The Reading List: Volunteering, flexible working, and the seeing the ‘Amazing’
Today, we’re sharing content exploring the changes you can make to improve your company culture and attract your most suitable candidates.
- Don’t miss out on the ‘Amazing’ around you
With so many distractions in our professional lives, it can be easy to forget to recognise and celebrate the great things going on around you.
“How much ‘amazing’ do we miss because we’re distracted by the mundane? I have no scientific study to point to, but I have to imagine the percentage of ‘Missed Amazing’ is quite high. And that’s not necessarily through any fault of our own, but the nature of the busy-ness of our world and our work.”
This article from HR Zone reminds us to take a breather once in a while, and show our appreciation to the people that are driving our companies’ successes.
Read it now: What ‘Amazing’ did you miss today?
- Take time from your working week to volunteer
You may be surprised at how much volunteering can benefit you and your company.
“While volunteering can take many forms, from mentoring, to fundraising, to providing a listening ear, there is much to be gained from working in a new team, from exercising different skills than those used day to day, or from rising to an unexpected challenge. Embedding volunteering in the work schedule brings benefits to staff and the business, improving productivity, happiness and wellbeing.”
Written by Jamie Ward-Smith, and shared on CIPD, this article explains why you should offer your employees the opportunity to volunteer, not only for the good of the cause you’re supporting, but also for your team and ultimately your company and its culture.
Read it here now: It’s in all of our interests to stop working every now and then
- Creating a flexible working culture in your workplace
It can be hard to implement a new strategy or ideology into the workplace. The benefits of flexible working are often discussed, but how can you introduce it practically and effectively?
“In the rush to retain and attract staff by being at the forefront of the new way to work, many companies are not paying appropriate attention to what is required to provide a healthy, thriving flexi-working culture. If not managed correctly, flexi-working can impact employees negatively, making them feel unwanted and having the opposite intended outcome.”
This blog, posted on HR Review and written by Sally Barringer, goes into how exactly how you can begin to introduce this new culture into your workplace, and how to avoid making the mistakes that can typically lead to an unhappy workforce.
Read it here now: Sally Barringer: The keys to creating a flexi-working culture
- Attract jobseekers by immersing them in your company culture
Standing out amongst competitors to attract the best talent is vital, particularly those from Generation Y (Millennials) who bring with them a slightly different set of needs and preferences than their predecessors.
“Throw in the development of technology and you have a candidate that interacts and communicates in a way that is the antithesis of traditional. So how can companies share their mission and vision to reach tech-savvy and digitally literate new talent?”
The article from HR Zone puts forward some great ideas on to how to attract these candidates, who ‘make up the largest percentage of jobseekers’, and discusses how your company culture could be your greatest tool to help you stand out from other employers.
Read it now: Beyond Recruitment: are you immersing potential recruits in your company culture?
About the author
Tristan Potter
Tristan has a decade's worth of experience writing content and copy for organisations across Bristol and the Southwest of England. He has written on a diverse range of topics, including technology, philosophy, politics, and recruitment. His writing has appeared in The Drum, HR Grapevine, and The Guardian, among other publications. He joined Hireserve in March 2022.