STARTING A NEW JOB REMOTELY

Spreading Joy: Sharp Consultancy’s Annual Easter Egg Drive

At Sharp Consultancy, our annual Easter Egg Drive has once again brought together our team, clients, and community to support local charities and spread a little cheer. As a finance and accountancy recruitment business rooted in Yorkshire, we’re proud to use our network to give something back—and this year has been no exception.Led by Tom Davage, Senior Consultant in our South Yorkshire office, our team has been out and about collecting Easter egg donations from our fantastic clients. The generosity shown has been incredible, especially given the ongoing challenges many continue to face. Thanks to everyone who contributed, we were able to deliver meaningful support to three wonderful charities in our region: Paces, a specialist centre supporting children with cerebral palsy and motor disorders; St Luke’s Hospice, which offers compassionate end-of-life care; and The Family Works, a trauma informed, family support project working alongside underprivileged families.Tom, who organised this year’s initiative, shared: “When you hear the stories from the people working within these charities, it really opens your eyes to the challenges others face. If we can bring a smile to someone’s face—even through something as simple as an Easter egg—it makes it all worthwhile. Every bit of support counts.” Seeing familiar donators from past years and welcoming new ones has been truly heart-warming. It’s a testament to the kind and community-minded nature of the businesses we work with. To all our clients who donated, thank you. Your kindness and continued support make this initiative possible and help us make a real difference. If you’d like to get involved next year or learn more about the causes we support, we’d love to hear from you. Together, we can keep making a positive impact—one small gesture at a time.

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As business slowly adjust to a new way of working, many new employees starting their roles will be doing so remotely – if you are joining a company or welcoming a new recruit, how should you approach those important first few days? Firstly, whilst the current situation may be unusual, employers should try where possible to follow their normal induction programme:

Provide copies of welcome documents beforehand to enable your new employee to read up ahead of their first day.
Prepare an introduction schedule so they can ‘meet’ key individuals through video calls and Zoom meetings.
Provide login details and copies of any instruction manuals that your new team member will need. Include relevant contact details should they need any support.
Provide a list of key dates and planned meetings and schedule catch-up calls at key points during their first few days so any initial concerns or questions can be addressed.
Prepare a simple ‘how we work together’ guide outlining the best methods of contact, format for any reports or correspondence and any you would like to be followed.

For an employee, starting a new job at any time can be daunting and taking on a role remotely can add additional pressure. Approach your first day as if you were to be based at your workplace:

Make the right impression; dress smart, set up a suitable workspace and be at your desk on time
Think about how you can structure your day – do you need to make adjustments to your usual working hours? Talk these through with your new line manager at your earliest opportunity.

Read your induction material and prepare a list of any questions in advance of your first telephone or video calls.
Check your log in details and familiarise yourself with any systems or programmes that you need to access.
Discuss with your line manager what is expected of you and agree a communications plan so you can feedback on how tasks are
progressing.
If you will be managing others, make introductory calls to each person and establish their current workloads, where your support is needed and how you would like to be updated.

Sharp Consultancy specialises in the recruitment of temporary, interim and permanent finance professionals. With offices in Leeds and Sheffield our highly experienced team of consultants recruit for positions throughout Yorkshire and beyond CONTACT UStoday to discuss your recruitment needs with a member of our team.