Why should you use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to source candidates?

As a company that is looking to recruit staff of the highest possible standard, both quickly and cost-effectively, you won't need our experts here at webrecruit (http://www.webrecruit.co.uk) to remind you of the difficulties in doing so. That's why we offer a series of tools related to the recruitment process, with one of them that may attract your interest being an applicant tracking system (ATS). 

Applicant tracking systems exist for the benefit of applicants who want to keep tabs on the vacancies for which they have applied, in addition to the 'status' of each one. Nonetheless, it is the applicant tracking systems that are designed for the needs of recruiters that we are predominantly concentrating on in this blog. Many recruitment agencies such as ourselves tend to just describe an ATS as "recruitment software", but either way, the basic purpose is the same: to provide a central portal for the recruitment efforts of your firm. 

Embracing the increasingly electronic nature of recruitment, some form of ATS is now used by most major corporations, with recruitment companies like webrecruit now offering the software in a way that makes sense to the small and medium sized firms that are frequently deluged with applications themselves. With an ATS, you can better manage application information and CVs so that you can more easily source candidates, even perhaps from a database of past applicants for roles within your company. 

We provide access to our own ATS for free, which makes it a very attractive option for sifting through applications, providing feedback and inviting candidates for interview, all possible in just a few clicks of the mouse. This negates the fear that has stopped many employers from using an ATS of it simply being too expensive an option, not least as our entire service is available at a highly competitive price, with no high placement fees or hidden costs. 

We know that small to medium sized companies with their lower recruitment volumes can find it difficult to justify investing in the tools, technology and specialist resources that are used very routinely by larger firms. That's why it makes so much sense to choose the services of webrecruit (http://www.webrecruit.co.uk) in boosting your staff recruitment capability to a world-class level, on demand. Indeed, even larger companies can benefit from a complete ATS, provided by the most competent sourcing partner. 

Editor’s Note: webrecruit (http://www.webrecruit.co.uk) is represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Please direct all press queries to Louise Byrne. Email: louise@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.

Hearty winter veg grown from seeds

It’s definitely winter, as buyers of seeds for sale at Seeds By Post website (http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk) will no doubt have noticed. The clocks have gone back, the days are shorter and in some places the first snow of the season has fallen. But winter has a lot to celebrate too. We’ve just had Halloween and many will have attended the local bonfire night celebrations over the weekend. Then it’s the traditional time of parties in the lead up to Christmas and of course New Year.

And there’s another reason to like winter – the food! Winter food is hearty and warming. From thick and tasty soups to stews and casseroles, winter food is delicious, nutritious, earthy and healthy. And who can forget that great British invention, the Sunday Roast!

There’s one ingredient that’s essential in all these foods of course and that’s good quality vegetables. Our vegetable seeds range has all the winter veg you’ll need for your winter meals and if you planted your cheap seeds earlier this year you may well be enjoying a bountiful harvest right now!

Here’s just a few of our top selling winter vegetables that have been recently harvested:

Carrots – Our popular Early Nantes 5 are just £1.95 each and can be planted from March to July ready to be harvested from May to October

Parsnips – Our Gladiator F1 at £1.95 each is the world’s first FI hybrid parsnip and is resistant to parsnip canker. Plant February to May and harvest October to February

Courgettes – Our All Green Bush variety can be harvested as courgettes or left to mature as marrows which are freely produced on compact bushy plants. Just £1.49 each, they can be planted from March to May and harvested from July to October

Onions – Our Kelsae Exhibition onion is our seed of the month and can be planted in December and January. They’re £3.59 each and are one of the most popular exhibition onions. And unusually for show onions, they’re delicious!

Leeks – Our Musselburghs are just £1.75 each and are great tasting too. Plant them from January to April and harvest them from October to March.

So let’s celebrate winter and its delicious food and let’s celebrate cheap seeds too! You’ll find them all here at the Seeds By Post website (http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk)

Editor’s Note: Seeds By Post (http://www.seedsbypost.co.uk) is represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Please direct all press queries to Louise Byrne. Email: louise@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.

Could Strict New Auditing Rules Affect your Company?

If you are a listed company anywhere in Europe, then you could be affected by strict new rules for auditors, reports leading company secretarial services provider London Registrars (http://www.london-registrars.co.uk/).

A collective of more than a dozen institutional investors and trade bodies are calling for tougher auditing rules in a paper which insists that the European Commission (EC) and politicians across Europe take action to ensure that a banking crisis like that seen in 2008 cannot happen again. Last year, the EC ruled that listed companies have to change their auditor at least every six years, however a report by British MEP Sajjad Karim which recommends that this ruling be relaxed is currently under discussion.

Further rulings on auditing issues proposed by the EC include a ban on companies carrying out non-audit work for their audit clients. According to London City news portal City A.M., this would mean banning an area of business which creates as much as 15% of revenue for Pricewaterhouse Coopers, therefore company compliance with these tough new auditing rules could well be controversial. The group of top European investors are urging Brussels to limit non-audit work to a maximum of 50% of audit fees and insist there is greater transparency on the part of auditors. They believe that the failure of auditors to give warnings about the bank collapses seen in the economic crisis was down to a lack of independence and scepticism in the audit industry.

If you would like advice on whether your listed company will be directly or indirectly affected by these new auditing rules, speak to one of the experts at London Registrars, details at http://www.london-registrars.co.uk/.

Editor’s Note: London Registrars (http://www.london-registrars.co.uk/) is represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Please direct all press queries to Louise Byrne. Email: louise@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.

How clean is your Data? Using BI Dashboards to Identify Problems with your data

The business intelligence dashboard from panintelligence (http://www.panintelligence.com/) can do more than assist with performance monitoring and the analysis of your business. It can also ensure the optimal quality of your data, enabling you to make vital decisions based on accurate and up-to-date information.

How clean is your data? If you’re utilising business intelligence solutions to aid your decision-making then you needs to ensure that the data being entered into your in-house systems is clean, organised, input in a consistent fashion and is up to date. Creating BI reporting based on data which is months, weeks or even days old in some cases, renders those reports useless. Unclean data can arise through inconsistent data entry methods, inputting data at the end of the week or month, instead at the end of a task, making it out of date, or even simply down to keystroke errors.

In dealing with new customers, panintelligence’s experience has revealed that many businesses rely on procedures which result in data that is unclean. Often these businesses remain unaware how out of date their information is until the start of their next reporting cycle.

At the recent Service Management Expo, many service companies shared anecdotes about the difficulties they experience with analysing calls closed by field engineers. Quite often all open calls were being closed at the end of the day instead of when the jobs were complete. Utilising a business intelligence dashboard allows them to closely monitor engineers in the field and it retrain them into the habit of closing calls when finished, thereby ensuring the data is accurate. Other companies have also described how they use the dashboard’s charts to track incorrectly inputted data – where values show up as ‘Null’ or ‘Not Found’ - which can skew results. Some companies create charts which identify where the data inaccuracies lie, perhaps within a particular database or department, allowing them to address current inconsistencies and prevent errors in the future.

The panintelligence business dashboard can help identify in-house issues such as these, without the need to purchase another piece of software, or employ the services of a data cleansing company. Customers can leverage the power of the dashboard to create charts that highlight anomalies in the data before it is used to aid their decision making process. This maximises the value of the business dashboard and allows a business to make strategic and beneficial decisions based on clean, up to date information. Visit the panintelligence website at http://www.panintelligence.com/ for further information.

Editor’s Note: panintelligence (http://www.panintelligence.com/) is represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Please direct all press queries to Louise Byrne. Email: louise@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.

History in the making – the story of military conflict and technological change

Picture the scene. It’s 1915 and the British and German armies are locked in stalemate in the wet, muddy trenches on the Western Front.

Military commanders identify the need for a vehicle that can cross trenches, carry supplies, and capture fortified enemy positions. Taking their inspiration from commercial farm vehicles, they develop the first ever combat tank – the British Mark 1. The rest, as they say, is history.

Military events are constantly shaping and influencing technological development. Look at the pioneering work behind carbon fibre. At the height of the Cold War in 1963, scientists from the Royal Aircraft Establishment developed this strong, light and stiff material that offers obvious military benefits. Since then, carbon fibre has been used in numerous commercial applications – from Formula 1 cars through to musical instruments.

In recent times, technological developments have been guided by military events in the Middle East – from the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1991 through to the ongoing war in Afghanistan. Scientists have developed new ways to tackle Improvised Explosive Devices and develop improved vehicle protection. Nowadays, our military forces need a continuing pipeline of technology innovation to deal with an ever evolving threat.

Yet, the nature of warfare has changed and it’s no longer simply a battle between two opposing forces in the trenches. Today, the threat comes in multiple forms – from a pitched battle through to cyber warfare. This calls for a new approach to technology innovation – which involves simultaneously ‘spinning out’ and ‘spinning in’ technologies from both the military and commercial sectors, an area in which QinetiQ is continually innovating.

There has also been a shift towards novel approaches to procurement and acquisition – the military is constantly looking for new ways to deliver technology with multiple applications and a long lifespan. In an age where the military needs to ‘do more with less’, this demands a more lateral approach to defeating the enemy – in whatever shape or form.

QinetiQ will be showcasing ‘350 years of know how’ as part of Defence Procurement Research and Technology 2012 on 21 November.

Introducing a beautiful new range of eco-chic yet practical leather accessories

At Yours Sustainably (http://www.yourssustainably.com/), the home of sustainable gifts which are low on environmental impact, socially responsible but ultimately high on style, we are always scouring the world for new earth friendly products which are as beautiful as they are unique. One of our newest ranges of products which are sure to fly off the shelves are the chic, elegant and practical leather accessories from luxury handmade and recycled leather goods makers Undercover.

Adding Undercover leather accessories to the Yours Sustainably range of eco gifts was a natural fit. This small British company takes an artisan’s approach to the creation of all of its paper and leather products and the handmade luxury accessories chosen by us are no exception. Lovingly made by hand by the passionate and talented Undercover team, the leather used for the  majority of accessories we have chosen to add to the Yours Sustainably product selection comes from entirely sustainable resources being made from 100% recycled material. The tote bags and flat wallets are made from split leather.

So this new range of leather photo albums, table mats and other handy accessories stands up to our rigourous standards when it comes to sustainability, but what about our other watchwords: style, quality, craftsmanship and sheer desirability? Well they tick all the boxes there too. Take the Large Leather Photo Album in either classic Ivory colourway, classy Caramel or funky Lime. You would never think the butter-soft leather was recycled as it feels and looks so expensive and the hand finishing elevates it to a thing of beauty fitting for your most cherished memories.

What about the high fashion large tote bag in on-trend Fluoro Pink? Its generous proportions make it roomy enough to hold all your essentials as well as your favourite gadgets and even some of your shopping too. Made in Undercover’s fantastic quality this has got to be one of the most stylish leather bags on the market. Why not treat yourself to a contrasting leather oyster card holder while you’re at it? This versatile holder is a smart and elegant way to carry your travel or credit cards and because of its eco credentials you can do so knowing you are a ‘card carrying’ environmentally conscious citizen!

This is just a selection of the gorgeous new leather accessories we have added to our line of eco friendly gifts and fashion. Watch this space to discover the whole range and don’t forget all the other fantastic earth friendly products available at http://www.yourssustainably.com/.

Editor’s Note: Yours Sustainably (http://www.yourssustainably.com/) is represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Please direct all press queries to Louise Byrne. Email: louise@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.