On a daily basis we are wow-ed by the dedication and drive of our consultant, Kate Beswick, as she strives to achieve her dream of completing the London Marathon in aid of Mind. Kate has been braving the elements to ensure she sticks to her rigorous training programme, battling snow, hail and high winds; through it all she has been
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We’re proud to announce Museums Sheffield as our charity of the year for 2019. Our fundraising focus for the year will be to support Museums Sheffield’s cultural offering in the city. We have fostered our relationship with Museums Sheffield over the last few years, from sponsoring the Made in Sheffield exhibition in 2016, to assisting with Museums Sheffield’s hiring needs.
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The more we play hard and work hard the more we need to ensure we are rested and recharged. In the latest Benchmark Bites we talk about World Sleep Day with The Sleep Geek, James Wilson, to uncover the secrets to ensuring you maximise your sleep by creating the right environment and understanding how much rest you need – get
Continue readingOur Female Inspirations At Benchmark HQ we regularly reference strong women, and for International Women’s Day we look at our own female inspirations. As a team we have influential role models in our lives who help shape our professional and personal outlook; as a mark of respect here we celebrate women’s achievements. Our nominated leading ladies are not all famous
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With Christmas a distant memory, and the hope and promise of January fading, can you face another year in your job? Here we ask you a series of questions to uncover whether it’s time for a change in job role. Glass Ceiling Have you reached the point where you can see how you would like your role to develop in
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Tis the season for festive office fun. If your office is like most, you will be preparing yourself for a well earned Christmas break. Before all the festivities commence why not get your colleagues in the festive spirit and turn the scrooge’s of the team into jolly little elves. Prepare First off, before it even gets to Christmas, you
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Break the tension surrounding annual appraisals by venturing away from your office environment and hosting them off-site. Switching location is a great for both employer and employees as it can lead to more open conversations, and promote a growth mindset surrounding the forthcoming year. With conversations focused on performance, salary and personal circumstances, it is often beneficial to hold these
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As we’re in spooky season, we decided to investigate what scares people about beginning their job search, and what can be done to reduce the fear about looking for a new role. Fear of the unknown One of the biggest issues when beginning a job search is the fear of not knowing what to expect, or where to start looking.
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If your team want to get involved with Halloween festivities don’t freak out, embrace it, and see your employees spirits rise. We have some top tips of how to bring Halloween into your office without causing major disruptions to productivity. Remember, treat your team well or in time they may play a trick on you which you’re not expecting! Five
Continue readingFor our September Business Breakfast we partnered with Sheffield Mind to deliver a session tailored to advise business leaders on managing mental health in the workplace. We were joined by 40 business friends from Sheffield to delve deeper into mental health concerns with specialists from Sheffield Mind. The event offered advice to business leaders on how to assist employees who
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Thanks to new technology the recruitment industry has changed out of sight over the past 30 years. The internet and mobile phones have allowed for a faster paced reactionary business bringing quicker results. Let’s delve deeper to find out the key milestones that have changed the face of the recruitment industry. Retro Recruitment The Post Office window Pre 1990’s
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If you’ve arrived at this article it probably means you are either considering a job move or are already in the process of searching for work. At the start of any job hunt you need to get the essentials in order, and if you’re already in the process of looking for a new role, this is a good sense check
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For our September Business Breakfast we partnered with Sheffield Mind to deliver a session tailored to advise business leaders on managing mental health in the workplace. We were joined by 40 business friends from Sheffield to delve deeper into mental health concerns with specialists from Sheffield Mind. We caught up with Mental Health Training Co-ordinator from the charity, Simon Francis,
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Interviews can be a scary prospect, especially if you aren’t prepared for them, so here’s 10 tips from our specialist team to get you ready to smash the interview and get you the job. 1. Research Do your research and you will be in a prime position to impress. We don’t mean just have a quick look on the
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For this episode of Benchmark Bites we talked to Linda Gasgoyne Director at South Yorkshire Chaplaincy & Listening Service about the service they provide in supporting businesses and employees. We were keen to find out more about the service, as supporting companies with wellness in their business, and providing recommendations to improve the work life balance among teams, is high
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It’s no longer about working ‘Nine to Five’ and companies are embracing remote working to attract talent and work to adapt to flexible working patterns. Businesses are taking heed as applicants look to compliment their lifestyles with flexible and remote working – increasingly prioritising this over salary. As a result, companies seeking new talent are being encouraged to consider alternative
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Benchmark founder Louisa Harrison-Walker was a guest speaker at the Higher Education Progression Partnership South Yorkshire Plus (HeppSY+) Annual Conference on 5th July providing delegates with an employer perspective on higher education. HeppSY+ aim is to increase the number of students progressing into higher education. The organisation is part of the national programme funded by Office for Students (OfS) to
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In this episode our Founder and Managing Director at Benchmark, Louisa Harrison-Walker, gives out the top 5 tips on how to get the best out of your job search, whether it is how to start the process and make the most of your networks, or how to maximise your LinkedIn profile, we have got it covered.
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Summer is the season to embrace team building activities and here we give you our top picks for team summer socials. You will reap the benefits from creating a close knit team who work and play hard together, but the question is where to take them? At Benchmark we’re all about the ‘fun and enjoy’ and we celebrate this as
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When you finally put down your tools for a holiday you want to ensure you have left a seamless holiday handover so that you can relax and enjoy your holiday. The pitfalls of not leaving a handover can result in you being hassled on your long awaited break. Do the preparation before your trip and you can be reassured you’ll
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For those of us who are lucky enough to live in Sheffield we know how great this city is, but for those outside of Sheffield thinking of a move here it is a well kept secret. If you’re contemplating a move to Sheffield then keep reading as here we shout about the lifestyle and culture the city has to offer.
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Benchmark Bites is back and for episode 3 of Benchmark Bites we talk to Tracy Bush from Relocate2Sheffield, a specialist service which helps businesses introduce talented individuals to Sheffield and seamlessly move them to the area. In this podcast Tracy Bush provides employers an invaluable insight into attracting candidates to the region and how to showcase the very best of what
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Last week one Benchmark consultants childhood ambition came true as he finally got to play on the pitch of his beloved Sheffield United. Andrew Moss tells us the story of the day he fulfilled his childhood ambition and shares some snaps: I have supported Sheffield United all my life and got my first season ticket aged 9 – and ever since
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If you work in an office you will most likely have your own work space, and you may not realise it but your desk can reveal a lot about your personality. Whether it’s a public display of affection of loved ones, a collection of action figures or the pure minimalist approach, your desk provides an insight into your lifestyle. While
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High on our agenda at Benchmark is supporting community and charity projects, and for our spring volunteer day the Benchmark team relocated to Sheffield charity Endeavour to help create a new outdoor learning space. The Endeavour team work to assist disadvantaged children and empower them by providing education and activities to challenge and motivate. Our team skills were put to
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For this episode of Benchmark Bites we talk to Paul Dickinson from Rest Bandit to hear top tips on maintaining a healthy lifestyle; ensuring both you and your workforce are rested and recharged. Whether you’re an employee or employer you can take inspiration from his proven techniques to ensure workplace wellness and productivity. Paul offers practical tips for how to
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Sixth Form student Sam Powell shares an invaluable insight into the world of work experience during his time at Benchmark HQ: For every teen Work Experience (W.E.) is a daunting beast, existing only to spoil ones blissful holidays. Combined with parents constantly nagging about the benefits and bonuses makes it only less appealing. There are of course the unlucky ones
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Benchmark Futures is working with partnership with Sheffield College to host an Apprenticeship Hub to inform young people of the benefits of an Apprenticeship, and how they can begin their career by starting an apprenticeship. The unique session will present over 25 office based apprenticeship opportunities with interactive tasks designed to unlock people’s potential and help them clarify which roles
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With one in six workers in the UK* experiencing common mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression, it can no longer be a taboo in the workplace. As an employer it is vital mental health is firmly on your radar so you are fully equipped to help employees with conditions that can be crippling. Understanding how you can offer
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Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD syndrome) is a very real problem that can affect people’s mental health and their ability to function in their job. Here we look at raising awareness around SAD syndrome, what it entails and proactive steps that you can take to protect yourself and a friend or colleague from being affected by this debilitating disorder. SAD syndrome
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If you’re considering a career in Sales then here we help you explore whether it’s a career for you and ensure you’re selling your worth, not selling your soul. Working in sales has had it’s fair share of sigma over the years, from the horrendous Apprentice Audition Clichés that we all like to cringe over, to that 8pm sales phone
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We’re delighted to make our friendship with Sheffield Theatres official by becoming Corporate Partners of the charity. Sheffield Theatres is home to the world famous Crucible, the Lyceum and the multi format Studio, and with an audience of half a million a year is a large part of the Sheffield community. “The partnership is on the back of a
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Benchmark rallies support from business friends to assist the homeless day centre charity, the Cathedral Archer Project, and provide a bike to allow one of their regular visitors a lifeline to the outside world. The Archer Project requested a donation of a bike to help support an individual who relied on this as his only means of transport, and without
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The pitter-patter of furry feet is becoming a regular feature in the workplace and the word is this makes for a more productive for your work culture. We’re asking if there is a true benefit to a furry friend in the office, and does it suit your work culture? We decided it was time to speak to the professionals; and
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Do you have an office dog or pet that you think has the cute-factor to feature in our Benchmark 2018 Calendar? We’ve met some gorgeous pooches and pets out and about in Sheffield offices and know that there are more hiding out there. If you think your office pet warrants a place in our ‘Office Pet Pin Up’ 2018 calendar
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On a cold November night our quiz go-ers certainly bought their ‘A game’ to the BM Big Fat Charity Quiz this week – our second annual charity quiz. It’s hard to out-quiz so many Sheffielders, and our business friends showed off their knowledge of the city and 2017. There were some challenging questions in there, and for those that were
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Our involvement in the IT and Digital sector gives us an insight into emerging trends and requirements from Sheffield businesses that we are keen to share. In the first of our new ‘Creative, Digital and IT Talks’ we do just that – our blog pieces are aimed at profiling some of the people and organisations behind Sheffield’s growing tech scene.
Continue readingAt Benchmark we’ve switched on a new partnership with Sheffield Digital to become of one of their Associate Sponsors. The connection is born of us sharing the same objectives as Sheffield Digital; working to develop digital businesses and attract job seekers in Sheffield and South Yorkshire. We work extensively with Digital businesses in Sheffield to retain the best talent. In
Continue readingIf you have a vacancy lying open and you’re wondering why your preferred candidate hasn’t come along yet we recommend sitting back and assessing your hiring approach. The reality is it’s a candidate market and expectations in terms of salary, flexibility and benefits are high; without realising it you could be alienating a large amount of talent by creating an
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Ask people from outside of the city what they know about Sheffield and they’ll describe it as ‘The Steel City’, home to the 90’s film The Full Monty and actor Sean Bean, to name a few! To us at Benchmark Sheffield’s our home, and so much more than the headlines it is known for. We live and breathe the lifestyle
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Benchmark’s Managing Director, Louisa Harrison-Walker, was highly commended at the Forward Ladies Awards 2017 in the SME Emerging Category on Friday (22nd September) at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Newcastle. With 15 business women shortlisted in the category, Louisa received the accolade for her achievements in business, the community and education projects she is involved in the Sheffield City Region.
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The quarterly CDI (Creative, Digital and IT) Café event is running its final session on Thursday, 14th September focusing on the last stage in the candidate lifecycle, managing employee departures. The ‘Exiting Gracefully and Disgracefully’ session will be led by Benchmark Managing Director, Louisa Harrison-Walker, and Jay Bhayani from Bhayani HR and Employment Law; they will share advice on handling
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The stakes have been upped when it comes to perks at work and free tea and coffee no longer cut it. Grainy coffee granules and tea stained mugs have been replaced let’s face it by premium coffee machines that rival your local baristas skills. That’s just for starters; we’re seeing companies catering for employees lifestyles with benefits that keep the
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Music – It can make or break an office. It can turn a room full of workers in to aspiring super stars or open up a heated debate around which girl band has the best synchronized dance routines, or which boy band has the best hair dos. So what does music says about your office? Here we take each music
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Benchmark’s founder Louisa Harrison-Walker is celebrating after being shortlisted in the Forward Ladies National Awards 2017 in the SME Emerging Category. Louisa is the Managing Director of recruitment agency Benchmark which is in its 11th year of trading. She is also the first female to chair Sheffield Chamber Council, Chair of the Common Purpose Advisory board for Yorkshire, plus trustee
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Everyone enjoys a visitor in the office every now and again, but it’s a bonus when the visitor has 4 legs and barks. On Tuesday 18th July Benchmark had a visit from Luna a lovely Border Collie and her owner Wendy. Luna and Wendy were also joined by Danny from Support Dogs UK. As much as the team enjoyed cuddles
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A major new campaign is being launched by the Sheffield City Region (SCR) to ask job hunters what they honestly think about the region’s employers. Turning the usual approach on its head, people across the region looking for work, or for another job, will be asked to describe when they’ve had a bad interview, or think they’ve been asked unfair
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Caption (LtoR): Amelie De Candolle (Creative Consultant at Benchmark), Matt Ingram-Smith (IT & Digital Consultant at Benchmark), Jack Underwood (Code Make Win Overall Winner) and Robert Walker European and Strategic Project Manager at Sheffield City Council. Our IT & Digital consultant Matt Ingram-Smith this week (Tuesday, 4th July) mixed with the bright sparks of the city at the Sheffield Digifest
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We know the struggles parents face juggling the demands of work and childcare, and just making it to the weekend is often deemed a success! This week it’s time to give a shout out to the Dads out there who are their kid’s superheroes. These are the signs you’re killing it as a Dad and giving your kids the best
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