Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all!

With very best wishes for the coming year

Hilly, Henrietta and The YouYou Team

Customer Service...

Customer Service appears to be at the top of my list this week. Every single person we come into contact with in the course of our business life is a customer or a contact and the way that we treat our customers is, as I've said before, the backbone of our business.

We were lucky when we were running our office support staff agency to be able to spend a little more time with people who were looking for jobs than other recruiters. More often than not it's the smaller businesses that have the time or perhaps take the time to invest in people because their work lives are not target driven in the same way that they are if they work for a larger company. Customer service is at the top of their list.

I speak to office support staff jobseekers every day and I hear story upon story about how they are treated in the course of their job search. A search that, in the current climate, is becoming more and more of a challenge. I felt compelled to write something about this today because I had an email from a jobseeker about a recruiter who insisted that the she reveal her age before the recruiter would take her application any further. Something which is in fact against the law. The truth is that it wasn't even the fact that she wanted to know her age that was so upsetting for the person in question, it was the way in which she was treated, the rudeness she experienced that she found so difficult to deal with.

It costs absolutely nothing to be polite and kind to people. We all have busy working lives but I know that most of us do our best to treat others in the way that we would like to be treated and that the level of customer service we provide in our businesses is merely a reflection of personal values and our commitment to them.

BStartup Show 11/11

On Friday Henrietta and I visited The Business Startup Show at Earl’s Court. As a new business we were excited the see what the show had to offer us in terms of advice and help with the challenges we currently face in our business. Although we do have business accounts on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and we write both blogs and newsletters we felt that, having reviewed what was on offer, social networking was what we wanted advice about. With this in mind we had booked a Smart Marketing 1-2-1.

We arrived in time to have a quick look and assess where we would like to go after our 1-2-1. It was only 10.30am but the show was already busy with two long queues of people waiting to get in and get their name badges. One exhibitor told us that there had been 16,000 visitors the day before. The show provided so much in the way of stands, workshops, seminars and talks and we met some great people while we were there. Sadly we missed the talk given by Penny Power from ecademy…

Having arrived at our Smart Marketing we sat down with the representative of the company who had volunteered to give us 30 minutes of advice. It became apparent quickly that he was not there to give us advice because he had been sold the idea of doing 1-2-1s as an opportunity to sell his product so he told us, a little defensively. We were speaking to a sales representative rather than an expert. We suggested that what worked with our business and what would most definitely work with his was to give a little bit of information free of charge so that people feel that you are interested in helping them and then, either on the spot or at a later date, they would return and pay for your services. He suggested that we create Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and write blogs - things that absolutely everybody is doing now and so we left it at that..

Overall the show was a success in terms of the meeting with companies that will potentially be able to support our business in the future and we met many people to whom the show had proved the valuable source of information it promised to be. Looking forward to next year already… we won't need advice on emarketing by then...

Mobile Recruitment!

From the moment www.youyou.co.uk went online it was smart phone enabled. It was our desire to create a service for jobseekers that befit the current culture and so their being able to use it whist on the go was never in question. We send both email and text alerts to jobseeekers when their profile has come up in a search on the site because on www.youyou.co.uk that is the point at which they are at what would traditionally be deemed the ‘shortlist’. Naturally once we have let them know that their profile is with a recruiting company we wanted them to then be able to log in to their account and read the company’s communications and so there was no question that the website should be accessible to them at all times from all mobile devices.

There have been several articles this week about how slow recruiters, including job boards, have been to adopt mobile recruitment and how not only are they are losing out but so are the jobseekers who are signed up to their sites. This general lack of awareness of the current culture and the needs of their jobseekers - their ‘clients’ in fact - was a surprise to us because we considered that it was now de rigeur to provide this service because of the ever growing number of people who manage their lives from their mobile phones and this includes their jobsearch.

Many job boards send out alerts to jobseekers with details of new jobs that they would be interested in but in order for them to take advantage of this service they need to be able to log in whilst on the go. The reality is that very few of them can do this because most of the relevant websites are not mobile enabled. This causes not only a degree of frustration but also the loss of opportunity – competition for jobs is fierce and if recruiters find the number of CVs that they need in the first ten applications they simply won’t view the rest of the applications and so applying as soon as possible has become essential.

Absolutely all recruitment businesses have a duty to those signed up to their site to make it easy for jobseekers to visit and log in to their site from mobile devices – 19% of jobseekers are already using their mobile devices for career related purposes and this number is inevitably growing and will continue to do so.

The truth about SOME recruitment agencies... remember, youyou.co.uk is not an agency!

I read this on a forum about recruitment agencies recently…

‘Many years ago I worked in an agency and saw first hand about the made up jobs and candidates being forced into permanent and temp jobs they weren’t suited for just to make up the placement figures. The worst thing I witnessed were two female recruiters advertising legal and accountancy jobs that didn’t exist just so they could meet eligible professional men! I must write a book one day …’

Get your new job now! Ride the wave of increased job demand!

The news is full of doom and gloom and, as a result of many items of news, including the issue of the protestors outside St. Paul’s Cathedral, we can easily be feeling jaded about the state of the world. Naturally, just like everyone else, we have sympathy for all people who are suffering and struggling in the world at this time and, because of the work we do, we are particularly identified with the issues that people face when they are trying to get a new job – either from a job that they are no longer happy in or from the position of being unemployed. As a result of this we were very happy to read that job opportunities have risen dramatically in the past month here in the UK according to the Reed Job Index for October. This is a 7% rise on September’s figures and that had increased from the month before.

This optimism is clearly good news for all those who are looking for a new job which is wonderful and so it’s time to renew your commitment to getting that new job that you want by reworking your CV, regularly and frequently applying to job adverts, contacting all the recruiters that you have ever met and preparing thoroughly for interview.

Remember, if you have any questions about absolutely any aspect of your job search you can always contact our specialist Office Support Staff Recruiter Expert, our CV Expert or our Interview Expert through our website or email us on contact@youyou.co.uk.

EVEN MORE EXCITING NEW FEATURES!

We are very excited to be able to provide even more fantastic new features on www.youyou.co.uk. Not only does this allow you, our clients, to get the most from it, it has made it far easier to navigate.

These improvements have made it possible for both jobseekers and companies to take fuller advantage of this unique way of recruiting. We have made it even more affordable for companies to fill their vacancies – just £295 + VAT! Jobseekers as always can create a profile and use the site for free!

Jobseekers

• Straightforward and easy to use sign up process
• New profile layout which allows you to see your profile exactly as the company would when it has been sent to them
• Manage your jobsearch from your new Dashboard where you can check your YouMail, get updates and information including interview tips, ask questions about your job search and enter competitions all in one place
• New and improved YouMail function
• Brand new PC skills testing facility which is only 20 minutes long. It’s a multiple choice test so you don’t need to download software to do them
• Text alerts to let you know when your profile has come up in companies’ searches

Companies

• A far cheaper alternative to any other way of recruiting and with the new price of £295 +VAT we have made the site more cost effective
• A more streamlined website to allow you to work faster and more effectively
• A brand new Dashboard so you can manage your entire recruitment process from one place – check your YouMail, view jobseeker Profiles, contact jobseekers and get updates from the YouYou team all in one place
• Improved YouMail function
• Improved and more secure payment process
• Improved testing facility which provides a snapshot of their PC skills and typing scores
• Improved jobseekers profile layout
• Improved verification process so that we ensure that only jobseekers who are suitable for your vacancy are sent to you when you place your order

Revolutionising secretarial recruitment in the UK by creating many more reasons to use YouYou.

We strive for the best in everything we undertake and by using our site you are guaranteed our commitment to your needs.

For more information or to speak to one of the team call 0844 879 3194 or email contact@youyou.co.uk

Chance UK is celebrated as Britain's most innovative charity!

We are proud to be one of the innumerable supporters of Chance UK, a London based child mentoring charity, now hailed as Britain’s most innovative charity. It is their determined focus and application to their mentoring model that has won them this accolade and resulted in their rolling out the model to other parts of the UK. They now run not just two offices in London but projects and partners – another highly innovative aspect of Chance’s work - in Liverpool, Monmouthshire and Yorkshire. Their single-mindedness is admirable and has been the foundation of their indisputable success.

Gracia McGrath, Chief Executive, said, ‘We have concentrated on our model. A lot of people have approached us and asked if we could also work with different age groups, but we wanted to put all our powers into improving the model we had. For a while, ‘specialism’ was a dirty word, but we ignored that. It allowed us to focus on who we weren’t getting to. Straying from its mission is the worst thing an organisation can do.’

Such concentration and dedication has paid off and the programme really does work. It achieves fantastic results - 98% of children who are mentored once a week for one year achieve an improvement in their behaviour and 50% come out of the programme with no behavioural problems whatsoever. The mentors of Chance UK (all volunteers and over 50% of them men) work with children between five and 11 years old, boosting their self confidence through organised activities, in order that they can make more constructive choices about their lives. Naturally Chance targets those children who are seen to be now or in the future, vulnerable to the more destructive and ultimately criminal side of life. Not only this, but they give an incredible amount of support to the family of the child too.

Their work is an inspiration to us all!

YouYou wows the crowd at office* 2011

Well, our stand has been packed away, the pink carpet has been rolled up and the office* show is over for another year.

We had an incredible time at the office* show last week, meeting PAs and Office Managers from all over the country and being able to show them the benefits of using YouYou within their company and for their own job search.

What struck us from the feedback from the people we met was that the YouYou idea was a real winner!

Companies were frustrated at the high cost of recruitment fees and loved the fact that they could have a short-list of candidates in such a short amount of time and for such a reasonable price! Jobseekers were amazed at how easy the site was to navigate and how simple the process was.

We were also very proud because we had so many compliments about the appearance and graphics on the site and industry experts were astounded that they were created by such a young talent as Oli Ingram.

By the end of the two days we were exhausted but so elated that we were able to launch our new website to the discerning office* show attendees. Thanks to everyone at office* who helped us and to all the people that visited our stand.

The first National PA Day 15th September 2011

Here at YouYou we love support staff and know how valuable they are to companies. Tomorrow is the launch of an annual National PA day which has been launched to celebrate the contribution PAs make to organisations throughout the UK.

With the slogan 'We make Britain's offices work', the day aims to highlight the increasing importance of the estimated 600,000 highly skilled PAs working in offices across the UK and to promote the profession to well-educated young people seeking an exciting and stimulating career.

Henrietta Barker, one of the founders of YouYou, was quoted

‘I think National PA Day is a fantastic idea. A day like this is so needed within our industry and a great way for PAs to get the recognition they deserve.

To find out more about it then do visit the site by clicking here.

Launch at Office* in Earls Court

You haven't heard from us for a while because we have been really busy getting YouYou ready for you!

We are so excited about our launch tomorrow, 15th September, and we will be at the Office* show in Earls Court to launch our new website.

We are at stand 4021 so please come and say hello if you are going to be at the show.

If you haven't got tickets to the show then please click here

Having a secure job is paramount for our well being!

The Office of National Statistics has been busy as usual weighing up each and every area of our lives and recently it has been busy measuring data pertaining to our well being as a nation! This research revealed that relationships with families and health are essential to our emotional well being but so is job security!

Do you feel secure in your job? Badenoch Clark recently revealed in their studies that employees are less and less trusting of their employers when it comes to business performance and that this mistrust means that many of us are not feeling secure in our jobs.. or even satisfied..

We spend approximately one third of our waking lives in the workplace and so let's hope that we are all enjoying it!

If you happen to be looking for a new secretarial job then do have a look at our revolutionary website - www.youyou.co.uk