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Lots of SMEs are slow to hire HR professionals. There’s a perception that HR recruitment is a low priority; that the money would be better spent filling vacancies that have a more ‘tangible’ impact on productivity. Unfortunately that perception could be holding your business back.

When your business is buckling under the weight of its own workload, you may feel the urge to hire. But taking on new employees is not your only option.

Exeter had the tenth highest growth in private sector jobs in the UK last year, a new report has revealed. The Centre for Cities Outlook 2018 report shows an increase of 3,000 jobs in Exeter – a 5.1% increase on the previous year.

There are lazy stereotypes. Then there are really lazy stereotypes. Many folk would have you believe that a career in accountancy is about as exciting as the hum of a fridge.

Just 9% of the engineering workforce is female. In HR, only one-in-five staff is male. There are plenty more examples of professions where gender imbalance is rife. So what is it about these professions that seems to predetermine which gender is most likely to work in it?

Sharper increases in permanent placements: There was a marked rise in permanent placements in January, with the rate of expansion highest since April 2015. In contrast, growth in temp billings softened to a 10-month low

Permanent placements expand at softer, but still marked, pace: Permanent staff placements continued to rise across the UK in February. Though sharp, the rate of expansion moderated slightly since the start of the year. Temp billings meanwhile rose at a faster pace midway through the first quarter.

When it comes to interview questions for managers, knowing what to ask isn’t always straightforward. The stakes are high. But with our ideas, you can’t go wrong.

Graduates are disappearing from the south west. And we’re not talking about the odd few thrill-seekers swapping green fields for the bright lights of the big city. You expect a few of those. This is a more serious desertion of skills from our region.

There’s more to working in the West Country than surrendering to the magnetic pull of Bristol and Bath. If you are prepared to broaden your horizons it’s possible to find fabulous jobs in truly gorgeous parts of the region - such as Devon, recently voted by Country Life Magazine to be the best place to live for quality of life in England.

It’s a wonderful thing - the energy and dynamism of a motivated group of people. Problems get solved. To-do lists are crunched. Work begins to feel much less like work.

Welcoming someone new to your team is always exciting. But it’s not without risks. Hiring the wrong person is an expensive mistake. That’s why it pays to find out as much as possible about a candidate before you commit.