Blog Layout

We are Consistently Being Recognised for Quality

Jonathan Shepherd-Stubbs • Feb 27, 2023

“When it comes to quality, no business aims to give poor service.”  This was just one of the comments from Lindsay Bruce Smith an independent assessor with Quality Systems Consultants Ltd, the ISO Certification Company that recently awarded Shepherd Stubbs Recruitment with our ISO9001 certification.
 
As a business, we continuously aim to provide the highest level of service to both our clients and candidates but it’s what happens behind the scenes that is just as important.
 
In January of this year, we were audited for regulatory compliance under the Quality Management System ISO 9001 Certification. Within this certification compliance is required for any business to address the following seven key areas:

  • Context of the organisation
  • Leadership
  • Planning
  • Support
  • Operation
  • Performance evaluation
  • Improvement


These requirements help businesses to successfully implement an effective Quality Management System. [1]


We asked Lindsay Bruce Smith to add a further comment to support our blog article. Lindsay wrote:
 
“With many potential service providers to choose from, how can you measure quality before committing to using a company? If you are lucky, you may have a trusted recommendation, but what if you don’t?

 

A company with independent ISO9001 certification has been assessed by a qualified external body against an internationally accepted quality standard. It is an indication that the company’s operational systems, policies and management approach is consistent, committed to quality, customer focused and actively working for continuous improvement.

 

In practice, for a customer, supplier, or partner, this gives a company independent, qualified assurance that the business is managed and operated in a way that is internationally recognised as being a good quality standard.
 
Business processes, procedures, policies, checks, and operating systems are regularly audited and reviewed. In addition, a history of continuous certification over several years indicates not only current compliance and quality performance, but also that the company has maintained and improved its quality system.”
 
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Lindsay for her comments and congratulate each member of the team for their continued support in ensuring that we are consistently meeting the internationally required status for our ISO9001 certification.

 

If you are interested in finding out more about adopting a Quality Management System or achieving ISO9001 Certification for your own business, you can contact Lindsay at lindsay.smith@qscltd.com.


Source: 
[1] QMSuk.com

BLOG

The Most Common Interview Questions and How to Answer Them

by Simon Clark • 20 May, 2024
Many people dread interviews, you know you would be perfect for the role given the chance but first you have to get through the dreaded interview questions. Will you be able to answer them? Will your mind go blank? Whilst recruiters will take into account genuine nerves, it will help if you prepare yourself as much as possible beforehand. We have put together some of the most common interview questions and how to answer them. “Tell us about yourself” You would think that talking about yourself is easy and that’s why many interviewees fail to prepare an answer for it. Instead of trying to tell the interviewer about yourself on the spot, always prepare for this question and rehearse it if you need to. Prepare a short statement about yourself, highlighting some of your skills, qualifications and experience along with some interesting things about yourself. This doesn’t have to be too personal, ultimately, you are explaining why you are a good fit for the role. “Tell us about a challenge or conflict at work you have dealt with” The interviewer isn’t trying to catch you out here and as much as we might dread this question, it’s actually an excellent way to see how a potential candidate ticks and how well they will fit into the role. Take a moment to relax, take a breath and think about a time you can describe. Avoid spending too much time detailing the challenge or conflict but focus more on how you overcame it and what the resolution was for a more positive spin on this question. “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?” This one can be a tough question depending on whether you are looking for a short term job or a long term one where you can achieve growth. If you are interviewing for your dream company with plenty of room for career advancement, be honest and tell the them where you see the role taking you in the future. If you are looking for a shorter term job or aren’t sure what you want to do in the future, also be honest and tell the interviewer that you aren’t sure what the future holds for your career but you are more than ready to take on a challenge and believe this role will play a big part in that. “Where did you hear about us and why do you want to work for our company?” This is your opportunity to stand out! Be honest and tell them where you first heard about the vacancy, use the opportunity to tell them you were excited when you heard they were hiring. For the second part of this question, do your research into the company beforehand and note anything that you are excited about or something that stands out to you and prepare how you can focus on this aspect and talk about it in depth. Imagine how you envisage yourself growing with the organisation. If nothing stands out to you and you are just turning up at interview for the sake of getting a job, unfortunately this will be obvious to the hiring manager. We wish you the very best of luck with your future interviews and we hope this blog has helped you prepare. If you need further support with your job search, our friendly, professional team are on hand to help. Contact us here.

What Qualities to Look for in a Candidate

by Jonathan Shepherd-Stubbs • 25 Apr, 2024
With so much talent out there, it’s not always easy to find the perfect candidate for your current vacancies. If you want to avoid a high staff turnover and get the perfect candidate in your team from the off and watch them grow, here are some initial qualities to look out for in your next round of hiring. Leadership There’s no limit to the heights a candidate could reach in your business and it’s often those who start at the bottom who end up working their way up through the ranks. Whilst your current candidate might not be at that level yet, it’s worth looking out for signs early on that will make them an excellent leader in the future. Honesty & Integrity This one goes without saying, you need someone you can really trust to take on a role within your business. Whilst it’s not always evident in the interview stage whether you can really trust a candidate, you will usually find evidence of this when you investigate references and ask questions about the candidates previous roles. Dependability Just like trust, you need someone working within your business who is dependable and does what they say they are going to do. An employer’s nightmare is someone who is regularly late for shifts or worse, doesn’t turn up at all. There are some early signs you can look for here; Was the candidate on time for their interview? How long did they work for their last employer? Do they switch jobs often?  Competency Lastly, is your candidate competent in the job you are expecting them to do? If you are hiring someone straight out of college, maybe they aren’t quite ready for a leadership role. Does the candidate have proven track record of managerial experience? Maybe they won’t be quite suited to a more junior position. As always, it’s important to ask questions and really get to know your candidates in your interviews to maximise the chances of you getting the right employee for your business. If you are new to interviewing, check out our blog ‘3 of the Best Questions to ask any Candidate’ to maximise your time and really get the most out of your next interview. If you need further support as an employer, we have you covered. From advertising your latest role to our audience to matching you with the perfect employee, we would love to help. Contact our team here.
More posts
Share by: