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Jobs after Coronavirus

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Jobs after Coronavirus 

Coronavirus has disrupted the jobs market significantly and some companies have paused their recruitment plans. Industries such as hospitality and retail are continuing to decline however food production, technology and front-line key workers continue to be in high demand. We have seen people pivot into temporary work, or find jobs that are not part of their career plans. While this is great for a short-term solution, we must also look at what jobs are going to be in demand post Covid19. More notably we must also prepare for the increased demand on an individual’s tech/digital skills, regardless of the industry you want to work within.  

The tech industry has been able to retain people and hire new employees due to the huge rise in remote working. The situation has also called for employers to use this as an opportunity to upskill and reskill workers in order to prepare them for a new digital era.  

Tech giants such as Amazon and Facebook are continuing to hire for roles such as engineers and data scientists. Amazon is advertising for 20,000 tech roles whilst Facebook has announced 10,000 new roles within product and engineering teams. The rationale behind this continuous tech recruitment is that most of these jobs can be remote based.  

These include roles such as 

  • Software engineers 
  • Data scientists 
  • UX researchers 
  • Account management  
  • Communication specialists  

With so much uncertainty around COVID19 and jobs, there has never been a more imperative time to prioritize learning and to upskill your own digital skills and workforce. Those who furloughed are still able to undertake training via the new government guidelines  

If your employee undertakes training 

Furloughed employees can engage in training, as long as in undertaking the training the employee does not provide services to, or generate revenue for, or on behalf of their organisation or a linked or associated organisation. Furloughed employees should be encouraged to undertake training. 

 

Upskill your own digital skills and workforce.

Udemy, Google Digital Garage and Make It Click are three of the more popular platforms to upskill you digital skills. These platforms offer a range of online courses that will prepare you for the future of work and offer guidance at various level regardless of your ability.  

 

Google Digital Garage 

Discover a range of free learning content designed to help grow your business or jump-start your career. You can learn by selecting individual modules, or dive right in and take an entire course end-to-end. Below are 3 popular courses to get started.

Understand the basics of code

Fundamentals of Graphic Design

Fundamentals of Digital Marketing

 

Udemy 

Udemy has also recently launched the Udemy Free Resource Centre which holds a collection of more than 150 free Udemy courses which will allow learners to upskill themselves and adapt to working remotely.  Currently the subject that has generated interest from most leaners is ‘Data Science’ and it has emerged as one of the top five topics learners are engaging with.   

Software Engineering 

Data Science 

Usability and UX Design 

Account Management  

Service Design 

Usability Testing and UX Research  

Service Design 

Data Analytics  

Digital Marketing 

AI 

 

Make IT Click

Graffiti Recruitment also offer free guided digital skills training via ‘Make IT Click’ for those that are unemployed and need support to get a job. We also offer training to those that want to retrain or improve their digital skills. We are part of the online centres network and have 137 bite sized courses ranging from:

Complete guide to setting up and using LinkedIn

Canva – online image designer and editor

Zoom – video meetings and webinars

We offer support virtually or over the phone. Check out some of the courses.  Want to know more please email hello@graffitirecruitment.co.uk or call 0330 2233 047. 

If you need support in upskilling or getting online please get in touch. 

Stay Safe, and remember; Lifelong learning is the future of work.  

 

What Is Digital Transformation, And Why It’s Important For Your Business?

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What is Digital Transformation? 

Digital transformation marks a radical rethinking of how an organisation uses technology, people and processes to fundamentally change business performance. The result is an elemental change as to how a business should operate and how they can continue to deliver value to customers. As well as that it can also be described as a shift in how organisations think, and can lead to letting go of traditional well-known business practices and introducing new streamlined, efficient, adaptable and accessible practices.  There are a variety of other definitions for Digital Transformation of course. Agile Elephant highlights the ways businesses will need to rearrange current practices, different ways of thinking, leadership, and why there is a need to incite innovation and improve all forms of customer and employee experience. 

COVID19 has also disrupted the working environment and presented new challenges for employers. Digital Transformation however has helped overcome these obstacles and bring new processes that will improve on outdated ones leading to more efficiency in businesses. Remote working is also a huge change instigated by the outbreak, but it has the potential with the right investment of technology to help businesses become more agile and provide employees with other flexible options.

 

Why is Digital Transformation Important?      

Undertaking Digital Transformation for a business is necessary to survive and thrive in a constantly changing digital landscape.  Businesses are taking this on board and are making it one of their top their priorities, it is no longer a suggestion for the future or one to sit on the back-burner. It is predicted that global spending on the practices for Digital Transformation will be $1.97 Trillion, that is according to the IDC. They also predict that digital transformation investment will steadily build with a compound growth rate of 16.7% between 2017 and 2022.       

Further predictions also mean that by the end 2020, digital strategy will and should delegate a capital budget of at least 10% of your business. This indicates the need to develop, and digital transformation as a vital investment. When it comes to digital investment, companies are planning to increase their investments by up to 75% during the period of the next 12-18 months. There is also a huge focus on data visualisation and machine learning.  

The vital move for businesses now is speed, as companies all seem to be at different places in the digital transformation process. IT Leaders must work fast to prove that digital transformation will lead to increased efficiency for the whole company. 

 

Digital Transformation Frameworks    

The level of Digital Transformation required will vary within each organisation. However there are some recurring themes within current frameworks and case studies. These are frameworks that all businesses should research further as they begin the process of transformation. Factors that are often mentioned include but are not limited to:

  • Strategic Objectives
  • Operational Excellence
  • Operations Architecture
  • Business Case Development
  • Solution Selection

Making Digital Transformation a Reality: Connecting CEO Vision ...

Successful organisations operate with a clear business direction, using a vision, roadmap and framework that define the way forward. Without these crucial strategic instruments, businesses would focus only on solving today’s problems and fail to create continuous value. But does your organisation have a clear digital strategy? The answer, most likely, is “no.” This has created an untenable situation for many companies, considering that IT is increasingly interwoven into the very fabric of most businesses, markets and societies.  

New digital solutions offer an opportunity to improve how organisations compete and create a foundation for outperforming rivals near and far. A white paper from Cognizant introduces a framework that organisations can use to develop a digital vision and build new business models based on digital opportunities. They have provided examples of organisations that have disrupted their industries by rethinking their approach to doing business, and recommended various approaches to jump-starting your organisation’s digital journey. 

 

Leading a Business Transformation  

In order for a business to continue to deliver exceptional customer experience and exceed expectations, CIO’s are now working alongside key executives and making new beneficial decisions. These are changes that include re-skilling employees, starting up innovation labs and beginning experimentation’s with new technologies. 

When embarking on implementing digital solutions within your business the key question to ask should be; what are the intended business results you want to attain and what experience do you want your customers to have? From here it begins with these outcomes, the business models you are pursuing and basically working backwards from that point.  It is imperative to understand your customer journey map and lifecycle.

Source Picture: Campaign Monitor 

Customer Journey Mapping Will Improve Your Company's Bottom Line ...

3 Top tips  to help Transform your business:

Have a set list of objectives: Define a clear strategy and plan. Find out what you want your business, employees and customers to experience. Where are the pain points or bottles necks with your business and how can you introduce technology to solve these problems. 

Welcome an adaptive design approach: Adaption is a huge part now of the digital transformation process with focused KPIs now outdated. Being adaptive in design will allow for CIOs to make changes quickly. Successful transformations are a result of being adaptive. Business leaders who reported success were those who were likely to look at monthly changes to their overall strategy. 

Adopt agile execution. Encourage risk taking, enabling even lower-level employees to make decisions, fail fast and learn.  

 

Key Digital Transformation Roles  

While emerging tech and revamped processes are crucial, it is also important that you have the right staff staff in place to lead your business through the transition.  

Software engineers, cloud computing specialists and product managers remain key roles for companies seeking to roll out new products and services. DevOps leaders galvanize software development by merging development with operations, enabling companies to continuously iterate software to speed delivery.

Also, in high demand are data scientists and architects as companies want to extract trends and insights from a vast array of data. Digital transformation also lean increasingly on machine learning and artificial intelligence.

IT departments are also in need of a variety of expert roles when executing a digital transformation plan for a business. These roles include UX designers, digital trainers, writers, business analysts and workplace technology managers. For further insight into knowing who your key players are check out: 4 critical roles for digital transformation

 

What next…

Digital transformation has revolutionised and changed operations in all the key areas of businesses. Traditional business practices will become outdated and will need to be replaced with new efficient practices that will improve ways of thinking and experiences. This kind of transformation is important as businesses that do not adapt to this new transformation could be putting themselves at a disadvantage.  

If you would like to find out more information on digital transformation and how it could impact your business or career, please get in touch with one of our digital experts. 

 

TECHNOLOGY & CORONA VIRUS

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TECHNOLOGY CAN REDUCE THE IMPACT OF CORONA VIRUS WITHIN THE WORKPLACE.

The Corona virus outbreak has had a huge impact on the world. Continued precautions recommended by health experts have seen the postponement of many public events. Sporting events, movie releases, music concerts have all been cancelled. It has even led to the Special Olympics being postponed.

One environment in particular facing absolute disruption is the workplace as workers are being sent home or businesses are shutting down until the outbreak has ceased. The hospitality sector is a clear example of this. Hotels bookings have dropped 15% throughout the UK and custom for restaurants has also declined with the postponement of the six nations Rugby Match against Italy. Premiership games set to play out this week have also been called off.

Companies are looking at other options such as working remotely from home. Working remotely is now a more common practice and has been made more possible by the rise of technology.

Best cloud computing services – at a glance

  1. Amazon Web Services
  2. Microsoft Azure
  3. Google Cloud
  4. IBM Cloud
  5. Oracle Cloud

The cloud has also proven to have become a huge asset in the midst of this outbreak and become a solution to the problems faced by businesses and schools. Team meetings and collaborations are now being hosted via the cloud. Education has now too joined the cloud so students can still keep learning whilst being at home without their education being disrupted by the corona outbreak. Indeed technology has proven how in the face of a crisis like this it can provide solutions that will benefit both employees and employers.

In the meantime, here are three tips to reduce the impact of Coronavirus within the business.

  1. Build resilience into your businesses. Form you own continuity plans on how your business will deal with COVID-19. Having good plans in place is just good business practice so if you haven’t any in place then taking a bit of time now to do so will be best for your business all round. Some of this summary by Allen & Overy is perhaps aimed at large businesses but a lot may be relevant to consider for SME’S also:

A few points to have in mind would be:

  • How will you continue to operate your business should home-working be required?
  • How will you manage resources should someone in your business have COVID-19 or need to self-isolate?
  • How will you manage contractual risks should you default due to COVID-19?
  • How will you manage finances should COVID-19 impact your business?
  • How will you manage your supply chain?
  • How will you managing your customer/client relationships?
  • Have you got business continuity insurance in place?
  1. Keep up to date with government advice and information. Of particular interest to you will be the advice in respect to employers and businesses:
  2. Please keep the your  Team informed of:
  • Recent and future travel plans for your staff
  • Any instances of self-isolation,
  • Any instances of suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19.

As an employability business, we work with cloud technologies to allow us to conduct client meetings and candidate interviews. This will reduce the amount of travel and face to face connection required throughout the recruitment process. For more information on how we can help you meet your recruitment demands virtually please get in touch with one of our consultants via  hello@2icglobal-com.stackstaging.com

 

How did VW reimagine their business through human and AI collaboration?

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Take a new approach that uses artificial intelligence to bring out the full power of people and enhance job creation. Move beyond deploying AI for automation alone and push into the new frontier of co-creation between people and machines.

Don’t just automate, collaborate The Volkswagen Microbus is the definition of an iconic design. Just saying “VW Bus” conjures a mental image of the 1960s mainstay; even people who haven’t seen one in person can immediately picture it. So, when VW decided to reconceptualise the 1962 Microbus, the company wanted to stay true to the vehicle’s historic design—but update it to be lighter and greener in line with today’s standards. To solve this problem, VW partnered with engineering software services leader Autodesk to experiment with generative design tools and create new jobs.

Generative design enables iterative collaboration between human engineers and artificial intelligence: humans provide design goals and constraints to an AI system, which outputs a wide range of feasible—though sometimes unexpected—solutions. From there, the parties continue to iterate, with the machine generating ideas and human co-workers curating and refining them.

The VW and Autodesk collaboration ultimately created parts for the Microbus that were lighter and stronger than any prior designs. The AI, for example, inspired a tree-like design concept for the wheels that made them 18 percent lighter than a standard set. The generative approach also allowed VW to reduce the time spent getting from development to manufacturing—a 1.5-year cycle was reduced to just a few months. Those metrics were big wins. But what was more important was how VW got there. The designers credited generative design and their AI collaboration with creating structures they could never have created on their own.

This and similar experiments from across industries reveal a stunning reality: businesses today are realizing only a fraction of their AI potential. Leaders got to a point of advantage by plugging AI and other tech tools into existing workflows, focusing on automation and execution. But simply using AI to make their organizations run faster and cheaper limits its impact. Now, leaders are leveraging the potential of AI systems to transform not just how businesses do work, but also what they actually do. AI is becoming an agent of change across the organization. To capitalize on this, businesses need to reimagine AI’s role in the organization. Artificial intelligence offers one of the key advantages that have let startups disrupt decades-old incumbents: the technology doesn’t approach a problem based on years of experience or inherent human biases. It hasn’t yet learned what not to try. But AI can’t reinvent the business on its own and humans will still require jobs. To tap into the unique strengths of the technology, businesses will rely on people’s ability to steward, direct and refine AI. Enterprises will need to engineer the opportunity for human employees  to couple their unique talents and knowledge with the limitless capacity of machines to explore new possibilities. Those that do so successfully will build the next generation of intelligent businesses—where humans and AI systems work together to reimagine what’s possible.

This trend isn’t limited to generative design. Leaders are beginning to recognize the tremendous potential of enabling humans and machines to inspire one another and work together. Take Open AI’s MuseNet, an AI that collaborates with humans to compose music, without people needing expertise in composition or technology. A human provides a starting sample, a target style and instrument preferences. MuseNet uses what it’s learned from hundreds of thousands of musical files to make suggestions about the next segment of a composition. The process repeats until a novel piece of music is created, the result of a true collaboration and division of labour between human and machine.

73% of organizations report piloting or adopting AI in one or more business units.

What are you doing to promote the collaboration between humans and AI?

How can businesses improve engagement with their most important asset — TALENT.

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A worker is no longer the average 9-to-5 employee. Rather, an organisation’s people are its talent, representing a diverse range of individuals including brand ambassadors, gig economy workers, social influencers and partners. These individuals reside both inside and outside the walls of the organisation.

In this new world of talent, it is important for businesses to recognise that their collective workforces often comprise individuals from different backgrounds and diversity who come with differing perspectives, experiences and goals. Organisations that acknowledge and value each individual’s experience place the entire person at

the centre of what they do, aiming to create a sustained and connected experience for all their people. To create an environment that values all people, bold leadership should champion the human experience and help ensure that the workforce is included.

Integrating the talent and customer experiences we see a common theme—the human connection matters more than anything else. Successful organisations should account for all humans within their ecosystem (including the workforce) and align them with the organisation’s purpose.

 

How businesses can unlock the talent experience.

Having understood how to engage customers beyond the walls of the organisation, many business owners are embracing the challenge of creating deeper, more meaningful engagement with their people. Drawing on research, we outline specific strategies that show how many companies are supporting the talent experience:

 

  1. Build a symbiotic workforce and customer experience.

 

Your workforce can be your best ambassador. Being authentic to your workforce, leading with values and supporting collaboration across the organisation strengthens the human experience for all people and helps provide an environment in which your workforce can thrive. Take the example of

 

  1. Value personal interaction.

 

In the new world of work, it can be difficult to evoke loyalty in the workforce, with more than half of all workers thinking about leaving their jobs according to a recent report on talent in the workforce. Retaining people typically requires building real relationships. Companies often design tech-enabled sensing and monitoring systems to track and gather feedback on the talent experience. However, the challenge is to identify the appropriate time to implement and use feedback rapidly. Pulsing surveys sense how and whether the workforce is having a good experience and whether they might leave the company. Making them a routine practice can enable real-time course correction if a person is contemplating changing jobs. Unlock the value of data to understand how and whether people are fulfilled in their work, but do not lose touch with the value of personal interaction. Many workers especially value opportunities to build relationships with each other and with leadership. Find time to meet face to face and use pulsing survey data to assess how a person is feeling in the moment to share positive stories, praise and mitigate challenges.

 

  1. Go beyond the four walls.

The marketing function and the CMO already serve as brand ambassadors for customers. In the new world of work, it can be increasingly difficult to uphold values and understand who aligns with your purpose outside of your walls. Similarly, what it means to be part of the workforce is changing dramatically, making it even more important for companies to have oversight of every person’s “talent experience.”  The goal is to bridge gaps and better account for the collective customer, workforce and partner experience.

 

Improving-the-talent-experiece-Graffiti-Recruitment

 

In this new world of talent, it is important for businesses to recognise that their collective workforces often comprise individuals from different backgrounds and diversities, who come with differing perspectives, experiences, and goals. Embrace IT! If you would like to explore other options to improve your talent engagement or need support on expanding your already fantastic team then please get in touch, we would love to hear from you. 

Why is January the Best Time to Find a Job?

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January 2020 – Is the Best Time to Find a Job

During the Christmas period it can be a struggle to search for a new job, but once that’s over it is a brand-new year, and some say it is the perfect opportunity to find a new career. January has been classed as the hunting season when it comes to finding a new job. So, if you are one of those people that has ‘find a new job’ on their New year’s resolution list then listed below are some reasons why January is the perfect month to job hunt and what you can do to prepare yourself.

Why is it the best month?

Employers are looking for new employees

In the New Year employers are feeling motivational and are eager to see what talent they can employ. They have a clearer mindset at this time of the year as they are less likely to be tied down to deadlines and projects. As January is the month for job hunting, there is a lot more competition for employers to choose from. Having a greater talent pool will enable employers to choose carefully resulting in a greater chance of your CV needing to impress them.

New budgets

The first few months of the year are normally the best times to apply for new jobs. Many job deadlines close at the end of January, so it allows for candidates plenty of time to apply within the New Year. Employers are also given a new budget at the start of every year, so this gives candidates a better chance at finding a new job and being hired. The salary is the main factor a candidate will look at when applying for a new job, so linking this with a company’s new budgets may mean the company will have more money to give to candidates.

What you can do to prepare yourself

Update your CV

When applying for new job in January it is essential that you keep your CV updated to keep track of your most recent skills and progression. Your CV is the first thing an employer will look at and it is your chance to stand out from the crowd, therefore making it a crucial factor when you are trying to start a new career. The key areas of your CV that you will need to keep updated are:

  • Your skills (technical and soft)
  • Employment history
  • Work experience
  • Qualifications

Once you have updated your CV it is important for you to understand exactly what job you are looking for. Applying for jobs you are marginally interested in will not benefit you in the future as this will impact your engagement, performance and success. Instead of applying for any job, try and find roles that you are passionate about and perhaps create a list that aligns with your personality, skills and interests. From this you are able to understand what companies you want to apply for and why.

You can also register with a recruitment agency that specialise in your area of interest and skills. Having a professional confidant in the industry can help you find jobs that may not be advertised on generic job boards.

 

Practice interview answers

For some it may have been a while since you have been interviewed and therefore it will be beneficial to practice some generic interview questions. If you have been invited for an interview, do not wait until the night before to go through potential interview questions, you should start preparing as soon as you can. The majority of employers will always start with questions about yourself such as ‘Tell me about yourself’ or ‘What do you do in your spare time’. Following this they may ask you some competency questions which are based on your previous experience and certain situations you may have found yourself in. Competency based interview questions are a good way of an employer finding out how you would handle certain situations if they were ever to arise, and this can say a lot about you. It is also a good idea to know what you are looking for from the jobs you have applied for. This way if you are asked during the interview process, you can answer in a matter of seconds.

Some companies will have a long interview process which can last a few months, whereas other companies may invite you in for an interview within the next week. Therefore, you should always be prepared and have an interview outfit ready, so you feel well equipped for when the day comes. You can check out other interview hint and tips here: https://2icglobal.com/interview-hints-tips/

 

Update your social presence

Although your CV and cover letter will be the first documents an employer will look at, it is also beneficial to keep your social channels up to date. Recruiters may look at your LinkedIn for example to see if your experience matches up with your experience on your CV. More employers are using LinkedIn and may want to view your profile before calling you. You should ensure that you have a professional photo on your profile, your work experience is up to date and you have the relevant skills listed as this can be a decider for some employers.

 

Good luck! We wish you the best in achieving your career goals this year, and hope you’ll be in touch with us if you’re looking for a change so we can help.

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