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​For many people in the UK, 2020 has been the year of remote working, and there’s no sign of a change to government guidance around this any time soon. There seems to be a real divide between those who prefer working from home and feel more productive doing so and those, on the other hand, who are desperate to separate work from home life again and return to an office environment. So, once the pandemic is finally over, will there be a rise in flexible working? Despite reports of businesses making plans to move away from traditional office working, a recent survey by the Office for National Statistics* showed that 67% of British firms do not intend to keep home working as a permanent business model. That said, many companies have reported little impact on their productivity levels with staff working from home, so a review of flexible working options will definitely be on the cards. Certainly from conversations we have been having recently with candidates, the pandemic has raised awareness of the potential benefits of flexible working and it is now becoming more of an expectation and a key part of negotiations around job offers. When you think back to life pre-COVID, there was something of a stigma around flexible working in that it was only really an option for women and was likely to hamper career progression. Widespread home working seems to have challenged this view, with many men now also feeling the positive effects of being able to pick their children up from school on a regular basis and not wanting to relinquish this benefit. In terms of recruitment, we’re also noticing a change in candidate attitudes to travel to work time where many are now willing to consider a longer commute if a role offers flexible working options. The extra travel becomes less of an issue when it is only a couple of days per week, rather than five. Our 2020 Salary and Benefits Survey, carried out late last year, revealed that almost 30% of respondents were offered flexible working as a benefit, up 6% on the previous year. This increase led us to wonder if there was a trend starting or if it was just an anomaly, but the pandemic is likely to exacerbate the trend. So it seems that companies who don’t offer flexible working in the future may start to suffer in terms of their talent acquisition and retention. Advice from the CMI is that flexible working should be offered to employees from day one and not just exist in a flexible working policy that employees have to request or even earn. The challenge for managers is ensuring that all staff are kept motivated and engaged wherever they are working, and much of this is down to good communication. Is your company flexible working policy likely to change as a result of the pandemic? *Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey

​With ever-changing lockdown measures forcing us to continue spending more time at home, it’s becoming increasing likely that some of the key consumer habits developed during full lockdown are here to stay. Scratch cooking is one area that has seen a huge growth, which is great news for the fresh produce sector. Market research* presented at the recent FPJ Live virtual event demonstrates this trend:77% of people bought more fresh produce during lockdown than they did previously.50% said that they’ve become more health conscious as a result of the pandemic.46% said that they’re now eating more fruit and veg.53% are doing more scratch cooking. UK grown produce, supporting local farms and eating seasonally also showed a growth in popularity. *Research carried out by England MarketingLockdown saw an initial surge in people baking banana bread and turning their hands to making sourdough to fill the extra time that working from home or furlough created but, as time went on (and on, and on!), the focus moved to home cooked meals. Consumer insights presented by Kantar at FPJ Live highlighted how spending five months at home in lockdown had changed where we eat and drink with 26% of consumers cooking and eating at home more during this period. Young people in particular (18-24 and 25-34 age brackets) developed a new enthusiasm for cooking with many families using the time together to learn how to cook. Even MorePeople’s CEO, Guy Moreton, taught his 20-something son how to cook during lockdown, giving him some useful life skills and hopefully inspiring him to buy a house of his own in the not too distant future!After the last recession, the scratch cooking trend continued for around two years after life returned to ‘normal’, so it’s expected to continue for some time post-pandemic. This can only be helped by the renewed consumer focus on healthier lifestyles and protecting immune systems. Kantar reported that if the fresh produce sector continues to grow at the current rate, the UK is on track to be averaging 5 portions of fruit or veg a day by 2025.So, with no end to the restrictions in sight, people continuing to work from home or flexibly and self-care becoming more of a priority, scratch cooking could well be a food trend that’s here to stay. If you are looking for an exciting new role in the fresh produce sector, visit our jobs page or call a member of our recruitment team on 01780 480530.

​Competition for jobs is expected to become increasingly competitive over the coming months as we continue to navigate the Covid-19 pandemic. The team at MorePeople are here to help you stand out from the crowd and secure your next career move. Top job-hunting tips in the current climate:1. Call the company or recruiter to discuss your skillset before submitting your CV. A recruiter will know if you have the background that the hiring manager is looking for, so be honest about your experience. 2. Find a recruitment business that you get on with and can have open conversations with about your current situation, your work history and your aspirations. This will enable them to be more proactive in your search as well.3. It’s never been more important to tailor your CV to the job that you’re applying for. Gone are the days of firing the same CV off to multiple jobs and achieving success. 4. Get a friend to look over your draft CV as it’s easier for someone else to give you advice on how to sell yourself. A good recruiter will be able to advise you on CV content and formatting, but they can’t write it for you!5. Getting somebody else to check your CV first will also ensure that you haven’t made any glaring grammar or spelling mistakes – a big ‘no-no’ at the best of times!6. If you are asked to write a covering letter/email, try to find out who to address it to rather than resorting to ‘Dear Sir/Madam’. This immediately suggests that it’s a generic letter that is used for any application.7. Follow up applications with a courteous phone call, especially if you’re lacking some of the qualifications or experience outlined in the job advert. This shows that you’re genuinely interested and will ensure you become a ‘real person’ to the recruiter helping you find a job. 8. When you’re preparing for an interview, make the most of the information about the company that is available online. Recent news articles, posts and career histories on LinkedIn are invaluable and even social media channels like Instagram will give you useful background and insight. There are no excuses not be well informed these days!If you want any more information about any of the roles we are currently recruiting for, please do give us a call on 01780 480530 or email info@morepeople.co.uk.

​Turn the clock back six months and our clients were just starting to embrace video interviews as a temporary solution for limiting on-site visitors and keeping recruitment going. Then lockdown hit and people were asked to work from home wherever possible, forcing interviewers and candidates to meet each other for the first time via video in their home environments. When people start returning to the office and some kind of normality resumes, will video interviews quickly become a distant Covid memory? It seems not. Feedback from a number of our clients suggests that video interviews could play a valuable part in the recruitment process for the foreseeable future.Scott Taviner, HR Director of the Langmead Group, has definitely witnessed the benefits of video interviewing for a growing business. Having previously used telephone interviews for shortlisting candidates, they switched to Zoom interviews as the technology became the ‘new normal’ and quickly identified advantages of the change in dynamic. Telephone interviews had been sufficient for fact finding about a candidate, but video interviews proved far more effective for getting to know somebody and their likely fit from a cultural/values perspective. The Langmead Group has been using short ‘speed dating’ style video interviews during the pandemic, which give candidates the opportunity to sell themselves rather than just repeating their CV. The other obvious advantage of video interviewing compared to face-to-face is the amount of time saved. Using the above approach allowed them to carry out four interviews in two hours, something that would have typically taken a full day. As a business, they will continue to use video interviews as part of the recruitment process going forward, however Scott stressed that face-to-face interviews would always be the preference for the final stage. Video interviews can be quite daunting from a candidate perspective and some have struggled to adapt to the shorter format. This is where setting aside time for a briefing session with your recruiter can really help as they will be able to prepare you for the style of the interview and identify key points for your ‘elevator pitch’. Skoulikas Bedford is another client that has embraced video interviews and the time-saving benefits that they provide. Managing Director, Paul Garrod, offers these...Five top tips for maximising their success1. Put the candidate at ease from the start about any interruptions from the doorbell/pets/children/etc. This will help them to feel more relaxed.2. There is naturally less small talk over video compared to a face-to-face interview, so keep interviews to 30 minutes maximum and state this in the interview confirmation.3. Stick to one interviewer where possible as it can get confusing to all involved to have more than one screen to address.4. Take advantage of having time to see more candidates via video and use them to get a feel for the type of candidate you’re looking for.5. Video interviews are a great tool for shortlisting, for example reducing five candidates down to three for more thorough face-to-face interviews. Share your thoughts​Have you taken part in a video interview during the pandemic? Let us know how you found it and what your thoughts are compared to traditional face-to-face interviews. Alternatively, if your business is thinking about using video interviews as part of your recruitment process, please do get in touch for advice on how to make them work for you.

​After four months of being told to work from home wherever possible, the government changed its stance on 1st August, with the Prime Minister actively encouraging people to return to work. While some people are eager to get back into an office environment as soon as possible, there certainly hasn’t been a huge surge in returns yet, with many employers still sifting through the guidance to try to ensure that a return to work is as safe as possible. To help address any concerns, we got together with the employment law team from Roythornes Solicitors to host a webinar on the subject. Here are some of the key points from the Q&A session:Furlough scheme After being inundated with questions on this subject when the scheme was first launched, the Roythornes team reported that businesses were on top of it now, but need to be aware of some key dates on the horizon – see this handy timeline. On 1st September the government contribution will drop from 80% to 70% and on 1st October it drops again to 60% before finishing at the end of October. It seems unlikely that the scheme will be extended. Returning to the workplaceThere are likely to be some challenges in convincing staff that returning to the workplace is safe. The legal advice is to ensure that there is a clear process within your business:Appoint somebody as chief COVID officerRead the guidanceConsult with staffPut together a plan to get people back to the officeGet the plan approved by directorsReview the plan regularly. Can you use a ‘bubble’ format in offices similar to schools? Could a weekly rota work with a deep clean in between? Would a suggestion box be helpful for employees to share ideas of how other businesses are adapting? What if an employee doesn’t want to return to the office? If an employee feels vulnerable to COVID-19, or has somebody at home who is, an employer should obviously show a degree of compassion to their situation. It becomes difficult if the individual is not as effective doing their job from home, however it was confirmed that employees do not have the right to insist that they continue to work from home. If this situation arises, the advice is to demonstrate the steps that have been put in place to make the office a safe place to work. Flexible workingWorking from home is more productive for some people, but for others it’s just not practical or it can be affecting their mental health. Don’t just assume that you know individual preferences, go ahead and ask your employees whether they prefer to work in the office, from home, or a mix of the two. Would it work if everybody adopted their first preference?Flexible working is bound to be requested more going forward, but it has to work for your business. Check that your flexible working policy is still fit for purpose and update it asap if not. The key advice is to be consistent with all employees and their requests, and to document discussions. The same advice is recommended for any disciplinary investigations with staff who are working remotely. What if schools are forced to close again?This is a burning question and one where it is difficult to predict what the guidance will be should it happen. As it stands, taking time off as emergency dependants leave, paid leave or even unpaid leave would be options for people who are unable to work from home. It is expected that the onus will be on parents to make alternative childcare arrangements. RedundanciesUnfortunately, making redundancies will be a reality for many businesses in the coming months. It was clarified that the usual redundancy procedures need to be followed, regardless of whether an employee is currently on furlough or not. The advice given was to prepare to be challenged, document everything and ensure that there is a minimum of three months before you start recruiting for a similar role again, should the need arise. If you actually end up re-employing somebody who you made redundant, their employment should be treated as if they are new to the business. Cultural challengesWith all of these changes going on, one thing you may not have considered are the cultural implications of reuniting employees who have been furloughed with those who have been working throughout. You need to be aware of individual experiences so that you don’t end up with a two-tier workforce. For example, non-furloughed staff may have been expected to do more work than usual to compensate for the reduction in staff. Furloughed staff, on the other hand, may have been feeling anxious, vulnerable, bored or just out-of-touch with the business. It is important for management to understand the different pressures that people have faced and identify ways to smoothly bring teams back together. You can watch the full webinar at: https://youtu.be/RZ0kUlyGbNgIf you have any questions or feedback on any of these issues, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

​Are you making plans to bring staff back to the office? After months of working from home, this transition presents HR teams with numerous challenges that they've never faced before. For employees, it may not just be a case of picking up where they left off either as their worlds will have changed over the past few months. Equally, permanent home working or flexible working might be your business plan? Or, as the end of the furlough scheme draws closer, will your organisation be in the unfortunate position of having to consider making redundancies? For most of you reading this, one of the above scenarios will be your reality, which is why we were keen to team up with Roythornes Solicitors to bring you a webinar that will cover all of these topics and more. Taking place on Tuesday 25th August at 12:00pm for up to an hour, our CEO, Guy Moreton, will be chairing a question and answer based webinar with the Roythornes employment law team. Join us for what is expected to be an insightful discussion with practical advice for those with responsibility for employees to manage the transition from lockdown, furlough and working from home to the ‘new normal’, whatever shape that will take. Guy and the panel will cover any questions you may have about the furlough scheme, bringing employees back to work, managing working from home requests and redundancies. There will be plenty of time to ask questions during the webinar, however you will also be invited to submit them before the event for the team to consider.To register for your free place, go to: https://bit.ly/31FDO3Z