At Panoramic Associates, we deliver specialist resources across the whole of the Public Sector, working with over 85% of local authorities across the UK.

We have been at the forefront of Public Health recruitment in recent years, in particular during the Covid-19 pandemic where our work was commended in our inclusion in the Times Fast Track 100 last year. With our large Public Health candidate base, our public health division has successfully connected with over 400 Public Health clients and we have made over 150 placements with 90 different public health recruiting managers.

​Every day, we speak with qualified independent Consultants in Public Health and during our conversations, a growing number of our candidate base have shared that because they don’t work directly for the system, they don’t have access to Professional Appraisers/Responsible Officers in the same way as Consultants in Public Health in substantive employment do.

The network of independent/interim Consultants in Public Health who were sharing the same experience grew and they’d voiced that they’d value from having a forum or network where they can share their tips and experiences on how other people have navigated the system, so this is where the idea for our Breakfast Briefings began!

​To date, Principal Consultant Maisie Hockings and I, Senior Consultant, have hosted two Breakfast Briefing sessions with Interim Consultants in our Public Health network, and everyone has found the conversations insightful. A short summary of some of the points raised in the breakfast briefings so far include:​

• The difficulty in finding Professional Appraisers or Responsible Officers
• The difficultly in accessing SARD
• The MAG form vs current practice
• In the past, the interim network did peer appraisals for each other and it worked well, can we propose to do that again?
• If so how can the interim CPH network be trained as Appraisers and/or ROs? Who do we contact to do this?

​Due to the success of our Breakfast Briefings, we are delighted to bring you our biggest session yet!

For this event, we were joined by three brilliant guest speakers Julian Ryder– Director of Education, Standards and Advocacy at the Faculty of Public Health, John Woodhouse – Responsible Officer at the Faculty of Public Health, and Kathy Elliott– Board Member, UK Public Health Register.

If you w​ould like to view the full recording, please email: Maisie Hockings or Mia Collett at [email protected] or [email protected]

We, at Panoramic Associates, thoroughly enjoy getting insights into our specialist market sectors, other organisations and perspectives. We run these events to build our collective knowledge and provide opportunities to create a network of like-minded individuals.

If you have any suggestions on future topics for our next event or would be interested in attending, please contact Maisie Hockings or Mia Collett at [email protected] or [email protected].

Please get in touch if you have any hiring queries.

Panoramic Associates are thrilled to bring you our first Change and Transformation Meetup! For this event, we were joined by three brilliant guest speakers: Nathan Pierce, Head of Smart London Team & Programme Director of Sharing Cities with the Greater London Authority, Karen Thorpe-Reid, Master Change Practitioner and Teresa Itabor, Transformation and Change Professional.

We explored best practices, challenges and trends within local authorities in change and transformation.

Currently working as a Programme Director with the Greater London Authority, Nathan also shared his overview of the Sharing Cities Programme, thoughts on post-pandemic agile working and business as usual, and big digital innovations for local authorities.

From all of our speakers, we heard their exciting opportunities for local authorities to collaborate and innovate creative ideas to elevate their change and transformation programmes!

You can watch the full recording here:

About Nathan:

Nathan Pierce is the Head of the Smart London Team based in the Greater London Authority in the UK. He is also the Programme Director for Sharing Cities, a pan-European programme that tests out innovative smart city solutions across a number of major European cities, replicating and scaling what works through new business and investment models.

Nathan has 15 years’ experience across a range of public sector bodies having led on major service design and commissioning projects within London and at a European level. Nathan is determined to improve the lives of regular people by finding innovative ways to make government more sustainable, efficient and citizen focused.

About Teresa: 

Teresa Itabor is an experienced Transformation and Change professional, with a track record of delivering major service improvements in Local Government and Housing Associations.

Teresa has spent the last 20 years as a transformation and change leader, working with directly CEOs and Senior Leadership teams in Local Authorities, designing, automating and streamlining business processes through the use of technology and implementing effective Target Operating Models.

​About Karen: 

Prior to founding Premier Change Consulting, Karen held leadership roles with public and private organizations including Shell Oil, TFL, Network Rail, Carphone Dixon & TalkTalk. At age 26 Karen joined Shell as Head of Customer Service before becoming the Director of Customer Service within 18 months where she presided over 19 islands. As a senior global executive, she has been responsible for leading large teams (3000 plus members).

As a Transformation consultant Karen applies her years of experience in business leadership to challenge culture and convention. Driven and open-minded, Karen enjoys changing the way that things are done to generate benefits that will last a lifetime. Karen is also the founder of The Flexie Bench, a virtual platform that unites small companies, start-ups, and individuals in order to foster creativity and accelerate success.

We, at Panoramic Associates, thoroughly enjoy getting insights into our specialist market sectors, other organisations and perspectives. We run these events to build our collective knowledge and to provide opportunities to create a network of like-minded individuals.

Please in touch at [email protected] with any questions or suggestions on future virtual meetups.

In addition, if there’s anything we can help you with in regards to sourcing candidates or finding a new role please do also get in touch.

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“The squeeze on workers’ living standards is already severe.”

This year, a substantial majority of workers expect their pay to shrink. As a result, expectations of pay increases are low, with very few workers predicting their pay to rise by 5%.

Similarly, employers expect to increase pay by more than employees expect them to, with almost half planning to raise salaries by more than 5%. It now seems certain inflation is going to be even higher than expected, therefore, this will be a key question for the year ahead.

Total Jobs, one of the UK’s leading job boards, have released new statistics surrounding navigating the rising cost of living. Pay increases, pay decreases and the cost of living all contribute to the current struggle and the inflation that is still to increase. Experts are encouraging employers to acknowledge the situation we’re in and have open conversations with their staff about financial wellbeing and remuneration. This will be vital in retaining and attracting talent for the foreseeable future.

Working within senior level recruitment, this has been a relevant topic of discussion with our clients and our candidates as of late. In this notion, we pulled together some of the key statistics published by Total Jobs:

• Over a third of UK workers say the rising cost of living is compelling the to consider changing sectors to secure higher pay.
• 80% of employers are concerned about the rising cost of living, alongside the 77% of UK workers.
• 30% of UK workers feel their salary doesn’t cover their basic living costs.
• 47% of UK workers consider themselves to be living ‘payslip to payslip’.
• 90% of UK workers have experienced rising work-related costs in the last year.

Why didn’t employees receive a pay rise?

• Employer couldn’t afford to give a pay rise – 35%
• Didn’t know the reason they weren’t offered a pay rise – 19%
• No career progression meant no pay rise – 16%
• Employer prioritised new hires over investing in current staff – 8%
• Weren’t confident enough to ask for a pay rise – 8%

Public Sector and Legal, however, have been listed as number 6 and 7 on the top 10 sectors experiencing salary growth.

State of play

Money is on the minds of employers and employees alike, following the news that inflation in the UK has reached a 30-year high, and is not looking to improve any time soon.

Although the National Living Wage will also rise this year, many people remain concerned about the real value of the money in their pocket, once rising costs are considered. It’s the lowest-income families who will bear the brunt of this. Our research shows that 80% of people from lower socioeconomic background are concerned about rising living costs compared to 74% of those from more privileged backgrounds.

This research really paints a picture of the pitfalls recruitment and retention strategies may endure this year.

Salary predictions for the year ahead

Despite inflation continuing to climb, 40% of employers anticipate that they’ll only offer pay increase of 1-5% over the next year. A quarter hope to raise pay by 6-10% and 15% expect to increase it by 11-20%, and only 13% of businesses don’t expect to increase pay in the next twelve months.

Living costs will continue to rise in the months ahead, which could drive more people to search for work in industries that can offer higher salaries or more holistic job offers. This may lead to a more saturated and overpopulated job market. For employers, this means perfecting recruitment strategies to find perfect candidates for your business, while investing in current staff.

If you would like to discuss your hiring needs, or would like help with your job search, please get in touch via our contact page, linked here.

Alternatively, if you would like to discuss any of the above, please do get in touch.

At Panoramic Associates we encourage our job candidates to utilise the benefits that LinkedIn has to offer. However, the platform (with over 875 million users in 2023) can often seem elusive and difficult to use effectively.

LinkedIn is a powerful search engine that has the ultimate power to drive targeted, high-volume traffic to your profile. Not only this, but that high traffic can quickly turn into precious professional relationships and engagement with potential job interviews.

It’s time to take the next step in unlocking its power and increase your job-hunting skills. Here, we will lead you through some top tips to assist you with using LinkedIn to its maximum potential and guide you towards unlocking its valuable assets.

Read on for part 2 of our essential and unmissable tips to improving your SEO skills!

Summary and headline sections for attention

Ensure you use up all your words in each section. The LinkedIn About section for example gives you up to 2000 characters. To hit as many of your keywords as possible you should be aiming to use all 2000 of these characters and include as much helpful and incentivising information as possible.

Use this space to gain trust from consultants by opening about yourself, sharing specifically what you offer, and your past successes.

Still need proof? Check out some of the highest-ranking LinkedIn users and see how they’ve utilised this space, more often than not you’ll see them taking initiative and maxing out on this section and reaping its rewards.

Below are some examples of how to do this effectively:

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Trial and error

As goes with most things in life, trial and error will be key with finding your most successful LinkedIn arrangement. Stay vigilant with tweaking and developing your profile. Keep an eye on your stats and go back every couple of weeks to edit your keywords and information. The more you engage with all aspects of the platform the more likely you are to have increased success and interest. Don’t give up, great interviews and opportunities are just around the corner!

Fancy reading more? Have a look out our latest blogs here!

If you would like to find out more about Panoramic Associates, or if you would like to discuss your hiring needs, then please do get in touch today: Contact.

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At Panoramic Associates we encourage our job candidates to utilise the benefits that LinkedIn has to offer. However, the platform (with over 875 million users in 2023) can often seem elusive and difficult to use effectively.

LinkedIn is a powerful search engine that has the ultimate power to drive targeted, high-volume traffic to your profile. Not only this, but that high traffic can quickly turn into precious professional relationships and engagement with potential job interviews.

It’s time to take the next step in unlocking its power and increase your job-hunting skills. Here, we will lead you through some top tips to assist you with using LinkedIn to its maximum potential and guide you towards unlocking its valuable assets.

Continue reading below to access critical knowledge in part 1 of this 2 part series!

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Learn SEO terms and understand the fundamentals of the platform.

Parallel to most social media platforms, LinkedIn runs on an algorithm. In order to use this program to its complete ability it will be helpful to learn jargon that will assist you in attracting relevant and high quality job interviews.

SEO – Search Engine Optimization.

CTA – Call To Action

SEO Keywords – Words that attract the most digital attention and can lead to an increased traffic. These MUST be specific to your target audience and as precise as possible. Read on below to find out more!

Target Audience – The type of audience your media is aimed towards.

Conversions – The total number of times that users complete a required action after clicking a LinkedIn post.

Click Conversions – The percentage of clicks on your post that resulted in a conversion.

View Conversions – The percentage of impressions of your post that resulted in a conversion.

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SEO Keywords

SEO Keywords are a great place to start when learning to utilise LinkedIn more efficiently. These keywords do exactly as they say and are the key to attracting an increase in conversions and general traffic to set yourself apart from competition.

Keywords such as ‘jobs in UK’ or ‘jobs in tech’ are broad, and though will help you find some potential placements, aren’t specific enough.

According to the software SE Ranking the word job alone results in 165K searches a month (based on searches in January 2023) making it vastly difficult to view the most relevant job interviews for you. A more effective keyword combination could be UK job search with 8.1K searches or even better jobs in Fintech UK which has even lower searches resulting in a high chance of accessing tailored and personal jobs in the top 10 results. Its niche, specific, and conveniently aimed towards your chosen sector.

Using keyword finding software such as Moz Keyword Explorer, Search Keyword Analytics for Chrome, and SE Ranking can help you to find productive keywords effortlessly.

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CTA (Call to Action)

CTAs are a perfect way to engage your potential consultants and tell them how they should find out more once they have found you. They direct people to complete actions that benefit yourself resulting in more clicks and conversions. The simplest example of a CTA is ‘Buy Now!’

Peppering CTAs throughout your media (notably the start and end) ensures you do not lose any possible consultants along the way and gives you more opportunities to propose yourself as a quality candidate. Consider using hyperlinks alongside a CTA to direct people to your ‘about You’ page or CV. As Billy McCaffery author of WordStream comments ‘The more information you provide within your CTA, the better it is for all parties that are involved. Using a variety of techniques will only help to benefit your [yourself].’

Look at this example below:

“Please click here to view my CV and get in touch today if you think I could be a perfect fit for your company.” 

Try out the below examples within your own blogs, posts, and emails! ​

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Fancy reading more? Have a look out our latest blogs here!

If you would like to find out more about Panoramic Associates, or if you would like to discuss your hiring needs, then please do get in touch today: Contact.

Job boards, recruiters and employers are flooded with CV’s everyday by those seeking their next role. Your experience and achievements are going to be the most important thing to any employer but how your CV is presented is going to have a big impact on how that information is retrieved.

Using our experience in permanent hires, executive search, senior interims and specialist contractor resources to the Public Sector and the Housing Market, we have provided a checklist on writing an effective CV.

1. Keep it simple

First, let’s start with the format of your CV. The most basic CV formatting can be the most attractive. If your CV is formed of several separate boxes, it can be confusing and hard to follow. You don’t need to use a fancy CV formatter, just go onto Microsoft Word and create a document that includes the following sections:

– Personal/Contact information

– Relevant Skills/Key achievements

– Work history/experience

– Education/Qualifications

– Own interests

I see these sections presented in a variety of different orders. Personally, I find that when a CV is ordered in the way I’ve outlined above it grabs my attention the most. Ultimately, as a recruiter I am looking for someone with the skills and achievements that a client has briefed me on. So, if these are outlined in the first section that I look at, I’m immediately convinced that this profile might be right.  Of course, these points should be expanded within the relevant roles within the ‘Work History’ section but including things such as ‘Ofsted turnaround’ in your ‘Key Achievements’ will catch any recruiter in my sectors eye (Just make sure that you actually have been responsible for the Ofsted turnaround!).

2. Don’t make it too long

I know that many of those that we work with have extensive experience, particularly those who work in an interim market so have undertaken many different roles. With this in mind, try to find that right balance of keeping your CV concise but also make sure that you summarise all of your key responsibilities and achievements from each role and not “sell yourself short”. In order to do this, make sure that you do not list every single responsibility you have had in each role but highlight the most significant/most relevant for the next opportunity you are seeking.

3. Reverse Chronological Order

Be sure to put your work history in reverse chronological order. The most important roles to a recruiter or employer are likely to your most recent, so make sure they’re the first to be seen.

4. Accuracy and Proof Reading 

There’s two separate points here. Firstly, is the accuracy and by this I am referring to the dates on your CV. It’s easy to get dates slightly wrong, especially if you’ve been in an interim role and gone from role to role quite quickly. However, it’s important that you get these right as whilst the significance may seem small, if later down the line references don’t add up with your CV it can cause questions to be asked by employers.

Proof reading speaks for itself – it doesn’t take long but can have a huge impact.

5. Be proud and highlight your achievements 

This is just reinforcing a point I made earlier on. Not only should you be proud of all your achievements, but your achievements are the main thing that most recruiters and employers are looking for. This can be anything from achieving a NVQ L5 in Leadership and Management to turning around a children’s home from Inadequate to Good. Include everything, just make sure they’re relevant.

If you are interested in speaking to us about your current hiring needs, please click here to find out more and get in touch: https://www.panoramicassociates.co.uk/about

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‘The care system will face a ‘tsunami of unmet needs’ in the upcoming winter months, a watchdog has warned.’ 

This comes as health and social care employees are experiencing tougher working conditions and being at over capacity during the pandemic. This has caused staff retention and recruitment to deteriorate.

The CQC will receive a £5.4 billion pledge from the Government for the sector, with the hope to enable new ways of working.

Working within senior level recruitment consultancy, operating largely across Healthcare and Nursing, we turned to our network and asked for their thoughts in our recent poll. We asked, what do you think needs to be addressed first as an immediate action to improve the system?

The results were as follows:

• Better training – 21%
• Clearer career-paths – 4%
• Increased pay – 58%
• Better terms/conditions – 17%

Despite ‘increased pay’ earning most of our participants votes, at closer inspection it is apparent that it is not as simple as giving one variable immediate attention. It is firstly worth suggesting that the funding cannot be used to improve current ways of working within the sector, but to use the funding to change existing regulations and policies.

In this way, Ian Trenholm, Chief Executive of CQC, said ‘If the new Government funding is to have an impact, it needs to be used to do things differently and to develop genuinely collaborative ways of working across all care settings. All staff need to be supported and rewarded’.

Furthermore, it has been reported that demoralised healthcare workers are leaving the sector and low pay and working conditions mean new staff cannot be recruited. The healthcare sector is coming up against tourism and hospitality, with higher pay and better career prospects. In connection, implementing better training not only improves the care for people that need it, but also ensures that employees are able and better equipped to handle their daily tasks. In turn, this may improve the longevity of the sectors employees and increase internal recruitment.

It is also suggested that setting clearer progression routes may also increase the stability of the sector. Similarly, Ian Trenholm further explained that the workforce needed better pay, training, conditions, and stability and to see social care as somewhere that is an ‘exciting and vibrant’ place to work as a long-term career choice.

Arguably, the mentioned variables are all connected and will contribute to improved terms and conditions, if treated in cohesion. Simply put, if the system doesn’t change, social care will continue to lose staff to other sectors outside of the industry, leading to poorer quality of care.

If you have any thoughts on the above, please feel free to get in touch with us.

2023 is fast approaching and with the start of a new year arrives the promise of new career possibilities.

The career market is always evolving, alongside a constant shift in skill demand. Some occupations will lose popularity while others gain an edge. Understanding which skills are most in demand and highly valued will give you an advantage when looking to swap job roles.

Research suggests that next year the most in demand jobs for 2023 will be Data Science, Engineering, User Experience, Digital Content, and Digital Marketing in addition to many other rising professions.

To give you a helping hand we’ve listed the most highly sought-after hard and soft skills for 2023. Read on to find out how to make an impression next year!

Teamwork

Teamwork takes the top spot for what employees look for in candidates. According to Haiilo ‘about 75% of employers rate teamwork and collaboration as “very important”’[i]. Alongside this the other 25% still consider teamwork somewhat important. When preparing for interviews there are plenty of great ways to address your quality of teamwork skills. Some of these include actively listening to your colleagues and volunteering valuable ideas, helping to create a positive and supportive environment, and taking instruction from team leaders.

Communication

Communication is the second most important skill to work on. This is because effective communication is proven to make you a more productive worker and cut down miscommunication issues which is valuable for any business. Good communication can also improve how you articulate yourself, which can increase your likelihood of being hired for a competitive role.

Problem solving

29% of employers agree that problem solving is within the top desired skills for working. A candidate with apt digital fluency and successful independent problem solving will be much more valuable than those without. Problem solving is a great skill to showcase as it also improves teamwork and communication to find the solution.

Work ethic and motivation

Work ethic and motivation go hand in hand. Asking peers or colleagues to leave you a review to post on LinkedIn is one way to show employers that you demonstrate these skills frequently and to exceptional standards.

Tech skills

Next year more than ever employers may be looking for candidates who possess advanced tech skills, including programming and coding skills. The most valuable tech skills to invest in include Java, C, Python, UI, and UX. Having experience in these skills could be the difference between landing your next dream job or not…

Data skills

As Clive Humby said, ‘Data is the new oil’. Similarly, to the increased demand for tech skills, the same applies to data skills[ii]. Data skills such as data visualization, data mining, and quantum analysis are of high value in the career field and will unlock a wider range of career opportunities alongside the possibly of a higher salary.

The truth is that if you’re actively seeking a new job in a competitive job field, you need to be thinking of unique and productive ways to stand out among other candidates alongside your profession. Adobe comments ‘If you want employers’ attention, it’s no longer enough to rely solely on what you learned in school. These days it’s crucial to research and develop additional skills on your own’[iii]. Focus on developing your skills if still in education, create a portfolio and selection of references from your best work, and hone your soft and hard skills.

Panoramic Associates are always looking for talented and motivated individuals. Thinking of taking your career to the next step within the Tech and Digital sector? Please get in touch here: Contact

[i]Christina Martic, Haiilo, 9 Reasons Why Teamwork In the Workplace Is More Important Than Ever – READ HERE

[ii]Rebecca Lake, Investopedia, Most Valuable Career Skills for 2022 – READ HERE

[iii]Adobe, Adobe, In-demand skills you need to get hired in 2022 – READ HERE

There is new school guidance which advises to “focus on” what historical figures are “most renowned for” when teaching younger children about individuals with “contested legacies”. This is likely related to the question about Churchill, which caused controversy as it was in the lesson plan of thousands of teachers.

Working within senior level recruitment consultancy, operating largely across the Education sector, Panoramic Care’s Managing Director, David Geaney, turned to his network and asked for their thoughts on the matter. He asked, ‘Is it wrong for a teacher to pose the question: “Winston Churchill: hero or war criminal?”.

*Please note, we were not asking if Churchill is a war criminal, but if a teacher should be free to debate this question with their class.

The results were as follows:

Yes – 22%

No – 76%

Unsure – 2%

An important point to recognise, and one that came up multiple times in our qualitive responses, is that a teacher shouldn’t push any political agenda. However, this shouldn’t restrict all teachers from being allowed to encourage healthy debate on historical figures.

In this way, it is essential to develop young people to critically analyse characters and events in history from multiple viewpoints. We shouldn’t ‘hide’ any history from any generations, all historical events are opportunities to learn from. Similarly, the use of adjectives such as: neutral, open, balanced, proportionate, agreed in policy, unbiased and facilitating, are key.

Still, should teachers be free to ask provocative questions which challenge the orthodox views of history? An alternative way to look at this question is to focus on teaching children to be critical thinkers. Churchill oversaw some appalling events, but a lot of people see him as a hero. Questioning this established narrative is crucial to a student’s development, and the more open and robust debate we can have on events and figures from the past, the better.

A particularly poignant response read that there may be an overall problem with the way the world currently views history and is trying to eradicate the past. History by its very name relates to the past. The actions in History relate not only to negative outcomes but many successes that this generation benefits incredibly from. History should remain what it is, we need to and hopefully will learn from its mistakes.

Furthermore, we can’t change history, we shouldn’t remove reference to it, we should continue to learn from it. It is a dangerous practice not to acknowledge past events, for the good things and the bad things that the past contains for us all regardless. It is crucial to acknowledge the fact that an educator should not push their own agenda or political viewpoint, however, our results speak volumes: it is important that we ask these important questions.

If you have any thoughts on the above, please comment or feel free to get in touch with us.

Following Sharon’s previous blogs,  How to Prepare for an Interview and During the Interview hopefully you’re feeling more confident in the lead-up to your interview. 

But what if your interview isn’t going to be face to face? Does this change your approach completely? In the final part of Sharon’s interview series she delves into ‘The Telephone Interview’:

• Be prepared – don’t assume they won’t ask testing questions just because it’s over a telephone call.
• Where possible, try and find a quiet area with good reception.
• Make sure to speak loud and clearly.
• Dress to impress – even if it’s not a Skype call, if you dress the part it will put you in the right head space to smash the interview.
• Provide clear and concise answers.
• Focus on your tonality – it can give the interviewer an impression of your interest and enthusiasm for the role.
• You won’t have the advantage of reading the interviewer’s body language and interpreting their reaction. Asking things like ‘does that answer your question?’ can be a good way to make sure you’re providing the information that they are looking for.
• If it’s a Skype interview, it may be worth testing your set up and connection beforehand to avoid any issues.

​If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to ask Panoramic Care and we’ll be happy to help.

Best of luck with your interview!