What I found out about working life during my work experience placement with re:find…For the past two weeks, I’ve been completing a work placement with re:find and it’s been a brilliant experience! During my placement, I’ve been able to do a variety of different things and really get to grips with the ins-and-outs of what it’s like to work in a HR and management search company.

Being in the office with James, Carl and Sam every day has been really enjoyable as they’ve been very welcoming and funny, and they’ve made sure that I’ve always felt like part of the group. However, it’s not only been about having fun as they’ve made it clear that the most important thing is to work hard and make sure that everything you do is to the best of your ability.

During my work experience placement, the guys have eased me into ‘working life’ and made sure that I’ve understood all of my daily tasks whilst having a good time. I can’t say that the early morning alarm and commute have been a ball, but I’m glad that I now know the realities of working and the vast rewards it can bring.

It’s been great to feel like a part of this exciting & innovative team of young professionals and to get a taste for what a working day is really like. I’m used to having to ask to listen to music or being told when to go on lunch, so it’s been nice not having to do that and being trusted to make my own decisions!

Something in particular that I’ve loved about my experience is the fact that re:find have an office dog. I’m happy to say that their little pug has been one of the highlights of my placement.

Whilst I’ve been on my placement, I’ve also had the opportunity to meet a range of interesting professionals. For example, I had the chance to chat with a HR manager called Elaine who told me all about about her job role. One fun thing she said was about how HR is “like a school but without the punishments”.

Elaine also introduced me to the head of the Birmingham Airport Fire & Rescue department, who told me loads of interesting things about the department. For example, he said how their trucks are faster than a Ferrari with 780 horsepower! He also spoke about his career progression and how he advanced to his current role. I learnt that it took him nearly 28 years to get to where he is now, which really made me think about how important hard work and determination is if you want to progress in your chosen career.

Overall, I’ve really enjoyed my work experience and having the opportunity to interact with funny and friendly people on a daily basis! I’m glad that I got the chance to do my work experience with re:find and would like to thank James, Carl and Sam for offering me the placement and making sure that the whole experience was insightful, eye-opening and amazing.

If you want to find out what re:find are up to, make sure you like & follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

For more information on re:find, you can email me on James@refind.co.uk.

You can view more about James Cumming our change and business transformation specialist here

What are Shared Service Centres? A Shared Service Centre is a central hub of an organisation, typically responsible for handling specific operational tasks within accounting, human resources, I.T, legal and compliance, payroll, and procurement.

Shared Service Centres have been around since the mid-1980’s, and more frequently than ever, larger corporates are moving towards SSC’s and business process outsourcing.

So why do organisations set up Shared Service Centres?

Companies use Shared Services so they can utilise people, processes and technologies. Organisations will open up SSC’s to concentrate their administrative duties into a centralised function, this is in order to reduce costs, avoid duplication of effort and to allow for greater focus on business strategy.

In a nutshell, an organisation will set up a centrally located support centre to act as the main point of contact for all administration and queries.

The key objectives for most SSC’s are:

– Reducing costs

– Economies of scale

– Efficiency

– Improved control

– Performance/productivity measurement

– Customer satisfaction

For more information on Shared Service Centres, contact Sam our Shared Services Executive Search expert. In his free eBook, I examine the steps you can take to stay ahead in the field. If you would like your free copy, email me at sam@refind.co.uk

You can view more about Sam Perry our Shared Services Executive Search expert here

or to see how re:find can help you with yours, please contact us via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or email.

July 2017

What are Shared Service Centres? A Shared Service Centre is a central hub of an organisation, typically responsible for handling specific operational tasks within accounting, human resources, I.T, legal and compliance, payroll, and procurement.