Recruitment and Career Blog -

How to keep the elderly safe this Winter

2019-02-12

Fresh, crisp winter days can be amazing, but the lower temperatures can be detrimental to your health. Figures show that Winter weather can increase the risk of deaths from cold-related illnesses – and the elderly are particularly vulnerable. As the clocks have gone back and days turn short, dark nights have made an appearance and some very wintry weather too, here is our checklist for making the winter months safer and better for elderly people... Keep the house warm There are a few ways to ensure their house is kept warm. You need to ensure that the boiler is being checked and serviced before the Winter months begin as this will lessen the chance of the heating breaking. Also check all radiators to ensure they are producing heat. AGE UK advise to have the living room at 21 degrees, the bedroom at 18 degrees and the rest of the house at, at least 16 degrees. Also ensure that the house is well insulated as this will keep the heat locked in and create a warm environment. Also once it gets dark, draw the curtains so no drafts get in. Another tip is to get a keyhole cover. Many old houses have a large open keyhole instead of modern homes that have a more secure, little keyhole. Therefore, an elderly person is more likely to live in an old house so getting a keyhole cover will help to stop little drafts getting into the house. Keeping the house warm can help with avoiding Hypothermia, which is highly dangerous for the elderly. What is hypothermia? Older adults can quickly lose body heat and aren’t always aware of their temperature, making it easy for them to become too cold, too quickly. Body temperature below 35C (normal temperature is 37C) can cause hypothermia. Hypothermia is particularly dangerous and a high health problem for older adults; especially those living alone as there’s not someone around to notice the early signs. Early signs of hypothermia: Cold hands and feet Puffy or swollen face Pale skin Slow or slurred speech Anger or confusion Later signs of hypothermia: Slow or jerky movements including trouble walking and clumsiness Slow heartbeat Slow, shallow breathing Loss of consciousness Help with heating bills The cost of heating is a worry for many, especially the elderly but there is some help at hand in terms of UK Government payments. Most people born before 6 May 1953 were entitled to the Winter Fuel Payment in 2016–17 to help with heating costs. It’s a tax-free payment of between £100 and £300 paid out between November and December. This can help avoid feeling the cold weather from inside houses. A space heater is a great source of heat, however they possess high fire hazards if they are left on alone or near flammable objects. Never use an oven or cooker as a source of heat as this can cause Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Eating well and exercising Regular, daily exercise and a hot meal a day will help keep elderly parents warm and well over the winter; if its icy outside then encourage them to do exercises indoors. Staying active can warm up the body which can avoid a number of health issues including Hypothermia and heart attacks. A few examples of types of exercises are: Water aerobics Bicycle riding (stationary or on a path) Some activities of gardening, such as raking and pushing a lawn mower Bundle up! When going outside it is important to wrap up in order to keep them as warm as possible. Here are some examples of what the elderly should be wearing: Thick socks Thermals / multiple layers Dry / warm gloves Anti-skid soles are also good to put into shoes Infection protection Careful hygiene and hand washing will prevent the spread of colds, flu and other viruses. Follow our step by step guide on how to properly wash your hands: Wet your hands with running water - either warm or cold. Apply liquid, bar or powder soap to a cupped hand. Lather well. Rub your hands, palm to palm, vigorously for at least 20 seconds. Remember to scrub all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails. Rinse well. Dry your hands with a clean towel. Use the towel to turn off the running water. Hopefully now you have everything you need to know about keeping elderly citizens safe this Winter and feel confident in doing so! Is there anything you can think of that we might have missed? Let us know in the comments below!

Moving from panic hiring to planned hiring with Applicant Tracking Systems

2019-02-11

In today’s age, it is important to construct an effective recruitment process. Traditionally placing job ads in the paper etc., usually results in a lot of costly panic hires for most companies, some of which have resorted to using Application Tracking Systems. An Applicant Tracking System is a software application designed to automate the recruitment process from sourcing to onboarding. It is referred to as an ATS in short, and can be used to post job openings on corporate websites, job boards, screen resumes as well as to generate interview requests to potential candidates by email. It is estimated that roughly 50% of all companies use some type of applicant tracking system to source and hire their candidates today. The first step in landing and hiring your dream candidate is recognising what type of candidates you’re looking for exactly. The ATS gives you complete control over your hiring criteria for each job-skills, traits, qualifications, as well as custom categories unique to your company. You can zero in on all of your exact specifications. According to a recently conducted study, 61% of all organisations feel that their main priority for hiring talent is to hire the best of it. According to a survey, hiring cycles tend to take longer than necessary ranging from 4 to 8 weeks. Your organisation should implement this type of system and start hiring the best talent at a faster rate. Efficient Collaboration Between HR and the Hiring Managers Allowing HR and hiring managers to contact the applicants via phone, lengthens the recruitment process unnecessarily. You can use the email interview scheduling capability built into all ATSs. ATS’s are extremely good for HR professionals and recruiters which target keywords rather than skills. An ATS helps any company filter and reduce the size of the talent pool without wasting any precious time, energy or money. ATS saves about 20% of company time during the hiring process. Roughly half of all companies have seen this trend and plan on making some major HR technology upgrades. Ensuring You Get Applications from the Most Qualified Candidates An organisation is suffering if it isn’t getting application requests from the best-qualified candidates. Posting jobs on online job boards becomes time consuming, of which most organisations may not know which job boards are the most productive for the various types of positions they have to offer. Using technology through the process can help with the position posting process. Most ATS’s can help automate systems, meaning that there are no delays in getting open jobs available and seen by as many talented candidates as possible, hence getting more applications from the most qualified candidates. Getting the Strongest Candidates On-Site for an Interview Once you have identified the best candidates through the ATS, the traditional method of phone tag can slow down and hinder the interview scheduling process. Getting the best candidates on site is a vital step if you want to catch the best talent. Currently, the best approach is to rely on the email interview scheduling capability which can be found in all ATSs. Planning with ATS Another key step to hiring better talent is planning. But planning will only work if you have reliable data. One of the better ways to get hiring data is through an ATS. Applicant Tracking Systems are a Powerful Component in Planning ATS can be a powerful component in planning because it can generate reports that identify the sources where the applicants come from. Allowing you to see which of your job postings got the most traffic from aspiring applicants. ATS also allows you to calculate the time to hire and generate other key talent acquisition metrics. An ATS streamlines your hiring process and also allows you to improve and optimize your overall hiring process. ATS can help all organisations bridge the gap between talent acquisition goals and reality. Providing the structure and automation required to hire the best talent, reduce time to hire and plan more effectively for the future of your organisation. Author Bio: Kelly Barcelos is a progressive digital marketing manager specialising in HR and is responsible for leading Jobsoid’s content and social media team. When Kelly is not building campaigns, she is busy creating content and preparing PR topics. She started with Jobsoid as a social media strategist and eventually took over the entire digital marketing team with her innovative approach and technical expertise.