At PA Business Support we’re committed to diversity and tackling the issue of diversity in the workplace. It’s tough – the UK still has a long way to go to reach a level playing field, and some of our practices that challenge this (like blind screening – see tip 5, below) are too progressive and…
You may have realised that there are a LOT of recruitment agencies out there. We have too. We know it can be quite overwhelming. And we also know, as you may have experienced yourself, the quality varies greatly. These two factors combined can result in wildly differing opinions on recruitment agencies depending on which HR…
We have been shocked and appalled to witness the death of George Floyd in America, and incredibly moved to see the resulting Black Lives Matter protests spread around the world. Our industry, recruitment, has possibly the greatest responsibility to ensure we eradicate racial discrimination, and to focus solely on the calibre and quality of individual…
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: working from home is an art! If it’s the first time you’re trying it, and you’re finding it hard, trust us, that’s normal. For most people, it takes a few weeks, even months, to get to a point where they can say “I’m a working from…
Lockdown can be boring. Joe Wicks’ HIIT classes are fine during the day, but as night falls, what do we do to stop us twiddling our thumbs or gestating in front of Netfilx? Well, if you do venture a web search, you’ll find everything from live-streamed concerts to ways to replicate a music festival at…
With businesses of all sizes staggered by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, ideas and resources on how to keep afloat are not thin on the ground. In Seattle, one PR firm has started a “Corona: Business Owners Fight Back!’’ Facebook group where small business owners are offering each other support in the form of free services…
When talking to clients who are hiring a Virtual Assistant for the first time, they will ask the question: how many hours do I need my VA to do? Usually, they have no idea – which is natural of course! So they will ask us what we think. Our reply is always that we recommend…
Welcome back to our two-part series on the challenges facing hiring managers in 2020. If you’ve recently tried (and maybe failed) to hire someone, are about to, or are currently in the middle of it (i.e. pulling your hair out), then this is the article for you! Here at PA Business Support, we spend a…
You know the expression, “You just can’t get the staff these days”? What if we told you that it was actually an accurate statement? If you’re an HR manager, you’ll know exactly what we’re talking about. According to a recent report, 79% of hiring managers agree that they struggle to find people with the right…
Wellbeing is a bit of a buzzword at the moment. And that’s a problem. We get excited about buzzwords, but tend to overlook that a proper integrated approach to something that’s currently trending means moving as far away as possible from the ‘buzz’ and focusing on clear, unbiased, objective analysis. So let’s take a closer…
Sustainability. Most people assume it’s just for big multi-national companies. However, with SMEs now responsible for nearly half of the UK’s private business, prioritising ethics over profits should be a fundamental foundation for good commercial strategy. Not only will it make your clients and customers happy, but do it right and it’ll make the accountants…
Almost all businesses start as one-man or one-woman bands. Then, one day you’re taking care of the finance, cold-calling for sales, managing your schedule, checking your orders, going through your brand social media… and suddenly you realise you’re spread too thin. You’ve hit a ceiling – and if you don’t start hiring people soon, you’ll…
Motivation in the workplace is a tough one. Partly because of the ever-shifting way modern business operates, with a constant influx of new technology, models and sectors. Mostly because it requires identifying and understanding each employee as an individual, even though everyone needs to be working together, in the same direction, as part of a…
A ton of businesswomen have been making headlines recently, especially in Tech: Hadley Beeman is now leading the NHS’ attempt to modernise its internal systems; Ofcom CEO Sharon White has taken BT to task over improving the UK’s high-speed broadband network; LinkedIn’s new national News Editor and tech journalist Emily Spaven is on a mission…
For those of us who just finished weathering the tide of the new GDPR regulations, and are still neck deep in Brexit, this year is shaping up to seem a very daunting year indeed. As we at PA Business Support strive to provide the best virtual assistants to companies in the UK and abroad, we’ve…
