Articles

Understanding the legacy of legal sector apprenticeships

The legacy of legal sector apprenticeships

There has been a significant rise in the number of employers in the legal sector adopting apprenticeship programmes. Jarred Consulting founder Kerry Jarred spoke to Commercial Director at legal training provider BPP Clare Grant about what she’s learned from working at the rock face over the past few years. Is there an equivalence between legal sector apprenticeships and the traditional university SQE route?

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An expert-led podcast for people who want to get into law

An expert-led podcast for people who want to get into law

Did you know that Jarred founder Kerry is also a podcast host? ReImagine Law is an expert-led podcast for people who want to get into law, and she and her co-hosts explore the paths available, the issues involved and share insider knowledge on how to succeed.

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Why your business needs a culture of early mediation

Why your business needs a culture of early mediation

The cost of conflict in the workplace is significant, with billions lost every year to absence, staff turnover and loss of productivity. The ripple effect impacts teams, managers and colleagues who instead of getting on with the job they were hired to do, deal with the fallout.

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AI and HR: 7 questions every leader should be asking right now

7 questions every leader should be asking right now

According to former Google X boss Mo Gawdat ‘Sci-fi has ended. We’re in sci-fact.’* With years of experience of being knee-deep in AI development, he has three predictions:

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How to ace performance review season when budgets are tight

Performance review season

The stresses of the financial year end often herald the stresses of performance review season. Your teams may have given their all recently but with budget constraints to consider, how do you retain talent and boost performance when salary increases and bonuses can’t be as generous as you’d like?

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Six essential HR upskills to survive an economic downturn

Six essential HR upskills to survive an economic downturn

The great HR squeeze is upon us. On one side, inflation and recession put pressure on budgets but on the other, a reduction in the workforce pool and high demand for cutting-edge skills means competition for talent remains hot.

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Leadership matters: seven signs that safety, belonging and recognition are suffering

If safety, belonging and recognition are suffering, and what you can do to shore them up

To achieve business growth you need people – in this climate even to stand still, you need people. Your company will not survive without this lifeblood. In times of transition, change and uncertainty you need them even more, and so getting the very best out of them may mean looking at how you behave as a leader, evolving the behaviours of the leadership teams around you and developing your culture so that everyone feels included.

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Evolving VUCA: ten upskilling areas to enrich leadership through turbulent times

Ten upskilling areas to enrich leadership through turbulent times

Likely already exhausted, your leaders are under unprecedented pressure from all fronts. After the overnight shifts that were necessary to keep working through a pandemic, they find themselves overwhelmed by wave after wave of rapidly appearing new challenges. These are unpredictable times.

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Getting Your People Deal Right

Employing smart: the importance of alignment and purpose in getting your people deal right

You’re unlikely to unlock your business’s potential without attracting and keeping the right talent. If you’ve had issues with recruitment or attrition recently then your EVP (or employee value proposition) may not be keeping step with the modern market and what people want.

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What does it mean to invest in new talent?

Focus on the future

What does it mean to invest in new talent? Lisa Slater, Jarred associate and early talent specialist shares her experience working in the legal sector. ‘Firms won’t achieve their goals if they don’t invest in talent.’ she starts. Naturally, the best investment for an organisation struggling to secure the right people is to bring in an experienced fresh pair of eyes like Lisa’s but what else do they need to make an allowance for?

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ESG – real commitment, not lip service

Powerful partners for growth: embedding ESG in your People Proposition (EVP)

Looking to scale your business? This is what you need to know about putting people and purpose at the heart of your intentions.

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Resilience – when the unexpected happens

Leadership through resilience

When the unexpected happens, needs can morph overnight: needs that are sometimes difficult to articulate, let alone meet. It could be said that the definition of resilience is how people handle work and life in times of rapid change, so when you’re dealing with the needs of others as well as your own, the pressure is magnified.

Flexing to the demands of a pandemic, the business world has had to reorganise its priorities and ways of working. As the memory of the restrictions fade, we talk to leadership coach and strategist Clint Evans about the resilience challenges leaders have had to deal with – both theirs and those of their teams.

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Take a long hard look at what HR is all about

The Value of rethinking HR

HR transformation consultant and Jarred Associate Meryl Folb wants everyone to take a long hard look at what they think HR is all about – and then think again. Why? Because years of experience have taught her that when HR is undervalued opportunities for wellbeing and growth are lost. These are a few of her insights.

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Humancentric leadership guards against burnout

Serious play on purpose

Humancentric leadership guards against burnout, builds stronger teams, inspires creativity and creates a safe space for ideas to flourish and talent to grow. A specialist in this area and with almost 30 years of experience working in PR, Jarred associate Anne-Marie Rodriguez de Killeen brings a wealth of knowledge to her learning experiences and sometimes a box of LEGO®.

More about LEGO® later.

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The Power of Keeping Things Simple

Focussing on what matters

The power of keeping things simple by streamlining a complex process releases time, energy and resources to ensure it’s efficient, effective and enjoyable. This is the ethos behind TopScore’s virtual assessment platform for the legal sector and beyond. Having spent many years facilitating assessment centre campaigns, co-founder and MD Phin Naughton knows the pitfalls and headaches well – but he also has a good knowledge of what works right and what makes people happy.

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The Rewards of Doing What you Love

Flexibility vision and rewards

Jarred Associate Simon North can’t remember a time when he wasn’t doing what he loves, coaching in some form. Here he talks about the rewards of doing what he loves. Although he didn’t qualify and call himself a coach until he was fifty, he has spent most of his life using his skills to lift others to the next level: whether in his businesses, on the sports field or in music. ‘I’ve been working for forty-one years and never not enjoyed a day,’ he says.

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Change Management Tuning into What the Client Needs

Tuning in to what the client needs

The first part of the change management process is tuning in and getting a good overview of how the client operates, understanding their pain points and figuring out what works well and what doesn’t.

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Bolstering Leadership Resilience Through Balance

Why as a leader you need to check-in with yourself

Burnout can affect anyone but as someone with responsibility for the working lives of others, the ripple effects can be greater for someone in a leadership role. With teams looking for direction in challenging times and new working practices pushing the boundaries of what was previously thought impossible, the pressure can be unbearable.

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The Power of Quality Conversations

When we think about what effective communication means, it is often seen as a mechanism to get things done and can take on a transactional feel. Jarred Associate Sarah Holden believes that quality communication is what unleashes performance in teams and organisations. The workplace climate is changing and company culture and conversational skill sets need to keep up.

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The Great Re-engagement

The term The Great Resignation was coined by psychologist and professor of management Anthony Klotz in May 2021. Also known as the Big Quit, it has come to capture a mood as much as a movement, as a huge wave of resignations has hit companies around the world.

In this article, we examine some of the reasons why this has happened but more importantly, we look at what can be done to counter this mass exodus, why it’s important to act in these times, and why your culture matters.

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Diversity Equality and Inclusion make Good Business Sense

Diversity, equality and inclusion make good business sense: Data shows a correlation between diversity in executive teams and increased profitability. In other words, allowing other people a seat at the table doesn’t mean that there are fewer pieces of the pie, the pie simply gets bigger.  Of course, the other commercial imperative is that there’s a need to represent, connect with and align with the customer base.

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The Hybrid Organisation : Navigating the next 6 months (and beyond…into the new normal)

As we enter into the winter months and what is almost certainly going to bring another period of restrictions and changes to working patterns for many due to the pandemic, HR professionals and business leaders’ aim is to create sustainable ‘hybrid’ organisations.  Organisations where the vast majority of people are working from home, balancing many priorities.  This requires a culture, as well as working practices which will allow people to thrive, and not just ‘survive’.  There are many facets to this, wellbeing is at the top of the list, as many people have been going great guns since March and are at risk of burn out, but also on the minds of leaders (or should be!) is how they can support their people to take ownership of their new way of working, learning, collaborating and delivering, in a way which is aligned to the business strategy but also gives them a choice in how they stay connected.

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Re-Imagining E-book Evolving Your Workforce

Free downloadable e-book

Many papers and articles have been published (and continue to be) about how to manage the workforce, address recruiting and talent concerns as well as evolve business cultures and purpose in the wake of Covid-19. There is so much information to work through that it could become a full-time job for any individual with HR or C-level responsibilities to wade through each piece of content. With so much business leadership advice out there right now, it’s no surprise that we all feel like we’re drowning within all the noise and conflicting literature!

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Furlough Updated Part 7 – Your Questions Answered

On 12 June the government issued further details of the flexible furlough scheme which will commence on 1 July 2020 and run until the end of October 2020. The revised, flexible scheme allows employees to work for their employer on a part-time basis whilst employers will still be able to make claims under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (‘CJRS’) for the periods that employees are not working.

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Moving to Virtual Onboarding

As the requirement to work from home and practice social distancing remains key to the governments’ strategy for dealing with the Covid 19 pandemic, early talent teams are grappling with how to enable the 2020 intakes to feel truly part of the business they have chosen to join. Many of these recruits may never have set foot in your offices or met an employee face to face, so how do you make sure they feel a valued employee who is part of your organisations’ people network?

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Getting Your People Back to Work Re-entry Part 3

As we start to see the first signs of employees returning to the workplace, albeit in limited circumstances, now is a good time to share the third of our re-entry articles to help HR and talent management professionals guide their organisations into the future.  With the Chancellor announcing that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will be extended until the end of October 2020 now is the time to turn your attention to the practical steps you can take from an HR point of view 'Getting Your People Back to Work'.

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HR Planning Video for Re-entry Part 3

Our third video in our series on re-entry following the lockdown looks at how HR and talent management professionals can help organisations 'getting your employees back to work'

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Video Guide to Virtual Onboarding

Now we are operating virtually, onboarding will no longer be the same process. Many new recruits may never have visited your offices. Here Louise Carreras explains the process of onboarding your new staff virtually.

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Furlough Updated Part 6! – Your Questions Answered

Following the Chancellor’s announcement on 29 May 2020 we are pleased to provide a further update on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (“Furlough Scheme”). Please note that this note is intended to be supplementary to those we have published previously on  7th April 2020  22nd April 2020  5th May 2020  13th May 2020 27th May 2020

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Furlough Updated Part 5! – Your Questions Answered

We are pleased to provide a further update on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (“Furlough Scheme”) in response to continuing guidance from the government and HMRC. Please note that this note is intended to be supplementary to those we have published previously on 7th April 2020  22nd April 2020  5th May 2020  13th May 2020

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HR Planning Video for Re-entry Issue 2

Our second video in our series on re-entry following the lockdown looks at how HR and talent management professionals can help organisations shape the new normal.

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Shaping the New Normal Re-entry Part 2

With some early signs of businesses moving forward following the Prime Minister’s broadcast on 10th May, and subsequent government guidance, this second article in our series of re-entry articles looks at how HR and talent management professionals can help organisations plan for the future.

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HR Planning Video for Re-entry Issue 1

As people start the gradual re-entry into the workplace, HR planning has never been more important.  Our MD Kerry Jarred discusses in this video how business leaders can prepare for the challenge.

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Stepping Back to Move Forward Re-entry Part 1

We’re dealing with what is arguably our biggest challenge of recent times. As business leaders start to prepare their employees to return to work Human Resource professionals will be critical to how successfully organisations move on from the chaos of COVID-19. The significant economic uncertainty along with remote working or furloughed staff has led to a heightened sense of anxiety for many. Perhaps now is the time to re-calibrate and shape the ‘new normal’. We will get through this but when we do, things won’t quite be the same.

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Furlough Updated Part 4 – Your Questions Answered

This fourth note dealing with the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (“Furlough Scheme”) follows an announcement made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 12 May 2020.  As has been the case with previous announcements we do not, at the time of writing, know the full details therefore we will publish further updates as we get clarifications. Please note that this note is intended to be supplementary to those published by us on the 5th May 2020. https://jarredconsulting.co.uk/furlough-updated-part-3-your-questions-answered/

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Furlough Updated Part 3 – Your Questions Answered

We have published two previous Q&As on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (“Furlough Scheme”) and this third note is intended to give a further update in response to clarifications issued by the government.

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Fun Ways to Keep in Touch with Your Team

As we continue to work from home and practice social distancing, we are becoming experts in keeping in touch with each other via online formats. We have pulled together some ideas to help you create some ‘downtime’ with your colleagues, injecting a bit of light-hearted fun! These activities may also help you get to know each other better, which can build a deeper level of understanding and appreciation of each other’s circumstances. We hope you enjoy trying some of these out!

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Top Tips Video for Virtual Performance Management

With face to face meetings becoming a thing of the past, everything is currently moving online including Managing your Team's performance. Our associate Louise Carrera's new video offers 8 top tips on how to Manage your Team's Performance Virtually and make it effective..

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Top Tips Video for Flexible Working

Following on from our series of top tips articles here our associate Euan Graham's video offers help on Flexible Working.

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Furlough Updated- Your Questions Answered

Since we last published on the subject of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (“Furlough Scheme”) there have been a number of changes.  We are pleased to provide updated guidance in this note.

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Top Tips for Running a Virtual Vacation Scheme

Following on from our series of top tips articles we are excited to showcase our new video. Here Louise Carreras offers some top tips on how you can manage a Virtual Vacation Scheme.

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Managing Virtual Employee Relations Issues:Top Tips

Continuing our series of top tips, when you are unable to deal with employee relations face to face, it can add to the challenge. Here we discuss how you can manage employee relations issues when working remotely.

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Furlough – Your Questions Answered

Many clients and friends are either asking us the same question or searching the internet trying to find answers about ‘Furloughing employees’ so we thought it appropriate to ask one of our team, Charlotte Spooner, an HR expert, to give us her view on the scheme as it applies to UK based businesses in this current crisis. If you feel you would like more information please feel free to get in touch as we know how difficult it can be at this time.

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Conducting Effective Virtual Performance Conversations – 8 Top Tip

In these challenging times, staying connected with our teams is vital. It is vital for their well-being, for alignment to goals and of course business performance (both in the short and long term). Doing the right thing now, is critical. Experienced managers know that offering sincere feedback face-to-face is an art form; when done via video conference or phone call, however, the exchange takes on another level of complexity. These virtual performance conversations can be tricky.

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Top Tips for Converting to Virtual Assessment Centres

With the sudden need to stay at home, the idea of running assessment centres has become a more complex one. It doesn’t take much to be able to turn your current assessment centre materials into a virtual recruitment experience that shows candidates you are responsive, responsible and ready to adapt. There are some things you can do to create a quick fix for the current times and there are platforms which can provide you with a long-term solution. Here are our 8 top tips to run virtual assessment centre over the next weeks and into the future.

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8 Top Tips for Leaders to Maximise Effectiveness of Teams Working From Home

As the world goes further into lock down and more and more people are required to work from home leaders and managers are being faced with how to best manage their teams remotely. For employers used to having people physically present in the office this can add to the strain of running the business when times are tough. We’ve pulled together 8 top tips for those leaders and managers who not only have employees working from home but also now find themselves homebound. For those new to this way of working, and able to do it, working from home can be very productive and very rewarding for employees and the teams they work with provided expectations are set on both sides from the start.

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Top Tips for Running and Hosting Virtual Meetings

Thanks to a wide range of technology tools, virtual meetings are accessible and can be very effective.  But virtual meetings are different from the face-to-face variety in many ways. For online collaboration to succeed, participants need to communicate differently than they would if everyone were gathered in the same room together.  As many people are now “Jumping on a video call” here are our 8 Top tips to help you facilitate effective and productive virtual meetings.

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COVID 19: Navigating the Changing Landscape of Business

As the weeks carry on into the ‘slightly’ unknown territory for many businesses across the globe people are waking up to the fact that things are different. Yet, we all still have businesses to run to support our clients and our teams. We’ve put this article together as a way of pooling some useful tips on how to best navigate your business through this turbulent time.

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8 Top Tips for Working from Home

Working from Home – 8 Top Tips for making it through the day and achieving all you want. This week has seen a dramatic increase in people working from home, not just here in the UK but across the globe. So how do we get used to the new (albeit) norm? The joy of not having to do the daily commute may be short-lived if you’re struggling to strike a balance so we’ve pulled together some top tips for staying sane and getting the best out of the new work routine. Here are our 8 Top Tips on Working from Home:

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People not Processes Breed Innovation

Innovation gives companies an edge, creates new opportunities and is critical in driving growth. Arguably innovation is critical for any organisation to survive these days.  So, how can business leaders create a culture where creative thinking, questioning assumptions, and taking measured risks becomes the norm?  How can they not just encourage this kind of behaviour and mindset, but actually develop these as skills within their workforce?

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How do you Improve Employee Engagement?

We know engaged employees make for a more successful business. And so, quite rightly, much is made about successful employee engagement. Worryingly a recent ADP Research Institute report, The Global Study on Engagement, found that 84% of people just come to work rather than fully contributing. That means over two thirds of the workforce are there in body but not in mind. If you’re concerned that you could be one of those employers with sleepwalkers on your team how do you make the switch to drive greater engagement and commitment across the business. And let’s be clear, surveys are not going to inspire passion.

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People Analytics and their Influence on Business

Following last month’s CIPD Data Analytics Conference and Workshop we decided to take a closer look at data analytics and its role in HR. The idea of data analytics in HR is not a new one. It’s about taking a data driven approach to identifying and analysing people related issues. However, over the last few years we have seen it become increasingly important – in fact LinkedIn reported that in North America there has been a three-fold increase in HR professionals adding analytics skills and keywords to their profiles. It is clear that when done well, people analytics can provide organisations with huge amounts of information and reporting abilities that can help revolutionise employee engagement, satisfaction, retention and, ultimately, business success.

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Internal Talent

We previously discussed the need for organisations to build a culture of openness and trust. By encouraging both freedom of thought and creativity across resources will flourish, thus enabling businesses to be successful and grow. With the ever-increasing demands for businesses to change and adapt to global economic circumstances, the focus on both a culture of openness and trust can sometimes become lost. The attention can become misplaced  upon the destination rather than the journey, meaning employees can become unwilling to invest in their skills and try new roles. A study by Deloitte earlier this year found that 76% of C-suite executives rated internal talent mobility as important, while 57% of respondents said it was easier to find a new job outside their current employer than from within.

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Skills Gap Analysis

One of the top three priorities for HR Leaders in 2019, according to Gartner’s survey of 843 HR professionals, is building critical skills and competencies for the future. Although a seemingly straightforward goal, a recent Gartner report identified that 70% of employees say they haven’t mastered the skills to do the job today let alone being equipped for the future. This is further backed by 64% of HR managers suggesting that employees can’t keep pace with the changing needs of the future business.

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Strategic Importance of Leadership

A recent McKinsey report reveals a worrying disconnect between CEOs and HR leader’s overly buoyant beliefs around their talent and people development strategies compared to other leaders within their organisation. While 64% of both HR leaders and CEOs said their companies were high adopters of such strategies, only 42% of all other survey respondents agreed with the findings.

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Change is Inevitable. Change is Constant.

In the words of Benjamin Disraeli, “Change is inevitable. Change is constant.” Whether it’s new political leaders with new (and sometimes varying) agendas. Volatile and ever-changing global relationships directing our economy’s course. Or the need to be more agile than ever in an increasingly knowledge rich, digitally savvy world, there are many challenges ahead, some anticipated and some not, but today’s business leaders will need to navigate them, come what may.

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