ENGAGE Summer 2015 – The newsletter from Keystone Employment Group

ENGAGE Summer 2015 – The newsletter from Keystone Employment Group

Keystone reach Lightspeed in the retail sector

Lightspeed POS recently engaged Keystone to help them launch their point of sale and retail solutions in the UK.

Lightspeed POS provide desktop and mobile point of sale, payment and inventory control solutions to bars, restaurants and across a wide range of retail businesses of all sizes. In addition to providing point of sale till and payment services, the Lightspeed solution also helps businesses plan with inventory control and on-the-spot business analytics. Want to know how many bowls of soup you sold this weekend compared to last year? The Lightspeed solution can help.

With the Lightspeed software deployed on iPads/tablets, orders can be taken in a flexible manner and relayed back to a kitchen or warehouse in lightning fast time, with all stock control updated there and then.

Lightspeed have engaged Keystone to help them find the talent to build their UK business following the establishment of a London office.

Malcolm Paice, COO of Keystone said: “Lightspeed POS have grown remarkably fast in Canada and across Europe, and the UK is the next region to benefit from this remarkably slick solution. Keystone is thrilled to be helping Lightspeed in gathering sales and marketing talent to help them achieve their goals in the UK market”.

Find out more at lightspeedpos.com

Snapshot of the recruitment market

Data from the last quarter continues to show encouraging signs in the employment market, with applications per vacancy increasing by 1.4% and average salaries being offered up by 0.58%.

The sectors with most permanent vacancy growth compared to the previous quarter are Utilities (up by 25%) , Transport & Rail (up by 24%) and Education & Training (up by 19%).

In respect of temporary vacancies, New Media & Internet vacancies are up 36%, Hospitality & Catering up by 33% and Logistics/Supply chain up by 29%. This demonstrates the growing importance of a contingent workforce in some parts of the economy.

Some sectors are decreasing their use of temporary staff however, moving to more permanent roles – often converting temporary workers into full time permanent employees. Education & Training, for example, has increased its permanent uptake and reduced use of temporary workers by 11% in the quarter.

Keystone leads the ‘Talent Bank’ market

Keystone is seeing increased uptake of its online Talent Bank solutions, which allow larger organisations to make better use of their internal work force.

With many larger firms unaware of the talent they have available to them, a Talent Bank solution instantly enlightens HR and management teams by providing rich profiles for all their staff across multiple sites, their skills, qualifications and areas of interest.

Whenever these firms have a vacancy they can use the Keystone Talent Bank to first look in the internal pool of talent to see if any existing staff fit the bill, before the solution then moves on to sourcing candidates externally. This is specially helpful for firms who like to second staff or ‘grow their own timber’ and recruit from within wherever possible.

Evidence shows that firms using this approach enjoy better staff retention and lower churn rates, as well as saving themselves fortune on recruitment fees.

Firms who undertake a lot of project based work, where experienced staff may be required for shorter ‘sprints’ of 3- 6 months find Talent Banks can immediately identify the talent who may be right under the hiring managers nose, but might otherwise have been missed. Managers can approve whether hey release workers for assignments and thus better utilise employees.

Keystone place English teachers in China

The demand for English teachers in China is currently at a peak, and Keystone Employment is helping to supply experienced and qualified English teachers in increasing numbers.

Much of the demand is in Beijing, which successfully bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics and is therefore on a drive to ensure there is a good workforce in Beijing who can speak English to better handle visitors to the City in 2022.

There’s also demand for English teachers in Shanghai, with good applicants being greeted with free accommodation and attractive bonus schemes. Teachers are sought for both children and adult students.

Anup Mistry, Lead Resourcer for Keystone’s Overseas Education department commented: “The Chinese demand for English teachers is growing at all levels. There is a growing demand in Chinese schools for native English speakers to teach their children, and at the same time there are several government drives to improve adult’s spoken English ahead of the Beijing winter olympics. The Chinese really welcome qualified and experienced English teachers and of course spending a year living and working in China is very rewarding for those with an interest in seeing what a remarkable nation it is.”

ENGAGE is produced by Keystone Employment Group.  

For more information about any of the topics in this issue or to find out more on the services Keystone provides, please get in touch:

Email: info@keystone-jobs.com
Tel: 0844 225 1010

Download a copy of the newsletter here: ENGAGE-Summer-2015-Final-PDF.pdf