Innovation investment is on the rise and with it, the demand for IT talent – especially technical talent. However, recruiting (acquiring) top talent to meet anticipated growth plans is proving challenging.

At Jenrick, we have witnessed a number of major organisations turn to a technique called ‘acqui-hiring’ in which they purchase a company to acquire that company’s talent. In acqui-hire situations, it is not unusual for entire product lines and market verticals to be discarded in this process – as the (only) objective is to ‘acquire’ a talented workforce.

“We [Facebook] have not once bought a company for the company. We buy companies to get excellent people….”

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook

One of the most interesting trends in startup land is the rise of the “acqui-hire,” which is when a big company buys a smaller company just to get its employees.

For instance, Facebook acquired New York-startups Hot Potato and Drop.io just for the companies’ founders. It pretty much killed the product they developed. Or, more recently, Google bought Milk, the app development company from Kevin Rose. It killed all of Milk’s projects and put the team to work on Google+.

(more…)

The Jenrick Recruitment Group was honoured to sponsor the 2013 Nordkapp Challenge in aid of The Marfan Trust.

On May 5th 2013 Five Morgan Cars left the UK en-route to Nordkapp (Norway), one of the most northern landmarks in Europe, well inside the Arctic Circle.

The objective of the 14-day, 5,000-mile journey, through 9 countries, was to raise awareness for a little known medical condition called ‘Marfan Syndrome.’

The condition currently affects up to 18,000 in the UK, yet only 50% of that number are currently registered with The Marfan Trust and are receiving appropriate medical attention. The UK figures are similarly reflected all over Europe.

Statistics show that if an early diagnosis is not made, up to 1/3 of those with the syndrome will suffer from a fatal heart condition, before reaching their mid-twenties.

Thus, a key objective of the trip was to generate as much media awareness as possible, doing so through harnessing the strength and commitment of the extensive European Morgan owners and dealership community.

Did the Challenge meet its objectives?

This can be answered with a firm YES.

The Challenge has been featured on numerous television and radio news broadcasts, most notably the BBC. After each broadcast, there was a notable spike in online traffic to show the impact the message was making.

Furthermore, an extremely active online community has been developed that has generated a substantial amount of awareness, especially through a very passionate Facebook Group and Talk Morgan (leading UK discussion forum) following.

Both of these groups have driven a substantial amount of traffic to the individual pages of the ‘Driven at Heart’ website, generating several hundred unique visits every day to the site.

In addition, the Challenge has also raised over £50,000, which will be donated directly to the incredible research work of The Marfan Trust to assist them in their plight to find a cure for the condition.

However, the most touching moments have been the numerous emails and messages that have been received from the people (and also from their families) who have Marfan syndrome, thanking the Team for all their efforts to raise awareness for the syndrome.

Can I still get involved?

Another clear YES!

Primarily, please come and learn about the symptoms of Marfan syndrome, and also listen to the incredible story of Lucy Morris, who inspired the team to take on the Challenge.

Furthermore, come and view the Driven at Heart website or the website of The Marfan Trust – both of which will provide you with much more information on Marfan syndrome.

Also, come and LIKE the Driven at Heart Facebook page to ensure you keep up with the additional events that are planned and the launch of the commemorative DVD of the trip.

Thank you for your interest and support!

Communication is an interesting subject and a lot more complex than what people seem to think. Let’s look at this from a different angle so that we can start to understand how communication really takes place.

Within us, we have all our dreams and hopes and fears. We also have our values and beliefs.  We have our past memories, our future memories and what we want to do in this moment.  The only way that we can share any of this internal information with a friend, a colleague, the world, is through the use of language.  So we communicate our inside world by speech to the outside world.  This though alone starts to reflect how complex and how very important communication really is.

So here is what I have observed.  When we speak to someone with a foreign language, we consciously accept that we have a communication barrier. To overcome this barrier, we tend to heighten our listening skills and we start to pay more attention to the things we normally would take for granted.  So we observe their facial expressions, their hand gestures, their tone of their voice.  We listen for words that sound familiar and we mirror back what they have said so that we can be sure that we have correctly understood them.

(more…)

The Jenrick Recruitment Group are close to launching their 5th annual Charity Photo Competition, but first need your help on deciding a theme!

Over the last 4 years, The Jenrick Charity Photo Competition has been responsible for donating thousands of pounds to numerous charities and organisations spread throughout the UK and beyond, helping raise the profile of so many lesser-known charitable concerns along the way.

Are you interested in entering our next charity photo competition to have the chance of receiving £100 to donate to a charity of your choice plus have your photo featured in the next edition of the Jenrick Calendar?

If the answer is yes, here’s how you and your business can get involved…

How can YOU and your business get involved?

• Do you enjoy photography? Then this is for you. Why not also spread the word throughout your office and get your co-workers involved too. The more the merrier!
• Do you support a charity? If there is a particular charity that you feel passionate about this is a quick-fire way to raise some extra funds for them.
• What charities does your company support? If your company supports charitable causes, then once again, this an ideal opportunity to raise additional funds for them. Feel free to forward this article to a member of your HR team, or whoever within your organisation you feel would be responsible for promoting this further, in order to take advantage of this superb opportunity!

What theme would you like this year’s photo competition to be?

To kick start the competition we first need a photo theme! Thank you to those of you who have emailed us with your suggestions for a theme.  From that list we’ve come up with a final 5 for you to vote from! Here they are…

(more…)

We felt that this article, which addressed why some people appear to gain promotion while others always seem to be overlooked, effectively  complemented the topics that are covered in Jenrick IT’s Executive Coaching Programme.

“You do your job faithfully every day. You may even do your job exceptionally well. Why is it, then, that you’ve been in the same position for three years while others – seemingly less-deserving people – have been promoted?

The people who have been promoted may know one critical thing that you don’t.

Promotion isn’t just about doing what you’re paid to do. It’s not necessarily even about being the best “widget” maker you can be.

Promotion is about pushing the limits of your current position.

It’s about showing that you have outgrown your current responsibilities, and that you’re ready to take on new ones.

Think about it. If you’re busy working away, producing more widgets per hour than anyone has ever produced, why should I promote you? Clearly, your value to the company is your efficiency. If I promote you, my production output may suddenly fall!

Focusing on simply what’s expected of you may be a great strategy to keep the job you have. But going beyond what’s expected, and stretching yourself beyond your current role, can lead to a new job with more responsibility.

(more…)

Shares in London soared to their highest level for nearly five years yesterday – taking gains for 2013 to more than £110billion.

The FTSE 100 index jumped 70.36 points to 6,347.24 on another dramatic day for investors following the best January for the stock market since 1989.

It means the value of Britain’s blue chip firms has increased by £114billion this year and by £720billion since the depths of the financial crisis in March 2009.

The rally is a massive boost to the value of pensions and investments for millions of households at a time when savings rates are at rock bottom.

(more…)

At 6am on Sunday May 5th the Nordkapp Challenge Cars will depart from Morgan’s Malvern Factory to begin their 5,000 mile round trip to the Arctic Circle, in aid of Marfan Sydrome.

A number of Jenrick’s clients recently had the opportunity to learn much more about Marfan Syndrome and the Nordkapp Challenge, whilst on a unique behind the scenes factory visit, given by Morgan Managing Director Steve Morris (also a driver on the challenge).

The day was a huge success as you’ll gather from the photos and feedback below, with a new-found awareness and understanding for Marfan Syndrome with everyone who attended the event.

“Thank you for inviting me to the Morgan Cars / Marfan Trust day on Friday. The tour of the factory was most interesting and driving the Aero 8 back from the pub with Kevin as co-pilot was the perfect finish! Learning about Marfan Syndrome and the courageousness of Lucy Morris was humbling. I have visited the ‘driven at heart’ website and will make a donation.”

“What a brilliant event… It really was a ‘one of a kind’ which I am sure we will talk about (and your invited clients and colleagues) for years to come.”

“Thank you for a terrific day out – it was completely unique.”

“I just wanted to say a massive thanks for inviting me along to your event today at Morgan. It’s was a really great day and special to know there was also such a good cause being supported by everyone. The flow of the day was perfect and seeing the manufacturing process and have a play with their beautiful cars was great.”

“Thank you all at Jenrick and Morgan for a brilliant day out, it was a wonderful experience.Steve, it was a real pleasure to meet you and thank you for entrusting me with the Aeromax, it’s certainly a very special car.”

“A big thank you to you both for a really fun day on Friday, and an even more fun day on Sat with the Aero SuperSports!! Very much appreciate your hospitality, and found the factory tour very interesting – a real insight into the Morgan family. Hope all goes well with the Marfan trip to Norway – will follow your progress.”

“This was a fantastic day, a once in a lifetime experience. Thanks so much to you guys for organising such an event.”

Further Information

• To learn more about The Nordkapp Challenge and Marfan Syndrome, please click here
• To donate, please visit Driven at Heart’s fundraising page 
• To listen to an inspiring interview with Lucy Morris on the Maximise Potential Podcast, please click here.

A few months ago the Jenrick Team were fortunate to attend a presentation given by Daryll Scott of My Noggin, an expert in Change Management.

Daryll recently created a Whitepaper which provides a wonderful insight into this (very emotive) subject, which we felt was an excellent resource to share with our audience.

Introduction:

“If you think about it, the term ‘Change Management’ is slightly unhelpful. It’s reactive. It supposes that the change has already happened and you now need to manage it; like managing nuclear fallout – we are accepting that ‘the horse has already bolted’ and we are there to ‘lock the stable door’.

Consider the difference between ‘managing change’ and ‘provoking change’ or influencing change’ – the latter are clearly more pro-active and more organic.

We all know that, no matter how sensible or well intended the change, it will succeed or fail as a result of how people react to it and how they behave after the change is implemented – so rather than dealing with change like a necessary evil; how can we shift our intentions to creating compelling, contagious change?”

Introduction written by Daryll Scott, Change Agent (for) & joint Managing Director (of) ‘Use Your Noggin Ltd’

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE WHITEPAPER:

• Download Daryll’s Whitepaper on ‘Leading Change’ & ‘Effective Change Management’ HERE

LEARN MORE ABOUT DARYLL & THE ‘MY NOGGIN’ TEAM:

• Click here to learn more about Daryll Scott and the My Noggin team & their specialities

What do Gannett, New York City and Columbia University have in common?

Each has a Chief Digital Officer, or CDO, to bring together strategic business practices, technology, skilled leadership and internal and external communications. Most CDOs can be found inside of media companies, sitting just a seat or two away from the CEO.

Two years ago, there were lively conversations that CDOs were those who didn’t get the coveted title of President. Others maintained organizations that supported the CDO position were advocating for silos, the curse in marketing and communications. Today, demand for CDOs is outpacing supply.

A complex blend of talent and leadership

Chief Digital Officers are not self-described social media gurus or community managers. CDOs have competencies in the convergence of technology, business, boards, and organizational development.

“Business strategies now must be seamlessly interwoven with ever-expanding digital strategies that address not only the web but also mobile, social, local and whatever innovation there may be around the corner,” write Rhys Grossman and Jana Rich of Russell Reynolds Associates, a global executive search firm.

In their article titled, The Rise of the Chief Digital Officer, Grossman and Rich state:

“To help meet these challenges, companies are increasingly looking for a Chief Digital Officer who can oversee the full range of digital strategies and drive change across the organization.”

To lead a business through a technological transformation is no easy task. CDOs are innovators despite internal skeptics who whisper and rant about the pitfalls of social media.

(more…)

My name is Jane Stevens and I work for Jenrick IT, an IT recruitment agency. I speak to people operating in IT environments daily and have come to know some of them very well. All have a story to tell. I thought you may be interested if I interview one or two about their experiences gained over many years in the workplace and the huge changes they have encountered from an IT prospective.

Below is the personal story of one IT specialist who Jenrick IT have known over many years. I asked him about his memories in the workplace from some of the very earliest days when IT had a very minimal impact on the world around us and how IT evolved, from his perspective, from there on in.

Here is his story, I hope you enjoy it:

It’s quite incredible the amount of change in environments I have seen in my working life from 1974 when I started working full time as a 16 year old apprentice until present day.

I thought, for those starting out in IT today, they may find this an interesting ‘museum piece’ about how IT revolutionised the workplace, going from environments in the early / mid 70’s where IT had either no or minimum impact through to the sophisticated IT systems we have today. For those of the same age group as myself, I guess it’s more of a trip down memory lane.

Where to start. In 1974 I was taken on for a four year apprenticeship on site at a very large (at the time) global focused  corporation. Whilst in the first year attending a foundation course at technical college I had the choice of either becoming a welder, a fitter or to go down the electrical route (one heavy and one light).

I chose light electrical/instrumentation as the more interesting and technologically varied.  Additionally in my first year of the apprenticeship, my first introduction to microprocessors was by building micro processor circuitry ie micro devices to switch things on and off using good old fashioned machine code.

(more…)