Well thank you May! We all needed something (anything!) to keep our spirits up and the weather definitely helped. That and the progressive decrease in Covid-19 figures are giving us some hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel. How are you coping? We’ve all had our ups and downs but over all we’ve managed to complete a number of projects we had put on the long finger, which is great. We are always around for a call, so it’s been good to catch up with many of you but for those of you we’ve not spoken to, feel free to call, we are full of useful information & tips about the market, career moves, video etiquette etc.
New CFO interview series…
Here we invite a CFO to answer a few questions, in the hope of providing insights, advice and tips on careers & people management. We provide the CFO with 10 questions and they self-select five to answer. Warren Codd (Class of 2010 having trained with EY), CFO Camile Thai has kindly offered to be our inaugural interviewee. Click here for the full interview.
In the news…
Where do we start? Firstly, we STILL do not have an elected government in place, 110 days since we voted! Last month we mentioned the Leaving Cert would start on 29th July, this month it has been cancelled and students are being offered calculated grades. Can you remember your Leaving Cert (it is most people’s worst nightmare)? How would you have felt if this had happened to you? Delighted or devastated? How many families will contest the results? No doubt the announcement was a relief to many of the 60,000 students who were due to sit the exams. What does this mean for the Class of 2021? Is it all change from here on in? Only time will tell.
In May we listened to President Trump wax lyrical about the possible benefits of hydroxychloroquine v the World Health Organisation who have suspended its testing due to recent results indicating it might increase the risk for Covid-19 patients! With the US Presidential Election less than six months away, will there be a second term for President Trump? Does (presumptive) Democratic nominee Joe Biden have what it takes to run a ‘socially distant’ campaign? I personally (and unfortunately) do not believe he has.
Many businesses have had to adapt to a “new normal” since the start of the pandemic, we’ve heard of whiskey distilleries pivot to make hand sanitizer, dress designers turn their hand to making facemasks and now pubs going mobile! As pubs sit on thousands of euro worth of stock with no one to serve it to, some creative owners have decided to work on a takeaway system to get revenue back into their businesses. The below photo is Graingers pub delivering to a very happy customer.
Sure you might as well, this could be the way forward. Have you seen what a ‘socially distance’ orientated pub would look like? Zero craic is all we’d say.
Phase 2 of reopening the country will happen on the 8th June. Here are the ‘highlights’!
Finally, in entertainment, the show for May has been without a doubt ‘Normal People’ (although there have been very mixed reviews in our office). We loved listening back to Joe Duffys ‘Liveline’ where one caller, ‘Mary’, complained that the show was like "something you would expect to see in a porno movie", while another caller claimed that the show was "sexualising our young people. It's not normal". Ah Ireland, it takes all sorts! Globally, there were tweets from Kourtney Kardashian and James Corden, tweets from these guys will only increase the viewership! If you have watched ‘Last Dance’ we’d highly recommend it, full of insights on leadership, team dynamics and the price of winning. Finally, Trial by Media (episode 4) is a must watch for all finance professionals, it shows five CFO’s were taken to court for their part in one of America’s biggest Corporate fraud cases.
In sport…
The Bundesliga (German league) became the first major European football league to return to action since the coronavirus lockdown, with teams playing in empty, echoing stadiums. Goal celebrations were kept to a minimum due to…yes you guessed it ‘social distancing’.
GAA president John Horan does not expect Gaelic football or hurling to resume while social distancing measures are in place. The GAA is keen to get championships back running as it may cost the organisation in the region of €50 million. Although we all want to see GAA back on our screens it’s important to keep players & spectators safe.
The 2020 KBC Dublin Marathon has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The race was due to be held on Sunday, 25 October. I hope all you who were participating aren’t too disheartened and will partake in 2021.
Competition…
Last month we asked two questions
Question 1 - “If your company asked you to fly to an overseas meeting before the end of the year, would you go?” A resounding 66% voted ‘Yes’. It would be interesting to take this vote again in a couple of months’ time to see if perception of flying has changed.
Question 2 - “Who in your opinion has been a standout leader throughout the pandemic to date? This could be a company leader or someone in government”
Leo Varadkar polled as the most popular leader during the pandemic with 52% of the vote while Dr. Tony Holohan & Jacinta Arden were also popular choices with 24%.
Congratulations to Peter Jackman who is our winner of the monthly €100 One4All voucher & congratulations to Alex Gorey who is our winner for the €100 donation to the charity of their choice – We’ll be in touch!
Question this month is –
“Do you think (with safety precautions) the Leaving Cert should have gone ahead in August?”
Enter here to be in with a chance to win this month’s prize of a €100 One4all voucher
That’s it for this month but we would like to say thank you to everyone who reads, responds and reacts to this monthly newsletter. We hope you keep safe over the bank holiday weekend and beyond. See you next month.
If you would like more regular updates follow our LinkedIn company page.
Here is a list of roles which were live before Covid-19, many processes have been paused but will progress as soon as this is over, so if you like what you see, give us a call and stay one step ahead!
Remember…
We are here to help and offer you the best advise possible; things may get tough over the forthcoming months so don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Finally – if you refer a friend to PeopleSource and we place them (there are few T&C’s but nothing too onerous) you will be given a €250 gift voucher! Not bad for helping a friend!
Thanks,
Gary
M:086 781 4704
