tfpl blog

A very LIKE-able Evening!

Authors: Susanne Osterlund, Vicky Sculfor, Lee Seymour

Last night we attended the LIKE social evening at Punch Tavern.  It was a fantastic opportunity to catch up with old contacts and friends and make new ones.

As ever, the event was relaxed, positive and friendly and we spoke about everything from: congratulating people on new jobs, new challenges and achievements, the re-branding of CILIP, the employment market and of course the subject of holidays was an important one; most of us are hoping for some summer sun either here in the UK or abroad!

We would like to thank the LIKE committee for organising the evening.  If you are looking for a networking event that is sociable and where it’s easy to meet people then this is a really good group to join.  

We will also be attending the forthcoming LIKE Ideas conference in June.

From Big Data to Little Apps: How you can access, present and deliver information in the workplace

TFPL is pleased to be involved in the organisation of this year’s  London Knowledge and Information Exchange Ideas conference taking place on the afternoon of Friday 28 June 2013.

St Bride Foundation,
14 BrideLane,
Fleet Street,
London EC4Y 8EQ

Tired of hearing BIG talk about data? Want to cut through the hyperbole and learn something useful about using and managing your organisation’s data?

LIKE Ideas will be a practical, informative and enjoyable knowledge-sharing event. You’ll hear from expert practitioners who, like you, are interested in down-to-earth solutions to real-life information management issues.

To book on this event, please go to http://www.likenews.org.uk/likeideas2013.html

We look forward to seeing you there!

 

Recruitment: How to get the best out of TFPL.........and all your own efforts

http://careers.guardian.co.uk/working-with-recruiters-how-to-guide

This article in The Guardian, about the value of engaging with a Recruitment Consultant, is well worth a read. Please follow the link for the full article.

The most powerful asset TFPL has, and the best reason to use a Recruitment Consultant is the power of advocacy - based on trust and expertise.

Embraced by many organisations, RPO (recruitment process outsourcing) has largely ignored the value of advocacy in the market place. However, whilst portals and administrators produce a lean process, semi-automated recruitment systems are not designed to celebrate or differentiate the individual.

The same might be said for most job sites. The systems do produce management information, which helps firms manage a large volume of transactions, but at the same time, such processes make it difficult for an individual's talent, a go-getting firm or an extraordinary opportunity to stand out.  Pre-designed fields and indexing can't cater well for every need and won't rise to a challenge. In the real world, we need both RPO and full service recruitment companies to complement each other.

For customers, the true value of our expertise lies in the advocacy, expert advice and individual attention that TFPL gives. The advice in this article is excellent - find a good recruiter (we're here) and work with them constructively.

If you would like to talk to TFPL about your career, team or organisation's needs, please email to recruitment@tfpl.com for an appointment or contact me, Julia Hordle, on 020 7332 6093 for a confidential discussion.

 

 

 

 

TFPL at the SLA Quiz night

On Tuesday 29^th January the TFPL work force put in a strong showing at the SLA Quiz night; split in to 2 teams the NervousRECS and the TFPL Tigers beat off stiff competition to achieve 6^th and 10^th place respectively out of a possible 16 teams. This was as always a mentally challenging and competitive event that was enjoyed by all of TFPL as well as all who took part. To view photographs of this event just click on the following link http://www.flickr.com/photos/slaeurope/sets/72157632653521818/show/

SLA Europe November Event

I will be attending the SLA Europe November Event at Patch Bar http://www.sla-europe.org/ , along with a number of my colleagues here at TFPL; this is a great opportunity for people in the Information and Knowledge Management profession to network with us, allowing you to gain an insight in to the sectors employment market; we will be busy connecting with all throughout the evening, sharing industry knowledge and thoughts on current sector developments. We look forward to seeing all who are attending this event on Wednesday 21st November and hope to speak with you there.

Cheers! TFPL Consultants on the loose in Belfast

Back in June 2012, Julia Hordle and Anne Ashdown  took to the stage at the BIALL Conference in Belfast to present their findings so far on their report : “Trends in KIM: A spotlight on changing skills
requirements in Legal KM, and for comparison, in the wider professional services marketplace”

The main focus of the study has been to provide an overview of change in the marketplace, and in turn the impact of this change on hiring processes within organisations and within TFPL.

 Prior to the conference, both Julia and Anne were busy interviewing senior legal information professionals and a survey was also distributed to the wider legal information community. The aim of the survey was to provide tangible insights to assist those in the legal sector to plan their own or their team’s professional development in 2012.

 The survey is in the final stages before publication but there is still time for any practicing legal information professional to complete the survey and you can do so by contacting Julia Hordle on +44 (0)20 7332 6093.

Big data – an opportunity for information professionals?

Big data refers to collections of data that have become so large and complex that it is difficult to work with them using the range of databases currently available to most organisations. Data sets are growing in size due to multiple information gathering devices available to capture and store information. The ability to search, share and analyse this information is becoming increasingly challenging. Harnessing big data has huge potential as a basis of competition, it can create value through making information searchable and usable, enabling better management decisions, and a more targeted approach to segmentation of customers. Various industries have been identified as likely to see growth in this area such as the public sector and financial services.

Research analytics is a key skill that is needed more and more to make sense of the vast oceans of content out there. A skills gap could be emerging as there is a shortage of people with the right skills to turn information into a valuable tool. This could be a great opportunity for information professional to demonstrate their value to organisations through their expertise in this area.

TFPL regularly deals with vacancies requiring Research Analysts who can provide insight and analysis of business informatics for clients such as professional services, advisory and strategy organisations. We are always on the lookout to attract skilled professionals who can think creatively about how data can make businesses more profitable. We also plan on running training events in 2013 to assist our clients and candidates to develop these skills.

It's a question of Quality

Difficult to tell  a good consultant from bad?  You get quality assured Recruitment Services with TFPL  

TFPL holds an ISO 9001:2008 accreditation for quality management. Yesterday we had an assessment as part of our programme of supervision from the BSI http://www.bsigroup.co.uk , and I am delighted to report that we are still flying colours for our Recruitment services http://www.tfpl.com/services/contingency-recruit.cfm .  TFPL (and of course IDOX) were rated as outstanding, with a particular comment from the assessor that the thought process and care behind each of the Permanent Recruitment, IT and Marketing functions, was excellent.

 ...and the training is good too 

On the subject of excellence, courses with TFPL Training http://www.tfpl.com/resources/faqs.cfm help you on your way towards your objectives for Continuing Professional Development. We are fully accredited trainers, which means to say courses offered through us are to the standard required to be recognised by any independent external training body as contributing to your CPD objectives in any given year. Something to show for your efforts as well as the learning. For further information, please look up http://www.cpduk.co.uk/Aboutus/aboutint.htm regarding the value of a CPD accreditation.

 ...but not resting on our laurels, please feed back to us, so we know if something isn’t quite right

For the avoidance of smugness, I should also say that we have many ambitions for the business, and we know not all our customers think we are outstanding. The accreditation just means that, on balance, anyone coming to us for services can expect to receive a qualitatively good service, or if not, that we will work hard to put right anything which does not go as it should. Please keep telling us about your experiences with TFPL, as we are completely dependent on honest feedback to keep ourselves relevant to each and every customer. Please use recruitment@tfpl.com for your feedback and/or a rapid response.

Want to find out more or see the evidence?

If you are a client, or are considering TFPL as a service supplier, please contact me, Julia.Hordle@tfpl.com. We will make a full, un-edited copy of our last assessment available on request.

 

London Information and Knowledge Exchange: "Grey Soul of London" Walk

by Denise Harmer, Recruitment Consultant

Went for a very wet but interesting  walking tour organised by the ‘Like’  group last Thursday,  the theme being grey soul of London.  Very apt as it was indeed very grey but despite the pouring rain was entertaining and lively thanks to  Robert Kingham our  engaging commentator . We were treated to some very interesting facts about Angel and North London by following the route of the Artful Dodger no less.

We past cottages, parks, an abandoned post office train and old workers cottages as well as a Banksy that some of my fellow walkers had never seen and yet pass every day!  Refreshing side to historic London I would recommend.

A Social Animal

By Matthew Woods, TFPL Recruitment Consultant

Ask most people to go to an event after work on a Monday until 9pm and you’d probably get a reaction of horror, but last night’s Knowledge Café hosted by David Gurteen dispelled that while proving the old maxim that time flies when you’re having fun.

Arthur Shelley, founder of the Organisational Zoo Ambassadors Network (and owner of Intelligent Answers) challenged the way we thought about conversations and group dynamics.  Are you a lion or a mouse?  A Hyena or a sloth?  How would you go about talking to these different social animals or would that depend on whether you were in the height of battle or the calm of the swamp?

Arthur managed to boil the essence of personalities and group interactions down to a card-game of different animals, though the real fun comes with the discussion of which animal you’d want on your team, and in what situation.

Sprinkling in anecdotes from his personal life and business career, Arthur was able to spark some thought about how we might all be able to apply these behaviours and choices to our own interactions, which I would find particularly interesting from the point of view of finding good candidates and teams of people for our clients at TFPL.   I can’t do it justice here, but if you have a moment, take a look at the slides from the presentation and Arthur’s website, which should give you more of an idea...

http://www.organizationalzoo.com/

http://www.slideshare.net/Arthur.Shelley

https://twitter.com/#!/metaphorage