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I was asked recently by Roythornes Solicitors to share my thoughts in their 1-2-3 Food column, so here goes:One business highlight of the last year2020 marks our 20th anniversary year and despite the current challenging times we all face, we certainly want to champion the fact that over the past 20 years we have become a market leading recruiter within the food and agriculture sector and have helped hundreds of people get new roles with our clients throughout the UK, Europe and even as far afield as Australia, Africa and the Middle East. We had plans for celebrations on the anniversary date in April and later in the summer, so disappointing that those are on hold for now, but still something to look forward to later in the year!Two challenges for the sector1. The first major challenge is the ongoing issue of attracting talented individuals at all levels to work in the sectors we operate in. This has always been the key “people issue” over the years for most of our clients and is likely to be an ongoing challenge – even if there is a short term ‘Covid Dividend’ for some businesses as people recognise the underlying resilience of large parts of the food sector.2. Another people related challenge is going to be the management issues that will undoubtedly come about as a result of those of us who have got used to working from home. Flexible working for those that can do it is here to stay. Even sceptics like me have to admit that. However, along with the positives we can take forward from the new “WFH” practices, there will be some interesting challenges for both managers and employees. Many of our clients have been extremely pleased with how it has worked out so far and how quickly people have adopted new ways of working, but the challenge long term is not going to be just a technological one. Offices help us interact with our colleagues, they help us build teams, develop us as people and create business cultures. WFH might be an easy adjustment for people who already have a track record on the job and relationships to maintain but how does that work for the new employee who may struggle to get to know their colleagues or the youngster just starting out on their career?Three forecasts for the sector1. The retail supply chain and foodservice sector will remain very challenging. Retail suppliers will have done alright during covid regarding volumes (in general) but the continued pressure on price and therefore margin squeeze will continue. It maybe even increase with Tesco’s every-day low price promise and the foodservice sector will not get back to anything like pre-covid volumes for many years.2. There will be significantly less business travel conducted with more use of video conferencing technology. This will save time and money and be better for the environment, but will it have a detrimental effect on relationships in the supply chain? There’s bound to be less conferences and events, so traditional networking opportunities will be limited and that means businesses will need to work harder and smarter on their customer relationships.3. Automation within the supply chain is also something that will accelerate over the next 12 months. Even before the current Brexit and covid related labour issues, many of our clients were driving significant investments, looking at more efficient ways of harvesting and processing and developing new equipment that can reduce their reliance on seasonal labour. This is only going to be more important in the future as not only a way to head off potential labour shortages but also to increase productivity and help reduce costs even further to keep pace with retailer price demands.We'd be interested to hear your feedback or experiences on any of the above. You can get in touch via guy@morepeople.co.uk.

These are challenging times for many people and we are yet to see the full impact on businesses across the sectors that we recruit for. Many of our clients have seen significant uplifts as a result of the lockdown, but equally others have had to adapt very quickly to new business models or getting their business going again as lockdown measures are eased. If you've unexpectedly found yourself in a position where you're looking for a new job, or you're just looking for a new challenge, compiling a great CV is something that you are still very much in control of. One of our most experienced recruiters, Morten Andresen, shares his thoughts on preparing your CV. Everyone has their own opinion on what makes a great CV but, having worked in recruitment at MorePeople for nearly 9 years, Morten really has seen the good, the bad and the ugly!1. Please don't write War and Peace. It won't help you. I understand it can be hard to summarise 20 years of experience on a few pages, but that is kind of the point. Set yourself a goal of a relevant number of pages (this can be more than 1-2 if needed!) but make sure it is all killer and no filler. Spend more time talking about your most recent and relevant positions rather than roles that happened years ago. Chances are you have moved on significantly and/or the industry has so its relevance dwindles.2. Give your personal statement some much needed attention. This is something we focus on with Graduates in particular, but frankly it is something that most people can improve. The best ones I see inject a bit of personality into the CV. It is very ironic that Personal Statements are so rarely that...personal. Hands up if you've seen a Personal Statement that reads "I am a hard-working and loyal employee with a proven track record of delivering xxx over the last xxx years..." Yawn...You might as well take it out and free up space. Far better to make it bespoke to you. This could be about your drives to change roles or things you have been proudest of in your career/life. Write it in the way you would speak it. Too many things get over-complicated because people try to write in business speak.3. Reverse chronological order please. I want to see your most recent role at the top of you employment history. People who review CVs are often very time poor, so make it really clear from the offset what you have been doing.4. Keep it clear and concise. Don't write 3 sentences when one will do. Don't outline your job description in your CV as most people will infer that from your job title. DO tell us about what you have achieved, with figures where possible, as that is what will help set you apart. Use bullet points. This helps to keep it really clear and stops it all from merging together.5. Don't include references. If you put references on a CV, it gives people the chance to ring them before you are ready for them to. This is maybe less relevant if you aren't currently working, but the last thing you want is for a company to ring someone they shouldn't yet. Trust me, this has happened to me!6. Give a brief 1 or 2 sentence intro to the businesses you have worked for i.e. (Insert company here) are a £xx million business supplying xxx to the (insert customers here). I have learnt that most businesses are very focused on their individual sectors and, as such, are not as aware of non-competing businesses in the same overall industry as you might expect them to be. This helps to build a picture of what you have been involved with.7. This might seem like an obvious one but, whatever you do, do not lie on your CV. A lot of people have had roles they would rather forget or that they feel clutter up their CV. This is just part of your story now and you need to embrace it. Clearly, the more of these that happen, the worse the CV looks, but that is your challenge to overcome. In my experience, someone will call you on it eventually as you will slip up. It's hard to remember if you have extended a role by 6 months and brought something else forward by 3 months. A basic reference with that company will see it all fall down and your credibility will fall with it.8. Not so much CV writing advice, but DO follow up any approaches you make. Keep a note of what you have applied to and which company/recruiter it is with. Nothing screams dis-organisation than applying to the same job 3 times.9. If you are applying to something that is clearly left of field, then I would recommend you ring the company or recruiter first, otherwise most people will disregard it without giving you a chance. But if you can get "in front" (whatever that looks like now...) of someone then you have a chance to talk yourself in.10. And, finally (albeit this list could go on for much longer I am sure...) please don't pay someone to do your CV for you. I genuinely believe this is going to give you more style than substance and is certainly not giving you anything you couldn't do yourself. Sit down, plan out what your biggest achievements are and then start writing. Give yourself a 30 minute time limit and see how you get on. It's much easier to think of the most relevant things to write when you are under time pressure than giving yourself the full day and filling the CV with every anecdote under the sun.Please remember, a CV is only there to get you through the door. Once that happens, it is all on you. The CV will be there as a guide for an interview but it will be YOU that forces the final decision, not something you wrote on a few pieces of paper. I hope this has been useful and if you disagree with any of the above, then that's fine frankly! Write your CV in whichever way works best for you and I am sure it will all come good in the end.And if you are in the fresh food industry and are looking for a role for whatever reason, then please get in touch with us. We are here to do what we can to help.

​In 2019 we carried out a comprehensive salary and benefits survey on behalf of the sectors that we recruit for – Fresh Produce, Food, Agriculture, Horticulture and Garden & Leisure. The findings were incredibly insightful and generated a lot of interest throughout the industries, encouraging us to repeat the survey annually. Last year’s survey highlighted job satisfaction as the number one priority ahead of salary, with other non-financial benefits scoring well, demonstrating a need for businesses to ensure that their employees are well looked after if they are to continue to attract and retain the best talent. After repeating the survey, this message remains the same, although it is perhaps even more important in these volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous times as we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and deal with Brexit and the after effects of the general election. DOWNLOAD THE REPORTMorag Bailey, Human Resources Director for Ardo UK Ltd, gave us her feedback: “In our fast-moving world it’s invaluable to have succinct information. The MorePeople salary survey gives me clear information on total package not just basic salaries. This has helped us to put together competitive total package offers for some of our positions.” For 2020 we used the same method of data collection and largely the same questions to give us comparable quantitative and qualitative data. A new question sought to uncover the factors that create job satisfaction - good relationships with line or senior managers came out top here. Another variation is that we drilled down into the data by sector this time, instead of by job function, as there was a good spread of data across each one. These are included after the full data in the report or can be viewed individually on our sector pages.Rachel Leech, Group HR Manager for Branston Ltd, commented:“It’s so useful to be able to access salary data specific to our industry! There’s so much generic information out there that benchmarking is often hard work and unfruitful. MorePeople’s salary survey provides trusted data which we can reference with confidence.” We would like to thank everyone who took part in the survey and hope that the findings prove as useful as before. If you have any questions or feedback, please do get in touch as we would be delighted to discuss the report in more detail with you. You can call us on 01780 480530 or email info@morepeople.co.uk.

​Following the Government’s introduction of strict measures to fight the coronavirus outbreak, anyone who is not considered a key worker is now working from home in social isolation. But what about new starters who are due to start the next step in their career over the coming weeks? How are businesses adapting their onboarding plans to ensure that nothing gets put on hold?We spoke to AM Fresh, a world leader in fresh, natural and healthy food about how they are managing onboarding for new starters joining the team in April.For them, as with the vast majority of businesses, this is an unprecedented situation and virtual onboarding is not something that they’ve had to consider before. As such there is limited help and guidance out there on how to go about it, especially as every business is so unique. At AM Fresh the team worked together to come up with a range of processes that would help ensure that new employees could still start their roles and feel both engaged and prepared. Some of the measures they have introduced or planned include:A welcome letter to update all new starters about virtual onboarding and provide reassuranceUse of a video link to provide a virtual site inductionE-learning courses that cover Health & Safety and food safety issuesPaperwork that can be signed electronicallyDelivery of a laptop and any other equipment required Twice daily video calls scheduled with line managers for catch-ups, setting tasks and talking through learning materials. Jemma Mastrocristino, Talent Acquisition Manager for AM Fresh, explained:“These times are unprecedented and have been extremely challenging for all our teams, as a HR Team we are working hard to ensure we adapt as needed to ensure our people are supported wherever necessary.” It’s great to see the creativity that businesses in our sector are using to keep everything running as close to normal as possible during these challenging times. If you have any success stories around virtual onboarding that you would like to share, we would love to hear from you. In this period of uncertainty, collaboration is more important than ever.

​With much of the population having to adapt very quickly to working from home, we’ve put together our top five tips to help you make it work: 1. Spend some time creating your office environmentNot everybody has the luxury of a home office to transfer everything to, so create yourself a designated working from home area where you will be most able to work productively. Try to remove any distractions from your immediate surroundings and make sure you’ve got everything you need where you need it – e.g. power sockets, chargers, stationery. Are you near a window? Seeing Spring start to arrive in the coming weeks will be a positive mood booster. 2. Try to stick to a daily routineWe recently introduced structured day plans for the team at MorePeople and now, more than ever, these are important to help you get through the day. Losing the daily commute means that we can hopefully all get more sleep into our lives, but still make sure that you are getting up in time to get showered, dressed and fed before arriving at your desk at the usual time. Taking a lunch break at the same time as you would normally will help to keep some routine for when we come out of the other side. You should also have a short break in the morning and afternoon, but try not to get distracted by housework or what’s on the telly. Plenty of time for those later! 3. Make sure you do some sort of movement every dayWith uncertainty about how long we’ll be away from the office, it’s important that you stay active. Get out for a daily walk or run (on your own) or take part in some of the many online workouts that are everywhere right now, anything from gentle yoga to a full on HIIT circuit. Exercise is a great way to support your mental health and, let’s face it, we should be able to find time for it now. Maybe it could replace your usual commute home from the office? 4. Keep talkingVideo conferencing and group chats are fantastic, but you still can’t beat a one-to-one conversation with your colleagues. Office banter might be limited for the time being, but be sure to keep-in-touch, particularly with the colleagues that you perhaps don’t have to speak to in order to do your day job. Why not make it your aim to speak to somebody different from the team each day? Everybody will be dealing with this situation differently, some calmly taking it in their stride and others just putting on a brave face. It’s important that you’re open about your feelings, but this is less likely to happen over a group video call.5. Don’t let the emergency biscuits take over!Finally, we all need some comfort in our lives right now and I’m sure we’ll need to reach for the biscuit tin from time to time, but try to make sure you’ve got healthy snacks in the cupboard as well. Fresh fruit, nuts and cereal bars are much better for both your health and productivity levels. Having said that, we just heard a great tip for finishing your working week with a smile – set up an online meeting for last thing on a Friday afternoon and use the time for virtual team drinks and a chat!

​As businesses around the world start taking steps to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, many are making the decision to limit on-site meetings. At the same time, nobody wants to put their recruitment on hold, particularly with the uncertainty of how long the outbreak is expected to last. We're lucky that technologies such as Skype, Google Hangouts and FaceTime exist, making video interviews a very easy and effective solution. So, if you're preparing for a video interview, whether as the interviewer or candidate, here are some top tips to help it run as smoothly as possible:1. Test the technologyEven if you consider yourself as 'tech-savvy', don't just wait for the scheduled interview time and expect everything to work. Test everything in advance to make sure your equipment is working correctly and you have all of the apps or plug-ins that you need. Does your camera/microphone work? How good is the internet connection in the room that you plan to use? The best way to check these is to carry out a trial run with somebody external, maybe a friend or family member. Remember to turn off any message and social media notifications as these may appear on screen during the interview. 2. Tailor your surroundingsWhilst the technology is incredible, it can easily be let down by distractions, so minimise these before you start. Choose a room that's quiet and away from potential background noise. Hang a 'do not disturb' sign on the door, including if you're at home to prevent any interruptions from the doorbell. Look at what's behind you - you want your background to be as clear and clutter free as possible. Lighting is also important so position yourself in the part of the room that benefits from natural lighting if this is possible. 3. What to wearJust because you're not having a physical meeting, it doesn't mean that the dress code should be any different. Dress exactly as you would for a traditional face-to-face interview as this will showcase a professional attitude and create the right mindset. Don't fall into the trap of assuming that you'll only be seen from the waist up as we've all seen the disasters on YouTube when the unexpected happens and you need to leave your seat to deal with it!4. On the deskAs in a face-to-face interview, it's normal to have a printed CV and the job description in front of you to refer to. It's also perfectly acceptable to have pen and paper available for writing notes, although if you can't see these on camera then be sure to explain any silences as you're writing something down. Have a glass of water to hand as well, but eating is a no-no!5. Maintain eye contactWhen the person you're talking to isn't in the room, it presents more of a challenge in knowing where to look and stopping your eyes from wandering. Try to maintain eye contact by looking directly into the camera as opposed to at your photo in the corner of the screen. Make sure that your face is well centred and then try not to move around. Good posture is important and will help with voice projection, so concentrate on sitting with a straight back with your feet on the ground. Less body language information is transmitted in a video interview, but you'll still be building up an impression with non-verbal communication.6. Voice projectionAs well as sitting up straight, remember to smile and speak clearly. This is another reason why testing the technology first is so important as there's nothing worse than trying to tweak volume controls mid-conversation or being too polite to say anything so that you are straining to hear the other person. It's also easier to talk over each other when you're not in the same room, so try not to let this frustrate you and make a point of pausing more to ensure that the other person has finished what they are saying. 7. Closing the interviewAs with any interview, end by thanking the other person for their time and outline what the next steps will be. This should also be followed up by email within 24 hours to ensure clarity. Video interviews take away any stress of travel logistics and are usually quicker and easier to organise than a face-to-face interview, but there are still lots of things to think about to ensure that they are an effective alternative. Take note of the tips above and there's no reason why you can't keep calm and carry on interviewing![Download this guide]