During these difficult times, people all over the world have joined together to help and support each other. Still, it is a reality that the sector is currently struggling.

The organisation, Probono Economics/Civil Society Media, released a survey, from 28 and 29 April 2020 on a 433 sample size, to monitor the impact COVID-19 has unfolded over non-profit organisations. See below for a summary of the findings:

• 92% of charities expected Coronavirus to harm their ability to meet their objectives over the next six months.
• 39% said the most significant negative impact of Covid-19 is social distancing and their ability to deliver their services.
• 31% claim that the pandemic had affected their ability to fundraise.
• 57% have had to reduce their activity in a significant way. Finally.
• 44% have experienced a significant depletion of financial reserves.

Paul Morgan, Director of Fundraising and Communication at Naomi House & Jacksplace, speaks about the challenges faced during these tough times.

To help Naomi House & Jacksplace, please donate through their website or better yet, create your own 2.6 challenge and choose them as your preferred charity.

What are the latest initiatives to help the charity sector?

The Charity Commission for England and Wales had registered by 2018 183,795 charities. To be able to cope with the demand, some organisations have launched initiatives such as "The 2.6 Challenge", one of the most popular in the UK.

What is EllisKnight International doing to support our communities?

 EKICC – Where Charity and Recruitment go Hand in Hand.

A brand new charter to pledge EllisKnight International's commitment to supporting our local community and our service offering to support all registered charities: https://www.ellisknight.com/ek-charity-charter

About the project

A successful and fast-growing US technology business with offices in LA, New York and San Francisco engaged with EllisKnight International Recruitment to support their plans to open a new office in London as their EMEA European Head Office. This office would include teams that would cover Technical, Sales, Customer Success, Marketing and Operations.

EllisKnight were tasked with presenting information about the UK employment market, salary benchmarking, competitor analysis and building a pipeline of the best talent around with the right sector experience.

Challenge 

The challenges with this project are all around communication:

• Being able to discuss the project requirements in detail with the Hiring Managers.
• Working across different time zones.
• Sharing information and updates.
• Skills testing.
• Presenting candidates in the best possible light.

Solution

 EllisKnight used technology to manage this project effectively, including:

• Google Hangouts for update calls with Hiring Managers.
• Live Google Sheets to share live updates on each project.
• Remote skills testing.
• Hinterview – video interviews added to Applicant Tracking System (ATS) for the client to review in their own time.

Results 

By using technology, EllisKnight were successful in introducing candidates without the need for Hiring Managers in the US meeting with candidates face-to-face; saving time and money.

Testimonial

 "I applied to a role in London that is with a US technology company and the Hiring Manager is based in LA, California.The interview process included a video interview with a Recruiter, online technical tests and then a detailed technical interview with the CTO in America using Google Hangouts – I am now working from home until the new London office is ready"

Venkat Kodhati - Big Data Engineer.

Candidates are the most precious resource in today's competitive recruitment landscape. According to the Global Recruitment Insights and Data (GRID) site, the top priorities the industry will be focusing on 2020 are:

• Talent acquisition and engagement. "Candidate acquisition and candidate engagement are not valued in equal measure. Compared to the 43 per cent of firms who will prioritise acquisition in 2020, just 27 per cent will afford that same attention to candidate engagement and the candidate experience".

• Client relationship management. "In a people-centric industry like recruitment, it should come as no surprise that improving client relationships is a top priority for most recruitment agencies".

• Embracing digital transformation. "While some firms have already adopted some automation and AI-influenced technology to run their businesses, most agencies have yet to make this leap wholesale. The findings reveal a significant variance in the interest level in digital transformation depending on company size and role".

At EllisKnight, we've been developing a comprehensive strategy to grow and thrive from the core: Candidate Care Team Programme.

We want to make the difference within the industry; investing time and resources to create a continuous bridge of communication between the candidates and the agency.

How do EllisKnight Candidate Care Team works?

After some research, we realise people are getting overwhelmed with the number of emails, calls and push notifications they receive every day from apps, online stores, between others.

Therefore, we created a bespoke communication workflow, where the candidates receive a series of calls and emails, as well as the option of opt-out of the communication altogether if they wish so:

• The first day at their new job, their recruitment consultant will give them a call, to have a chat about how their day was and to let them know that the Candidate Care Team (CCT) will be in touch soon.

• The CCT will release a series of 9 automated messages to follow up their first six months of employment with their companies.

Making the difference

Even though we use automated emails, the candidates are free to reply anytime, a member of our Candidate Care Team will answer or give them a call directly to follow up with their enquiry.

On every stage of the CCT programme, we encourage our candidates to call or send us an email, even if it's to say "hi", as we want to be a support channel and help them settle in their new position. Additionally, our candidates can choose the way they want us to reach them: by email, phone calls or mobile messages.

Finally, we continuously review and update the content of each one of the emails in the workflow, as we want to make sure the candidates receive relevant and helpful information.

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For more details about the Candidate Care Team Programme and our recruitment services:

Request a callback