TOP TIPS
STAFF MOTIVATION
IMPROVES WITH
NEW SKILLS
In this issue, we look at
skills and training. Stirling
Kimkeran is co-founder
and CEO of Omnicom
Engineering, a business
which has utilised training
through the University of
York as well as funding
from the Leeds City Region
Enterprise Partnership to
improve business results.
PLEASE GIVE A BRIEF
DESCRIPTION OF YOUR BUSINESS
AND YOUR ROLE
Omnicom is an innovative technology
company established in 1994. We
provide products/services to the
transport sector primarily around
technologies associated with asset
location, inspection and management.
Omnicom’s latest innovation
“OmniVision® is helping Network Rail
automate basic visual track inspection.
HOW TO FIND TOP SKILLS
IN A COMPETITIVE MARKET
The key to any recruitment campaign is to attract the right
applicants. But, with the UK unemployment rate at 5.2% in
2015 (the lowest in almost 10 years), you might find yourself
struggling to attract skilled talent this year.
WHAT TYPE OF TRAINING
HAS WORKED BEST FOR YOU
PERSONALLY?
My degree in electronic and
computer engineering gave
me the grounding needed for
working in the fast moving world
of technology. I also have a mentor
(external to the company) who has
significant executive and strategic
management experience, and who
can act as a critical friend.
WHAT IMPACT HAS TRAINING
HAD ON YOUR BUSINESS?
Training has had a positive impact
on our company, allowing us to
grow and expand our team as
well as the portfolio of products/
services we offer our clients. It has
helped with staff motivation and
improving overall productivity.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO
A BUSINESS PUTTING A TRAINING
STRATEGY TOGETHER?
Investment in staff training is essential to the
growth of the company. I would recommend
putting together personal training plans
for all staff; this will boost staff motivation/
performance and help align their needs with
the wider business objectives.
HAVE THERE BEEN ANY PITFALLS
WHEN IT COMES TO UPSKILLING THAT
YOU CAN SHARE?
There is always a concern as an SME that once
the employees are trained they will leave for
larger organisations. It is important that the
training is part of a wider range of measures to
create a culture that encourages greater staff
engagement and retention in your company.
HAVE YOU HAD ANY SUPPORT WHEN IT
COMES TO TRAINING YOUR TEAMS AND
WHAT HAS THAT BEEN LIKE?
There has never been a better time to
invest in staff training. There are a variety
of local business support services that can
be accessed through universities, LEPs,
the Chamber, local trade organisations and
institutions. The feedback from our staff
who have been on these courses has been
very positive.
SO WHERE ARE THE TOP APPLICANTS?
During 2015, we conducted a job seeker survey to find out how
applicants are finding jobs and the results were quite interesting.
Our survey revealed that over the past couple of years, job seekers
have more than doubled their job search reach. That is, when we
did our first survey in 2012, applicants were registered with 4 online
job boards during their job hunt compared to 2015 where this
figure increased to 9 job boards. That means that the game has
changed and it has become imperative to widen the scope of your
recruitment advertising to be seen by applicants.
WHAT IS A JOB BOARD?
A job board is an online platform specifically designed for job
seekers to search for jobs. Think of it as Google for job hunting.
Hiring companies and agencies pay to advertise their jobs on the
job site and job seekers search the site based on job title, location
and salary and then apply to the job via the website.
There are generic job boards like Reed and Monster which advertise
an array of jobs in various locations and sectors and there are niche
job boards like GAP Web and Brand Republic that are sectorspecific and only attract people working within that industry. There
are also aggregator and affiliate sites which are linked to these job
boards. Basically there are