As we’ve already mentioned, Old Hall Street and the surrounding area in the heart of Liverpool’s business district will be hosting a street party on 28 August to celebrate the city’s 800th birthday.

We’ve now got a few more details of what you can get up to:

• Old Hall Street will be closed outside the Post & Echo building, 11.30am - 3.30pm but visitors can get round - there will be a traffic management company and stewards to re-direct traffic to car parks etc.
• Geraud markets will be selling fine foods at six stalls, plus CAMRA real ale tasting. Seven companies (including Liverpool Chamber) will be taking part in school games
• An Echo chip van will be selling chips wrapped in special commemorative Echo
• Cake making competition - a cook-off contest between chefs.
• Local pubs will be taking part - Exchange, Cross Keys, Lion are all in the real beer festival starting on the birthday, plus fine foods will be available. Cross Keys - history of stadium/boxing display - former boxers visiting.
• Exchange Flags will be decked up with a Medieval theme - including falconry (to keep the local pigeons on their, er, toes), archery, jousting and the like - 11.30 - 15.00.

Start preparing now for a new carbon emissions trading scheme, which will hit up to 5,000 UK organisations - starting next year, advises Chamber UtilitiesT.

Although the government’s proposed Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) will be implemented in stages from 2010 to 2013, it will affect businesses much sooner because charges are likely to be based on consumption from January 2008 to December 2008.

Other initiatives in the CRC proposals are incentives for organisations that take early action to reduce emissions; a charge for energy consumers that exceed their carbon allowance; and a carbon league table with cash rewards for star performers and stiff penalties for under-achievers.

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Recruitment is something that touches every business at some point. In many cases it results in uncovering new talent that quickly becomes an asset to a business. However, there are occasions, when for some reason, something simply does not gel. The person that ‘wowed’ in the interview just does not materialise into the star you hoped for. This can often be a costly mistake both in terms of time and money.

There are numerous reasons for this, but often this situation can be traced back to poor interviewing. Too often interviews resemble a cosy ‘fireside chat’, lacking in structure, focus and with an agenda guided only by a CV created by the candidate, not in relation to the specific job role.

This is where a recruiter can add some real value, but too many let the industry down by acting as little more than a CV job shops. Adecco Premier is different. We train every consultant in Competency Based Interviewing (CBI) techniques and guarantee that every candidate will be assessed in this way. This not only ensures consistency across every consultant interview but also provides clients with the peace of mind that short listed candidates will be real potential employees.

So what is CBI? Put simply it is a structured series of questions aimed at assessing behavioural information against specific job-related competencies. At Adecco Premier we have developed our own successful version named S.O.A.R that analyses behaviours through situational, objective action and result based probes.

So why should you care? In short, it can save time and money. By getting the right CBI framework in place, the interview evaluates behaviours and not just skills. Research shows that past behaviours are a good indicator of future behaviour. There is no room for vagueness that leaves either side unsure of whether the job it is the right match for them or not.

Once understood, CBI can be used beyond simply the recruitment process and can play a valuable role in wider areas such as internal promotion, appraisals and assessing training needs.

To find out more about CBI and how it can help your business recruitment please call the Adecco Premier on 0151 243 5900 to speak to David and the team.

Adecco Premier
8 Chapel Street
Liverpool
L3 9AG

Tel: 0151 243 5900

Awesome August food deals with LiveOne20

Looking for ways to reward your staff this month? Give them something that will please their palates with LiveOne20.

There’s a bumper package of fantastic fine food offers from some of Liverpool’s leading names allowing you to take your pick from among the tastiest dishes available.

Cardholders using their card to book a table at the Malmaison Brasserie can enjoy a free bottle of house wine with their meal while the London Carriage Works has a sumptuous weekday lunchtime offer of three courses for just £25.

Alternatively, take advantage of two-for-one meal deals at fabulous Filini in the Radisson SAS Hotel and the terrific Sapporo Teppanaki on Duke Street.

These are just some of more than £800 worth of savings cardholders can make with LiveOne20. The scheme is the ultimate lifestyle card, allowing you and your staff to use the offers it presents in the way which best suits individual tastes.

The cards cost between £10 and £18 each, and are a great way of motivating the people who work with and for you. They’ll love you for it!
To buy LiveOne20 cards, just contact Livesmart’s account manager Sam Hart on 0870 055 3472 or by e-mail at liveone20@livesmart.biz.