Company matters

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Personal Development

Redundancy: Pivoting into a new role

As a economic change sweeps through our industry, redundancies have yet again become a fact of life. In reality, the latest poll by employment law and HR consultancy firm, WorkNest, states that over two-fifths (44%) of employers in 2023, amid rising business costs, are being forced into redundancy schemes to create a failsafe business model.

However, redundancy can feel very personal and that’s because it is. It is 100% normal to feel emotional over losing your job, especially if you’ve been with a company for most of your working life. Mindset is everything and so clarify what you want from your career so that you can start discovering new opportunities. You also need to take care of your mental health and wellbeing, as maintaining a positive attitude will turn this into a growth opportunity, and not just a disruption in your working life.

Revisit CV

Whenever I’m working one-to-one with a candidate looking for a new role, I remind them to bet on themselves. A personal CV and LinkedIn health check is a great place to regroup and become your best self, as these are typically the first points of contact a recruiter or new employer has, to familiarise themselves with you. Remember, it is not a list of jobs, it’s a record of achievement. huge amounts of money wasted and frustration all round. If nothing else, social media marketing is an exercise in patience. There are no quick wins, magic potions or silver bullets. The foundations to excellent content begin with your strategy, content pillars and roadmap. Each is an extensive project, but once done, you should be able to use social media as a successful marketing tool.

Let’s face it, your CV needs to be the best version of you and your LinkedIn profile needs to be interactive and reflect your personality. In doing so, your socials will be able to work for you 24/7 –so you don’t have to.

Social Media

How to make sure your social media is effective.

Remember the days when a social media presence was no more complicated than posting a nice photo and few words underneath? It was a job the summer work experience person could handle with ease.

Now it requires a solid and robust strategy, research, planning and endless testing. When done correctly, the magic of social media results in leads and sales. When done badly, it results in

Strategy

Your strategy will need to consider your overall aims, what is it you want to achieve, and then look at target audience, competition, hashtags, engagement (both proactive and reactive). I know this sounds a lot, and it is, but the rewards are worth it.

Content pillars

These are the main subjects areas around which all your posts will revolve. For example, you might have: brand story, your products, the team, and tutorials or ”how-to”. Every post you

Put simply, think about your dream job and then take care of your CV and online profiles, as this will help you stand out in today’s market. Don’t forget to protect your mental health, as this will ensure that everything you do… counts. Redundancy is hard, but if you can put yourself in the right place both physically and mentally, you will be able to have fun while being fully committed to finding a new career pathway.

Connect with technology

And with online resources like LinkedIn, it’s never been easier to make new connections or get back in touch with former colleagues as part of your next career adventure. If you’ve been curious about transferring your skills, now’s the time to ask your network for help. A quick phone call can give you a better idea of what areas might suit you. And do ask if your contact knows anyone else who you could talk to. Always make sure you offer to return the favour in the future too.

Lean into change

Embracing new technology and methods to connect people is a big part of who I am and the put up should fit into one of your pillars.

Roadmap

This is where you set out your target audience and the products or services you offer and pin down exactly how you will appeal to each one. What do you need to say? What are the pain points they need you to solve? Once you know this, you can create your content, confident it will be precise and relevant to your desired audience

Content calendar

This is your content broken down into months, then weeks, then days. It lays out exactly what you will post, when to where. It is only after preparing the groundwork and getting to grips with the first three, that you can be confident your content will hit the mark.

Too often I see brands throw money into adverts to force their content in front of an audience. Adverts can play an important part of your strategy but only if you have solid organic beauty of the KBB industry is its ability to create new opportunities for multi-skilled staff. Up-skilling and retraining inside and outside your field of expertise is now par for the course for everyone. Every day is a school day.

Leaning into change is something we all need to do more of – whether you are in a customer facing role or playing your part in the factory or warehouse. Having the courage and confidence to explore new possibilities is what fuels our industry wherever you are in your career, so don’t be afraid to try something new or longed-for.

As a specialist recruiter, I recognise that redundancy is a double-edged sword as without some downsizing or restructuring, many brands and businesses would simply fail and where’s the good in that? However, with the right support and structure in place, I believe jobseekers really can start to view redundancy as an unavoidable opportunity to build a new and exciting career and safeguard the future.

Redundancy is not the end of your career; it is only the beginning.

EXPERT: Peter Jones

COMPANY: Foyne Jones

BACKGROUND: Peter Jones is founder and managing director at Foyne Jones, specialist recruitment agency for KBB retail, independent and national merchant and construction sales. He is also the host of The Peter Jones Show podcast, which covers recruitment and industry news and features guests who are leaders in the industry CONTACT: www.rdr.link/KAM030 social media marketing foundations in place.

However, don’t despair, if you don’t have a strategy, or the time and energy to set out the groundwork just get in touch and we can get you ship shape and sorted for Q2. The days of post and pray are gone. Brands who are serious about their social media marketing will always invest in professional support. Those who see it as an admin job are the ones who will fail to maximise their social media leverage in these tougher, post COVID, times.

EXPERT: Anna Rump

COMPANY: Social Jems

BACKGROUND: Anna Rump is director of social media marketing, training and lead generation company Social Jems, The company provides a range of services from content creation, social media marketing strategy, through to outreach and networking and engagement support or full management. Social Jems also offers LinkedIn audits, profile optimisation and training.

CONTACT: www.rdr.link/KAM031

Design

How to design an accessible kitchen for all abilities

Multi-generational living is set to increase in the UK as adult children struggle to afford to fly the nest and families look to combine resources with grandparents to create living spaces for up to three generations.

In addition, there are over 14 million registered disabled people in the UK. There is a real need to create homes that cater to the requirements of every member of the family, enabling safe and independent living. So, what are the top 5 things to consider when planning an accessible kitchen design?

1. Kitchen layout is key

The overall layout and positioning of the key appliances play an important factor in determining how accessible a kitchen is. An important consideration when deciding on the layout is to reduce the overall number of steps between the cooking appliances and the sink. So carefully consider the placement of the oven, hob and sink, ensure they are not too far away from each other, to minimise the need to carry for example a boiling water pan across the kitchen before being able to drain it. Additionally, consider where the oven is positioned and whether there is a suitable resting space such as a worktop nearby. I tend to recommend an oven is designed alongside a worktop, for the safe transfer of hot dishes.

2. Accessible storage

To reduce unnecessary reaching, crouching and carrying of items, safe storage solutions are a must! Consider the height that wall cabinets are fitted at to make them as accessible as possible and include pull down baskets which are an excellent way to make contents easier to reach for users.

EXPERT: Adam Thomas

COMPANY: Adam Thomas Consultancy

Many falls in the kitchen are caused by over-reaching and bending, so I recommend pull out larders and base cabinets with drawers to negate reaching into the back of cabinets. Adding internal drawers reduced depth cabinets can be a useful design choice so that all cabinet contents are within easy reach.

3. Choosing the right appliances

Traditional drop-down opening oven doors and even side opening oven doors present a barrier to user safety. Slide and Hide style ovens are an ideal option. Induction hobs are also strongly recommended over gas hobs, but ensure the controls are positioned towards the front of the hob rather than the side, which helps reduce reaching or leaning over a potentially hot pan.

4. Worktop solutions

Rise and fall surfaces give greatest flexibility for a user to position the worktop at the optimal working height for them.

For wheelchair users, it is imperative to design the appropriate amount of leg space so that the user can get as close to the sink and hob as possible, as well as offering preparation space at a height of their preference.

5. Plug sockets

Think about positioning of plug sockets for items such as kettles and toasters. Solutions such as flip sockets can be fitted into a worksurface for ease of use.

BACKGROUND: Design consultant and Symphony ambassador Adam Thomas has over four decades of personal experience and research in planning accessible kitchens. Working alongside UK kitchen manufacturer Symphony Group, he created the Freedom range.

CONTACT: www.rdr.link/KAM032