How simple is showing your employees’ that you care?

In today’s podcast Ambitions Personnel’s HR Manager, Helen Mason, is joined by the Founder and “Chief Energy Sparker” of business and wellbeing consultancy, Firecracker. Together, they discuss the “totality” of employee wellbeing and highlight all too often overlooked aspects of the complex matter.

Helen and Rachel also explore the responsibility employers have to invest in their business’ leadership and management, and what detrimental impact ‘toxic management’ spreads through an entire company.

If a picture says a thousand words, what does your brand say about you?

In today’s podcast, Ambitions Personnel’s Operations Director, Becky Gench, is joined by the company’s external graphics specialist and owner of dv8 Design, Wayne France.

Wayne was instrumental in Ambitions’ 2019 rebrand and works closely with the firm’s directors and marketing team for many major projects.

Along with Becky, Wayne discusses the ‘fundamental laws’ of branding and what the true impact of a company’s identity is in the marketplace and to its own workers. Becky and Wayne also discuss the challenges of company branding, especially when it comes to rebranding and multi-purpose

In an industry like recruitment where confidence is key, how do business leaders remain optimistic about growth and financial security?

In this episode of The Ambitions Podcast, Managing Director and founder of Ambitions, Mandy Watson is joined by special guest, Andy Proctor, Relationship Director at NatWest Bank, who has been Ambitions’ Bank Manager since the mid-noughties.

Mandy and Andy share how essential the strength of their partnership has been to Ambitions growth, as well as what challenges and red tapes they’ve encountered along the way.

Please note that all filming of Season 4 of The Ambitions Podcast was completed before the UK COVID-19 outbreak, lockdown, and social distancing measures.

In the first episode of this new series Lincoln-based company founders and Managing Directors, Mandy Watson of Ambitions Personnel and her special guest, Peter Watson of Distract, discuss how Lincoln has shaped their businesses and careers. Despite neither one being a Lincoln native, both Mandy and Peter chose Lincoln to be the base of their organisations. 

With 25 years between the launches of their agencies, one recruitment and one marketing, Mandy and Peter explain what initially attracted them to Lincoln, highlight what other local enterprises have enhanced the evolution of the historical city and explore what the future holds for Lincoln.

Although we're launching Season 4 of the Ambitions Podcast during the COVID-19 pandemic, please note that all filming was completed before the UK outbreak, lockdown, and social distancing measures.

The Ambitions Podcast is a weekly discussion about recruitment. Members of the Ambitions Personnel team explore a range of subjects from the latest changes in the recruitment industry to tips on how to retain and train staff.

In the final episode of the third season, Lizzie and Mandy discuss the importance of a first impression. 

Candidates should always remember that interviews are a two-way street. The candidate should use it as an opportunity to ascertain whether this is the right job for them. Can you see yourself working with these people who are asking the questions? 

It's a nerve-wracking experience walking into any job interview. The best interviewers can get the most out of candidates by putting them at ease. It's as easy as smiling, and relating to the candidate.

What should you wear to an interview is a common question. The best thing to do if you're unsure is to dress well - interviews should be a jeans-free zone! It's also important to prepare well. Who is your interviewer, what do you know about the company, and do you have your elevator pitch ready? Be ready to describe yourself in 30 seconds hitting all the major points. Perhaps it's a good idea to take in a "cheat sheet" with you. 

The Ambitions Podcast is a weekly discussion about recruitment. Members of the Ambitions Personnel team explore a range of subjects from the latest changes in the recruitment industry to tips on how to retain and train staff.

In this episode, Becky and Lizzie discuss the importance of transferable skills. The difference between soft skills and hard skills and why both are vitally important to career progression.  Can your skillset prove more important than experience when looking for a new role? 

The majority of skills can be transferred from role to role, and even from one industry to another. Customer service skills gained in a customer-facing retail role translate very well to an office environment, for example. There is usually almost always a way to transfer a skill.

Interviewers love asking questions like "tell me about a time when...", which is usually asking for how you utilised your skills to solve a problem. As a candidate, if you can answer that question creatively by using a transferable skill, that can only work in your favour.  

Employers also like to look for flexibility in candidates. They often want to build loyalty in their new employees by upskilling them, usually to improve their own retention rates. 

The Ambitions Podcast is a weekly discussion about recruitment. Members of the Ambitions Personnel team explore a range of subjects from the latest changes in the recruitment industry to tips on how to retain and train staff.

This week, Gerrard and Paula discuss careers advice. How to plan your career, how to know when to change jobs, what to look for in a new job and more. Even if you know what you'd like your future to look like, changing careers prove a huge challenge, almost always resulting in some temporary loss of income. 

There are plenty of signs that could mean a career change is imminent. Monday morning dread, not wanting to get up and go to work, or becoming easily irritated and frustrated at work are two of the most prominent. It is, however, important to understand where that frustration lies. Is it the job itself the organisation you work in? If you make the decision to move jobs, it's important to make sure that it will cure your frustrations. 

The Ambitions Podcast is a weekly discussion about recruitment. Members of the Ambitions Personnel team explore a range of subjects from the latest changes in the recruitment industry to tips on how to retain and train staff.

This week, Mandy and Becky discuss the benefits of temporary work. There are a whole plethora of reasons why people use temporary work, although employers and workers on temporary contracts get a lot of bad press. 

Sometimes temporary work is seasonal, such as at Christmastime in busy shopping periods or summer work at music festivals. Sometimes workers don't want to be tied into a permanent contract, so temporary work can suit them well. Those who have previously retired also fit well with temporary contracts, being able to more easily choose when they work and for how long. 

The Ambitions Podcast is a weekly discussion about recruitment. Members of the Ambitions Personnel team explore a range of subjects from the latest changes in the recruitment industry to tips on how to retain and train staff.

In this week's episode, Mandy and Becky discuss building successful teams. Every person in a team is important, regardless of seniority in the business. If one person in a team isn't functioning properly, that can cause trouble down the line. 

The pair discuss the various ways that employers can recruit new staff into existing teams. We spend a lot of our time at work, so making sure that any new addition fits in well is critical, as it can heavily influence how well a team performs. 

Recognition also goes a long way with helping teams perform better. Being rewarded for good work acts as a great incentive for teams working together well and surely helps maintain and increase productivity in the future. 

The Ambitions Podcast is a weekly discussion about recruitment. Members of the Ambitions Personnel team explore a range of subjects from the latest changes in the recruitment industry to tips on how to retain and train staff.

In this week's episode, Helen and Paula discuss what makes a good job description and the importance of getting it right the first time. What are the key elements of the job? What will the candidate spend most of their time doing? It's crucial for job descriptions to accurately reflect the role on offer. 

For recruiters, it's important to understand what the most important skills and traits that clients want in a candidate. Where do they fit into the company structure and how could their role progress? It is vital that candidates know what's on offer to them the first time they read a job description - there can be no second-guessing when it comes to first impressions.