With rising energy prices set to make heating the office a luxury this year, there is really nothing better than unhooking the office fire alarm and getting a lovely bonfire going to keep you warm (and the heating bill in check). Here at Firefish, we understand you are going to be too busy recruiting to go around the doors asking for scrap wood, so we thought we would suggest some things that many recruiters have at hand that make excellent fuel for this November’s bonfire!
Some may have called you a dinosaur because of the filling cabinet full of CVs, Terms of Business, and other recruitment-related documents taking up the room in the corner of your office. Well, this year you will be having the last laugh!
If you are worried about how old some of those CVs are or if you are complying with GDPR by keeping them – don’t be! All you need to do is put them on fire and relax in the knowledge that you are not only now warm, but also compliant. And once the fire starts to die down? Simply get back into the filing cabinet and look out for all the Terms of Business that you are not happy with - and get those burning, too! This will really reward you down the line when you get the chance to re-negotiate your rates. If they have gone up in smoke, they basically never existed, right?
It’s not every recruitment blog that suggests homicide as a solution to all the problems you have had this year with flaky candidates. Whilst we too don’t suggest you actually try that, getting rid of all the candidates that can’t commit is a wonderful idea! And it keeps your bonfire burning.
Instead of complaining on social media about how all your candidates never commit to the process and muck you about when you are doing your best to get them the perfect role, take action. In a candidate-driven market, there is no time to waste on those who aren’t committed. You might miss out on the talent that suits one of your clients perfectly – and lose your fee.
Of course, this is easier said than done as your candidates are unlikely to volunteer to become bonfire fuel. You need to make the decision yourself – and pick up the most uncommitted candidate you have to bestow upon them the great honour of affixing the Guy Fawkes effigy atop your bonfire. Warning! I have been advised that time-wasting candidates can be a particularly smelly bonfire fuel so make sure to have some seasonal candles on hand to cover this up.
Of course, as the winter really sets in a point will come where something must give, and the heating will need to go on. To manage this cost, you may start to look at where the budget can be saved - and inevitably you will consider dropping some of your suppliers. This is a good time to analyse your contracts – so you are not locked in for a fixed period.
If you are a smart recruiter, you will see that burning your contracts is not only a great way to free yourself from your legal obligations, but the numerous pages of small print can really help get a blazing inferno going. Your suppliers won’t have a leg to stand on! And if they try to sue you for the money, they claim you owe them – poof, the contract doesn’t exist. Unless they have kept a copy for themselves…….
If you haven’t been arrested or died of smoke poisoning yet…respect. One last thing though that’s worthwhile going into the recruitment bonfire is the entire office because remote working is the way to go, right?
You’re probably only sitting in your office because you’re tied to a long-term lease which nobody can really hold you to if the property you are letting is a pile of ashes. Besides, if you simply terminate the lease, all those desks you have bought are going to go to waste (which we all know is the real reason for all your talk about in-person attendance being so important). Well, all that office furniture is made of wood - which makes it the most rational of all the recruitment bonfire fuels suggested today, really.
And with that, the Firefish Team wishes you a happy Guy Fawkes Day!