Recruitment has historically been seen as a hard hitting industry where money & placements talk, which of course they do to some extent as every business has targets, but that is not the only thing we consider at Cultura Connect.
A people business
The way we see it, recruitment is a people business, and we have a duty of care to our candidates and our clients. We start talking to people at stressful times in their professional lives – clients are usually trying to resource new team members because they are overstretched and trying to cover too many jobs, Candidates usually come to us when they are unhappy in their current job, or they have been made redundant, or just simply looking to develop their career.
The whole team at Cultura Connect takes your personal well-being seriously.
We never put any candidates in a position that we don't feel is right for them at the time. Some candidates thrive under pressure and love the thrill of chasing a sale, or converting a prospect into a long term customer. Others find the pressure of targets anxiety-inducing and are more suited to a consultative sales, account management, or technical role where building relationships and working with a customer long-term is more comfortable and brings out their best qualities.
Flexible working
In this post-covid era, more candidates are looking for a degree of flexibility in their working week, the potential to work the hours that suit them or an option for hybrid working. We see this as reasonable in most cases. As a fully remote business with 10 people in our team, we feel more efficient as a team, there is barely any wasted travel time, we meet online most days and stay connected by meeting up in person at least once a quarter, backed up by monthly ‘team building’ online meetings where we eat, drink and play silly games!
The point is, if your perfect candidate is made to travel to an office each day but has 3 children to get to school before he/she sets off and is constantly rushing and stressed, it is probably more efficient for them to work from home for 2-3 days a week and they get more effective work hours with less stress.
Mentorship & management
The level of support that is available within a company/role is also an important consideration for us when we are putting a candidate forward to a client. If an already overstretched client asks us to find them a graduate trainee, we need to ask them if they can facilitate the support and mentorship that they will need to help them learn the business, and learn how they can be effective in that business. If they are planning to throw them in the deep end and see if they sink or swim, this is not going to be a successful placement for us or them.
Management styles are also massively important in maintaining personal well-being – and this is relevant at every level of business. General Managers can get frustrated by lack of support from board members, the same way that farm workers can feel unappreciated by their lack of voice within a business. The best managers see the value of everyone within a business and give everyone an opportunity to voice their ideas and communicate about progress and changes. The best idea we have heard recently from a client is bringing somebody independent in to talk to the team and listen to their concerns and frustrations, but of course this will only work if the management are willing to listen to the outcomes and make the required changes.
Mutual goals
At Cultura Connect we strive to do our very best to match our candidate’s goals with our client’s requirements. Finding the right match for clients and candidates is important, but more important is the well-being of everyone that we work with. We really do care about your well-being and will always be here to help and support you through what can sometimes be a stressful period.
A few top tips on how to take care of your personal well-being in a professional environment:
- Take time to go outdoors to and exercise
- Take regular screen breaks to help with concentration
- Make time to chat to others, just as you would in an office environment
- Set yourself daily (or even hourly) goals and targets
- Invest time in your development, reading, listening to podcasts, watching videos, etc
- Help organise, or attend regular staff social events e.g lunchtime walking clubs
- Ask your line manager for help if you are struggling with your personal well-being, keep talking, ensuring that you have regular 1-2-1 catch ups
If you need further help, there is help out there from the following national farming charities:
Farming Community Network – 03000 111 999
Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution – 0800 188 4444
The DPJ Foundation – 0800 587 4262
