If you are looking to get expert help when searching for contract recruitment but it’s your first time collaborating during the hiring process, you might not know how to make the most out of the experience. Even if you have used the services of a recruitment team beforehand but are always looking for ways to evolve the way you do business, our tips will aid you on your mission. Communication is Key It seems obvious that communication is key when it comes to getting the best talent in your organisation, however some people can be sceptical as to how much information they give away. Our team are trustworthy, experienced and operate with integrity, so we only ask for the information we need to do the job properly. The temptation to keep some data to yourself or not reveal your true intentions might be pertinent but it is only by fully believing in the contractor recruitment process that you will see the best results. We have nearly 20 years of experience in navigating the contractor landscape as a leading UK agency, so our expertise can be counted on in this arena. Be Flexible Unlike other recruitment agencies, our team have specific experience in the many facets of the engineering industry and of contactor recruitment specifically. Rookie mistakes are not a part of our operations, and we can speak the lingo without requiring simplification. As such, our team can adapt to your needs. Since we have experience of placing the right candidates in the right roles, we do ask for a level of adaptability back. Get in touch with our team of top contractor recruitment experts today to learn how our team of highly experienced recruiters can help you to find the right candidates for your business.

Electrical engineering recruitment is complex and critical. The right choice must be made, corresponding qualifications must be proven and crucially, the role must be filled. While you will have lots of notes in mental and physical form to refer to, here are some soft and hard skills to bear in mind as you aim to make your hiring decision.   Critical Thinking The candidates need to demonstrate the ability to think critically. This will become evident in their previous work anecdotes as well as by the way they answer other questions. Are they speaking in absolute terms with little nuance in their descriptions? Are they effectively describing the problems they spotted and the possible solutions they came up with? The ability to be precise and analytical is important.   Communication This introduces the next skill nicely. It is of little value to be able to spot how to solve issues if you can’t effectively communicate your ideas. A strong communicator has the potential to excel in their career and demonstrates intelligence.   Lateral Thinking Often thought of in juxtaposition to critical thinking skills, the ability to be creative is actually an integral part of being an electrical engineer. To be able to envision a future not yet created is to engineer that future. That’s why lateral and logical thinking must be hand in hand.   There are many more attributes to look for when conducting the electrical engineering recruitment process, some of which we have covered previously. However, our services are vast and specialist, ranging from helping you with a hiring plan to providing interview training and beyond. Get in touch with our team of top recruitment experts today.

We all have that one relative with a job we simply don’t understand. No matter how many times they explain their title and job duties to us, our minds seem to glaze over as we receive the answer because it just refuses to compute. If you get the sense this is happening along your recruitment journey, you need to speak to our experienced engineering recruitment team so we can translate for you. We do more than just nod along with specialist industry talk – we speak it ourselves thanks to successfully placing the right candidates in available roles for over 18 years. Understanding your Industry The number one reason why you save time working for us – we understand the sector we are placing in. Other agencies in the past may have requested additional information or been unable to read between the lines due to feigning an understanding of what a specific engineer is hired to do, but not our team at Precision. We are industry experts. Based in the midlands, where manufacturing has always meant big business, we understand the engineering sector. Saving Time There is only so much a job advert can do in the written word. It’s with the finesse of an experienced recruiter that the prospect comes alive for the applicant, with time spent conveying the highpoints and benefits of the role to the most sought-after candidate. Naturally, this part of the process takes time and it’s this crucial part of any business our engineering recruitment team can save you without compromising the quality of your new hire. This is simply not possible otherwise. Get in touch with our team engineering recruitment experts today to streamline the hiring process and find the right candidate for the sector you are in.

When it comes to lift and escalator recruitment, you need to hone your recruitment style to the specific sector of engineering you are recruiting for as not all engineers are created equal. Asides from check their qualifications and asking the receptionist their impression of the candidate, there are other tips and tricks you can use to ensure your new lift and/or escalator engineer is going to perform well. A Conscientious Nature A lift engineer carries out a very important job when it comes to responding to emergency calls. Lifts are often featured highly on surveys of which kinds of phobias most people have because the lift engineer is the only person who knows what happens behind the proverbial scenes. That’s why good social skills are a top-rated skill for any prospective lift engineer to have. Pay attention to how well they understand the human impact of the work they do, how conscientious and self-aware they appear and finally, their ability to display empathy. A Methodical Approach While all engineers are likely to share a pool of soft skills such as being a ‘natural problem-solver’ and having great attention to detail, a lift engineer works within a very specific environment. Assess their disposition, how logically they tell a story without interruption and examine their job history to see if they display a genuine interest in wanting to continue within this field. Often, our instincts can tell us a lot about a person and whether they see a long-term future in their chosen career and looking for this trait helps to hone that instinct. If you want additional support regarding interview tips or you are pressed for time, working with a lift and engineer recruitment agency can help you to get the right people in front of you. If you would like to work with specialists in order to ensure you’re using your ability to examine a person’s qualities effectively regarding lift and engineer recruitment, get in touch with our team of recruitment team today.

At Precision People, we are diverse. Our talents are multi-faceted, our record of success is remarkable, and our goal is to help you recruit the best people for your team. Given our 18 years of experience as a highly successful and always innovative engineering recruitment agency, we have learned which mistakes are often made and how they can be avoided. All About You While there are plenty of jobhunters searching for employment at any one time, it can be tempting to let hubris take over and let only a short job description get approval for the many job sites online. While the hiring process can be costly and time-consuming, it is also vital. What also bears crucial importance is how much you see from the potential candidate’s perspective. A well-written job advert will be detailed and appeal to the skilled engineer’s way of thinking. A Lack of Detail To attract the right calibre of engineers, you need to ensure you convey your company as exciting, challenging and filled with opportunities for progression. An engineer tends to be goal-oriented and focused on the future, so if your job description is short and lacks depth, the ambitious engineer full of initiative will simply seek out another company. Disguising Benefits Some companies think being shrewd about the benefits you can offer will attract people with a better work ethic, or they want to test potential candidates. However, with the skills gap still prevalent in the UK job market today, employers cannot afford to play puppeteer with potential employees. Contrary to popular belief, a talented engineer would be more likely to pursue an opportunity with you if you have competitive benefits and convey them openly because they know they are in-demand. If you don’t offer what they are looking for, they will simply look elsewhere. If you would like to streamline the hiring process and benefit from expert outsider help, please contact our team today. 

Like most things, there is a right way and a wrong way to go about things. But, how do you find the RIGHT technical contractors? In this article, the top 5 business mistakes companies are continually making are revealed. Mistake One Choosing a recruiter that keeps calling you, thinking that they'll be able to offer you the right technical engineering contractors for your business. Just because they keep calling does not mean they are the right choice for you. How You Can Avoid This Identify a specialist consultancy that has expert knowledge in your specific engineering or technical sector. You need to be able to speak to knowledgeable consultants who understand exactly what you require. This will save you valuable time because once they have taken a detailed job specification from you; they will be able to deliver you the right contractors first time.   Mistake Two Hiring contractors that turn out not to have the correct skills for the job. How annoying and what a waste of your time. You've tried to train them and it's clear that they just haven't got the right skill set. You can avoid this Use a straightforward four or five MUST HAVE tick list for the work you need doing. An external recruiter should ask you this at a minimum and should LISTEN and UNDERSTAND what you are saying and know why it is important.   Mistake Three Hiring contractors that haven't been thoroughly referenced.  Oh dear, more of your time wasted. The contractors staff you've been supplied with may turn out to be totally unsuitable. You can avoid this.  Always get references on the people that you take on, even if it is for a short time period. By checking out contrcators backgrounds with previous short term employers, and how well they have worked with both other engineers and fellow contractors in the past, any issues likely to happen can be avoided.   Mistake Four Not having a thorough and smooth on boarding process when hiring technical contractors. Contractors will quickly get frustrated if your business has not thought a thorough and effective process which means they might be losing money.  You can avoid this Create a smooth on boarding process so your contractors can hit the ground running. Time you invest in the process will pay dividends in the long run. Why not get them to have a mentor or shadow someone in the their first week?   Mistake Five Not comparing your daily rates to your competitors and the current market. Contractors are highly skilled and they are looking for contract rates that refelct this. Make sure your rates are competitive.  How to Avoid This By using a specialist contract recruitment consultancy, they will offer up to the minute market advice on what other businesses are currently offering within your marketplace.  If you're thinking about hiring skilled temporary staff but not sure where to start, contact one of our team today and they will talk you through your options and how they can help your business.  Call the team today on 0116 254 5411 or email hello@precision-people.uk. 

Perhaps you are about to replace a semi-recent hire, or a project requires a team of engineers and you want to ensure your machine tools recruitment strategy is going to produce the results you need. This is where reviewing your hiring strategy and recruiting professional consultants can help you in both achieving this short-term goal and with your long term aims. If you have previously been too proud to review your hiring strategy and instead deflected towards the candidates you hired or generalised about the younger generations work ethic, it might be time to put pride aside. It is now more commonplace than ever before to consult a recruitment expert who can help you devise a more robust hiring strategy. Whether your sector falls in electrical or machine tools recruitment, it is a nuanced process with a lot of details that need to be paid attention to, or else one misstep could dampen the quality of the hiring talent before you in the hard-backed chair. Ask yourself questions such as: how detailed is my job description? How effective are my interview questions and overall technique? And how aware am I of the market? If you aren’t asking these questions, it is almost guaranteed you could streamline your hiring process and cut the time it takes to get a high-quality employee joining your team. The best practice would be to work with a company who understands the requirements of machine tools recruitment so they can help you hone your hiring strategy. If you would like help with almost any aspect of the recruitment process to make sure you are doing the best job you can do in the shortest amount of time, get in touch with our team of top recruitment experts today.

5 Tips to improve diversity in manufacturing. The gender and diversity gap. It’s something a few of us have come to accept as part of normal practice in the UK’s manufacturing industry. But with the country’s issues surrounding Brexit and the current skills shortage costing UK businesses around £2bn a year, companies can’t afford to be missing out on the talent half the workforce has to offer. It’s time to think about changing our approach to the whole subject.  Despite efforts to increase awareness, progress has been moving at a snail's pace. Therefore, its time for company owners to take charge and make a change. If you're an owner or Director of a manufaturign business where do you start? Here are 7 tips for improving diversity within your manufacturing business.  1. Leading from the top In order to make any major change in an organisation there needs to be honest “buy-in” and commitment from the top positions in the company, this will then filter down throughout the lower positions. The directors of a company have a huge influence not only over the policies in place to encourage diversity but for also setting the culture to be more inclusive of these employees.  From public statements to recruitment programs and policies, it all has a wider influence on how the company views a diverse workforce. A commonly used method is to implement targets for diverse recruitment and promotions, which can be rewarded through compensation and bonuses. 2. Measure your current diversity rate Linking back to the previous point, you can’t measure whether the initiative is working or not if you don’t know where you are now and where you want to go. By looking at metrics on diversity recruitment, retention, promotions and turnover you can get a sense of your current position and set targets based on the results for 6 and 12 months time.  3. Empowering your diverse employee groups The idea of creating diversity groups where employees can share experiences on their workplace interactions, is becoming popular for many companies in other industries. These employee groups are a good way of drawing important insights that can guide the company’s policy and decision making. This helps managers to see what steps they can take in order to make the company more attractive to diverse candidates and accommodate their needs. 4. Cross department initiatives By encouraging different parts of the business to open lines of communication you can help employees to share their ideas of what they expect from the company and their colleagues. The benefit of this is that it provides everyone with a more well-rounded perspective and understanding of each other, this can be done by simply setting up conferences, meetings and small group discussions. 5. Working with workforce intermediaries Manufacturing companies that maintain good relationships with outside groups such as educational institutions, employment consultantcies and non-government groups, seek to gain from their unique insights on how to recruit and retain a more diverse workforce. Working closely with these partners will also help them to understand what type of employee you’re currently looking for which will prevent wasted training and recruitment costs.  It seems that manufacturing industries have a lot to gain by widening their potential talent pool to attract more women into their workplace, as diverse companies are 35% more likely to have financial returns above the national industry median. However, the manufacturing industry has got a long way to go as women are still severely outnumbered by men, but the time to start this change is now. If you would like some help with creating a diversity hiring strategy for 2020 for your business, contact our Executive Search team today on 016 254 5411.  Click here to find out more about the Executive Search team today.

We are not just any technical recruitment agency, but we are specialists who place well-matched candidates at all levels. When you work with Precision People, you receive a personable, expert service that has grown from being based in the midlands to helping people hire the best talent for their team all over the UK. Our focus is on matching your company with the hard-to-find candidates in your discipline, whether that discipline is highly populated or more niche. We are confident of our promises because we have achieved great results so many times before - just check out our testimonies! Specific roles within an industry also receive the best candidate for the role thanks to our devotion to resourcing time, utilising databases correctly and prior knowledge. As an example of our ability to attain results in a niche area, we are well-versed in finding top lift & escalator engineering talent within a good turnaround time. Time efficiency is naturally a high priority when you are looking to use a technical recruitment agency and our expertise enables us to streamline your recruitment process while nurturing candidate loyalty with our personable approach. Technical candidates are uniquely qualified and therefore have a broader scope of who they work for, so our time is spent getting to know your culture in order to find a recruitment solution that satisfies the aims of both parties in the long term. That's why we're the number one technical recruitment consultancy on Google. Contact Us Today To get in touch with a technical recruitment agency that will really make an impact on your workforce, please contact us to get started on your journey or ask more questions today.

The way a business approaches recruitment naturally changes according to the sector you are in. when it comes to recruitment, engineering has its own set of particular demands. Ultimately, you want to attract long-term talent whether the positions you are hiring for are temporary, short term or for a lengthier role within your company. Give A Problem To Solve Think about the mind of an engineer. Scientifically minded, practical, and prone to positioning themselves as problem solvers wherever possible, individuals who choose engineering want to provide value. This puts you in a good position to demonstrate exactly how they could be of service: Which projects will they be working on? What will completing the project achieve and mean? What will they as an individual be contributing to your company? If you incorporate these into the narrative of your job adverts and during the interview, you have a much higher chance of attracting suitable potential candidates to your company. Recruitment, engineering-wise, involves tapping into the engineer’s need to use their skills to solve a problem. Employee Engagement It is important to ensure your current talent pool feels valued and content within their role. After all, maintaining employee engagement ensures you will avoid having to starting the hiring process all over again after you found the candidates you were looking for. Engaged employees will help to promote your business for you as they will recommend your company to past colleagues and friends at other companies: essentially, motivated engineers help to facilitate recruitment (engineering-wise) for you. Contact an Expert If there are any parts of your recruitment service you think could be optimised by experts, the specialist team at Precision People have years of experience and a variety of recruitment services to offer. As a leading UK recruitment engineering agency, the quality of the services are verified by the speciality of the team. Get in touch today for the best chance you have of success.

Recruitment must not be a stab in the dark - a planned strategy based on your goals and vision for the future is a must. There are also many ways in which we can help you that we could detail here, but firstly it is crucial to realise all the tried and tests methods used by mechanical engineering recruitment agencies like us can only be as effective as your ability to keep your current employees happy. If you have a motivated workforce who speak highly of your company and enjoy benefits, top talent is more likely to be responsive to the methods we can use to attract them. Let’s explore some ways you can give yourself a head-start. Satisfied Employees Ensure your current employees are working in an atmosphere of enthusiasm and motivation. Most employers fail to realise that while you can check the references of a potential candidate to scope out what working with them could be like, these potential employees can also do the same. Many websites have review facilities in which current and past employees can provide ratings on everything from culture to pay and whether they recommend working there. When you put employee engagement strategies in place to recognise and reward your workforce, you foster a sense of good-feeling that will reflect well upon your reputation. Assessing Your Recruitment Process The recruitment process refers to the time span between placing a job advert and the new employees’ first day on the job. When you hired your current employee who is moving onto new ventures, did you correctly assess what you needed from that employee when you hired them? As one of the leading mechanical engineering recruitment agencies in the UK, we have the experience to know that some companies can assume they need X set of skills when they really need Y. Especially in a specialist field. It is for the reason you must be continually seeking to improve the procedures within your organisation and that includes a hiring plan. Our team can help you by carrying out a diagnostic review, getting to know your organisation and devising a bespoke plan tailored to your goals. Simply enquire with the team today to benefit from the expertise of one of the most valued mechanical engineering recruitment agencies in the UK.

....even if you don't 'get' what Employee Engagement is. What actually is Employee Engagement anyway? Whether you're an Engineering Director who fully understands the concept of employee engagement or think you simply just don't have time for it whilst running a busy engineering firm, either way, Employee Engagement is a term used increasingly within not only large business but also SME's. In a nutshell, it: "is a workplace approach resulting in the right conditions for all members of an organisation to give of their best each day, committed to their organisation's goals and values, motivated to contribute to organisational success, with an enhanced sense of their own well-being."*  Here are 13 tips you can implement to increase your staff's happiness.  1. Clarifying goals and objectives from the outset with each staff member is imperative. If they understand what their job role is, they will be far happier. A lot of employee dissatisfaction comes from not clearly defining what each person's role is and what duties fall within their role. 2. Why not hold a weekly meeting promoting the biggest achievements of the week? If this is tricky timewise, send an email to everyone at the end of the week. This will inform the staff of the highs of the week, ready to start work on Monday from a positive angle.  3. Social events are a great way for staff to interact and build relationships outside of the shop floor in a more relaxed environment. Whether it's a quick drink after work each month on pay day, to lunches with the Managers when targets are met, right through to big Christmas Parties, off-site events build stronger teams and people in different departments get to interact when they otherwise may not outside of the working environment. 'Fuel motivation and have an employee of the month' 4. Have an 'employee of the month' and get everyone to vote for their colleagues. Give the winner a certificate and a prize and announce it in front of the teams. People like to be recognised for a doing a great job in front of their peers whilst fueling motivation. 5. Extra day's off, duvet days, or afternoon's off. Whatever your business calls them - being able to earn an extra day off is a fantastic incentive which will vastly appeal to some staff. Plus you have the added bonus it doesn't cost your business any cash. Letting staff have their birthday off ( or maybe the day after, if they like to celebrate) is a thoughtful gesture. 'Encourage an open door policy - or maybe an anonymous suggestion box' 6. Create an environment where you encourage people to speak up and know that they will not be judged or criticised. By having an open door policy staff are more likely to speak their mind and who knows, some fantastic ideas may come from them. 7. Encourage health, fitness and good eating habits in the workplace. This can be small gestures from providing fresh fruit for staff to have access to throughout the day, fresh filtered water, to gym memberships. If you can't stretch to whole gym memberships perhaps talk to a local gym and agree on a group discount? 8. Being mindful of staff and their stress levels are also increasingly important. Organise a meditation group or bring in massage therapists for the afternoon, are all gestures that could reduce your staff's anxiety and keep stress levels to a minimum. 9. Celebrate work anniversaries - 'Jim, you've been here how long? Congratulations here's a bottle of bubbly." Also looks great posted on your social media pages too. 'Support a local charity' 10. Nominate a local charity and come up with ideas of how you can support them by raising funds. Perhaps choose a local charity that you can build a relationship with. A local homeless charity, food bank or hospice. Ask staff to vote for a charity they feel they would like to support. 11. Arrange for an ice-cream van to turn up at your premises - who doesn't love ice-cream? 12.Holding an awards night is a fantastic way to recognise staff for their efforts throughout the year. You can be creative with the categories as you like and even get your staff to vote for each other. You can hold it at your place of work or go all out and hire somewhere and turn it into a real party! 13. Simply saying 'Thank you' sounds obvious but goes along way. Saying thank you for a job well done should never be underestimated. Keeping your employees engaged is key to a content and productive workforce where ideas thrive and staff are genuinely happy in their work environment. If you would like more information on Employee Engagement contact Precision Consultancy on 0116 254 5411 or email hello@precision-people.uk   * Source: Engage for Success  http://engageforsuccess.org/what-is-employee-engagement Like this article? Why not read 'Precision People add Commercial Director to assist with growth plans.'

You've probably figured out that keeping your sales team and account managers happy is crucial to achieving great results. But how do you do this? You don't need to spend a lot of money or time, but, by giving your team attention and ensuring they feel valued, they're more likely to be motivated to make sales which will reflect well on you and the business. Whether you're a branch manager whose team's focus is new business or your team is more account management focussed, here are 8 useful tips to ensure you have a happy sales team selling roofing products across the country. 1. Set measurable and achievable goals and targets Working towards both a team and individual targets is a great motivator for your team. It will help guide them in their work and keep them on track. Have sales figures displayed around the office so your team know whether they are near to achieving their goals. Set weekly, monthly and quarterly goals to see the bigger picture. Make sure you pay attention to everything going on in your team. If you're not hitting targets, you need to know why and quickly so you can identify issues and turn the situation around. 2. Show your appreciation When a member of your team is performing well, it's important to reward them and give them praise. You can do this both privately and publicly, as it will motivate the rest of the team to perform better (but don't have favourites). Provide rewards, celebrate milestones and most easily, just say 'thank you'. It'is an easy and cheap way to make your team feel valued. It's also important to communicate if a client has been particularly happy with a team member's work, and to communicate this back to the team member. 3. There is no 'I' in 'team'- get savvy on your language! It is easy to caught out doing this, so watch out! By saying 'we' instead of 'I', 'us' instead of 'me', etc. when talking about your team will make everyone feel included and recognised as part of the team. Try to get into the practise of doing this by not only using this language at work and when speaking to your team, but when speaking to anyone about your work. It also shows other people that you care about your team, which will reflect well on you. 4. Remember, a sale can involve more than one person Recognise at times that although one person may be making most of the sales it doesn't mean that the rest of your team aren't working. Check who is working behind the scenes and remember to give them praise too. If your products sales team are working hard and someone else appears to be getting all the credit this might create tension, they may feel devalued, and not feel inclined to help others with tasks in the future. 5. Have an open door policy You will probably want communication between you and your team to be strong. One of the best ways to do this is to have an open door policy, which creates a sense of transparency and openness. Your team will feel that they can speak to you more often and honesty increases trust. This will also help everyone to have a good understanding of the company they're working for. By knowing what their return on investment is, and how beneficial a sale is to the company it will make a sales team feel that they are contributing to the business. 6. Keep the small gestures coming People tend to be happy when they see others happy at work. As soon as tension is created in your team, it may affect motivation and morale. You can keep everyone happy by doing little things, buy nice biscuits for the office, or show a clip from a comedy movie in your next sales meeting. You don't need to spend a lot of money, just think about what perks your team might enjoy. 7. Recommend your best sales talent for a promotion If a vacancy opens up in the company and some of your team have been working particularly well, recommend them for a position higher up. This ensures they feel valued and their hard work is recognised. Similarly, if a team member wants more responsibility, providing they are working well currently, give them a bit more responsibility. 8. Anyone for go karting, laser quest or a pint down the pub? Research has shown that members of a team who get along well and spend time together are likely to work well together. So, it's vital to spend a bit of time with your team outside office hours. There are loads of ways to do this, go for a drink after work, organise lunch at a restaurant, or go to the gym together. Be as creative as you like! Just make sure your team will enjoy what you've organised. This way you will also learn more about your team, and giving them recognition will make them feel valued. It's important to remember that everyone is unique and members of your team will prefer to be rewarded in different ways. Salespeople often find financial incentives most effective, however, this does not apply to everyone, try to personalise all rewards and work out what excites your staff. Whether your team are back out in the field selling, or are more office based selling products, by following these tips, your team should feel motivated, valued and that all their efforts are being recognised. This should produce some great results and aid business growth by having a productive and happy team dynamic.  

As an engineering recruitment agency, we are always looking for new and innovative ways to adapt our approach so that we can secure the right fit for our candidates. In most markets, there are ever-evolving practices that incorporate changing technologies, laws and social parameters and to stay ahead of the competition agencies like ours must adapt to these. So, what are the top 3 recruitment trends of 2018 that our engineering recruitment agency and employers should be considering this year? Skills Driving Salaries Over the recent years, average salaries have flatlined. However, this is predicted to change due to inflation coupled with current extremely high employment rates. Good news for engineers; the biggest rise is expected in the qualified and technical markets! But with Brexit uncertainty and a weakened pound to contend with, comes a reduction in the supply of labour in the industry, so if you’re struggling to attract talent, you’ll need to be ready to increase your offerings to secure the best candidates. New Jobs – New Way of Thinking Increasing specialisation in engineering markets, new job titles pop up and our engineering recruitment consultancy must use different approaches to secure the best people. With these new titles comes new tools and channels within the market at an almost daily rate, so it’s important to understand what actually works. By staying in the know with moving markets and adapting thought processes to hiring and retaining staff, employers and recruiters alike can keep up with the changing times and use this to influence their candidate selections. Technology Needs Talent With technology advancing at a jaw-dropping pace, it’s not uncommon for employers, candidates and recruiters to worry about how intelligent machinery could impact their respective industries- especially engineering firms. As machine capabilities grow, to reap the benefits of them one thing is for sure, human intelligence is still a must. As with the above, new job titles will be created for those manning such technology so ensuring your candidates are technologically adept and forward thinking, as well as reassuring them of their value, is vital in retaining strong staff. Call us on 0116 254 5411 or email info@precision-people.uk Engineering Recruitment Consultant | Precision People  

The tsunami that should not ignore the human factor The Internet of Things is changing the way manufacturing industries operate. With massive advances in technology such as robotics, cloud computing, 3 D printing and automation, this fourth industrial revolution is having an impact on workforce communications and engagement. For each new innovation, there is a potential impact on engaging the workforce, from shop floor to manager, and manager to manager. Staff engagement has never been more important. While technologists are keen to point out the opportunity costs and offsets in technology investments, an area they always fail to factor in is how they will keep the workforce motivated and loyal as new devices, processes and task replacement bites in. Technology can free up a manager's time but rarely does it replace the management of people in addressing their needs as a collective workforce. Managers in busy plants deal with materials, tight schedules and customer deliveries and while staff can benefit from using mobile devices and apps, being available and solving problems in real time should be factored into the whole workforce engagement strategy. The secret lies in harnessing the power of technology to the power of people. Dovetailing advancement into human face to face contact, essential for workforce communications and engagement. Creating a culture of engagement A more engaged workforce can increase productivity by 22% (Harvard study). Creating a culture of engagement through establishing the values of a company is one way to do this. If these are being used and lived by it gives employees a better understanding of where the company is heading and how they fit into the business. Most people go to work to achieve and make progress, they feel happy when they know they are growing and contributing to the bigger picture. To do this an employer needs to convey to them they are doing a good job. Creating the right environment Engaged shop floor staff will be less likely to look elsewhere. Employees not only want to feel valued, they want to feel they have control over their lives and a good work life balance. Employees need to feel that their contribution counts. One way to do this is to create an environment where ideas are collected and discussed. Is there a shared value of continuous improvement and growth? Feedback? Do they feel part of the team and valued? Employees want full communication and to be kept informed. To keep employees engaged, it's all about communication, transparency and sharing company information. How this is conveyed to your staff is also an important driver. They want to know if the company is hitting production targets, and if so by how much and if the company is doing well overall. Technology is an enabler but it takes manager intervention to make effective communications happen. Managers need no longer be constrained to their office desks but are now able to interact on shop floor level. The Internet of Things is changing the way things are done for engineering and manufacturing industries on an unprecedented scale. This seismic wave is unstoppable but the disruption and displacement it causes to processes and tasks should not ignore the human factor of engagement. Ignore at your peril, both from the experience factor which can make a manufacturing firm more diversified, and a recruitment cost factor. Click here to read: How every Engineering Director can increase staff happiness. Contact us on 0116 254 5411 or email us at hello@precision-people.uk  

I must be honest, Recruitment never appealed to me, my background is Events Management, infact when I decided that I wanted a change in career, I was offered a job in recruitment (not at Precision) and immediately I turned it down. My impression of recruitment was sat at a desk making 100+ outbound calls to people who really didn't want to talk to recruiters! My idea of hell!!! "I had my own opinions on recruitment companies" I had my own opinions on recruitment companies, part of my duties as an Events Manager was in house recruitment, so I knew too well how annoying and unprofessional some recruiters can be. However one day in early 2014 I answered my phone to Nat, I had, had some dealings with Nat in my previous job and knew what a great professional recruiter she was. She was always very honest which in my eyes is something a good recruiter should always be.  After my initial conversation with Nat I thought I owed it to her and myself to at least go and have a conversation with the Directors. This was one of the best decisions I ever made. They were honest and open with me, they told me from the start that it wouldn't be an easy ride and it hasn't been in places. However due to the in-depth training and help from colleagues and management alike I can now honestly say I LOVE MY JOB. Yes there are fantastic financial rewards working for Precision People, but for me one of the most rewarding things about this job is helping others to achieve their full potential or get back into work. I never thought that my Events Management skills could be transferable to recruiting however I have learnt that in this highly focused customer environment my skills benefit both candidates and clients alike. I would strongly advise anybody to at least take the time to come in and have a chat with the Directors, I am living testimony to that. Want to find out more about working with amazing talent? Click here, check out our facebook and Instagram pages here. Work for us! Click here For a confidential chat with Commercial Director Ray Metcalfe or Natalie Chapman call  0116 254 5411 or email raym@precision-people.co.uk.

25.9 million working days were lost in 2015/16, due to work-related illness. On average each person suffering took around 16 days off, caused by stress, depression or anxiety. Has this affected anyone in your sales team? And what effect did it have on your business overall? And, more importantly, what steps can you take to minimise this happening in the future. The 'right to disconnect' gives employees a legal right to ignore work-related emails outside of their normal working hours, intended to encourage employees to take a proper break. This new law has taken effect in France (no surprises there!) at the beginning of the year. While it is unlikely that the same law will be adopted in the UK, it's an important issue which you should think about within your business. Is it considered normal and expected for your sales team to answer emails and phone calls at home? Why (ideally) you shouldn't email your sales staff outside of office hours Let them get some sleep! The main objective of 'disconnection' is to protect the health and wellbeing of your sales team by ensuring they get enough rest. This means when they leave work they can rest fully, rather than checking emails or taking calls on days off or outside working hours. A stressed sales team can lead to illness and time off Switching off from work helps to reduce work-related stress, which is proven to increase productivity in the long run. Work-related stress has increased significantly in recent years and as an employer, you need to be concerned about the long-term impacts of this on your employees. Some companies have already made changes by using an out-of-office system. This means when people take their holidays, they are restricted from accessing their work emails. Switching off and coming away from work issues, will give you a different perspective and make it easier to solve issues once you come back to them with a clearer head. Why sometimes you may have no choice, (or little control) "Morning dear - oh you're already on your phone!" Many people use their phone as their alarm and grab it to check social media and emails the second they get up. You have no control over how your staff act outside the office and therefore cannot make sure they are getting adequate resting time. They are grown ups after all and they have a choice. But, by being mindful not to send instructions to your sales team outside of working hours, you are able to manage this to some extent. Motivated sales people will take calls anytime of the day (or night) Let's be honest, if you have motivated salespeople with clients they care about and a job they like, they will take calls at any time of the day (or night!) if they believe that it will close a deal, secure their commission, meet a monthly target or keep their client happy. Whhhhhat no wifi? One way to really stress a salesperson out is for them to visit a holiday destination where there is no wifi. Motivated and focused sales people are far better checking their emails for ten to fifteen minutes each day, rather than stressing and worrying about what they are missing. (It also makes life calmer for members of their family they're travelling with.) If you really do have to email staff whilst they are on holiday, keep it to a minimum. Big v's small businesses In smaller and medium size companies answering emails and calls out of office hours might be expected and part of the culture in order for the business to run profitably. If your sales team are motivated and happy in their jobs, taking the odd call and answering a few important emails shouldn't be a huge angst to them, as long as it doesn't completely take over their evenings and weekends. This can also work both ways - agreeing on a sales team member's flexi time so they can attend their son Jeremy's school play about the Great Fire of London. I asked a few team members in the office what they thought about the 'right to disconnect' and received various responses: - "For me as a part time employee, I think this is bad. I rely on looking at my work emails on days off to monitor emails. There have been times that I have needed to make calls/ respond to emails on my days off to ensure placements are made." "I think it's a bit weird. Either have access to work emails out of hours or don't! We all have a choice whether or not to have them appear on our iPhones on the weekend/eves. If you choose to have access and something comes up that can't wait you should be prepared to deal with it or forward it on to someone who can. If you really don't want to see work emails out of work hours then stick out of office on and don't have access on your phone!" "I do feel it is positive that employees are being given the opportunity to "switch off" so to speak when at home, with ever increasing pressures, as human beings we are always SO BUSY! However, this new legislation should be used with caution. This could be the difference to "getting that account" and/or keeping it. The businesses/industries do not all run Monday to Friday and issues do occur, I believe that common sense should prevail and each individual should use their own initiative to determine what emails (issues) can wait till they are back in the office on Monday, or need immediate action to prevent further catastrophe." 4 Tips to help your sales team 'switch-off' and reduce stress If you send an email to your sales team out of office hours, state whether it is urgent or whether it can wait until the morning/ after the weekend or when they come back from holiday. Create a culture in the office of solving any small issues arising first, before having to contact team members on their days off, as a last resort. Create a structured and documented 'hand over' system to other team members, when one of your sales team goes on holiday. Make sure all the team are briefed fully and are aware of any potential issues that may arise. This will prevent or minimise problems coming to the surface whilst they are away. When staff take holidays - encourage the rest of the team NOT to contact them unless extremely necessary. Although the full 'right to disconnect' policy is unlikely to be introduced in the UK, it is important that you, as an employer, don't ignore the issue of work-related stress and take the appropriate actions to minimise it and encourage a healthy work/life balance and therefore a happy and productive sales team. If you would like to chat about increasing your sales team call the team on 0116 2545411 or email hello@precision-people.uk  Natalie Chapman is senior sale consultant and specialises in placing Sales people in the Construction & Building Products sector. Check out our current sales jobs here or email natalie@precisionrecruitment.co.uk with your CV. Found this interesting? Why not read this article about counter offers: 'Is the Counter Offer more like an unfaithful marriage?"  

Discover these seven little known tips especially for engineers to help boost your career. There's more to being a successful engineer than being good at maths and science. Regardless of whether you graduated recently or 20 years ago, there are tips and strategies you can employ to increase your chances of career advancement, some of which might be surprising. So let's take a look at some of these tips that all engineers can use to assure themselves that their careers remain on the right path. 1. Get to learn the bigger picture. This one might surprise many of you, but the reality is that engineering firms are increasingly seeking out engineers who can think like business people. They want engineers who have been involved with strategy and planning and know their way around a balance sheet and income statements. All engineers need to understand how the total costs to produce your company's products affect business decisions.   2. Think outside the box. In this case, the "box" is your respective discipline. You might have gone to college to study mechanical engineering, but many of today's complex products contain software and embedded electronics so there will be times when design issues will confront you that fall outside of your technical discipline. Learn the basics of other relevant disciplines, such as electronic and software design.   3. Become a team player. Collaborative design is a part of reality for today's product development efforts and design teams have now been expanded to include more and more people, many of which are outside of engineering. All these disciplines must come together to resolve complex issues and formulate solutions to bring products to market. As a result, communication and other "soft" skills are as important as technical expertise. 4. Be an innovator and come up with new ideas Innovation in new products is what sets successful companies apart from their competitors. Always be open to new ideas, even if they come from sources outside your group. Beware of the "Not-Invented-Here" bias that exists at some companies. Companies will reward engineers who encourage innovative ideas, regardless of where they originated. 5. Be an active alum Keep in touch with your alma mater by offering to participate in technical societies to increase your networking reach and writing technical papers and/or organising technical sessions at association conferences to enhance both your experience and your company's reputation. 6. Always keep learning skills  This is crucial as the tools used to do product design and analysis are constantly changing and improving. Stay ahead of the curve and seek out new assignments and opportunities to learn new technologies, sign up for training programs and make the most of company-paid educational benefits. Also, if possible, attend events put on by professional organizations, such as the American Society of Civil Engineers or the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. 7. Work on your "soft" skills. All forms of communication–written and verbal–are critical to advancement in engineering. If you're an engineer who wants to eventually advance into a management role, you'll need to be comfortable talking to customers, giving presentations and working with outside suppliers, agencies, etc. So developing these "soft" skills is vital. Toastmasters International, a non-profit organisation, is a great place to get your feet wet in public speaking.  To learn more about hard & soft skills download this free whitepaper here. Want to talk further about how Precision People can help your business contact us on 0116 254 5411 or email hello@precisionrecruitment.co.uk

What every engineer should discover about body language - 7 tips  Body language it's something so important, yet we give it very little thought to, especially at work, whether on the shopfloor or the office. Body language actually accounts for over 55% of the overall message, with tone of voice 38% and the words you speak, just 7%. So being aware of your body language is one of the most subtle, yet important things to master at work. If you're not in tune with what your posture, facial expressions, and other nonverbal cues, you could be revealing your true feelings to your fellow work colleagues and engineers, which means potentially you could be setting yourself up failure. Here are 7 powerful tips to help you in your workplace: 1. Want to sound authoritative? Keep your voice down Before a speech or important telephone call, allow your voice to relax into its optimal pitch by keeping your lips together and making the sounds "um hum, um hum, um hum." Instead, when stating your opinion, use the authoritative arc, in which your voice starts on one note, rises in pitch through the sentence and drops back down at the end. 2. Feelings little nervous? Assume a power pose to boost your confidence Research at Harvard and Columbia Business Schools shows that simply holding your body in expansive, "high-power" poses (leaning back with hands behind the head and feet up on a desk, or standing with legs and arms stretched wide open) for as little as two minutes stimulates higher levels of testosterone—the hormone linked to power and dominance—and lower levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. Try this when you're feeling tentative but want to appear confident. In addition to causing hormonal shifts in both males and females, these poses lead to increased feelings of power and a higher tolerance for risk. The study also found that people are more often influenced by how they feel about you than by what you're saying. 3. To increase participation, look like you're listening If you want people to speak up, don't multitask while they do. Avoid the temptation to check your text messages, check your watch, or check out how the other participants are reacting. Instead, focus on those who are speaking by turning your head and torso to face them directly and by making eye contact. Leaning forward, nodding, and tilting your head are other nonverbal ways to show you're engaged and paying attention. It's important to hear people. It's just as important to make sure they know you are listening. 4. To encourage collaboration, remove barriers Physical obstructions are especially detrimental to collaborative efforts. Take away anything that blocks your view or forms a barrier between you and the rest of the team. Even during a coffee break, be aware that you may create a barrier by holding your cup and saucer in a way that seems deliberately to block your body or distance you from others. A senior executive told me he could evaluate his team's comfort by how high they held their coffee cups. It was his observation that the more insecure individuals felt, the higher they held their coffee. People with their hands held at waist level were more comfortable than those with hands chest high. 5. Want to improve your speech? Use your hands Brain imaging has shown that a region called Broca's area, which is important for speech production, is active not only when we're talking, but when we wave our hands. Since gesture is integrally linked to speech, gesturing as we talk can actually power up our thinking. Experiment with this and you'll find that the physical act of gesturing helps you form clearer thoughts and speak in tighter sentences with more declarative language. 6. Want to stimulate good feelings? then smile! A genuine smile not only stimulates your own sense of well-being, it also tells those around you that you are approachable, cooperative, and trustworthy. A genuine smile comes on slowly, crinkles the eyes, lights up the face, and fades away slowly. Most importantly, smiling directly influences how other people respond to you. When you smile at someone, they almost always smile in return. And, because facial expressions trigger corresponding feelings, the smile you get back actually changes that person's emotional state in a positive way. 7. Trying to get to the bottom of an issue? to learn the truth, watch people's feet When people try to control their body language, they focus primarily on facial expressions, body postures, and hand/arm gestures. Since the legs and feet are left unrehearsed, they are also where the truth can most often be found. Under stress, people will often display nervousness and anxiety through increased foot movements. Feet will fidget, shuffle, and wind around each other or around the furniture. Feet will stretch and curl to relieve tension, or even kick out in a miniaturized attempt to run away. Studies show that observers have greater success judging a person's real emotional state when they can see the entire body. You may not know it, but instinctively you've been reacting to foot gestures all your life. Keep these 7 tips in mind, the next time you're talking to your fellow engineering colleagues to see what their body language is really saying and also be aware of what your body language is revealing to other people. This article is written by Phil Walker, Recruitment Director at Precision Recruitment. Precision are specialist recruiters in the fields of engineering, technical and sales recruitment operating in the Midlands with positions nationwide. Looking for a new engineering or technical role? Check out our latest roles right here. Call us on 0116 254 5411 or email your cv to info@precisionrecruitment.co.uk.

Insider tips from specialist lift & escalator recruitment consultants.  Are you a lift or escalator engineer thinking about a new job in 2019? Then read on to discover some useful tips to help you secure your next job. There are a number of ways that you as an engineer, can enhance your opportunities of rising into your dream job this year (sorry! Had to get at least one pun in there). 1. Firstly, an NVQ level 3 is now becoming more of a mandatory requirement for most lift companies when getting your foot in the door. Having this will dramatically increase your chances of a new job or a promotion Unfortunately, if you're an engineer who entered the industry several years ago when qualifications weren't compulsory, you may be facing the struggles and frustration of a lack of job opportunities, despite having many years of experience and knowledge behind you. So, if your company offers you the opportunity to fund the qualification or you're able to fund it yourself, this is a MUST. You will broaden your horizons and be offered far more job service roles, especially from the larger firms. Tip: If you haven't got your NVQ level 3 - try approaching smaller lift and escalator firms who sometimes don't insist on this qualification. 2. Reputation is key. The escalator and lift industry is a tight network, in other words, everybody knows everyone! Be known for being dependable, hardworking and cooperative, this is likely to impact your promotion and future job opportunities. You don't want a reputation for someone who bends the rules or puts work colleagues in danger, this will undoubtedly tarnish your reputation and word is likely to spread quickly! 3. Are you a people person? If you have the ability to interact with a wide variety of people with a range of personalities and the capability to manage a team of engineers efficiently, you're likely to be a valuable asset to the company. You won't be so favourable if you have a tendency to rely on others, are a watcher rather than a doer and listener rather than a speaker. 4. Show commitment to your job role As a lift engineer, you'll need to be flexible in your work hours. It's a hard industry being on call for breakdowns or emergency jobs working overtime to get jobs done, however, if you're able to work around the clock, you will show that commitment and passion to your job which is a favourable quality. You don't want to be known as that person that always pulls a 'sickie', procrastinates on the job, or is forever moaning. Employers will brand you unreliable and not dependable. 5. Gain a broad coverage of product and equipment knowledge Your promotion or new job will draw ever closer if you show a willingness to expand your knowledge and skill sets. With a greater span of both, you're able to complete more tasks, take on jobs which require a greater skill level and teach others. If you are offered courses to attend - take the opportunity! 6. Employers and recruitment consultants are not fond of jumpers If you have moved jobs several times in the last few years, this may not look favourable compared with someone who has been with the same lift or escalator company for over five or six years, for example. If you have genuine reasons as to why you left then explain them in detail to your recruitment consultant. Changes out of your control are not a problem when talked over. If the roles were more junior, it is more accepted that you may be only employed in the job for one or two years, as you gain experience and grow. 7. Have you got the customer service skills to take you far? Be polite, pleasant and punctual when dealing with customers, it will make the customers experience with you and the company you represent enjoyable and memorable. You will also increase your chances of receiving positive feedback which can help motivate yourself, improve your performance, and most importantly, puts you in a favourable light with your employer. 8. Make your interests known Your boss won't necessarily consider you for a promotion if he doesn't know you're interested in a new position. If you make your goals known, your employer is likely to pay more attention to you and recognise your efforts and hard work. You may even be given more complex tasks and greater responsibilities where you can demonstrate your potential. 9. Have the right attitude Be the kind of person with a 'glass half full' mentality who focuses on the positives, and has solutions to problems. Immerse your positive attitude into your day to day job responsibilities to see an overall improvement in your performance at work. Your attitude may also encourage your colleagues to adopt a similar positive outlook, creating a better atmosphere and working environment. Be the go-to person and 'step up' when problems arise. 10. Find a specialist recruitment consultant Contacting a recruitment consultant who is a specialist within the lift and escalator industry will vastly increase your chances of landing a new service engineering job. They can identify the best companies for you to work for and liaise with them on your behalf with regards to salaries and benefits. This is far better than posting your CV on various jobs board. Find out more about our specialist lift & escaltor recruitment consultant by clicking here. Fancy a chat? Call 0116 2545411 or email Benm@precision-people.uk, find out more about Ben here:https://www.precision-people.uk/lift-and-escalator- or check out the latest jobs here.