Do you feel like you are drowning in a sea of ‘to do lists’ with your stress levels reaching boiling point?

If so, the effect is likely to result in dwindled motivation, which can have a knock on effect to your productivity.

Productivity in general is something that we all strive for. It gives us a sense of purpose and helps us achieve our goals. Productivity usually starts to slip away when you become demotivated, loose track of what it is you are actually there to do or when your stress levels begin to rise. To increase your productivity it is therefore important to revisit the original goals that you set yourself then prioritise your workload so you can start working to your full potential again which in turn will reignite your sense of purpose.

Here are some tips that should help you get back on track;

1. Prioritising is key: It does take time but prioritising your workload will help you work more efficiently in the long run. Your mind is freshest in the morning so complete the larger more daunting tasks first thing to ensure they are done. Then look at the rest of your projects for the day and try to analyse which are most important and allocate a realistic time frame to complete each task.
   
2. Avoid a multi-tasking meltdown: Many of us think that ‘multi-tasking’ saves us times and that we have perfected this ‘skill’ down to a T. Well the truth is, no-one can multi-task! Multi-taking simply means your focus is split between multiple jobs, which will only affect your productivity in the long run. You’re more likely to forget things or make errors when trying to tackle too many jobs at once. This is where point one comes back into play. By prioritising and concentrating on one job at a time the end result will be one that you are proud of as you will produce quality work.
   
3. Take a break: The human brain can only focus for a certain amount of time before it shuts down. Overloading it with too much information in a short space of time will cause your concentration levels to drop, which will affect your productivity. It is therefore important to schedule short, regular breaks into your day to recharge your mind. You only need to take two minutes out, but by doing so you will come back with a fresh perspective which will enable you to complete your jobs to the best of your ability.

Productivity across the UK economy rose at its fastest rate in four years in the second quarter according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). However the  news coincided with two surveys showing UK manufacturing struggling to maintain growth.

Productivity is a key indicator for the Bank of England as it considers whether to put up interest rates. Output per hour rose 0.9% between April and June, the biggest quarter-on-quarter rise in four years.

Output per hour expresses the amount produced by a company after all its costs have been stripped out. The more efficient, or productive, the company, the greater its level of output per hour. Since 2009 output per hour has expanded at an average quarterly rate of between 0.2% and 0.3%.

The ONS also said unit labour costs – the cost to companies of employing staff – rose 2.2% in the second quarter versus the same time last year – the fastest rate since the fourth quarter of 2012.

SOURCE: bbc.co.uk

1. Holiday Entitlement explained…
2. In-House recruitment or outsource…?
3. Rely on us to get your dream job…
4. What’s on the menu this week in Oxford & Abingdon’s Catering & Hospitality sector..?

Almost all UK workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday per year, which is known as statutory leave entitlement or annual leave. There are 8 bank holidays throughout the year and an employer is within their right to include these days as part of the statutory allowance.

The 5.6 weeks is worked on out the basis of the number of hours/day one works in a week. For example, an employee working 5 days a week would be entitled to 28days paid holiday per year. This is calculated by multiplying 5 by the annual entitlement of 5.6 weeks. Similarly, a part-time worker working 3 days per week would be entitled to 18.8 days based on the same calculation.

Individuals who work irregular hours, such as a term-time only or shift workers, need to work out their holiday entitlement via the calculator service available on the Gov.uk website.

Statutory entitlement is limited to 28 days regardless of whether an individual works more than 5 days per week. An employer can decide to honour more holiday if they wish but this is down to their discrepancy.

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Source: https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights/entitlement. More in-depth information regarding holiday entitlement can be found here.

The success of your business ultimately falls upon the employees who work for you. But how do you get the recruitment process right?

The two recruitment options available to you when looking for new people to fill vacant positions are to keep it in-house or outsource the task of finding the perfect candidate to an external recruitment consultancy. While there are benefits to keeping recruitment in-house, including consistency throughout the process, there are also many challenges to choosing this form of recruitment.

As a reputable recruitment agency in Oxford & Abingdon, we would always suggest outsourcing the job to experts such as ourselves as we have a dedicated team who specialise in sourcing the perfect candidates for our clients. However, there are benefits to keeping the recruitment process in-house but it doesn’t come without its challenges.

Here are some important factors that you should consider before making the decision;

• Cost – The main reason for not using a recruitment agency usually boils down to cost. However is it really cheaper to employ someone whose full-time job role is then to employ others? You won’t always be recruiting but you will still have the overhead of paying that member of staff. By opting for an external recruitment agency you will only be paying them when you actually require their services.

• Resources – Specialist agencies have a catalogue of individuals on file looking for work as well as access to a number of online portals that they can utilise meaning they are more likely to find quality candidates in a shorter space of time. Investing in these resources would be costly to a business and one that they are unlikely to opt for meaning that the organisation in question will be relying heavily on potential candidates falling upon their website, seeing the job vacancy and sending in their CV’s. Another short-cut that many companies also adopt is it use their current staff to manage the recruitment process, rather than employ a full-time recruiter. This option is likely to affect their productivity as their time is taken away from the job that they are actually employed to do.

• Expertise – Identifying the best talent is a skill in itself, as is reading a CV and then conducting an interview. You could end up calling someone in for an interview who on paper looks great but in reality is all hot air. A recruitment agency will ensure that you only get to see the cream of the crop so time won’t be wasted on interviews with candidates that really aren’t right for the role.

Are you looking for your perfect role within the thriving but highly competitive hospitality sector but feel like you have bitten off more than you can chew? Then look no further than our Job Board.

As one of the top recruitment consultants in Oxford & Abingdon, we have a vast list of openings in hotels, pubs, club’s, corporate hospitality and other positions in reputable companies within the catering and hospitality industry.

Utilising our unrivalled local knowledge and market expertise we are confident that we have the perfect role to suit your needs. In order to make the entire recruitment process transparent, we hire specialists who are experts in their particular field.

Besides offering catering & hospitality jobs, we also offer a wide range of job roles in a variety of sectors including, industrial & driving, sales & marketing, HR and more.

Our focus is on people and personalities, rather than the more usual, numbers-driven approach. So get in touch today and start walking down your dream career path.