An Employment Subsidy Scheme (Temporary) has been launched aimed at helping vulnerable yet viable companies to retain employment levels and their skill base over the next fifteen months.
E250 million has been allocated to the scheme to provide for a tapering subsidy of up to 9,100 per supported employee over 15 months. The scheme is tailored to help those companies in internationally traded goods and services sectors, which employ ten or more full time employees and export at least 30% of their turnover, to retain their employment levels.
The scheme provides a maximum subsidy of €9,100 payable over five periods of 13 weeks as follows:

e200 per week in period 1: 24 August to 22 November 2009

e200 per week in period 2: 23 November to 21 February 2010

e150 per week in period 3: 22 February to 23 May 2010

e100 per week in period 4: 24 May to 22 August 2010

e50 per week in period 5: 3 August to 21 November 2010

The closing date for application is 4 September 2009 and the first payments under the scheme will be effective from 24 August. There are a few terms and conditions, for more information, visit the site and apply direct.

Labels: Entrepreneurship, Flexible Recruitment, Smart Work

Came across this offer on the SME Links Ireland group on LinkedIn, it was posted by Jackie Prendergast of Consulting Excellence.

Consulting Excellence are offering you and your clients a new Quick HR Health Check which has been designed by a CIPD qualified HR consultant to help you pinpoint any potential issues and/or risks in the critical business areas of HR legal compliance, performance and opportunity.They have compiled a questionnaire which will help you to identify any compliancy issues and give you a framework for implementing or improving good practice. This is a special Summer offer, free to members of SME Links Ireland (and their clients), with the exception of other HR Consultancies or their clients.
So just click on the link above and complete the short questionnaire (apparently takes only 5 minutes).
 Once they've had an opportunity to compile your results they'll come back to you with feedback detailing the process you need to follow to move towards compliance and indicating areas where you can improve your policies and practices.

Labels: compliance, Flexible Recruitment, jobs, Smart Work

I was asked to fill out an exceptionally badly designed customer satisfaction survey yesterday. From what I could gather (from the loaded questions, leading response options and multiple bias), the purpose of the survey was to provide the company with an empirical justification to get rid of their print brochures and rely more heavily on their website so they could indirectly save the world/environment (and reduce their print budget). Their findings will recommend just that because the wording and inherent bias of the questions will only elicit these findings. Which begs the question why didn't they spend the resources on a print run of the brochure or make a donation to an enviro-org?
There is a moral to this story:
The danger of outsourcing or even in-sourcing activities to people that do not have the appropriate skill set to carry it off.
What I would recommend is getting a professional researcher to work out with them what they want to find out, what is the most appropriate research method and then the same professional can design, collate and present the findings for approximately the same time and money.
In previous roles and throughout my professional life, I've been a contract researcher doing both academic and commercial projects. It's not a black art, it's not particularly difficult but it is an acquired taste or skill. However, unfortunately most people across all disciplines think they can just knock up a survey in 20 minutes and they probably could but I will guarantee you that it won't deliver any information, what you'll be left with is a huge amount of data and nothing to base meaningful decisions.

I don't know whether the person behind this survey was a member of staff or a hired-in researcher, but what I can assume is that the company in question did not get the best person for the project because they limited themselves to their own network.

Every company, large and small, has been a victim to this mindset - better the devil you know and it's prevalent across all disciplines - horrid graphic design, sub-optimal web design, IT etc. etc.
Today we can't afford mediocrity and it's time to start exacting the best possible value for our time and money. So instead I would recommend casting the net a little wider, tendering out to a group of skilled professionals and allow yourself be impressed by their knowledge and experience rather than their address book. There are lots of online and offline networks out there, Flexitimers is one of them, use us but if not use our competitors because I just can't bare to see companies paying (time and money) for poor product in these recessionary times (pardon the cliche).

Labels: Flexible Recruitment, Flexitimers, FlexiTips, freelancing, Opportunties for contracting, Recession, Smart Work

Short and to the point article caught my eye today. It makes the simple point that introducing flexible working to an organization has very positive benefits and I would add that in these economic times - it makes a very positive contribution to the bottom line. Employers should outline and focus on the task they need completed and not when and how its done.

Labels: Flexible Recruitment, Flexitimers, Smart Work

Article in yesterday's Irish Times highlights the obvious advantages for both parties regarding interim employment for executives. That is hiring experienced professionals flexibly. This might be on a part time or contract basis. Why has this not taken off in Ireland? U.S companies have been hiring in experts for years - in times of boom and bust. Its used as a way of checking their thoughts and plans with an expert or using the expert to carry out something specific that needs real depth of experience. Do Irish management teams see this as a threat or as an admission they don't know it all? Besides the expert view - flexible consultants come at a reduced cost and are often more motivated. Recruitment companies are saying its on the rise ........but using agencies means paying for it.....remember Flexitimers is FREE and full of flexible professionals - sound like a match?? YES!

Labels: Flexible Recruitment, Flexitimers, freelancing, online recruitment, Opportunties for contracting, Smart Work

Interleado's Managing Director Peter Cullen experience on Flexitimers is exactly what we are aiming for so we were delighted with his feedback. Peter said "I found the the process very user friendly and quality of candidates very high. The main reason I tried Flexitimers was to see - Does this work? Do professional job seekers use this service. And the answer is Yes they do!"

Peter was looking for "a couple of experienced professionals that had experience in online marketing, specifically in the niche of SEO. I was looking for candidates who were flexible and ideally wanted to work for themselves". After 3 days he has agreed to start working with two of the candidates and we've agreed to start working with each other.

So from one employer to another Peter asks - "why pay for leading jobs boards that want to sell you a package for thousands when Flexitimers has the type of staff that make sense in Ireland today?"

Labels: Flexible Recruitment, Flexitimers, Smart Work

Flexitimers are speaking at the Goose Forum tonight about the trials and tribulations of outsourcing - the why, how and where. According to James Kennedy, the event organiser, the audience will be made of a small gathering of people interested or embarking on web ventures so I'll be there to talk about three things:
Starting up a web business in Ireland - help and tips
Outsourcing as a viable means of getting the job done and
Flexitimers as one of the platforms out there to connect companies to a pool of skilled and experienced freelancers, contractors and consultants.
The event takes place in the Maldron Hotel, Cardiff Lane at 6.30. More information available here.

Labels: Flexible Recruitment, Flexitimers, Out and About, Smart Work

Flexitimers hooked up with a few people yesterday - fellow staff, potential strategic alliances and also Krishna De - one of Ireland's top branding and social media strategists. We've been working in the web business since 1996 and in marketing since before then, but having said that - we can't and don't know it all so enter Krishna who's going to help on some very specific projects. I remember hearing Denis O'Brien speak a few years ago and he said it was good to know your strengths but also more importantly your weaknesses. So if you in any way doubt your ability in a specific area, it might be a good idea to hire in someone with that expertise even for a half day workshop to identify the gaps and point you in the right direction. Today, without sounding like a recessionista, we can't afford to hire at will but we don't have to go without either. A mentor, freelancer or indeed outsourcing can be the solution to this quandary and won't break the bank. Also think about the potential output for a small investment in your time a few hourly rates. I'm sure you'll find it more than pays for itself.

Labels: Flexible Recruitment, Flexitimers, online recruitment, Out and About, Smart Work

I met my sister for lunch yesterday and she was talking about an executive course she did in the IMI where one of the tutors made that statement about managing professionals. I thought it's pretty accurate because as much as we'd like to have assembly line productivity from our white collar staff, really they don't just output exactly as we like. They need time and experience to reflect, research, think, be strategic and ultimately add value to our organisations. Middle and senior management output can not be quantified and measured daily, we just need to keep on eye on the deliverables over a given period. Flexitimers are perfect for just that because realistically we don't need to micro-manage everything, just set a deliverable and a budget and review when it's done, whether that was done over 3 full working days, 6 mornings or 8x 2 hour chunks is not that relevant provided the deadline is reached. Found the picture on code-muse.com

Labels: Flexible Recruitment, Smart Work

If you're looking for some hugely negative reporting of Ireland's economic climate, then look no further than the article published in the Irish Times last Friday. It covers all the 'low hanging fruit' such as the construction industry, commuter towns, financial services and the retail sector. It was appalling planning and sheer lack of business acumen that saw phenomenal growth in most of these sub-economies in the first place - inflated house prices and its poorly conceived subsequent urban/rural sprawl along with the larger than life home decor sector were never sustainable. The financial services sector encouraged these practices. So yes, it's not that it's all doom and gloom, we're just back to basics - sound business. It reminds me of the post .com bubble bursting of 2000 when funnily enough smart business came to the fore and people stopped investing in spotty teenagers' 'ideas' rather than sound business plans and projections. So, of course there are lay offs and redundancies and the damage that goes with that, but on the other hand - there are still plenty of businesses (small and large) thriving today - unable to keep up with demand and these are Ireland's unsung heroes who weren't offering supernormal profit and an opportunuty to get extremely rich very quickly, no they're profitable enterprises adding value to our economy and society and long may they prosper. And really it's not all doom and gloom, Ireland is hugely entreprenurial and we're going to see lots of new businesses popping up offering services to 'cut costs' and 'work smart' because we have to. Start by using Flexitimers and cut costs and work smart by using a flexible workforce.

Labels: Flexible Recruitment, Flexitimers, Recession, Smart Work

The title of the above article is the same title that appeared in The Irish Times last week and its becoming more and more apparent as we enter a global recession how true if companies want to remain competitive. Prof Cary Cooper who is an expert in organisational psychology spoke to the Irish Times ahead of delivering a paper to the 21st Annual James Smiley Lecture to the faculty of occupational medicine at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. In a recession some employers may be tempted to give less autonomy to their employees but he believes this is wrong and that most jobs are service based and can be done away from the office at varying times which reduces stress and anxiety leading to better productivity. We at Flexitimers could not agree more!!!

Labels: Flexible Recruitment, Flexitimers, jobs, Smart Work

Flexitimers attended the Big Debate in City Hall last Wednesday and were fortunate to put a question to the panel. The panel, which was chaired by by respected broadcaster John Bowman, consisted of Jay Bourke (Cafe Bar Deli), Martin Murray (Interactive Return), Brian Carey (Sunday Times), Marc Coleman (Newstalk), Mark Fielding from ISME, Damian Young Head of Small Business, Bank of Ireland, Paula Fitzsimons, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor author and Pat Lynch, Chairperson of Dublin City Enterprise Board.

Q: Did the panel think that companies (under pressure to cut headcount) were more likely to outsource activities or use part-time, freelance and contract staff in order to remain competitive during these challenging times?

Summary: there was unanimous agreement that companies must outsource and use flexible staff to stay in business.

Quotes:
Marc Coleman - 'there is no doubt, no option that companies will have to outsource / use agency staff'

Pat Lynch 'your largest overheads walk in to your company on two feet....businesses must control these costs', 'It (outsourcing and using flexible staff) is a good business strategy'

Jay Bourke - If you're not letting people go, you'll go out of business, outsource right away'

Brian Carey 'It's a growing trend in Irish businesses'

This is good news for Flexitimers and particularly good news for employers out there facing the challenge of headcount cuts yet who still have projects to complete. Flexitimers offers these employers access to a pool of highly skilled and experienced professionals who are available for part time, contract and freelance positions and projects.

You can see more pictures and coverage of the event by clicking this link.

Labels: Flexible Recruitment, Flexitimers, jobs, Out and About, Recession, Smart Work

For some reason there is still the few held that part time or flexible work is not 100% serious or committed. This view is changing because it is becoming more and more obvious that it does make sense - in fact it makes more sense than full time for certain jobs or tasks (it was obvious to many of us before!).

An article in the Irish Times recently made some very good points:

The article outlines a report by Cranford School of Management and a British charity, Working Families. It found a positive relationship between flexible working practices and employee performance. "These findings are important because they show both performance-related and longer-term benefits from flexible working" said Report co-author and strategic human resource management specialist, Dr Clare Kelliher". The article finishes with the line: "Flexibility seems to run both ways: a flexible workforce will also demand flexible organisations and employment patterns".

This is exactly the raison d'etre for Flexitimers.com.

Flexibilty makes sense and helps employers maintain or increase productivity, increase loyalty, retain good employees and reduce the payroll bill. Who can argue with that??

Labels: Flexible Recruitment, Flexitimers, Smart Work

Another interesting article featuring the National Productivity Centre and the Irish Management Institute on productivity in a recession says "in the midst of the financial upheaval enveloping the economy at present, the onus is on companies to react quickly and decisively. They must increase their productivity and become more innovative in order to stay competitive and, ultimately, increase their bottom line".
The knee jerk reaction has been to look at cutting employees left, right and centre but once this is over and there is still work to be done hiring full time/permanent staff is daunting to say the least. Enter Flexitimers - a way to hire excellent, experienced staff with no pretence - you are hiring them for a flexible job or project. You have hired them to get X job done in Y time. Simple as that. Using a site like Flexitimers - quick and low low cost is the only way of hiring skills in a market like today. For more on this article click here.

Labels: Flexible Recruitment, Flexitimers, jobs, Recession, Smart Work