Do you really know your team? You might think you do...

Do you really know your team? You might think you do...

Posted by Joanne Caine
Published on 14 December, 2022

Over the summer, Clodagh and I decided we should use a bit of structure to get to know each other better.  We engaged the services of the wonderful Jo Redgrave who took us both through Insight Discovery Profiles.  So good was the insight we gained about each other, that we decided to roll it out to the SLT here at Cath Apps.  How very, very interesting!  Having worked with some of my team for more than 17 years I thought I had them fairly well sussed, particularly on what drives and motivates them, but I learnt a lot!  We all came together last week to share, learn about our colours and team build - it really was great. I can safely say it was the best team investment we have made (not just financially, but emotionally too) and we will be rolling this out to the wider team early next year.

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5 Christmas wishes for the South West jobs market in 2023

5 Christmas wishes for the South West jobs market in 2023

Posted by Joanne Caine
Published on 14 December, 2022

Love it or hate it, you can’t deny that the festive season is a time to pause, reflect and set goals for the year ahead. It’s been a turbulent few years, but the South West jobs market has remained strong, and it’s that drive and resilience that will see us through into 2023 too. We asked some of the team what they hope to see in 2023 – and without further ado, here’s what they’ll be wishing for this Christmas…

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An interview with Sarah Jane: Managing the return to work

An interview with Sarah Jane: Managing the return to work

Published on 27 October, 2022

One of the reasons we love doing what we do is seeing people’s lives change because of their career choices, and the opportunities they have taken. We recently caught up with Sarah Jane Smith, who returned to work after taking time off to look after her children, and is now thriving in her chosen career path.

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Attracting and retaining international tech talent

Attracting and retaining international tech talent

Published on 07 October, 2022

Global competition for talent is seeing employers navigating new territory to attract the vital tech skills they need in a post-pandemic era. With the South West fast becoming a haven for new tech firms hungry for software engineers, programmers, network security specialists and data science experts, dipping into the international talent pool is a logical next step.  

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Plugging the skills gap

Plugging the skills gap

Posted by Joanne Caine
Published on 03 October, 2022

Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed the lowest unemployment rate across the UK for 48 years, at 3.6 per cent nationwide, and the lowest in the entire UK in the South West at just  2.7 per cent.

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Flexible benefits: What are employers offering?

Flexible benefits: What are employers offering?

Posted by Joanne Caine
Published on 12 September, 2022

Employee benefits have always been important to employees, but since the pandemic shifted the way we work and the way we think about work/life balance, the benefits employers have to offer matter more than ever.

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Do employers really favour candidates with a degree?

Do employers really favour candidates with a degree?

Posted by Joanne Caine
Published on 22 August, 2022

Over the years, having a degree has become somewhat of a 'standard requirement' for many jobs – and not just graduate ones! So, we conducted a survey on Twitter and asked Exeter-based employers whether or not they would hire someone without a degree... and the results are in!

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Supporting employee retention

Supporting employee retention

Posted by Joanne Caine
Published on 05 August, 2022

More than 6.5 million workers are expected to quit their jobs in the next 12 months with many seeking out better pay, increased job satisfaction and greater work life balance. As a result, the number of open vacancies has also increased rapidly in the past few months.

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Talent retention during a turbulent market: Views from our specialists

Talent retention during a turbulent market: Views from our specialists

Posted by Joanne Caine
Published on 29 July, 2022

The job market has been a swinging pendulum for the past two and a half years and it’s caused a lot of uncertainty for clients and candidates alike. However, we’re now entering an era completely led by candidates.

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State of the South West Job Market: Reflecting on Q2

State of the South West Job Market: Reflecting on Q2

Posted by Joanne Caine
Published on 20 July, 2022

I think most businesses will agree with me when I say that the past few months haven’t been the easiest. As we predicted, economic uncertainty continued; inflation rose to a record-high of 9.1 per cent, yet we had surprise growth. Additional turbulence occurred in the UK’s political landscape with a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Boris Johnson launching in early June.

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HR – The new superheroes of the boardroom

HR – The new superheroes of the boardroom

Posted by Joanne Caine
Published on 08 July, 2022

In March 2020, businesses were thrown into turmoil, facing situations no leader had ever faced before. Overnight, teams were forced to work remotely, and businesses lost huge sums of revenue. In the following months, mental health began to decline, redundancies spiked, 11.7 million people were furloughed and leaders were leaning on HR more than ever before in an attempt to keep their heads above water and to ensure that their teams felt supported in this incredibly turbulent time.

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Why do employers still not trust employees?

Why do employers still not trust employees?

Posted by Joanne Caine
Published on 10 June, 2022

When Boris Johnson said that working from home isn’t productive because of the ‘distractions of cheese and coffee’, and when Lord Alan Sugar came out and said that the pandemic has ‘unleashed a workshy, entitled culture in which people demand — and are allowed — to work from home’, there’s perhaps no surprise that the business world divided into two.

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