All posts by Rachel Pallett

The festive season is once again upon us and this Christmas, more than ever, there’s a huge demand for delivery drivers. A fast paced and important role, it’s so important that delivery drivers are efficient and effective when going about their deliveries – here’s our top tips to be an effective delivery driver.

Let’s start with the driving. Delivery drivers must have excellent driving experience and skills, with a good driving record and correct licence. If you’re working in a specific area, get to know the location and keep up to date with any roadworks or changes.

Communication is key. Whilst much of your day will be spent on the road alone, excellent communication skills are a must. Whether it’s communicating with your head office, or answering queries and concerns by customers, always be clear and go the extra mile when trying to communicate.

Keep an eye on the details. Being aware of traffic trends or disruptions that could cause a delay. Also pay attention to your vehicle – any changes in handling or sounds could indicate trouble down the line, so get it checked out!

For more information about our latest driving vacancies, or to find out how Flexistaff can support your business, contact us on 0844 556 2916 or [email protected]. 

Many organisations offer a package of employee benefits to their workers, offering a wide range of different perks. But what are the benefits that really make workers tick?

It’s clear that perks make a difference. Yes, many employees seek a good salary that pays the bills, but jobs that come with exclusive benefits do make a difference to employee happiness and motivation.

Free tea and coffee is a simple benefit that is hugely popular amongst employees. Other popular benefits include casual dress codes and shopping discounts.

From recent research, it was found that 1 in 5 employees receive no employee perks at all, demonstrating that even though perks are found to keep workers motivated and loyal many companies still don’t offer any.

Good and accessible employee benefits schemes can make a huge difference to an organisation. A company that has a motivated and positive workforce naturally becomes more effective, productive and profitable. So it pays to look after employees!

For more information about our latest vacancies, or to find out how Flexistaff can support your business, contact us on 0844 556 2916 or [email protected].

Keeping your forklift in top shape is important. But to some, daily checks of equipment can feel like a bit too much. Don’t be one of those people! Daily checks are hugely important – Here’s why.

There are two main aims of daily checks – safety and maintenance.

Skipping your daily checks, even if it costs you lots of time, is a false economy. If you don’t conduct daily checks  and therefore miss catastrophic problems with your forklift, you could find yourself on a member of your team in trouble. Damaged or broken forklifts can lead to accidents and in the long term larger repair bills or replacement costs.

A simple daily check of your equipment can prevent a lot of pain in the future.

Follow your forklift manufacturers instructions for conducting an effective daily check. Each model is different so make sure you attend to your forklift according to the needs of the manufacturer.

Most importantly, you must insist on regular training. It may feel unnecessary to some who have already experienced forklift training, but refreshers and reminders are vital to ensuring success, especially as best practise can be updated at any time.

For more information about our latest forklift vacancies, or to find out how Flexistaff can support your business, contact us on 0844 556 2916 or [email protected].

Job searching can be tough sometimes. Often there’s a lot of competition, and sometimes job seekers are unfortunately left confused and frustrated. So what are the biggest job seeking frustrations, and how can you overcome them?

Experience? Job seekers looking for their first job or those looking to change careers can sometimes feel that they need experience, to get experience! Our solution? Consider volunteer work or temporary work to gain some career experience, and apply again!

The competition. Sometimes companies will have hundreds of applicants for a vacancy and job seekers can sometimes feel that the personal touch is taken out of the recruiting process, as well as feeling they don’t stand a chance. Job seekers should consider what makes them unique and how their skills match the job role.

No feedback? If there are a number of applicants, job seekers may find that feedback is slow or non-existent. There’s no reason, however, why job seekers can’t ask for feedback!

For more information about our current vacancies, or to find out how Flexistaff can support your business, contact us on 0844 556 2916 or [email protected].

As a long-distance driver, it’s likely you’ll be required to drive in other countries during your career. Seems simple enough but it’s vital you prepare properly for driving in a new country. Here’s our top tips.

Are you on the “right” side of the road? It may seem obvious but if you’re having to drive on a different side of the road than you are used to it can be strange and disorientating. Make sure you concentrate and take extra care when having to overtake other vehicles if appropriate.

What are the rules? Don’t assume that the country you’re driving in follows the same rules as the UK – make sure you’ve checked the relevant highway code and you’re aware of any differences in road rules that you should be aware of.

Plan in advance. Consider your journey in advance and have a think about any stops you might need to make in your route. Whether it be to re-fuel or take a rest, it’s best to plan your stops in advance when in an unfamiliar environment.

For more information about our latest vacancies, or to find out how Flexistaff can support your business, contact us on 0844 556 2916 or [email protected].

The things about job searching is that it inevitably results in interviews. Interviewing is a vital part of the job-hunting process; unfortunately you can’t get around it, and it can leave people feeling anxious. If you feel stressed about your next interview, take a look at our top tips for managing your anxiety here.

Take a step back. Concentrate on slowing your breathing and pay attention to your body language; sit up straight, maintain eye contact and try not to seem restless.

Remind yourself about the positives. There’s a reason you’ve been invited to interview – because the hiring manager thinks you might have the skills and experiences needed for the role in question. That’s a good start!

Make sure you’re prepared. Think about your answers in advance to typical interview questions and make sure you’ve taken the time to research the organisation thoroughly.

It’s a two way conversation. You’re making sure this job and organisation is right for you, just as much as your interviewer is assessing your suitability for the role too.

Don’t overdo it on the coffee! A nice cup of coffee might feel like the thing you need to focus your mind but don’t have too much. Caffeine can increase your heart rate and leave you feeling more anxious than before.

Good luck with your next interview!

For more information about our latest vacancies, or to find out how Flexistaff Recruitment can support your business, contact us on 0844 556 2916 or [email protected].

Organisation at work is an absolute must. If you’re not organised at work you’re not going to be effective and you could find yourself falling behind. If you’re not sure where to start with getting more organised at work, but want to improve your efficiency, read on!

Make a list. How can you know what’s a priority if you’ve not made a list? Consider all of the tasks that need to be completed in your day, think about which ones are most important and how long each task will take, and make a list of tasks for the day. You can then focus your energy in completing your list – and completing your most important tasks!

Forget multi-tasking. Multi-tasking at work won’t end with you completing more tasks at once – it’s easy to get distracted and try to do everything at once, but it isn’t very organised. Complete one task at a time to ensure you remain effective and prioritise your tasks.

Can you delegate? If you’re able to delegate work, do so. It’s important that you consider what tasks could be completed by your team or others around you to ensure everyone is organised and effective.

Remember – there’s only so many hours in the day! Whenever you re organising your day remember there’s only so many hours in the day – make sure your tasks fit the amount of time you actually have to complete them!

For more information about our latest vacancies, or to how Flexistaff can support your business, contact us on 0844 556 2916 or [email protected].

People’s motivations at work can be varied and complex, and when considering motivations, employers should be aware of what motivates employees and makes them loyal. Here’s a few top motivators for today’s workforce.

Getting the balance right is key. Quality of life is important, for well being and good mental health, and people want to feel they aren’t being pressured into staying late at work. Encourage everyone to work their contracted hours only.

Encourage healthy relationships. It’s the people that make it worthwhile – people like to work in strong, motivated and positive teams, and should be encouraged to form friendships and be comfortable with their colleagues.

It’s all about praise. It’s easy to forget to praise good work, but it’s vital you do – a “well done” and a “thank you” goes a long way and boosts people’s confidence and motivation, plus those around them.

What about salary? You may think that a good salary is the most important thing to people – yes, the money’s got to be right, but even if people are being paid over the odds, if they don’t feel job satisfaction they’re likely to move on in the end.

For more information about our latest vacancies, or to how Flexistaff can support your business, contact us on 0844 556 2916 or [email protected].

Forklift jobs are by no means easy jobs. Even with safety measures improving and equipment becoming more sophisticated working in a fast pace warehouse environment can be stressful. So what are the major challenges to forklift work, and how can you combat workplace stress?

What’s the temperature? Often forklift drivers are required to work in changing temperatures, whether it’s outside, inside or in freezer environments. This can be both physically and mentally stressful – make sure you’ve put the right safeguards in place, so forklift operators don’t feel the effects of changing temperatures too harshly.

Looming deadlines. Forklift operators usually work in fast paced environments with strict deadlines, meaning there’s a temptation to rush and potentially cause accidents. Managing workload and deadlines effectively is vital to avoid deadline stress.

Training needs. Training can sometimes feel like an afterthought or another stress for forklift operators. By using our partner organisation The Forklift Truck Training Centre you can remove all the stress out of training and make the process as easy as possible.

For more information about our forklift vacancies, or to find out how Flexistaff can support your business, contact us on 0844 556 2916 or [email protected].

Working in a warehouse provides an opportunity for a long and successful career. With demand in warehousing on the way up, now is the time to build a successful career in the warehouse. But where to start?

Take every opportunity to build your skills. If training is offered, take it. Find opportunities to develop your skills in communication and problem solving. You may also need to operate machinery – attention to detail is crucial.

Stay up to date with the trends. The warehouse and logistics sector is growing and developing all the time – by keeping up to date with the latest trends you can ensure you perform your role to the best of your ability.

Build relationships. Networking and meeting industry professionals is a great way to find new opportunities in the future to build your career. Find professional sector recruiters (like us!) you can partner with too to find new opportunities when you’re ready to progress.

For more information about our latest driving vacancies, or to find out how Flexistaff can support your business, contact us on 0844 556 2916 or [email protected]