis, tap in to the vast experience in procurement which is available exclusively through Le Chéile Procurement.

 

What is Le Chéile Procurement??

Le Chéile Procurement represents the coming together of two market leading firms to provide a vital service for Credit Unions in Ireland;

  1. Arvo is an Enterprise Ireland backed firm of specialist procurement professionals and has already proven credentials in making significant savings for a myriad of organisations, including Credit Unions.
  2. Le Chéile Group has been working exclusively in the Credit Union sector for nearly a decade and has pioneered many services within the sector including Insurances, Investments and Debit Cards.

Procurement represents Le Chéile’s newest service to the sector which responds to the seemingly endless drain on Credit Union resources arising from running costs, compliance costs, utilities etc.

 

How does it work?

  1. We examine Credit Unions for savings potential, benchmarking operational effectiveness within the League of Credit Unions
  2. We have a database of 12,000 Irish suppliers to expertly source great local competitive suppliers,
  3. We analyse your spend, articulate your requirements, group your consumption and negotiate with relevant suppliers in the Irish market
  4. We save you Time and Money by sourcing suppliers with low margins and overheads, with the following results in 2015;

5 Steps – How Does the Process Work?

  1. Present concept of Arvo Audits
  2. Audit agreed and initiated (client invoices/bills shared with Arvo)
  3. Analysis, benchmarking and savings identified
  4. Savings Report presented within two weeks
  5. Implementation and Monitoring of new suppliers/rates

What are the Fees?

Results Focused:
If there are savings found, Arvo’s fee would be 40% of the previous twelve months savings. This fee includes savings implementation and monitoring (if required). 
NB: If there are no savings found, no fee applies.

Why undertake an Audit?

  1. We bring an entrepreneurial spirit to Strategic Sourcing and Procurement
  2. We assist in the implementation of new programs, contracts and suppliers
  3. We help Credit Unions reduce their costs and increase their profits while they focus on their core business

“Cost Savings are vital in today’s’ Credit Union landscape. Over the past year Our Credit Union have worked closely with Arvo, who have assisted us to make substantial savings to our Credit Union. Working with Supply has allowed us to reduce our Utilities costs by over 25% and improved efficiencies across the board. We are extremely happy with the service they have provided and the savings which we have made as a result.”
A Known Credit Union –

Contact Us to save time/money/hassle: [email protected] or 021-4205561

Correct Your Electricity Bills

AIB recently announced a €100 million Fund for businesses to complete energy efficiency projects, after researching that one third of SMEs do not understand their energy bills and 86 per cent do not know how to lower them. As energy prices are on an upward trend, there is an increasing need for businesses to effectively manage energy costs. Reducing utility costs is still one of the most effective and achievable strategies for lowering business operating costs.

It would seem also that lots of businesses are on the incorrect Electricity Tariff while their fixed charges may be inaccurate also. Mike McGrath, Managing Director of Arvo Cost Management commented “We see this every day. Some businesses are actually on the incorrect Electricity tariff and therefore are paying more for their electricity than they need to be. In one case in particular, we corrected a tariff for one business saving them €39,087 annually, while this week we corrected Tariffs on a daily basis for our clients”.

An even simpler technique is to ensure your fixed charges are correct. Every energy bill has fixed and variable charges, so start by ensuring your fixed charges are accurate and competitive. For example, your Maximum Import Capacity (MIC) Charges relate to the kilovolt ampere (Kva) connection and maximum load between your electricity account and ESB Networks. Mr. McGrath continues, “some businesses are not set at the correct MIC level and pay either penalty fees or excess charges on their bills as a result. We recently corrected the MIC for one client who was paying an excess of €2,067 per month. Worryingly for Irish Businesses, up until recently, we could ascertain this MIC Data from ESB Networks but now they no longer provide this information, ensuring it is difficult for businesses to correct their Maximum Import Capacity.

“This practice is not unique to the Energy Market, we observe discrepancies in billing on Telecom, Stationery and service-based invoices. This often occurs as the Purchaser, User and Payer of a particular product or service within a business, are rarely the same person.”

Contact us today if you feel like it is the right time to review your electricity bills.

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