Non-Executive Directors - why your business needs one

By Ian Ashforth

You may have considered hiring a Non-Exec for your business or perhaps felt it was not appropriate for your organisation. However, having a Non-Executive can benefit ambitious start-ups, SMEs and even large corporates.

Non-Executive Directors (NEDs) can play an important role within a business. They sit on the board of a company but do not form part of the Executive Team Management meaning they can provide an impartial view without the conflict of having to manage the day-to-day operations of the company.

A NED is often appointed to support and challenge the leadership team become involved in strategic policy making and, of course, act in the interest of the company’s shareholders. A Non-Exec’s contributions are always one of guidance and advice, but they can also be useful to aid decision-making, building business relationships and assist company growth. They will access useful networks and possess valuable sector knowledge and expertise.

Benefits of Having a NED on the Board

A Non-Executive Director is typically chosen based on their experience, reputation and understanding of the business area. This individual is likely to be professionally qualified, with a strong background in corporate governance and risk. They have usually worked at a ‘C-suite’ level in at least one other previous company.

A Non-Executive Director on the board of a company can offer a number of positive benefits. The appointment of the ‘right’ NED can bring a plethora of additional attributes to the company.

Many start-ups, during a growth phase or after a large funding round, appoint NEDs. Non-executive directors provide guidance, connections and a fresh perspective. They are sometimes required by high-profile investors in order to introduce a form of monitoring and mentorship from a more experienced figure. They could be a former CEO of a successful company within the same sector, an academic within the field that the company operates in or any other professional with the relevant expertise

Despite not being involved in the day-to-day management tasks of their executive counterparts, they do have the same responsibilities, legal duties and potential liabilities of any other director.

Let’s take a closer look at the main benefits that a NED typically provides:

Recruiting a non-executive director (NED) can help a small business gain experience, knowledge, contacts, and ideas, as well as provide constructive criticism – all of which cannot fail to be of value to a company regardless of its size. A NED can fill a gap in a small business owner’s experience or can add industry knowledge of a specific sector that the business is targeting.

Most NEDs have usually helped several businesses find their feet, grow, or survive tough times. And, if a NED is faced with a situation they have never dealt with before, they’ll probably know someone who has.

Often, NEDs have helped many young companies during their career, and have often run their own organisations. This means they have been through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship before, and they have already faced sector-specific challenges. In the biotech sector, for example, it may be advisable to hire a NED with previous experience of medical regulatory approval, so that they can direct the company through such a challenging and crucial stage for the business.

A Fresh Perspective

A NED doesn’t work with a business full time and is less concerned with day-to-day issues but will instead look at the bigger picture.

What is the direction of the business? Are targets being met? What environmental changes might affect the business? Which competitors should the business watch out for and what are the plans to keep ahead of the competition? They will have the ability to advise with confidence and make unbiased decisions in the interests of the business. By not partaking in the day-to-day operations of a business, NEDs keep a relatively fresh and unbiased perspective on growth, competitive advantage, internal management choices etc.

Network

A successful business is a connected one, and a great way of making connections is through networking. However, for a small business it can be time consuming and can often prove difficult to build a trusted network of contacts. A NED, in many cases, can offer a ‘little black book’ of relevant contacts that align with their own experience. This could be suppliers, distributors or potential customers to help boost business or a marketing guru or potential partner to add a new dimension to your company.

Throughout their career, NEDs typically make meaningful connections with other businesses, potential partners, investors and other figures that can have exceptional value for a young company.

An introduction from a NED can save founders plenty of time on negotiating a strategic partnership, which might end up making the difference between success and failure.

Monitoring

Running a company is hard, not just because of the long hours, constant uncertainty and risks, but also because dedicating so much of your time to a single project can skew your judgement of the challenges you’re facing. As Founders, it’s common to fall victim of bad habits such as neglecting key functions or overly worrying about others, resulting in mission creep.

A NED has the objectivity to keep all of that in check, evaluating the business on the basis of clear targets and metrics and redirecting the management team’s focus on the key challenges or goals of the company.

Monitor the performance of the company and offer constructive ideas and solutions, if required. Act in the best interest of the shareholders. 

An Objective View

NEDs can round off a board by not only providing experience and knowledge that other directors may not have, but also by being able to take a more objective view of issues affecting the business and offering a wider sense of the possibilities for growth.

If, for example, your company grows and you consider flotation as a way to expand, they can act as a mediator, voicing the pros and cons of such a move. Or, if there is a financial crisis within the company or your market, they can alleviate stress and bring a voice of reason to the table.

So, should you hire a NED?

Of course, that depends first and foremost from the stage your company is at and your growth expectations. NEDs are usually appointed to help provide guidance to the executives during a fast growth phase.

Businesses operating in very specialised sectors which require specific expertise are the most likely to appoint a NED, in order to help them navigate challenging regulatory environment, provide guidance on how to handle intellectual property or how to tackle competition.

In summary a Non-Exec can:

• Add an impartial view to the day to day running of the business.

• Help ensure that the Executive Directors are operating as efficiently as possible.

• Contribute to the strategic plan of the company.

• Monitor the performance of the company and offer constructive ideas and solutions, if required.

• Act in the best interest of the shareholders.

• Add additional experience and credibility to the company board.

• Expand the intellectual and strategic resources of the company.

CRSI is a specialist support business that was founded to help early-stage companies to grow at an accelerated rate.

Over the past 20 years, our team have helped to scale some of the UK’s most innovative businesses, securing non-executive directors that have made real impact. 

To find out more about what we do, contact Gordon Bateman - gordon.bateman@crsi.team

Workplace Wellness - Why does it matter?

By Hazel Parrock

Wellness became one of the biggest buzzwords of 2020 and organisations in both the public and private sector have had to learn fast to cope with the circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. This article is most definitely not all about C***D thankfully, I’m sure everyone has had their fill of conversation on that topic, but it has, of course, played a huge part in how we now think and act. Leaders are generally becoming much more aware of the importance of taking responsibility for employee wellness as a result of the past year’s experiences. 

So, what are the main health issues on the wellness agenda?

Mental health? Research into this area has shown that the main risks to employee health are now psychological, with mental ill-health and stress being the top two causes of long-term absences. 

Mental ill-health is believed to be the single biggest cause of disability in the UK, costing the economy over £100+ billion a year and millions of working days lost. Roughly 1 in every 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year and the importance of acknowledging mental health has never been more evident. However, many people still feel unable to talk about it. Worse than that, it has been found that more than a small percentage of employees who have disclosed a mental health issue end up facing disciplinary procedures, demotion or dismissal, so no surprise that there is a tendency to hide it. This needs to change.

Mental health issues can result from a number of recognised situations. 

• A workplace with high levels of stress and presenteeism (feeling like you have to be at work, but you’re not being fully productive) can lead to burnout and exhaustion.

• Major changes or life challenges, such as bereavement, having a baby, relationship problems, debt or even a change in role at work can cause people to people to struggle at work for periods of time.

People experiencing mental health difficulties lose their jobs each year at around double the rate of those without a mental health problem and at a much higher rate than those with a physical health condition.

Physical health? Musculoskeletal disorders are a major issue in the employee health issues category, affecting muscles, joints and tendons in all parts of the body and they can develop due to inactivity as the average UK office worker sits for over 8.9 hours a day. Physical disorders that are ignored or left untreated can progress quickly and cause stress, resulting in further health issues through worry about not being able to work effectively and even the possibility of losing a job. So, it is vital to rectify this and offer employees solutions that allow them to move more, working from home or not. 

Moving more? The health risks associated with excessive sitting can include a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, hernia, poor core strength and mental health issues. Popular wellness solutions include offering employees Sit Stand Desks, which encourage the body to move more, kick start the metabolism, burn calories, improve blood circulation and posture. There is even evidence that people who stand to work instead of sitting all day sleep better, have reduced blood pressure and stress, improved concentration and, bizarrely improved fitness.

The Stats

What is the data telling us? Official statistics back in 2018, now waiting for an update, showed that almost 27 million working days were lost to work-related ill health, with 1.4 million people suffering from a work-related illness. And CIPD research showed that the average level of employee absence was 5.9 days per employee per year. Although this figure had begun to fall over the last decade, it does, however, mask the fact that most people generally have a tendency to continue to work when unwell, and some employees are tempted to avoid the issue and even use holiday or sick leave to work.

Employers clearly have a fundamental duty of care for the physical and mental health and wellbeing of their workers, but research so far suggests that there is still a limited number of organisations with employee wellbeing on the business agenda.

A focus on employee health and wellbeing should be a core element of any HR strategy. It should be central to the way organisations operate. And it should not be seen just in one-off initiatives, but woven through an ongoing cadence demonstrating the genuine interest in the people across the whole organisation.

Why employee wellness matters? 

Those who have successfully promoted a proactive and preventative approach to wellbeing in the workplace have seen clear improvements in a number of areas:

A more resilient workforce - Building resilience can help people cope better with day-to-day stresses at work and problems at home. And putting the right mental health and wellbeing strategies in place can help to stop problems from escalating.

Increased staff commitment and productivity - Employees who feel valued and listened to are more likely to be engaged in the goals of the organisation, work together positively and perform to their optimal level.

Better staff retention - A workplace culture that fosters staff loyalty and high morale is likely to keep staff for longer and reduce recruitment costs.

Reduced sick leave and absenteeism - Employees who feel their wellbeing needs are being met are less likely to take sick leave and more likely to return from leave taken in a timely and sustainable way.

An enhanced reputation - Investing in wellbeing in the workplace sends a powerful message about the values and ethics of the organisation and can play a big part in helping to attract a high quality workforce.

Studies suggest that currently less than a quarter of line managers have received any mental health training. Let’s change this, as fostering employee wellbeing is clearly good for any organisation and its people. Understanding mental health and promoting wellbeing can help prevent stress and create positive working environments, building strong employee engagement and a powerful culture that can only benefit an organisation. 

For working people, the work environment plays a crucial part in life, not just in providing a source of income, but in providing a sense of purpose and achievement and boosting self-esteem, as well as an opportunity to socialise and build friendships with colleagues.

Every employer should consider it their responsibility to provide a workplace that addresses at least the following key points:

• Staff wellbeing is a priority in all areas of business.

• Good communication and a genuine ‘open door policy’ - people know what support is available to them to help them stay well at work and how to access it.

• People experiencing mental health difficulties, major life events or juggling caring responsibilities are able to talk openly without fear of stigma.

• People know what is expected of them and have an understanding of their job roles and areas of responsibilities.

• A work-life balance is encouraged and flexible working is offered where possible.

• A suitable organisational structure is in place so that people feel their workloads are reasonable and achievable.

• People are given space for growth and development, so they feel able to make a meaningful contribution There is zero tolerance to bullying, harassment and other forms of discrimination.

• The culture is inclusive and welcoming and people feel able to be themselves. 

In conclusion:

Statistics show that over 75% of people of working age are employed here in the UK and research has found that every £1 spent on workplace health initiatives results in a return on investment ranging from £2 to £34. There is clear evidence that investment in the health and wellness of employees is not just a “nice to have”, politically correct HR policy, but critical for the general wellness of teams and organisations as a whole.It has been calculated that the UK business ecosystem could save around £8 billion per year by improving mental wellbeing support in the workplace. A huge number!

So yes, wellness clearly matters. Every organisation needs to acknowledge and respond to it.

What are you and your organisation doing about it?

CRSI is a partner in Well Room, a new employee welbeing and engagment platform 

that helps employers support and enhance the wellbeing of their teams. 

To find our more about Well Room, visit www.wellroom.co.uk/join or contact hello@wellroom.co.uk

Bias in Interviews and How to Avoid It

By Harry Garman

WHAT IS INTERVIEW BIAS?

In this series of articles, we aim to look at best practice for interviewing and how you, the interviewer, can best determine how a candidate is likely to perform once in the role. Throughout these articles we will analyse a number of factors that affect the quality and validity of interviews, covering areas such as effective interview formats, scoring matrixes and how to ask quality questions. In this piece we are going to look at interview bias, breaking down different types of bias that occur on the interviewer’s part and how we can avoid them. 

WHY DOES BIAS OCCUR?

One of the greatest issues surrounding interview validity stems from interviewer bias - when the interviewer’s opinion or expectation effects their objectivity. Most interviewers would argue that they are completely fair and impartial and have no pre-set opinions upon entering an interview scenario. Alarmingly this often isn’t the case because of the type of bias that affects the interview, unconscious bias. This type of bias happens outside of your own awareness and affects your objectivity without you even knowing it. Research into the types of bias that occur during interviews however has provided us with the tools we need to identify where this bias is occurring and strategies to overcome this.

TYPES OF INTERVIEW BIAS

Confirmatory Bias – Can you make a judgement on someone in the first 30 seconds of meeting them? Well don’t, it is nothing to be proud of. Often interviewers wear this statement as a badge of honour, the implications of it have a negative effect on the rest of the interview. Confirmatory bias occurs when someone asks questions and focuses the interview to confirm their first impression of the candidate. Research in the past has found candidates identified as “more attractive” by the interviewers are seen as having more relevant characteristics to the role. This bias does nothing but confirm an initial impression and will not predict their future job performance. Making your mind up in 30 seconds is nothing to be proud of. Instead enter every interview with an open mind, keep your questioning impartial and wait till they are settled into the interview before you really begin to form an opinion. 

Confirmatory Bias

Can you make a judgement on someone in the first 30 seconds of meeting them? Well don’t, it is nothing to be proud of. Often interviewers wear this statement as a badge of honour, the implications of it have a negative effect on the rest of the interview. Confirmatory bias occurs when someone asks questions and focuses the interview to confirm their first impression of the candidate. Research in the past has found candidates identified as “more attractive” by the interviewers are seen as having more relevant characteristics to the role. This bias does nothing but confirm an initial impression and will not predict their future job performance. Making your mind up in 30 seconds is nothing to be proud of. Instead enter every interview with an open mind, keep your questioning impartial and wait till they are settled into the interview before you really begin to form an opinion.

Stereotypes 

A stereotype is a generalised belief about a particular group of people founded on no evidence. If you interview someone and you stereotype the interviewee this negatively affects your decision-making process about the interview. As we take even more important steps toward diversity this bias becomes ever more important as we see previously unrepresented groups gaining positions thought to be out of their reach. Stereotypes are founded on opinion, not fact and therefore have no use in predicting future performance of candidates. To identify and eliminate your stereotype views you need to be aware of both your implicit and explicit stereotypes. Enter every interview without the groups and categories your ideal candidate should belong to. 

Projection Error 

This is a common interview bias that is often hard to identify, but if you have ever said after an interview “they remind me of myself” or “I see a lot of myself in them” then it is highly likely you are guilty of this. Projection error occurs when the interviewer expects their own skills and knowledge in the candidate, therefore the candidate that most resembles them is most likely to be successful. This is often something senior managers and Directors are guilty of; they might be hiring for a role they have never worked in but if the candidate resembles them, they are ideal. It is important to consider whether just because a candidate resembles yourself in skills, background and knowledge will that make them successful in the role?

Horns and Halo Effect

The horns and halo effect occurs when one single characteristic creates an overly weighted negative or positive impression of the candidate. An example of this would be reading that a candidate attended Oxbridge, you may view this as highly positive and a deciding justification for hiring that candidate, this single characteristic however does not determine their ability to perform the role. The opposite of this would be upon meeting a candidate seeing they have a visible tattoo and deciding they are not right for the role because of that, not taking into account the highly relevant skill set and qualities they have to the role. Respectively this is the horns and halo effect.

Anchoring

Upon reading a favourable CV we all set our expectations high for that candidate to perform in interview. This expectation often leads to us making a positive evaluation about the candidate, missing key indicators that they might not be as strong as their CV suggests. Vice versa a candidate with a less favourable CV who you decide to interview anyway may perform far better than expected, the issue is that expectations means their interview is already burdened with caveats as to why they are not suitable for the role. To combat this every interview should be conducted in a “clean slate” format, imagine you haven’t seen their CV, let the candidate relay their story and then evaluate their ability. 

Contrast Error

Finally we have contrast error. We are all guilty of comparing candidate to each other and not to the person-job fit and person organisation fit, which is what our criteria should be based around. Contrasting candidates experience and skills deflates and inflates your evaluations of them in a way that doesn’t determine their suitability to the role. To avoid this, contrast the candidate’s evaluation to your scoring matrix. 

Interview Best Practice: How to Avoid Bias

Being aware of bias is only half of the battle, you need a way to see in black and white that you are being objective, and the way we would suggest that is by developing a scoring matrix. A scoring matrix is essentially a ranking document where you list the key competencies, skills and characteristics that you are looking for from your candidates, it is important to have a variety of items to assess. Firstly, you must consider the “person-organisation fit”, this identifies whether the candidate’s values, beliefs and behaviours match your organisational culture. An example of this criteria would be entrepreneurial, ambitious and organised. Secondly, you must consider the “person-job fit”, this looks at the knowledge and skills the candidates have that match those required to perform well in the role. An example here would be have previously sold software products into enterprise clients, have they managed a cross functional team of over ten or have they worked in a scaling business. Any assessment you make of the candidate should be based on these criteria and these alone, diverging from the matrix makes you open to prejudice and possible bias.

Summary

As we can see unconscious bias is far more prevalent in interviewing than we realise. Everyone is guilty of doing at least a couple of these interviewing errors Fortunately there are ways to avoid making these mistakes, by making sure every decision you make is based on reason and evidence rather than opinion. The purpose of an interview is to determine a candidate’s suitability to the role and their likelihood to perform well in this position, that should be the conscious thought throughout your mind during the whole process.  

CRSI is a specialist support business that was founded to help early-stage companies to grow at an accelerated rate. 

With methodologies developed over the past 20 years, our team can help you to design people strategies that will allow you to locate, secure and retain that high performing talent you need. 

To find out more about what we can do, contact Gordon Bateman - gordon.bateman@crsi.team

Interviewing Over Video

By Nathan Fletcher

2020 has been a unique year. In the early months of the year, the whole world was thrown into disarray as families, governments and businesses frantically struggled to establish a level of normality and adapt to the circumstances. It soon became apparent, particularly in the UK, that the lockdown restrictions would be here to stay and day-to-day life as it once was would cease to be for a significant length of time. 

The threat imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic caused a worrying number of industries to either slow down their functions or in some cases, halt completely. In the early days of the pandemic, there was a very realistic concern that many companies would simply put their growth plans on hold and cease to hire for the duration of 2020. After all, choosing someone to join your business without actually meeting them was unthinkable. Wasn’t it? 

Well, not for long. As the dust settled on the first lockdown, and companies across the globe became accustomed to doing things a bit differently, it became clear that many companies recognised that stopping hiring wasn’t the solution. At this time, CRSI spoke to many savvy business owners who realised that adapting to the circumstances and looking at things differently could offer new opportunities that would allow them to scale more quickly. We heard from people who realised that if they could pivot their companies to focus on remote working and make a success of it, the talent pool they were fishing for their new hires in could become a lot bigger. 

If you accept that your new employees will be home based, where that ‘home’ is, matters a lot less. Why hire the best candidate that lives within commuting distance of your office, when you could hire the best candidate in the country?  For an early stage business, the quality of every hire is crucial and the difference between a good performer and an amazing performer can be enough to supercharge the team. 

CRSI has continued to work on search projects throughout the pandemic, and the companies we’ve been working with have continued to interview candidates. Since March, we’ve calculated that 95% of all interviews between our client companies and candidates have been conducted over Zoom (or Microsoft Teams). And we expect that in the future, after the pandemic, the percentage of interviews happening over video will be much greater than it was before. 

Most of us are familiar with how to conduct ourselves in interviews, we’ve learned the dos and donts from experience. But how many of us have interviewed for a job we want through a screen? How is it different? What’s the etiquette? In this article I wanted to take a look some of the differences between physical and video interviews and put together ‘best practice’ tips to help you on your way. 

The purpose of an interview

Before I talk about the differences. Let’s examine the point of an interview. Interviews are a key part of the candidate selection process in recruitment. They are often viewed as rigorous interrogations in which the interviewers grill the interviewee. In reality, an interview should be thought of as two-way discussion in which both parties have objectives that they are aiming to achieve. From the interviewee’s perspective, an interview is the opportunity to learn about the organisation and see how well it fits them and their career aspirations. At the same time, they are aiming to present themselves as the ideal candidate by showcasing their experience, their personality and their desire to engage with the company. A candidate should be constantly reminding themself to outshine other candidates. An interviewer’s objective is to appraise a candidate and evaluate, through evidence assessment, whether this candidate is the optimal choice for the role. Primarily, an interviewer is looking for a candidate to speak about their skills, highlighting their most relevant experience to show why they are suitable for the role. Throughout the interview, an interviewer is also determining whether there is a cultural and aspirational fit with an individual. The alignment between a candidate’s goals, attitude and philosophy and that of the company is extremely important.

Things to consider

Most people in employment know what to expect when it comes to a face-to-face interview. However, it seems as though people are failing to consider some of the key differences between a face-to-face interview and an interview over Zoom, or an equivalent video communication platform. I would suggest that this is likely the result of the sudden surge of companies adopting video interviewing as normal,  and a substitute to face-to-face meetings as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve adapted, but we haven’t all taken the time to consider how these two methods differ. In this section, I’ll be highlighting some of the key aspects of a video interview which demand proper consideration. It’s worth remembering that people generally don’t realise when these things are done well, but they immediately notice when any one of these things is done poorly.

It seems to me as though the most valuable and relevant pieces of advice can be separated into 3 sections: “Presenting yourself appropriately on camera”, “ video interview etiquette” and “General wise choices”.

Presenting Yourself Appropriately on Camera

Dress yourself appropriately.

It may seem obvious but dressing yourself appropriately is paramount. It is critical to give a good first impression in an interview and a key part of that is presenting yourself as a professional candidate who is taking the opportunity seriously.

Dress yourself fully.

Everyone has either tried or considered only making themselves presentable from the waist up over a video call. While there are undoubtedly thousands of people across the world doing so at this very moment, it’s not advisable. You never know when you might need to move around or stand up. 

Choose a good camera direction prior to the interview.

Prior to the interview, check that the camera is positioned appropriately in order to capture your face and upper torso clearly, without being too close or too far away. You should also be facing the camera directly, rather than at an uncomfortable angle.

The camera is replacing the interviewer’s eyes.

In a face-to-face interview, maintaining eye contact suggests that you’re confident and interested. In a video interview, it’s wise to use ‘speaker view’ and either look directly at the interviewer or as centrally as possible.

Consider how the room is lit.

Too little light, too much light or glare can disrupt an interview experience for both parties. Establishing yourself in a room you’re familiar with where light levels can be adjusted is very helpful.

Body language says a lot.

Everyone should be aware how important body language is during communication. Becoming an effective communicator involves understanding what body language says to another person. Remembering to sit up straight and show interest in the discussion is very important.

Set up in a quiet room with a neutral backdrop.

Minimising distractions and disturbances are things that people don’t always consider. Try to have the interview in a room without background noise and without distracting objects or decorations behind you.

Etiquette

Better than being on time is being early.

Make sure you join the meeting 5 minutes before you’re due to start. Don’t let unexpected technical problems make you late.

Be polite and friendly, it goes a long way.

Presenting yourself as an agreeable person gives the interviewer a reason to choose you, right from the get-go.

A stable and reliable internet connection is key.

There’s nothing we can do about random internet outages or power cuts, but we can take steps to ensure that we’re within good reach of Wi-Fi

Have a drink to hand.

You’re going to be doing a lot of talking and in a physical interview you’d be offered water. Make sure you don’t dry up. 

Silence your devices.

Pings and alerts from your devices during an interview can be very distracting for both parties. Silence your devices or utilise the ‘do not disturb’ feature.

Mute your microphone when you’re not speaking if background noise is a problem.

Sometimes, background noise is unavoidable. If that’s the case, be considerate and mute your microphone when the other person is speaking.

Check how your name appears in the video call software

Is it set to something professional? Changing your name to something funny is fine for the Friday night quiz with your friends, but have you remembered to change it back? Also make sure it is your real name? This is crucial in helping the interviewer know that they’re talking to the right person.  

General Wise Choices

Prepare thoroughly!

Be sure to give the opportunity the time it deserves. Doing your due diligence on the company, anticipating questions and preparing questions of your own is critical.

Borrow a friend or member of family to help you conduct a test.

It’s extremely wise to do a practice run of a video call, particularly if you haven’t used Zoom or the specific software before or haven’t used it before on that particular device. Updates to the software may be required before you can start the call. These could make you late. 

Act as if you’ll be on video from the very start.

Some people have their software set up to start their video from the moment the meeting is joined. Act as if you’re going to be on video from the very beginning.

Prepare a back-up device.

In the unlikely but possible event that your main device encounters a serious issue, it’s very useful to have a back-up device set up which you can quickly and easy switch to.

Fully charge all the devices you could be using.

You shouldn’t have to be worrying about battery level for any of your devices during an interview. Fully charge everything you’re using before the interview.

It generally will not register on somebody’s radar when you do all of these things well. However, if any one of these things is done poorly, the interviewer will notice immediately. We anticipate that video interviews are about to become an expected and accepted part of the interview process. 2020 has taught us that video communication is an efficient alternative to face-to-face meetings. While they will never actually replace a physical 1-to-1 conversation, future recruitment processes will involve a blended approach of physical and digital.

CRSI is a specialist support business that was founded to help early-stage companies to grow at an accelerated rate. With methodologies developed over the past 20 years, our team can help you to design people strategies that will allow you to locate, secure and retain that high performing talent you need. 

To find out more about what we can do, contact Gordon Bateman - gordon.bateman@crsi.team.

Business Management Skills within University Commercialisation

By Samantha Clarke

Summarised from:

A report for the department for business, energy, and industrial strategy (BEIS) prepared by RSM PACEC: “Research into issues around the commercialisation of university IP” (February 2018).

At the core of the business management challenges within university commercialisation, is not only the search for potential investors and licensees, but the identification and development of key entrepreneurial capabilities in those involved in the go-to-market effort.

From the perspective of raising capital, there is often an exhaustive search needed to identify potential partners and investors to take IP forward in the direction of commercial application (Shane 2004; UNICO 2006a). This process can be challenging; at this point, most university inventions are not yet far enough along their journey to be of any real interest to industry.

 The technologies are often embryonic, not having reached the prototype stage and therefore lacking in evidence of manufacturability and market fit. This means that, for several reasons, they are seen as high-risk investments. (Pressman et al. 1995; Shane 2004).

To get University technology to the point where it can be licensed by an external company or used to form a spin-out, significant technological and product development challenges will often have to be overcome if it is to become a commercially viable product. The scope of this work and the ability of the management team and founders to successfully deliver it, are often central to an investor’s decision on whether to invest or not. This means that having specific management and commercialisation aptitude in the spinout’s team is vital.

Without a doubt, the committed involvement of an academic in the licensing process has been shown to result in an acceleration of the commercialisation process, and even the return of better royalties in the long term (Markman et al. 2005; Shane 2004). The academic holds significant know-how on the benefits and applications of what they have created, so a close relationship and communication between the academic, Technology Transfer Officers and potential investors are key.

Beyond this, external management and commercial strategy support is also required to increase commercialisation success. In this report created for The BEIS, Technology Transfer Offices describe difficulties in building management teams for spin-outs, both in developing skills internally and recruiting employees externally. Of the investors surveyed for this report, over half confirmed the importance of having a management team in place prior to them investing. Mentoring by key members of this management team was also identified as a key benefit for entrepreneurial academics. (RSM Pacec Ltd, 2018, p39)

The report also states that the main cause of business development difficulties in the establishment of a spin-out was around the appointment of a capable management team.

“Aside from raising investment, the most frequently reported issue by
spin-outs at the post-transaction management stage was recruitment”

A large number said that recruitment had been a particularly difficult issue when growing their business, on a par with both technology and product development factors and access to premises. 

Ensuring the capability of the business management team is always a key factor for investors to consider pre-investment. Without a solid management base, investors will often plug gaps themselves by providing mentoring to the academic founders and give access to their own networks for mentors or potential future staff. However, it is vital that the management team selected have the requisite industry and commercial background in order to drive company performance and investors do not always have a suitable network specific to the market and technology itself. Identifying these individuals requires both experience and a network of potential partners. For more commercially experienced universities, this is alleviated somewhat depending on cohorts they are in and if they are located alongside a core cluster of key investors (for example, the “Golden Triangle”)

Furthermore, beyond issues concerning the recruitment of specific individuals for specific business tasks, there is a notable challenge in finding individuals with the right interpersonal relationships, communication style and networks. (RSM Pacec Ltd, 2018, p41). To ensure a strong personal and culture fit within newly formed teams, universities should strive to look beyond their own personal networks or that of an interested investor.

Overall, the report found in their qualitative survey of universities, that it is widely thought to be challenging to find and maintain IP, business development, research and innovation teams all with the necessary skills and experience to drive commercialisation activity forward. There are some large and well-resourced universities with easier access to local business activity, investment and business mentors to assist in assembling strong management teams. However, there are many institutions that don’t. This means that there needs to be a focused effort on solving this problem and providing access to the right people to ensure commercialisation success: a cohort of world-class technology entrepreneurs and serial CEOs who can drive spin-out efforts. (RSM Pacec Ltd, 2018, p77-78)

CRSI is proud to work in in partnership with universities throughout the UK, and has helped to accelerate the growth of over 50 spinout companies by helping them to find and retain people with the right business management skills and specific market knowledge.

To find out more about our work in this space, contact Samantha Clarke - samantha.clarke@crsi.team or visit our University Partnerships page.

Source: 

RSM PACEC LTD, (February 2018), “Research into issues around the commercialisation of university IP”, Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/699441/university-ip-commercialisation-research.pdf

Trust and the Psychological Contract

Between Employers and Employees

By June Hutchinson

Why does trust matter? 

An organisation’s trustworthiness can attract top talent, retain customer loyalty, build valuable partnerships, win and retain critical contracts and limit the negative impact when things go wrong. Crucially, trust maintains psychological contracts, which in turn improve employee loyalty as well as increasing efficiency and productivity. As a result, these factors can both internally and externally increase an organisation’s reputation, which creates a more effective and efficient workforce as well as allowing access to a wider pool of stronger candidates. Trust is not a luxury concept, it is a necessity, and an important asset for an organisation. As Jacqueline Oliveira - founder of Faeron Communication, professional training and coaching business that devised the “creating a culture of trust” series, explains: Trust is coloured by culture - we don’t see beliefs, we see behaviours. Organisational culture impacts productivity, creativity and morale, and when trust isn’t present, these are the factors that plummet first.

Low or no trust within organisations is associated with numerous dysfunctional outcomes such as:

• Lower staff retention rates, which itself indirectly effects talent acquisition and reduces effectiveness

• Counter productive work behaviour and eventually, employee cynicism

Both of these outcomes can lead to slowed and even halted growth, along with negative consequences for the organisation’s reputation. Loss of reputation can then affect the calibre of candidates the business attracts, creating knock on affects that are detrimental in the long term. 

What is a psychological contract? 

The term ‘psychological contract’ refers to individuals’ expectations, beliefs, ambitions and obligations, as perceived by the employer and the worker. The concept emerged in the early 1960s and is important in understanding the nuances of employment relationships. There are two main types of psychological contracts; transactional and relational. Transactional contracts are economic in nature and often temporary, i.e., employer provides money in exchange for employee productivity. Relational contracts in contrast, develop a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship between the employee and employer often including training and development, career opportunities and job security.

The types of psychological contracts essentially describe how the parties themselves understand their relationship, their own views of commitment and what they can expect to receive in return. In many senses, the psychological contract, intangible in nature, may be more influential than it’s tangible counterpart, a legal contract of employment. Essentially, the psychological contract is built on the everyday actions and statements made by one party and how they are perceived and interpreted by the other. 

Broadly, psychological contracts often cover the following aspects of an employment relationship:

• Job security

• Career prospects

• Employer’s reputation

• Manager support

• Training and development

• Perceived fairness of pay and benefits

The quality of psychological contracts heavily influences how employees behave from day to day, they convey fundamental messages about the amount of engagement expected from individuals. Maintained psychological contracts, particularly those of the relational kind, are what generate positive behaviours, and indicate a higher level of organisational commitment, lower any intention to leave, and ultimately increases productivity. Maintenance of strong psychological contracts comes from management communicating frequently, effectively and having transparent processes’. When an employee perceives that the organisation has exceeded their psychological contract expectations, they are likely to respond with actions that will benefit the organisation.

However, unmet employee expectations easily lead to psychological contract breach which in turn negatively impacts trust, organisational citizenship behaviour, organisational commitments and performance, none of which bodes well for staff retention rates. Outcomes of psychological contract breach can lead to organisations incurring high costs, and negatively affect business operations. Research has shown that breaking the psychological contract has a quicker impact on attitude and behaviour in comparison to the positive effects of psychological contract fulfilment.

Maintaining psychological contracts is essential to promoting organisational trust. Each can massively affect the other. If the psychological contract is breached, the trust will be lost. 

Trustworthiness and psychological contracts are directly linked via another important organisational trait: integrity. We naturally expect people to adhere to what they say and do as this should be based on an individual’s belief system or their values/principles. 

Potential employees form perceptions of organisations as early as the recruitment stage. Before even entering the organisation, it is at this point that psychological contracts begin to be made. When entering an organisation, new recruits subconsciously begin to benchmark their original perception with what they are now experiencing this in turn can lead to altering, confirming or breaking the initial psychological contract. 

Therefore, it is essential organisations act in line with the culture the employee had perceived during the recruitment processes. The best way for your organisation to ensure individuals form accurate perceptions of culture and therefore have realistic psychological contracts is to hire correctly.

Job descriptions should honestly reflect company values, so candidates can decide whether or not those values are in line with their own. If your values resonate with them, there is a lower chance of a breach in their psychological contract.

Using a realistic job preview enables you to show candidates an actual ‘day in the life of’. This means you can show applicants how people treat each other in the company, how people work and collaborate. In other words, a realistic job preview is a great opportunity to demonstrate to the candidates the culture so they can form psychological contracts accordingly. If the employee and employer expectations are not aligned, a breach of psychological contract is likely to occur. This can negatively affect job satisfaction, commitment and performance; as employees believe that the employer is not honouring the ‘deal’ between them.

The psychological contract is a dynamic concept that can be applied to understand the individualistic nature of varying employer-employee relationships. For many years, the focus has been on the more traditional contract which focused on the promise of job security. Now, psychological contracts focus much more on learning and development. Human capital is becoming increasingly recognised as a source of competitive advantage and to maintain this advantage, it is important to maintain and fulfil psychological contracts. Essentially, an effective psychological contract aligned with a company’s vision and strategy honoured can instil organisational trust and therefore obtain the highest performance, sustain productivity and retain the top talent.

CRSI is a specialist support business that was founded to help early stage companies to grow at an accelerated rate. With methodologies developed over the past 20 years, our team can help you to design people strategies that will allow you to locate, secure and retain the people that will make your business fly. To find out more about what we can do for your business, contact Gordon Bateman - gordon.bateman@crsi.team.

References

1. Burke, C.S., Sims, D.E., Lazzara, E.H. and Salas, E., 2007. Trust in leadership: A multi-level review and integration. The leadership quarterly, 18(6), pp.606-632. 

2 .Youtube.com. 2020. The Behavior Of Trust in The Workplace | Jacqueline Oliveira TEDx Cesena. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixNEcX9rE88> 

3. Dirks, K.T. and Ferrin, D.L., 2002. Trust in leadership: Meta-analytic findings and implications for research and practice. Journal of applied psychology, 87(4), p.611. 

4. Gould-Williams, J., 2003. The importance of HR practices and workplace trust in achieving superior performance: a study of public-sector organizations. International journal of human resource management, 14(1), pp.28-54. 

5. GARDNER, D, GUO-HUA, H, XIONGYING, N, PIERCE, J, & LEE, C 2015, ‘ORGANIZATION-BASED SELF-ESTEEM, PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT FULFILLMENT, AND PERCEIVED EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES: A TEST OF SELF-REGULATORY THEORY’, Human Resource Management, 54, 6, pp. 933-953, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, 

6. CIPD. 2020. Psychological Contract | Factsheets | CIPD. [online] Available at: <https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/fundamentals/relations/employees/psychological-factsheet#6112> 

7. Wellin, M 2016, Managing the Psychological Contract: Using the Personal Deal to Increase Business Performance, Gower, Abingdon, GB. Available from: ProQuest ebrary. 

8. Dierking, D 2009, ‘Maintaining Psychological Contract is Crucial During Downturns’, Texas Magazine, pp. 15-16, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, 

9. Turnley, W, Bolino, M, Lester, S, & Bloodgood, J 2003, ‘The Impact of Psychological Contract Fulfillment on the Performance of In-Role and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors’, Journal Of Management, 29, pp. 187-206, ScienceDirect, EBSCOhost, 

10. Ng, T, Feldman, D, & Butts, M 2014, ‘Psychological contract breaches and employee voice behaviour: The moderating effects of changes in social relationships’, European Journal Of Work & Organizational Psychology, 23, 4, pp. 537-553, SocINDEX with Full Text, EBSCOhost, 

11. Adams, JW 2011, ‘Examination of inter-relationships between psychological contract, careerist orientation, and organisational citizenship Behaviour’, British Library EThOS, EBSCOhost, 

12. Conway, N, Guest, D, & Trenberth, L 2011, ‘Testing the differential effects of changes in psychological contract breach and fulfillment’, Journal Of Vocational Behavior, 1, p. 267, Academic OneFile, EBSCOhost, 

13. AIHR 2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.digitalhrtech.com/organizational-citizenship-behavior/

What Investors Look For In University Spinouts

By Will Kettel

Britain’s higher-education sector is world-leading, so it is to be expected that the IP being developed in university labs is of great interest to investors.

In the period from 2011–2018, IP-based University spinouts (USOs) secured approximately £8.86 billion in external investments to support their development. Since 2008, the amount of external investment raised has increased substantially in real terms from approximately £991 million in 2008 to £1.5 billion in 2018.

This growth is due in part to the prominence of large investment bodies like IP Group, which aim to help spinout life science technology and also to the work of University Tech Transfer Offices (TTOs). It is the TTOs role to help facilitate business-university interaction and work to bridge the chasm that exists between invention and commercialisation. As such it is vital that there is a shared understanding between Investors, like IP Group, and TTOs when it comes to ensuring the necessary preconditions are in place within a USO in order to secure investment.

A recent review conducted by ‘The British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association’ (BVCA), asked forty-two VCs that had invested in high technology ventures (including technology spinouts) to rank the factors that had influenced them to invest. From a list of forty-two different factors, the ten most important to VCs are shown in the table below.

RANKING OF FACTORS REQUIRED FOR SUCCESSFUL SPINOUT INVESTMENT

The table also shows the responses of TTOs and USOs on the same question. It is encouraging that these results indicate that all groups have a broadly similar appreciation of the factors investors are looking for when reviewing a proposal. In this article, we will explore some of these factors in more detail and examine what spinout founders can do to try and secure investment. 

DEMONSTRATED MARKET TRACTION

One of the most important questions in the mind of an investor when assessing a USO is: “Does this innovation or new technology satisfy a customer need?” This invariably leads to follow up questions surrounding the potential benefits to a customer and further discussions around price, however, it is this first question where an investment decision can hinge. 

If we are in any doubt as to the importance of this question one need first look at the divergence between corporate and university spinouts. Typically, a corporate spinout is founded with the explicit aim of satisfying a known customer need. This can arise in a variety of ways. In some large industrial companies, an innovation area on which a group has been working, may no longer be perceived to be central to the organisation’s strategic direction and the decision might be taken to spin it out. 

In others, where the underlying purpose of the company is contract research, teams can be working on technology solutions for clients when the opportunity is spotted to leverage that experience to meet a new customer requirement. In both cases, the spinout starts life with clear advantages over a university spinout. The technology has already been proven, the market assessed, and a clear customer need has been established. Indeed, customers themselves may very well have been closely involved with specifying and testing the solution. In the case of university spinouts, this intimate connection between the research laboratory and the commercial environment is often absent. This is why the work of the TTO in assessing the commercial value of the innovation or technology is so crucial. 

Corporate engagement is often the missing component in connecting academic laboratories with real-world problems. It is widely acknowledged that more extensive collaboration would help steer innovation efforts towards the most relevant commercial opportunities, reducing the challenges faced by many research teams who having developed a new innovation or technology and then set about searching for a potential market. 

PASSIONATE FOUNDERS

Having a passion for their start-up is pretty easy to come by for business founders. They believe in the product or service they want to provide. They are confident that it is an improvement over existing products or is a new way to address an old problem. But how deep is their passion? Are they willing to be told “No” over and over and over again and keep going?

This is a key area for VCs as they are looking for clear evidence that the founders have the commitment and energy to take the company through its early stages. However, they also understand that one of the areas of value that they bring to a young company is help in recruiting key managers and developing the management team. From the TTO and spinout perspective, they are aware of the lack of experience of a typical academic founding team in building a company. Ideally, they would like to be able to attract an experienced entrepreneur and managers as part of the team that pitches to investors as they correctly believe that this will improve their chances of securing investment. 

In this respect it is vital that founders not only have the passion but the humility to recognise where their limitations lie and ensure that the right expertise.

EXIT STRATEGY

Investors have three primary financial questions about projects: How much do I need to invest? How much will I get back? and When will I get it? This is why a clearly articulated exit strategy is essential in bringing further reassurance to potential investors. As Scott Munro of VC firm iNovia Capital writes: “While some companies are aimed at an ultimate IPO, the fact remains that less than 1% of start-ups grow into public companies,” Munro explains that: “The other 99% need to consider other ways to return value to the people and organisations who invested money into the company.

For most large companies who represent potential acquirers, “they will not engage in an acquisition discussion without having an internal business leader sponsor.” These kinds of connections take effort and time — often more than six months, according to Munro — so he advises that founders do this well in advance of seeking a buyer. Partnerships aren’t only good for exits; they can also help your company move into growth fundraising and provide start-ups with more negotiating leverage by having more than one acquisition possibility, as Munro explains: “in the case of almost all large exits, the company being acquired was not for sale. 

The transaction was initiated by a preliminary relationship that developed over time in which ultimately the buyer determined that the target was strategic enough that it shifted from a partnership relationship to an interest in acquisition. When this trigger event occurs, it is advantageous if other existing partnerships can be leveraged to create a competitive M&A environment,” Munro points out. Developing relationships with potential acquirers should be a goal of every start-up. “This way,” Munro says, “the chance of the very desirable situation of a competitive bidding war for the target company is made more likely, leading to greatly increased exit valuation.”

Ultimately, an end goal affects everything from how you run your business, to the partnerships you pursue, to how you choose to fund your company. By thinking and planning ahead, you’re much more likely to be prepared when you do exit, whether that’s in 18 months or 10 years down the road. 

CONCLUSION

It is clear that there is a degree of consensus between all parties on the main areas that need to be addressed prior to investment. The ten factors that were drawn out from the BVCA review can largely be categorised into three main areas: the innovation and its market, the team and the investment case. By retaining focus on these elements’, the founders and innovators of USOs will have taken a significant step to bridging the chasm between invention and commercialisation. 

CRSI is proud to work in in partnership with universities throughout the UK, and has helped to accelerate the growth of over 50 spinout companies.

To find out more about our work in this space, contact Samantha Clarke - samantha.clarke@crsi.team or visit our University Partnerships page.

REFERENCES

https://moneyweek.com/464099/billions-from-boffins-how-to-profit-from-university-spin-out-companies 

https://www.toptal.com/finance/startup-funding-consultants/what-investors-look-for 

https://www.wealthclub.co.uk/articles/investment-news/university-spinouts-investments/ 

https://www.beauhurst.com/blog/uk-university-spinouts-investors/ 

https://blog.inovia.vc/exit-preparedness-for-venture-backed-startups-and-why-it-matters-4ddb9d484b31 

https://re.ukri.org/documents/2019/developing-university-spinouts-in-the-uk-tomas-coates-ulrichsen-v2-pdf/ 

https://www.bvca.co.uk/Portals/0/library/Files/News/2005%20and%20older/2005_0001_univspinout.pdf?ver=2012-05-02-162110-000

Business-As-Usual: Maintaining a high-performing team during times of uncertainty

There is no denying that we are living and working in a truly unprecedented time, yet businesses around the world have demonstrated incredible resilience by adapting quickly to promote continuity. As an increasing number of businesses adopt a pragmatic approach to COVID-19 and establish new methods to continue “business-as-usual”, it is certainly worthwhile exploring how companies can retain and engage their most important asset: their people. 

Employees are the backbone of any company and companies depend on the engagement and productivity of their staff to stay afloat. During times of uncertainty, the biggest mistake that a business can make is to neglect its workforce. Although keeping money coming through the door might seem like the only thing that matters, in reality, losing one customer is far less detrimental than losing a top-performing employee. Likewise, it is far easier to recover, or replace, a great customer than it is to replace any of your high-performing team members.

 The businesses that are seen to be maintaining and investing in their workforce and future capacity will inevitably emerge the strongest post-pandemic. So, we’ve developed this consultative article to discuss some of the key practices that businesses must adopt to retain and motivate their high-performing workforce, especially during times of panic and struggle.

 Effective Communication

 Even in ordinary times, communication across the whole business is critical for maintaining productivity and reaching business targets. In more turbulent times, it is reassuring to know that the quality of remote work can be equal to that of face-to-face when using appropriate communication (Olson et al., 1997). Furthermore, a paper by Avolio et al. (1996) found that teams with extravert communication styles are the most likely to express transformational team behaviours which positively impact all aspects of business. The benefits of productive communication on the motivation of teams and business outcomes is overwhelming:

1.      Increased collaboration – effective communication allows team members to better utilise each other’s knowledge and specialisms, leading to higher productivity and increased individual engagement in the business as a whole (de Vries et al., 2006). 

2.       Better project outcomes - cooperation across multiple functions has been associated with improving the outcomes of projects, with success inevitably increasing the motivation of teams (Pinto & Pinto, 1990). 

3.       Improved leadership – the motivation of teams depends partially on leadership (Al Rahbi et al., 2017) and it has been demonstrated that business leaders perform best when their teams are strong communicators (Neufeld, Wan and Fang, 2010). 

4.       Increased team efficiency - effective communication has also been positively correlated with how efficiently a team works together (Yost & Tucker, 2000) leading to increased motivation and engagement (Chalofsky & Krishna, 2009). 

5.       Improved individual wellbeing – morale and wellness is inevitably improved through communication between colleagues, enhancing individual output. Establishing personal connections through communication has even been demonstrated as a key coping mechanism, particularly for those working remotely (Koehne et al., 2012).

Being Transparent

Times of uncertainty can lead to increased employee anxiety surrounding business stability and job security. TINYpulse’s 2013 study demonstrated that transparency is the primary contributing factor to employee happiness yet only 42% of those surveyed knew their company’s current vision. Companies must, therefore, be completely transparent in order to gain their employee’s trust by updating employees on company struggles and strategies. Simply knowing the bigger picture can lead to significantly more engaged employees that are more committed to the vision of the business. 

Tangible Objective Setting

It is well demonstrated that goal setting is linked to employee motivation and satisfaction. There are hundreds of goal-setting methodologies, but all contribute significantly to employee behaviour (Locke & Latham, 2002). Likewise, hundreds of studies prove that setting specific, attainable but difficult objectives is linked to higher employee performance (Lunenburg, 2011). Especially during unprecedented operating conditions, employees need clear and challenging targets to remain engaged in their work. 

Providing Feedback and Recognition

Another well-documented contributor to workforce performance and motivation is receiving feedback and recognition. Even if feedback is unfavourable, employees are motivated to improve their performance, if feedback is from a credible source (Steelman & Rutkowski, 2004). Not only does the recognition of achievements improve the performance and engagement of the recipient, but studies have demonstrated that it also improves the performance of other team members (Bradler et al., 2016). During times of uncertainty, providing means of suggesting feedback and giving recognition to employees is critical for maintaining workforce performance.  

Future-Proofing Business

Businesses that continue to invest in their workforce and grow their capacity during times of struggle are the same businesses that emerge the strongest. Their teams are seen to be resilient and adaptable, creating a sense of pride for employees. Such market leaders gain a remarkable reputation as they’re seen to be continuing business-as-usual, caring for their employees and contributing to the economy despite the struggle. Additionally, employees feel reassured and are more committed to their jobs when they see their employer investing in the future of the business. It is crucial to continue activities such as hiring strategies, employee development and sales pipelines.

Continuing hiring strategies is one of the simplest ways to maintain team morale as the creation of employment is a major contributor to people’s happiness (Frey & Stutzer, 2002). Furthermore, building and maintaining a strong employer brand not only attracts talent but has also been demonstrated to improve existing employee’s perception of the business (Wilden et al., 2010). The creation of employment improves existing employee engagement and is therefore vital for supporting productivity. 

References

Al Rahbi, D., Khalid, K. and Khan, M. 2017. The effects of leadership styles on team motivation. Academy of Strategic Management Journal. 16(2), pp.1-14. 

Avolio, B.J., Jung, D.I., Murry, W.D. and Sivasubramaniam, N. 1996. Building highly developed teams: Focusing on shared leadership processes, efficacy, trust, and performance. In: Beyerlein, M.M., Johnson, D.A. and Beyerlein, S.T. eds. Advances in interdisciplinary studies of work teams. Connecticut: JAI, pp.173-209. 

Bradler, C., Dur, R., Neckermann, S. and Non, A. 2016. Employee recognition and performance: a field experiment. Management Science. 62(11), pp.3085-3099.

 Chalofsky, N. and Krishna, V. 2009. Meaningfulness, Commitment, and Engagement: The Intersection of a Deeper Level of Intrinsic Motivation. Advances in Developing Human Resources. 11(2), pp.189-203. 

 de Vries, E.R., van den Hooff, B. and de Ridder, J.A. 2006. Explaining Knowledge Sharing: The Role of Team Communication Styles, Job Satisfaction, and Performance Beliefs. Communication Research. 33(2), pp.115-135. 

Frey, B.S. and Stutzer, A. 2002. What can economists learn from happiness research? Journal of Economic Literature. 40(2), pp.402-435.

 Koehne, B., Shih, P. and Olson, J. 2012. Remote and alone: coping with being the remote member on the team. In: CSCW '12: Computer Supported Cooperative Work, February 2012, Seattle. New York: ACM, pp.1257-1266. 

 Locke, E.A. and Latham, G.P. 2002. Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation. American Psycologist. 57(9), pp.705-717. 

 Lunenburg, F.C. 2011. Goal-setting theory of motivation. International Journal of Management, Business and Administration. 15(1), pp.1-6.

 Neufeld, D.J., Wan, Z. and Fang, Y. 2010. Remote Leadership, Communication Effectiveness and Leader Performance. Group Decision and Negotiation. 19(1), pp.227-246.

Olson, J.S., Olson, G.M., and Meader, D. 1997. Face-to-face group work compared to remote group work with and without video. In: Finn, K.E., Sellen, A.J., and Wilbur, S.B. eds. Computers, cognition, and work. Video-mediated communication. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, pp.157-172. 

Pinto, M.B. and Pinto, J.K. 1990. Project Team Communication and Cross‐Functional Cooperation in New Program Development. Journal of Product Innovation Management. 7(3), pp.200-212. 

 TINYpulse. 2013. 7 Vital Trends Disrupting Today’s Workplace. [Online]. [Accessed 24th March 2020]. Available from:www.tinypulse.com/resources/employee-engagement-survey-2013.

 Steelman, L.A. and Rutkowski, K.A. 2004. Moderators of employee reactions to negative feedback. Journal of Managerial Psychology. 19(1), pp.6-18. 

 Yost, C.A. and Tucker, M.L. 2000. Are Effective Teams More Emotionally Intelligent? Confirming the Importance of Effective Communication in Teams. Delta Pi Epsilon Journal. 42(2), pp.101-109.

Wilden, R., Gudergan, S. and Lings, I. 2010. Employer branding: strategic implications for staff recruitment. Journal of Marketing Management. 26(2), pp.56-73.

By Matt McCann (Researcher at CRSI)

Prepare your team for COVID-19: FREE EVENT IN LEEDS

Venue: Flote Leeds, The Calls, Leeds. LS2 7EY

Date and Time: 8.30am - 10am Monday 16th - Friday 20th March

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With the threat of a global coronavirus pandemic increasing daily, it is fast becoming something that business leaders can no longer ignore.

Having the correct response may prove to be vital in ensuring that your business is equipped to cope with what may be coming. 

The excessive media hype means that it’s becoming difficult to find the information that matters amongst the noise. CRSI have assembled a panel of relevant legal, healthcare and HR professionals to offer pragmatic guidance about the situation, covering a variety of topics including: 

• What needs to be in your coronavirus policy? 

• What duty of care do you have to your team and keeping them safe?

• What workplace hygiene policies should you implement? 

• Your employees’ rights around self-isolation and sick pay

• How to ensure that your employees remain engaged in times of stress

• And… how do you communicate all of this to your team 

The programme will consist of a short overview from each of our speakers, followed by questions from the floor.

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Our confirmed speakers include: 

A Senior Employment Lawyer 

An NHS Executive 

An HR and workplace people specialist 

We hope to announce more in due course.

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We’ll be limiting each event to a maximum of twenty attendees but will be repeating it throughout the week.

This is a free event but will be ticketed. To sign up, please visit the eventbrite page.

A New Home for CRSI

The last 6 months have been an eventful time at CRSI, not only have we rebranded from Complete Resourcing to CRSI, we’ve just moved to bigger and better offices in Leeds. 

With a handful of new team members already on board and a significant amount of hiring planned for 2020, we had well and truly outgrown our old space. Moving home is never easy and this move was 6 months in the planning for our awesome operations team.

In our new space, we have two geographically named meeting rooms (they look suspiciously like sheds), two big corner offices and plenty of room for many more new hires. If you’d like to join us, or want to know more about the kind of roles available at CRSI, visit our ‘join us’ page here: https://www.crsi.team/join-us

Welcome to CRSI

We are delighted to announce that in order to truly reflect our extensive services, Complete Resourcing has rebranded to CRSI (Consult, Resource, Scale, Invest) helps high-growth businesses design, build, develop and retain the highest calibre teams.

Our clients have found that by genuinely investing in their people, they are not only able to secure the best, they increase engagement, increase productivity and increase retention. This not only reduces time and costs in recruitment, it also enables them to increase business performance and scale quicker.

We recognise that clients also need access to customers and investors. Our extensive networks have allowed us to make relevant introductions at the right time, resulting in accelerated growth. Our long-term commitment to clients has allowed many to internationalise more effectively, where we have helped businesses build successful teams overseas whilst retaining their core values and culture.

Our commitment to the high-growth ecosystems means that in 2020 will also see an expansion of Investor Ladder with new cities and new events added to the programme for more information, visit the Investor Ladder site here