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Retail
The Retail team partners with many of the world’s most renowned brands, department stores and online retailers supporting them in building teams across their transformation projects. With successful track record of working with our clients on these projects, our specialist consultants have delivered exceptional talent across key areas such as eCommerce, Supply Chain, Buying & Merchandising, Digital and Business Intelligence.
Travel, Transport & Logistics
The Travel, Transport & Logistics team are specialists within Rail, Aviation, Leisure and global Logistics companies across the industry.
We have a proven track record of delivering pan-European solutions. Our consultants are experts in their field with an approach that is tailored to the individual needs of our clients and candidates, allowing us to ensure we provide successful results.
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David Laurie, Director Analytics
SymphonyEYCTom is an excellent recruiter that take time to link with his candidates extremely well and foresee opportunities to link with potentials of the Business market. I had the opportunity to get to know Tom as being candidate on a recruitment phase and as well as a hiring manager. It’s an absolute pleasure to work with Tom and I would recommend him and Venquis for further recruitment phase within our company.
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Paul Harrop, Global Programme Director
Crabtree & EvelynWorking with Venquis has been a joy. They’re responsive, focused, and empathic. I’ve built a team with their help; I get great candidates who are properly briefed and ready for our priorities, challenges, and environment.
European Case Studies
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A.P. Møller Maersk creates a shared service platform
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Coop Denmark digitises for a seamless retail experience
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Burberry recognised for its exceptional omni-channel customer experience
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Helping a global company transform their human capital delivery
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‘Working mum’ campaign for leading transport & logistics client
Latest Jobs.
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Munich, Bayern
Sales Manager - Analytics Products (m/w/x)
For one of our key international clients in the web analytics space we are currently searching for a Sales Manager - Analytics Products! Tasks: Dev...
Germany(Senior) CIO Advisory Consultant / Project Manager (m/f/d)
We are currently searching for multiple (Senior) CIO Advisory Consultants and IT Project Managers for one of our boutique, Tier 1 consultancy clien...
Blogs
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Is it time to call for the Chief automation officer (CAO)?
In the UK we have the “Government automation taskforce” lead by Ian Dalton to ensure that central government is fully prepared and best able to take advantage of opportunities to deliver better, more efficient services using automation technologies. Companies which are the quickest to automate (successfully) reap many rewards – enhanced customer experiences, lower costs, less errors, better employee allocation to name a few. The CAO brings these benefits. The role is to deliver efficiencies at scale across the organisation. This might involve swapping humans doing repetitive processes for robotics and AI in warehouses, call centres, doctors’ surgeries, banks etc as part of a business’ digital transformation strategy. There are sensitive issues to be negotiated across the enterprise requiring a hybrid of skills and experience. Not least is the relationship with the Board, the CTO and the Chief Digital Officer. Some organisations have chosen to engage with external consultants to bring in expertise and avoid the politics. They may also be avoiding real engagement and results. Wherever the role sits these are forward thinking leaders who understand automated tools, hardware and software. Above all they bring a strategic view and create roadmaps for organisations, optimising workflows, orchestrating automation with the right technology. Successful ongoing automation is a game changer. If you'd like to discuss this with Barnaby Parker, Executive Chairman at Venquis, please reach out.
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The power of kindness
This week is Mental Health Awareness week and this year’s theme is kindness. In the cut and thrust of working life, kindness can sometimes be overlooked or confused with weakness but an overwhelming upside that has emerged from the Corona virus pandemic is the growing awareness of the power of kindness. Kindness is underpinning positive news stories, holding communities together and driving people to do amazing things. Kindness is also fundamental to our mental and physical wellbeing. It stimulates the production of serotonin, which calms us and increases happiness, as well as producing oxytocin which is important for the reduction of blood pressure. An exercise that I do with my kids at the end of the day (at least whenever I remember) is to think of one kind thing they’ve done for another person and one kind thing someone’s done for them. It’s amazing how such a simple exercise can boost how you feel about yourself and it’s a good one to do, even if you’re alone, as a quick pick me up at the end of a challenging day. So, with the benefits established, how do you keep showing kindness at work especially when we are all working remotely? Saying ‘thank you’ Never underestimate the power of a thank you. Remember to let people know when they have done a good job as it will make them feel appreciated and boost their confidence. Particularly important now that we’re working remotely as people might not always think their efforts are noticed. Supporting Find ways to help your colleagues. It might be offering to help someone struggling with a deadline or simply taking the time to listen to someone’s worries over a (cyber) cup of coffee. As we’ve moved into a new reality, I’ve been impressed at the different ways we’ve found of supporting each other at Venquis from virtual coffee catch ups, virtual company runs to virtual quizzes and even a virtual talent show. All important means of checking in with each other and keeping the bonds in place. Letting others lead Don’t shoulder everything yourself. This can breed frustration and isn’t always best for the team around you. Take a step back and allow your colleagues to feel valued, step up and grow in confidence. They’ll appreciate it and you’ll grow stronger as a team. Why does it matter? Studies have shown that kindness in the workplace helps reduce staff absence and increases job satisfaction and productivity. So benefits all round, which surely makes it worth pausing and wondering what you could do that will make a difference for someone you work with today. To borrow from R.J. Palacio’s fantastic book Wonder: “Because it’s not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed”. It costs nothing, but it might just make all the difference to someone who is having a tough day.
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Managing your thoughts
Stress doesn’t go away during Lockdown. In fact, one of the unseen consequences to the current situation and the impending economic gloom means that nowadays stress frequently starts at home! Ask yourself how many of these traits you can recognise in a remote colleague: depression, anxiety, anger, irritability, or restlessness. Let’s not dwell on the dark place these can lead to. Or it might be you who is feeling overwhelmed, unmotivated, or unfocused. Perhaps you have trouble sleeping or are sleeping too much? Your thoughts are racing, or you have a constant worry? Problems with your memory or concentration? You start making bad decisions…. Recognising stress quickly matters, in yourself and others. I urge you to stop and listen, listen properly, give yourself and others time. Pause. How can you reduce your stress or even better avoid it completely? My first tip is to treat it as you would any other task (like a spring clean) and allocate yourself time and tools. Here are a few of my favourite stressbusters: 1) Avoid caffeine, alcohol, drugs, opiates, sleeping pills - and social media. Perhaps don’t totally hibernate but everyone has something that makes them cranky. 2) Talk to someone and talk to them properly. Perhaps ask them in advance for 45 minutes of their time for a proper chat. And listen back. 3) Do physical exercise, gardening (window boxes or even “guerrilla gardening” count!). My favourite online workout is at www.BeFearsome.com because it’s a community of people who exercise and chat together. 4) Get fresh air! Even if you can’t go out, let the air in and sleep well (a proper sleep cures many ills). You don’t need me to tell you about turning off screens etc. 5) Try relaxation techniques – meditate, use an app like Headspace or just stop doing things for a moment to focus on nothing but the here and now – you’ll feel better for it. 6) Keep a diary. Write it all down and then reprioritise. A common lesson from Lockdown is the realisation that so much we used to do is actually pointless. 7) Take control wherever possible. Focus on the problem, share it. Manage your time and learn to say “no” (trickier with the profusion of online calls we now experience!) 8) Rest if you are ill, ideally have someone look after you! At the very least let someone know that you are unwell and ask them to check up on you. 9) Above all remember that stress can be just another interruption. Treat it with respect and it may just go away quietly.
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World Earth Day – how staying at home is helping to save our planet too
Today marks 50 years of World Earth Day. Since our founding Venquis has recognised that how we behave as a business transformation specialist has a part to play in how transformational that change can be for the environment and communities that we and our clients operate in, so World Earth Day is a good moment to pause and take stock of where we are now. It would be impossible to write anything at this moment in time without acknowledging the very different world we find ourselves in. It is an uncertain world with a whole range of challenges still to come. But in any pivotal moment there is always good to be found and one of the biggest winners in this global pandemic is ironically the earth itself. It seems fitting to mark World Earth Day by looking at some of the positive impacts Lockdown has had on the environment we live in. Positive impacts of Lockdown Commuting has all but stopped in the UK and many other countries around the world, meaning fewer cars, trains and buses, and flights are grounded. The rumble of traffic is no longer the background noise that so many of us experience wherever we live. By staying at home, we’re not just saving lives, we’re helping the planet too. As a result of the drop in transport usage, air pollution has significantly decreased in major cities all over the world. Pollution maps for London now reveal greens across all boroughs (low pollution levels) in comparison to the deep reds (high) for the same period last year. Asthmatics and those that suffer from respiratory diseases are quite literally breathing a sigh of relief but all of us feel the benefits of improved air quality. There have been other positive effects too: we’re no longer able to print in the same way we would if we were sat in the office, saving huge numbers of trees in the process. We are learning to use digital signatures and we are realizing how little we really need to print. Lights have gone out and air conditioning and heating has been switched off in office blocks everywhere saving energy and reducing the carbon footprint. And by having to stay at home we’re not buying lunch in plastic cartons, we’re not getting our coffee fix from non-recyclable coffee cups and we’re not buying drinks in plastic bottles. We’re thinking twice before we make a purchase, so there is less mindless waste being fed into the system. Everyone now has time to sort their rubbish properly! We’re being forced to think sustainably and it’s good for us. Returning to 'normal' But this is a (hopefully) relatively short term blip. Before long we will be planning returns to our offices and our old habits but as we do so, we are presented with a great opportunity for each one of us to think how we can maintain a positive impact on the environment. In fact, it is doubly important that we capitalize on this, as when manufacturing industries fire up again, there’s a risk that in their effort to catch up, pollution could become worse than before. So stop to think. Do you really need to commute to the office every day? Can you keep on reducing the amount of plastic you use? What part do you play in making our world sustainable? Think how much you’ve enjoyed the sound of birdsong over the last few weeks, the clear skies and the lack of ‘grime’ encrusted on your skin and clothes after a day at work. Businesses and individuals alike should use this moment to appreciate the benefits of remote working on the climate and we should return to work, when the time comes, with renewed vigor to find a more sustainable way forward. Alex Bigland runs the Venquis Stewardship programme.
