Recruiter - August 2018 by Redactive Media Group

Business intelligence for recruitment and resourcing professionals

August 2018

INCORPORATING Recruitment Matters

Steve Thompson, MD at the recruiter-incubator, on how the firm is backing start-ups in the North-West

www.recruiter.co.uk

ON A FORWARD ROLE

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C R ONT ENT S

INCORPORATING Recruitment Matters

COV ER IMAG E | PAL H ANSEN

NEWS

05 Hays MD to grow IT and

08 10

social care Hays is to invest in these sectors to take advantage of growing opportunities Recruiter reports from the Cielo Talent Rising Summit Delegates heard about advocating ‘blind recruitment’ and better communication with talent Wine, dine the unsuccessful Intuit’s Jennifer Mullen on delivering an excellent candidate experience Start-up of the Month: Career Cafe Coach Founder Joanne Norfolk on her new venture This was the month that was... Contracts & Deals

FEATURES

18 THE BIG STORY

Under Forward Role’s wing A recruiter helping nonrecruitment start-ups is breaking all the rules in Manchester

24 Taking a risk

Contractor, freelance and recruiter insurance is a risk worth taking

E COMMUNITY 28 Employability: Street Elite 33 Social Network 34 The Workplace: Guy Hayward

35 Community Careers: Tara Lescott

36 Business Advice: Alex Arnot 38 My brilliant recruitment career: Joanne Davies

TRENDS

40 Movers & Shakers 41 Recruiter contacts 42 The Last Word:

12 Insight

C 16 17

The latest Recruitment Sector Barometer flags lack of candidates Tech & Tools Blockchain technology disrupts recruitment

Gregory Allen, Lloyd’s Register

INTERACTION Viewpoint Roger Bannister, GLAA Soundbites

15 I M AG E S | I KO N / ISTO C K

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UPDATE

New Hays MD to grow IT and social care

WE LCO M E

LEADER

BY DEEDEE DOKE

f you live and work in the UK, life in the glorious heatwave has unfolded on a bit of a knife’s edge over the last few weeks – particularly in England where joy and heartbreak have erupted in equal measure over the national football team’s

ascension to the semi-ﬁnals and subsequent loss to Croatia. That against a backdrop of even further UK government turmoil and bickering over Brexit terms and, a personal bête noire, the ongoing train travel crisis. The turmoil at the highest levels of

government brings to mind a thought I often have when involved

Our government has proved less effective than most volunteer committees in planning and execution

with volunteer committees: brilliant ideas are wonderful, but the ‘hows’ of carrying it out and a road map for execution are even more important. In this respect, our government has proved less effective than most volunteer

THE IT AND SOCIAL CARE SECTORS will be the focus of special investment at global professional recruiter Hays over the near future, the company’s newly appointed managing director for UK & Ireland has told Recruiter. Simon Winfield said “still lots of opportunities” remain for Hays’ core specialisms of accountancy & finance, construction, education and office support. However, he said he saw a “massive opportunity to grow [IT] over the next three years” and also to build on the “great traction” achieved so far by the company’s three-year-old social care business. Investment would come in the forms of both headcount and infrastructure, he said. Financial performance for the company’s UK&I operations “in an interesting trading environment” will be Winfield’s top priority as he starts his new role. “The UK economy is not doing anyone any favours,” he said. Hays’ financial results for the three months ending 30 June 2018 were to be announced on 13 July, after Recruiter had gone to press. In discussing the company’s UK results for the early part of 2018 last April, NFI for the UK fell 2% year-on-year, and Hays CEO Alistair Cox described the UK’s performance as “subdued although… broadly stable”.

committees, with fewer stalwart players, in planning for and carrying out a Brexit master plan if Brexit is to be our future. Blame the electorate if you like, but it was not up to the Leavers or Remainers to ﬁgure out how to do it – they just voted on what they wanted. What are the taxpayers paying government for? On a calmer note: inside we remind you to consider your eligibility for our annual HOT

Is your company HOT? BY COLIN COTTELL

100 league table of the most proﬁtable UK recruitment companies. Also, don’t despair if searching in vain for our annual 11 Most Inﬂuential In-House Recruiters round-up – you’ll see that top-rated feature early next year.

DeeDee Doke, Editor

IF YOUR RECRUITMENT COMPANY has sales turnover of at least £5m, and gross proﬁt (net fee income) of no less than £1.5m, and has a headcount of at least 20 employees, your business could be a candidate for Recruiter’s HOT 100 2018. Recruiter’s HOT 100 ranks companies exclusively by their productivity – net fees divided by internal headcount – and provides recruitment businesses with a unique and valuable insight into the performance and long-term health of their

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UPDATE

37,312 FOLLOWERS AS OF 12 JULY 2018

business. And research into the 13th iteration of the recruitment industry’s most prestigious league table is now underway. “It is frequently the smaller companies that excel and irrefutable evidence shows us that the overwhelming majority of HOT 100 companies operate within sustainable, successful business models that stand the test of time,” says Sue Dodd, director of Agile Intelligence, which compiles the list on Recruiter’s behalf. “The HOT 100 discriminates neither by size nor sector, subject to minimum criteria. Construction specialist Falcon

Green was last year’s winner – more than matching the might of heavyweight legal, technology and ﬁnancial rivals at the top of the rankings,” Dodd continues. Email your latest ﬁled accounts to hot100@agileintelligence.co.uk no later than 1 September for your company to be considered for inclusion in the January 2019 Recruiter, when the latest HOT 100 will be published. (By the way, stay tuned for news about a very special HOT 100 celebration.) • Note: global search/headhunters are not included in Recruiter’s HOT 100.

COLIN COTTELL REPORTS FROM THE CIELO TALENT RISING SUMMIT IN LONDON

Fanshawe urges more Talk more informally to ‘blind’ recruitment talent to gain trust THE CO-FOUNDER OF STONEWALL has launched a scathing attack on efforts to improve diversity in the workplace. Speaking at the Cielo Talent Rising Summit in London, Simon Fanshawe (below) said that despite the huge amount of time and effort that had been invested in wellintentioned schemes and initiatives, attempts to improve workforce diversity had failed. “There are still more men called John, David and Andrew in the top 300 jobs in the FTSE100 companies than there are women and black and Asian people,” said Fanshawe, who runs diversity consultancy DiversitybyDesign. “The ﬁrst thing we have to admit is it is not working as well or as fast as we want it to do. And then we have to change what we are doing.” The solution to closing “the diversity deﬁcit” lay in redesigning the recruitment process, Fanshawe said. He cited how the introduction of ‘blind auditions’ – placing a physical curtain between those auditioning for places in US orchestras and recruiters – had seen the representation of women jump from 7% to 35%. This was an example, he said, of how redesigning the recruitment process “could give our biased minds an opportunity to make better decisions”. However, he warned: “If we don’t put the curtain in, we won’t make the change.”

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THE FALLING LEVEL OF TRUST in society between individuals and large institutions and brands means that organisations must change their approach to communicating with talent, says Thimon de Jong, director of Whetston, a consultancy specialising in future human behaviour and business strategy. “We live in low-trust times, and trust is shifting from the formal and the impersonal to friends and colleagues,” de Jong told delegates. “This is particularly a problem for big brands, who feel the trust moving away from them,” he added. Organisations must ask themselves whether in this environment they were communicating with talent in the right way: “Are you communicating with your talent formally and impersonally or informally and personally?” de Jong asked. While some organisations recognised the need to be more informal, the problem – especially in corporate environments – was that with so many internal stakeholders, this informality was ultimately ﬁltered out, he said. Rather than feeling betrayed when colleagues leave their organisation, recruiters should adopt an informal and personal approach when communicating with former employees by setting up alumni networks, and through regular phone calls and social events, he advised. De Jong said it was vital that this informal and personal approach to communicating start with an organisation’s leadership.

IMAG E | R EX

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THOUGHTS FROM…

UPDATE

MARTYN WRIGHT RECRU ITMENT ASSOCIATE DIREC TOR AT PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FIRM EY, ON THE IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYER BR AND

“It means when you’re reaching out to a candidate that hopefully at least they will listen. Whether they will engage is then down to the skill of the recruiters.”

DEBOR AH HARDING H E AD OF TALENT EMEA , PIVOTAL SOFTWARE

“Sourcing is important. It really is. I think more sometimes than the recruitment stuff.”

JENNIFER MULLEN SE NIO R TALENT ACQU ISITION MANAGER – GLOBA L , INTUIT, SPEAKING AT RECFEST 20 18

“I never heard back from the head of HR – that’s why I care about the candidate experience.”

ROBERT WALTERS E PO NYMOU S FOU NDER AND CEO OF ROBERT WA LTE RS SPEAKING TO JOU RNALISTS IN ST TROP EZ

“I’m relaxing watching people on their yachts with an awful lot more money than I do [sic].”

Wine and dine candidates BY COLIN COTTELL

WINING AND DINING of unsuccessful candidates is a key feature of global business and ﬁnancial software Intuit’s candidate experience, talent professionals at RecFest 2018 have heard. Jennifer Mullen, senior talent acquisition manager – global at Intuit, told the audience in London that taking 10 candidates “to a fancy restaurant” once a quarter gave her and her team valuable insights into the experience of Intuit’s candidates. “We ask them what they liked about the process and what they didn’t like. And because it is a relaxed environment, they are very honest. “Wining and dining is the way forward and could be a huge differentiator for us,” she added. Mullen went on to outline other aspects and principles of Intuit’s candidate care that had seen the company go from “being in a very bad place” four years’ ago to a position where its candidate net promoter score (NPS) was 64 – a NPS of over 50 is regarded as good. And that reﬂected the experience of candidates that didn’t get the job. Mullen’s top tips were: • If you say you are going to do something, do it. • Be the candidate’s friend by giving them full details of the criteria they are being scored against. • Give them a decision the same day. • Make the candidate NPS a key metric in staff remuneration. “It’s not rocket science but it is doing things consistently – that’s what makes the difference,” said Mullen.

STA RT-UP OF THE MONTH CAREER CAFE COACH Former recruitment consultant Joanne Norfolk has set up Career Cafe Coach, a business dedicated to getting people ready for the jobs market. Norfolk told Recruiter that over her 20 years in recruitment, she has found the fast-paced nature of the industry can mean some candidates with really good skills can be overlooked because they lack the jobseeker skills required to get them back into work.

To tackle this problem, her business offers a free Facebook community that gives jobseekers a platform to interact with one another. They also benefit from webinars and job search and career change-related articles Norfolk posts. She adds many of her paid-for clients have come to her through this ever-growing Facebook community. The paid-for offering includes a CV and LinkedIn profile writing, and review service and coaching offering help with writing cover letters. Clients can

also access 90-minute strategy sessions where they discuss with Norfolk a specific issue such as how to present themselves at interview. Norfolk also works with clients in sessions on improving their confidence before they go and see a recruitment agency. Looking ahead, Norfolk revealed she would like to partner with a recruitment agency that can see the value of the service she offers in helping people she says are often sidelined in the jobs market. WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 7

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THIS WAS THE MONTH THAT WAS… Here is a round-up of some of the most popular news stories we have brought you on recruiter.co.uk since the July issue of Recruiter was published J U N E •‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒→

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CANINE CONSULTANTS PLAY A FULL ROLE AT WORK To celebrate Bring Your Dog to Work Day, Recruiter spoke to two agency owners whose canine consultants have earned the respective job titles of stamp administrator and head of dogital. First up we have Skye – full name Burnbrae Skye McDonald. Her owner Karen McDonald, a co-owner of Carlislebased Link Recruitment, told Recruiter Skye has earned her title of stamp administrator, as she comes into work every day and is always on hand for any stamps that need licking. Next is Valentino (below), a working cocker with a Twitter proﬁle. According to his owner Natasha Woodford, managing director at clockworkTalent, a specialist recruitment agency for the digital marketing industry, Valentino holds the title of head of dogital. There is a serious side to Valentino’s job title – as Woodford explained, many of her clients have dogs in their offices, so he plays an integral role in raising the proﬁle of the agency on social media. She described Valentino as the most enthusiastic employee on a Monday morning and great for team bonding – and a quick ball game with consultants! More: https://bit.ly/2IT6fA1

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DRESS-CODE DILEMMAS OVER SHORTS IN THE HEAT Recruiters that allow female consultants but not their male colleagues to wear shorts in hot weather run the risk of discrimination cases being brought against them. As temperatures hit the high-20 deg Cs (mid-80 deg F) across the UK, the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) issued its top hot weather tips for employers during the heatwave.

One of the tips related to dress codes. ACAS advised that while employers are not under any obligation to go easy on their uniform or dress code requirements during hot weather, where possible they may wish to relax the rules for wearing ties or suits. But employment lawyers have warned even though recruitment consultancies operate in a client-facing sector, they could be brought to tribunal if their dress codes are found to discriminate against a certain gender. More: https://bit.ly/2KQYPz9

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WORKCHAIN STAFF COULD FACE JAIL FOR PENSION SCHEME FRAUD Senior staff at a national recruitment agency will have to wait until August to find out if they will be jailed for trying to save money by impersonating their temporary workers to opt them out of their workplace pension scheme. In April, Recruiter reported the Pensions Regulator had announced plans to prosecute Workchain, its directors and some of its senior staff on the suspicion they illegally opted employees out of their pension scheme. The regulator prosecuted Workchain, two directors (Phil Tong and Adam Hinkley), financial controller Hannah Armson, HR and compliance officer Lisa Neal, and branch managers Martin West, Robert Tomlinson and Andrew Thorpe for an offence of unauthorised access to computer data, contrary to section 1(1) of the Computer Misuse Act 1990. All of the defendants pleaded guilty to the offence when they appeared at Derby

Magistrates’ Court in early June. District Judge Jonathan Taaffe committed the case to Derby Crown Court for a sentencing hearing that was due to take place today [28 June]. However, when Recruiter contacted the regulator, a spokesperson revealed the hearing had been put back to 1 August. The spokesperson further revealed that as the case had moved from the Magistrates Court to the Crown Court the defendants face unlimited fines and up to a year in prison. More: https://bit.ly/2NpL38h

AUGUST 2018

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MON, 2 JULY 2018

IT’S GOODNIGHT FROM ASTRIID’S FOUNDER R … BUT A GOOD FUTURE FOR HIS CHARITY The life of Recruiter’s Charity of the Year founder David Shutts OBE was celebrated on 29 June in Surfleet, South Lincolnshire. The standing roomonly crowd laughed and wiped tears away during the service, in which his son Zachary offered a reading, close friends and shipmates from his Royal Navy days and his brother Steve shared anecdotes of the ASTRiiD founder. More: https://bit.ly/2u5gyfQ

DAYS

←‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒• J U L Y

TUE, 3 JULY 2018

PULLING A SICKIE IF ENGLAND WIN COULD LAND YOU WITH A RED CARD Recruitment consultants considering pulling a sickie if England win, following the World Cup clash with Colombia, may want to think again. If consultants feign illness, but it later emerges on social media that their previous night’s exploits have left them nursing a hangover, agency bosses can use this evidence to take disciplinary action. However, Peter Wright, solicitor and managing director at law firm DigitalLawUK, told Recruiter that while evidence publicly available on sites such as Facebook can be used against the employee, evidence gathered via Snapchat or WhatsApp would be more problematic, as this evidence would have been gleaned from private messages. More: https://bit.ly/2uc0g46

and truly gone”. He called on in-house recruiters to challenge every agency they work with. “[Ask] ‘What are you going to do?’ ‘Where’s the value you’re going to provide?’ If you’re not asking those questions, then you’re going to get the same service,” Bradley told delegates More: https://bit.ly/2zifQkC

More: https://bit.ly/2m8pjRY

IM AG E | I STO C K / S HU T TE RSTO C K

IN-HOUSE RECRUITERS URGED TO CHALLENGE RECRUITMENT AGENCIES AT RECFEST 2018

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DIRECTOR SUPPLYING FARM LABOURERS BANNED FOR FAILING TO PAY NMW A director of a company supplying farm labourers has been banned for seven years for repeatedly failing to pay workers the National Minimum Wage (NMW). Euro Contracts Services Ltd (ECS) was incorporated in 2004 by Shakil Ahmed. The company provided manual labourers to a farm in Hertfordshire. The farm paid a fee for the supply of workers before ECS paid the labourers and at the same time taking a percentage for administrative costs. An initial HMRC investigation into ECS in 2009 found farm labourers had not been paid NMW, meaning workers lost out on around £69k. On this occasion, ECS paid the correct amount to the farm labourers but then deducted the costs of transporting them to the farm. This took worker pay below NMW, but Ahmed subsequently paid the workers the money owed. However, two years later HMRC carried out a further investigation, which found between August 2010 and January 2011 ECS had paid 246 employees below NMW, amounting to more than £110k owed.

FRI, 6 JULY 2018

Agency recruiters need to evolve or die was a headline message at RecFest 2018 last month. The advice came from a panel debate at RecFest 2018 in London in which a panel of in-house recruiters revealed what agency recruiters needed to do to win their business. But it was panel chair Richard Bradley, MD, UK & Ireland at global recruiter Kelly Services, who claimed if agency recruiters did not evolve they would die out. He explained the days of agency recruiters charging clients for ﬁnding people on job boards they themselves could access were “well

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CONTRACTS SPONSORED BY RECRUITMENT MERGERS

CONTRACTS & DEALS

The Curve Group Talent management services specialist The Curve Group has been appointed to provide a flexible HR outsource solution to Ricoh UK, Ricoh Eire, Ricoh Europe and Ricoh Capital in an exclusive three-year deal. The contract sees The Curve Group provide HR case management and line manager employee relations support to the Ricoh companies via a dedicated HR advice helpline.

Careermakers Recruitment Manchester-based recruiter Careermakers Recruitment is to expand its business after securing a seven-figure funding package from banking giant HSBC. The agency said it would use the funding to strengthen its teams in Manchester and Wigan, and to open new branches. At least 10 roles will be created in sales and admin departments.

Cranford Group Challenger bank Metro Bank has provided IT resource specialists Cranford Group with a £800k invoice finance line, enabling it to expand its business further across the North of England. With offices in both Leeds and London, Cranford Group is a professional IT resource management business, specialising in flexible resourcing, contract resourcing and project resource across both the public and private sectors.

Langley Search & Interim Procurement and supply chain staffing specialist Langley Search & Interim has become the subject of a management buyout. The MBO was carried out by three of the agency’s directors – Michael Babatunde, Nathan Ramsay and Wis Amarasinghe. Under the terms of the deal, the firm’s founder Christine Langley will remain with the business as a consultant until 2021.

Dartmouth Partners OakNorth, a bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, has lent closed-end investment company Literacy Capital £4.2m to take an undisclosed minority stake in financial and legal staffing specialist Dartmouth Partners. Dartmouth Partners has also secured an undisclosed amount in investment from Literacy Capital to help it expand domestically and internationally.

Blackjack Promotions Blackjack Promotions, a retail staffing specialist operating at Dublin Airport and department stores across the city, has renewed its partnership with training provider Penny Blake Associates (PBA). The renewed partnership sees PBA founder Penny Blake head up a series of training sessions for Blackjack’s specialist luxury retail staff in Dublin. The agency’s teams will benefit from learning tactics and best practices in engaging with high-value customers, as well as coaching and leadership modules.

DEAL OF THE MONTH

CAREER INTERNATIONAL Chinese recruiter Career International (CI) has taken a majority stake in international recruiter Investigo. The deal sees CI acquire 52.5% of Investigo shares. CI, launched by founder Wallace Gao and three other partners in 1996, has a network of 86 offices in seven countries in China and SouthEast Asia. However, the deal marks

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its first acquisition in the West. Current Investigo chairman Gary Watson will continue in his role, while the Investigo name is also being retained following the deal. Investigo has 145 recruitment consultants operating from offices in London, Guildford, Milton Keynes, Oxford, St Albans and New York.

For more information

www.recruitmentmergers.com charlie.watson@recruitmentmergers.com

More contract news at recruiter.co.uk/news 12/07/2018 10:23

ACQUISITION OPPORTUNITY REFERENCE CW0305 LOCATION London, UK

HEALTHCARE RECRUITMENT AGENCY FOR SALE, LONDON

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Overview

• Signiﬁcant year-on-year growth since inception

• Leading sector specialist in healthcare staffing – Healthcare assistants / general nurses • Specialist in temporary staffing – 99% temp • Consistent repeat business through excellent client

Recruitment Mergers is representing a leading healthcare agency

relationships with long-term contracts in place

based in London supplying nurses and healthcare assistants of all

• Superb audit pass rate

grades to private hospitals, nursing homes and the NHS.

• 58% private / 40% NHS • Substantial room for expansion

After experiencing many years of successful trading and rapid growth, Recruitment Mergers has been appointed to market the business for sale.

• 20 employees

Financial Information 2017

The shareholder is looking to dispose of all the issued share capital and

Turnover £5.2m

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Gross proﬁt £1.2m Operating proﬁt £336k

Don’t miss out Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us and learn more about this fantastic opportunity.

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ARE YOU AIMING TO ACQUIRE OR PLANNING AN EXIT STRATEGY?

WWW.RECRUITMENTMERGERS.COM Mergers & Acquisitions for the recruitment industry

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INSIGHT

TAKING RECRUITMENT’S TEMPERATURE What are the major issues that recruiters are experiencing? The Recruitment Sector Barometer reveals the main challenges BY COLIN COTTELL

lmost four out of ﬁve recruitment business directors and owners see the availability of candidates as one of their top three current business challenges, according to the latest Recruitment Sector Barometer. Based on an online survey of 246 business owners and directors carried out around the end of June and beginning of July, 78.1% indicated this was one of their top three business challenges. “Hopefully, this number will ease slightly as it did in Q4 2017,” says Alex Arnot, adviser to more than 30 recruitment companies. This ﬁgure is more than double the percentage of those (37.4%) who say economic conditions/uncertainty is one of the current top three challenges for their business – this despite Brexit. “It is reassuring how steadily optimistic the industry has remained the last two years in spite of economic uncertainty. The rapidly approaching Brexit deadline appears not to be causing increasing concern for the industry,” says Arnot. Indeed, the gap between the number who see the availability of candidates as one of their top three business challenges and those who see economic uncertainty as one of their three top business concerns has continued to widen. At almost 40 percentage points, the gap is 12 RECRUITER

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now greater than at any stage since the Barometer began in Q1 2017. According to the Barometer, one of the features of this candidate-short market is a rise in the number of recruiters seeing an increase in the time between initial client brieﬁng and candidate appointment. The second most commonly mentioned business challenge in the top three – the availability of consultants – has, in comparison with the availability of candidates,

The Brexit deadline appears not to be causing increasing concern for the industry broadly ﬂatlined since the start of the year, and is highlighted by fewer than half (47.2%) of those surveyed, having overtaken economic conditions/ uncertainty as a business concern at the start of the year. Faced with the prospect that candidates are “likely to remain scarce” and with Brexit likely to restrict movement of labour – although to what extent remains

uncertain – Arnot says recruiters “should avoid knee-jerk reaction” by planning ahead, thereby allowing themselves “wiggle room”. “Develop a surplus of clients to maximise the percentage of candidates you place, so that you can place them with multiple clients, and overperform against key ratios (interviews per week, new roles per week) so that if the market [for talent] tightens you are more likely to hit targets,” he advises. He suggests that another way for recruiters to mitigate the effects of continuing candidate shortages is to up their game when it comes to candidate experience. “Companies need to review and invest in their entire candidate experience: sourcing, marketing, CRM technologies, consultant training, candidate care... the benchmark is constantly rising,” says Arnot.

Optimistic outlook The Barometer reveals that despite Brexit, recruiters remain resolutely optimistic. In response to the question “How do your business prospects for the coming year ILLUST RAT ION | SHUT T ERSTOCK

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INSIGHT compare with 12 months ago?”, ‘the Arnot Score’ (a measure of industry optimism) registered 74.79, which was on a par both with Q3 of 2017, and the average score over the last eight quarters. That said, the Q3 score is some way below the record high for the Barometer of 85.53, which was recorded in Q1 of this year. Other positive signals from the survey are that the net percentage of companies expecting net profit to be higher than last year was +57%, while almost two-thirds of agencies hit or exceeded their revenue targets in the last quarter, suggesting that activity has picked up after a tough previous quarter. Similarly, a net +23% of recruitment firms have managed to increase their fees this summer compared to 2017. A less optimistic indicator from the Barometer is a net increase of +15% in those seeing a rise in debtor days, compared to 12 months ago, a figure that increases to +58% for those recruiters who expect to grow their team in the next quarter. “Companies need to keep a close eye on cashflow as it is the lifeblood the organisation,” says Arnot.

The Barometer also reveals discrepancies between the expected performances of recruitment businesses’ divisions. While temporary recruitment has bounced back from Q2, with 44% of respondents expecting to see the temp division outperforming the same quarter in 2017, expectations for the performance of contractor teams has dropped to an all-time low of 38%. Looking beyond inevitable variations such as these, Arnot advises recruiters to keep an eye on the big picture. “While demand for recruitment company services clearly remains strong, with Brexit only eight months away recruitment company owners and directors need to ensure that they have robust three-year plans in place and to be regularly reviewing these as the deadline approaches,” he says.

POWER POINTS

Availability of candidates is the biggest challenge faced by recruitment businesses. For recruiters this necessitates an increased focus on and investment in the candidate experience and candidate care.

Recruitment businesses need to plan ahead and overperform so that if the market for talent tightens they have created sufficient wiggle room to hit their targets.

Perceptions that the Brexit-induced uncertainty is a major concern for recruitment business owners and directors may be overblown. In fact, the proportion that see this as one of their top three business challenges has fallen by more than half since Q4 of 2017.

Recruiters are performing well with revenue and fee rates looking generally healthy. Combined with more than two-thirds of expecting net profit in the next 12 months to be higher than in the previous 12 months, the financial prospects for most recruitment companies at least in the short term look good.

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Not all sections of the recruitment market move in tandem, with contract recruitment in particular taking a hit. Is this just a blip, or the start of a trend?

CANDIDATE AVAILABILITY CONSULTANT AVAILABILITY CLIENTS PRESSURING MARGINS COST OF OVERHEADS QUALITY OF MANAGEMENT TEAM STAFF RETENTION ECONOMIC CONDITIONS/UNCERTAINTY

WHAT ARE THE TOP 3 BUSINESS CHALLENGES YOU FACE?

LEVEL OF COMPETITION IN YOUR SECTOR ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF SECTOR OTHER

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3 Q

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Brexit is only months away. Recruitment businesses will need to stay on top of developments as best they can, and review and adapt their business plans and strategies accordingly.

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TECH & TOOLS

The arrival of blockchain The disruptive technology comes to recruitment SUE WEEKES

Blockchain is a digital ledger that holds transactions, agreements, contracts and other important information that needs to be independently recorded and veriﬁed. While traditional ledgers exist in one place, blockchain is a distributed database, spread across a number of computers. It is this decentralisation that makes it secure because the blockchain cannot be altered by one person. Blockchain was launched for the digital currency Bitcoin, but the technology is fast being adopted for many uses across many sectors and it’s already arrived in recruitment.

WHY IS IT SIGNIFICANT FOR RECRUITERS? Blockchain is built on a peer-to-peer computer network. In a recruiting context, network participants would likely be made up of candidates, agencies, employers and other stakeholders. The contractual processes for recruitment can take place securely on this platform, with clear applications in the area of qualifying and verifying candidates. Recruitd, for instance, is integrating its peer-to-peer review platform (see recruiter. co.uk, 23 May 2018) with blockchain for rollout next year. It will provide a private wallet holding information such as rights to work, education history,

biometrics, passports etc required to qualify a person for a role. “Every bit of data that’s essential for a person to get a job will be in one speciﬁc place and be veriﬁed by everyone in the network,” explains Recruitd CEO and founder Antonio Giugno.

HOW DOES IT WORK? The information is stored in ‘blocks’ of data, which are cryptographically (below) linked to other blocks. Each block has a timestamp and its own unique cryptographic hash – a ﬁngerprint. When an agency or candidate adds a piece of information to the block, the hash changes and creates a new block to join the chain but,

crucially, it also carries the previous hash. So if anyone goes into a previous block to try to change it, the hash will be out of synch with the chain and it will be rejected. Whenever a new block is added, the information must be veriﬁed by those in the network and if consensus is reached, it is added to the chain. A built-in proof of work mechanism adds a further layer of security.

CRYPTOCURRENCIES The original application of blockchain was to enable those using the cryptocurrency Bitcoin to make transactions without the intervention of a third party such as a bank. Recruitd is developing a recruiter

CRYPTOGRAPHY Cryptography is the process of turning normal plain text into unintelligible data that can be securely stored and transmitted and only understood by those who are meant to see it. It is rooted in mathematical theory and computer science and employs the use of sophisticated algorithms.

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currency called RecCoin that, Giugno says, will address the issues of cross-border transactions and payments. It will also offer bonus RecCoins to those who receive a ﬁve-star review on its platform as an incentive. US-based job board Job.com has relaunched with blockchain technology and pays bonus tokens into a candidate’s wallet after their ﬁrst 90 days. These can then be sold back to Job.com or on the exchanges.

IS IT COMPLICATED? Blockchain is a complex technology. While recruiters don’t need to understand all the technicalities about how it works, a basic understanding will help to identify what opportunities it might offer for the recruitment process. Giugno says it is important to have the

right advisers and recruiters should use blockchain to address a real problem. “It’s a buzzword and there is a perception that everyone is jumping on the blockchain wagon,” he says. “But we’ve got a genuine use case and are using it solve a problem like crossborder payments.”

WILL BLOCKCHAIN REPLACE ME? There is no doubt that blockchain is one of the most disruptive technologies of recent years and in many sectors is eliminating the need for intermediaries, which in recruitment, of course, is the agency. Giugno believes that the efficiencies in areas such as onboarding could see some tasks made redundant but it also frees up recruiters to add value elsewhere: “Ultimately, it should make a recruiter’s job more interesting.”

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INTE R AC TIO N

VIEWPOINT

Recognising exploitation Recruiters are at the forefront of spotting exploited workers BY ROGER BANNISTER

ecruitment agencies are uniquely placed to spot signs of modern slavery and exploitation in the labour market. Their close relationship with both workers and employers means they have a better insight into what goes on in the workplace than almost anyone. While acknowledging this as a positive, there are undoubted dangers and gaps in knowledge that we need to mitigate. Our report highlights cases where foreign workers have arrived at UK recruitment agencies having paid for jobs via an overseas recruiter. The recruitment agency is unaware of any workers arriving and has no arrangement with the overseas recruiter, despite the workers believing that this is the service they have paid for. Some agencies are actively recruiting workers despite there being no available employment, and we have seen cases where exploiters have introduced multiple workers to employment agencies, with wages paid into the same bank account controlled by the exploiter. These criminals are only too aware of the profits they make from using people as commodities, and this is the challenge we have to be equal to each and every day. Our licensing scheme is a key tool in this fight. Recruitment agencies need to be licensed if they provide workers for agriculture, horticulture, shellfish gathering, and food processing and packaging. It is illegal to supply labour without a licence or use an unlicensed labour provider.

+ ROGER BANNISTER is interim CEO at the Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority. www.gla.gov.uk

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AUGUST 2018

“We are very clear we cannot simply arrest our way out of the problem”

In addition, we have police-style powers to tackle abuse across all sectors. We can search and seize evidence, investigate modern slavery in the workplace, and go after repeat offenders and rogue businesses. Since these powers were handed to us by government last year, we have made over 100 modern slavery arrests, identiﬁed more than 1,300 abused workers and launched 181 investigations. This has been achieved with around 125 members of staff across our entire organisation. However, we are very clear that we cannot simply arrest our way out of the problem. Our preventative work, whether it is developing protocols in retail, construction and textiles, educating supermarket chains about the potential risks of hand car washes on their sites, and joining forces with Boston College to teach its students about modern slavery, demonstrates our commitment to engage with partners about the dangers of labour exploitation. So what can you do to help? Spotting labour exploitation is not easy, but there are several key indicators which can be divided into six sections: restricted freedom, behaviour, working conditions, accommodation, ﬁnances and appearance. Our website has more information on these indicators and best practice for businesses. To give you an example, if a worker is not in possession of their passport, has no access to medical care or never speaks about normal activities outside of work, they could be a victim of modern slavery. We all have a moral and ethical responsibility to put an end to this repugnant practice. If you have any suspicions, call our intelligence team on 0800 432 0804 or email intelligence@glaa.gsi.gov.uk. By working together, we can defeat modern slavery and protect vulnerable workers from labour abuse and exploitation.

IMAG E | ISTOCK

12/07/2018 11:44

I N T E R AC T I O N

SOUNDBITES

L ET T ER S

How will the freeing up of Tier 2 places affect your business? ROB KURTON

HMRC INTEGRITY FLAWED HM Revenue & Customs’ integrity must now be called in question as it would seem that HMRC is misleading the chancellor on new off-payroll (IR35) tax – specifically regarding mutuality of obligation (MOO), a key aspect of law needed to assess employment status accurately. In a letter to Michael Gove sent in response to a constituent’s concerns around the public sector IR35 reforms, Philip Hammond wrote: “Mutuality of obligation [MOO] refers to any existing agreement where an individual provides services and receives payment for doing so – better understood as a contract existing between the two parties. CEST [HMRC’s check employment status tool] assumes as its starting point that a contract either exists or is being discussed.” This flawed interpretation was also used by financial secretary to the Treasury Mel Stride and I would suggest that neither he or the chancellor have any idea about what MOO is, which is why they appear happy to trot out – albeit unwittingly – HMRC’s falsehoods regarding MOO and CEST. HMRC is now in a very precarious position, with its public stance on the laws being contrary to both court judgements and contrary to what its own counsel says in court. It has misled thousands of taxpayers. Its consultation process chooses to ignore research demonstrating its failures. And now it is trying to cover its tracks by misleading the chancellor. Surely the chancellor cannot allow HMRC to get away with this kind of behaviour? Questions must be asked. D AV E C H A P L I N, C E O, CONTRACTORCALCULATOR

MA N AG IN G D I REC TOR , RUS S EL L TAY LOR G RO U P

“Historically, the UK has reacted slowly to skills shortages within the engineering, manufacturing, construction and science markets. With effects still being felt due to continued Brexit uncertainty, any attempts to lessen the skills gap within these key markets – no matter how small – will be welcomed across the board. With hundreds more places now available every month for highly skilled workers within our core sectors, we hope that many more of our clients will seriously consider the Tier 2 visa route as a way of ﬁlling those roles which, in the current economic climate, are almost deemed ‘unﬁllable’.”

HUW MARTIN MA N AG IN G D I REC TOR , H EA D RES OURCIN G

“We welcome the recent news with regards to the Tier 2 cap being removed across the NHS, as it should result in further opportunity to place highly skilled IT professionals. However, there are a couple of points worth noting. Firstly, no Tier 2 visas have been issued to applicants with salaries under £50k this year, which means a number of candidates would still fall short of the salary levels. This is a particular issue across Scotland, for jobs such as IT development roles. Secondly, clients still tend to want to meet candidates face-to-face, which often means that candidates from abroad are not being considered at the interview shortlist stage, as the cost or time of travel is usually prohibitive.”

MATT BURTON CH I EF CL IEN T OF F ICER , IG N ATA

“The recent news about the relaxation of Tier 2 visas is a step in the right direction to address the UK skills shortage in certain sectors such as IT and engineering. However, we shouldn’t rely on the new potential inﬂux of international talent to plug the gap. While it is promising that we can diversify the talent pool in the UK, we shouldn’t lose focus on educating the next generation of home-bred talented individuals to cement our position as a hub of tech innovation.” WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 17

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12/07/2018 11:45

TH E BIG G STO O RY FORWARD ROLE

PHOTOGRAPHY: PAL HANSEN

Recruitment start-ups are nothing new, but a recruiter helping non-recruitment businesses start up and flourish is a radical concept. Colin n Cotttell met the directors in Manchester to find out more usiness incubators have become a familiar part of the recruitment industry landscape in recent years. Take a fledgling recruitment business and its ambitious founders, provide it with funding, back office and other types of expertise and support, take a stake in the business, and watch that business take off. Then,

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after a few years, make a proﬁtable exit. However, a Manchester-based marketing, digital, e-commerce and technology recruiter is tearing up this well-established blueprint by offering something radically different. Not only does the office space provided by Forward Role Recruitment’s incubator come completely free, but also there is no funding involved or equity taken in the start-up.

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“Gone are the days when as a recruitment business you can take-take-take from customers. These days, you have to give back”

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TH E B IG STO RY FORWARD ROLE

And whereas recruitment businesses invariably provide an incubator service purely to recruitment start-ups, Forward Role’s incubator is aimed fairly and squarely at technology and e-commerce start-ups in the NorthWest. Steve Thompson, who founded Forward Role in 2008, and fellow director Brian Johnson have doubled the company to 36 staff in the last couple of years. On top of the rent-free office space, they are both on hand to offer their expertise and advice based on serving companies in the NorthWest’s burgeoning technology sector. “We saw AO.com [online home appliance company] grow from a tiny company to a massive business, so when a small business is in the same situation, we can use that experience and knowledge to advise them,” explains Johnson.

An incubating idea Thompson says the idea for a business incubator for tech start-ups came to him after Forward Role moved into its new Manchester offices in April 2017. “I realised we had a bit of extra office space, and rather than just let it sit idle or ﬁll it with a ping pong table, we thought it would be nice to use it to help the next generation of small tech companies that might need it,” he explains. “I want to give back to the sector we are part of and that gives us so much. This is a way for our guys to interact with cool technology startups. They will regularly chat with them in the kitchen and realise that their CEOs are not untouchable personalities but nice people who are making their way in business. “Everybody has got to start somewhere and these people have got exceptional pedigree,” continues Thompson. “We identiﬁed that there is a real opportunity not just to gravitate to the big brands in the region but to give back and help to develop some of the smaller high-growth e-commerce

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“I want to give back to the sector we are part of”

AUGUST 2018

12/07/2018 10:25

T H E BIG STO RY FO RWA R D RO L E

and technology businesses in the region, and to be seen to be part of the digital and technology ecosystem.”

Giv ving g ba ack Thompson says the idea for the business incubator ﬁts in with the company’s other CSR-type activities, which include talking to students about the job market, as well as supporting charities. It also ties in with the priorities of the company’s younger employees for whom giving back “is much more important than to previous generations”. “Gone are the days when as a recruitment business you can taketake-take from customers. These days, you have to give back,” says Thompson. Forward Role’s incubator operates alongside its marketing lounge, a space where contractors and anyone else from outside the Manchester city centre can come. “They can come in and do a bit of work, and want a space that is quieter than a coffee shop,” says Thompson. Max Hopkinson is COO of Tootoot, an online platform that allows students to report bullying and other student welfare concerns, and is among the North-West tech start-up companies that have beneﬁtted from Forward Role’s incubator. Hopkinson, who in his career has been placed by Thompson several times, says that after he approached Thompson and mentioned that Tootoot “needed some meeting space and some hot desks”, he was surprised to be offered what amounted to a freebie for six months. “Recruitment agencies are usually transactional, focused on the short term, and are sales organisations at the end of the day … It does not make Steve any money today or tomorrow. That’s a rare thing for a recruitment business in particular, given the short-term pressure of sales that most of them are under.” Lucy Harvey, marketing manager at Tootoot, says that being able to use Forward Role’s office in central Manchester was a big advantage. Not only was being based in Wigan

Steve Thompson (seated centre left) with fellow director Brian Johnson (seated centre right) and some of the start-ups who share the office space with Forward Role

“not ideal” for a tech company in the Manchester area, but “the light, attractive offices with sandwiches, tea and coffee all laid on” was a far more attractive environment for doing business than the company’s former warehouse-like premises, and particularly when they were looking for money from potential investors.

Exp perrie ence he elps Hopkinson says he has beneﬁtted from Thompson’s experience of supporting tech start-ups such as AO.com and online fashion retailer boohoo.com: “Steve has a good ear, and we have had a lot of growing pains like many businesses our size.” Though not ‘mentoring’ in a formal sense, their many informal halfhour conversations over coffee have given Hopkinson important strategic insights into how to develop Tootoot’s business. Among the most valuable was Thompson’s insight into the importance for investors in pure tech companies of investing in their people. There was also practical advice about company culture, how to set it, and how leaders “must almost exaggerate the behaviours that they want to see in their organisation”.

Bussine ess bene efitss Although Thompson clearly had altruistic reasons in mind in offering this incubator service, he is realistic enough to acknowledge that having already placed two people into

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TH E B IG STO RY FORWARD ROLE

L-r: Brian Johnson and Steve Thompson

Tootoot’s technology team, there could be benefits for the business. Having Tootoot and fellow start-up Dr Fertility in and around the building and helping them in practical ways has helped to deepen those relationships. “They trust us and know that we have their best interest at heart.” That said, Thompson says there is no expectation that either Tootoot or other start-ups to benefit from Forward Role’s largesse will use their recruitment services. “If they want to recruit themselves or use someone else that is fine,” he says. However, Hopkinson says the combined effect of the free office space, mentoring, advice and support would appear to make use of any of Forward Role’s competitors unlikely: “What it does do is build incredible goodwill with me for the future, and I am emotionally attached to Forward Role.”

Forg get ho ome starrt Tootoot is not the only start-up tech company that has taken advantage of 22 RECRUITER

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FORWARD ROLE RECRUITMENT

▶ Founded 2008 ▶ 36 staff ▶ Opened Manchester office 2017

Forward Role’s incubator. Dr Fertility, a web-based service providing advice, information and products related to human fertility, has also enjoyed the beneﬁts, says Kobi McCardle, one of its founders. McCardle has known Thompson for about ﬁve years, and was placed by him into the role of e-commerce director at AO.com. After setting up Dr Fertility with co-founder Lucy Buckley, McCardle and Buckley found that attempting to run the business from home wasn’t working. “You need to separate work from home to get into work mode, and not be thinking about all the washing that needs to be done, and start thinking that you are not just a mum,” she explains. As a result, being able to use

Forward Role’s spare office space made a huge difference. Not only did it save them almost £5k in rent over the six months, but they were also able to beneﬁt from the business experience of Thompson and fellow Forward Role director Johnson. By way of example, McCardle says Thompson provided valuable advice on how to get the £500k of seed funding they need to fund the next stage of the business. “Steve has got a lot of contacts in the investment world and he put us in touch with people, including someone who had successfully raised investment. Neither of us had done anything like that before.” Not being isolated at home but in a shared office environment also meant that McCardle and Buckley were able to tap into a wider support and advice network provided by Forward Role’s employees that developed naturally during the six months they were there. This ranged from the CFO advising on their accountancy software to “some of the younger members of staff giving advice on how we should approach social media”. Alongside the practical support, McCardle goes on to say, Thompson has been able to give them something slightly more intangible but just as important for entrepreneurs making their way in the business world. “The biggest thing he has helped us with is to think big and believe in ourselves, and just get on with it.” After six months under Thompson and Johnson’s wing, McCardle says Thompson encouraged them to take the plunge and move to bigger premises at the WeWork building in nearby Spinningﬁelds. “It helped us with our mindset to go from being two young women with young babies working from our home office to a business looking for £500k. We have been on a huge journey in a really fast amount of time, and it was accelerated by meeting Steve [Thompson] and Brian [Johnson]. “If we had been working from home, I don’t think we would be where we are now. They have been pivotal in our journey,” says Buckley. ●

APRIL 2018 AUGUST 2018

12/07/2018 10:25

Advertorial A DV E RTO RIAL H R G O R E C R U I T M E N T

Jack’s Formula of 2+2 = 6 adds up to sparkling growth at home and abroad

Roddy added: “We welcome these businesses to the HR GO family. We believe they all benefit from the extra services and added value that being part of a bigger group can provide.”

Jack Parkinson, chairman of the HR GO recruitment and business services group, believes in 2+2 = 6, a formula that seeks joint ventures, branch openings and acquisitions that have been rewarded with growth and helps them to grow.

New recruitment venture in Poland

lot of small recruitment companies have excellent personal relationships but find it hard to compete with better-resourced businesses in the digital age.

After celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2017 with a nationwide Acts of Kindness campaign that raised £54,000 for good causes, HR GO is keeping up momentum focusing on new directions in the UK and overseas. Jack is applying his trademark sparkle to the group founded by his late mother Betty in 1957, and maintained by Jack’s son John, the group’s IT director. He says: “2+2=6 is a tried and trusted formula that has helped smaller businesses and helped expand our operations over the past 60 years.” HR GO, with a turnover of £80m, 360 staff and 40 offices, has entered its latest phase of development with a flurry of strategic moves. Aviation services take off The company has stepped up involvement in the aviation industry. HR GO acquired AVS Aviation Support Services in Luton and launched the merged business as part of its HR GO Recruitment branch network, able to serve all the UK’s airports. The new Luton branch has broadened the recruitment offer to meet rising demand for airport personnel and commercial talent across all sectors, while HR GO is developing services at Heathrow.

The HR GO family is growing HR GO has opened offices in Belfast and Cardiff, with the South Wales operation focusing on legal appointments. CMS Employment Agency in Dover has joined HR GO Recruitment’s extensive Kent network, and AC Appointments in Bishop’s Stortford is now part of the town’s HR GO Recruitment team.

HR GO’s IT business Eclipse has offices in Wroclaw, Poland, and is poised to promote recruitment services there, a market likely to become even more critical after Brexit. RHL goes Down Under Recruitment Holdings Limited (RHL) – the group’s oldest joint venture – has set up RHL Australasia in Sydney to serve clients and candidates in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and China, and UK citizens seeking new opportunities. Born in Sydney, Paul Surridge, operations director for RHL, heads the venture. With dual British and Australian nationality, he is ideally placed to find talent in pharmaceuticals, design and engineering, rail and civil structures, and mining. Staying ahead of the game Jack said: “Recruitment is a competitive business but we believe that by combining up-to-the-minute digital, marketing and branding developments with friendly personal service, we can deliver on 2+2=6 to meet future challenges.” Interesting proposal? Please get in touch He added: “We are always looking for new opportunities through acquisition or joint ventures and would like to speak to anyone with an interesting proposal.” ●

↗

Roddy Barrow, HR GO plc group managing director, said: “We aim to be the number one provider of specialist recruitment and support services to aviation.”

Jack Parkinson with some of his team

HR GO RECRUITMENT For further information please visit: www.hrgo.co.uk Jack Parkinson can be contacted on: Telephone: 01233 722400 Email: jack.parkinson@hrgo.co.uk

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TAKING A RISK

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CON T R AC TO R I N S U R A N C E

As with most insurances, although you pay, pay, pay and rarely get anything back, if you’re a recruiter, freelancer or contractor and you get sued, you’ll be glad you took out professional indemnity insurance. Roisin Woolnough investigates In the 20 years that Steve Willmore has worked in recruitment, he hasn’t met a single contractor or freelancer who has had cause to call on their professional indemnity insurance. However, that doesn’t mean he thinks that it’s not worth having professional indemnity insurance, also referred to as PI or professional liability insurance. Whatever it’s called, the purpose of PI is to protect contractors, freelancers and recruitment agencies in the event of being sued by a client who thinks they have provided inadequate services, advice or work, resulting in that client suffering ﬁnancial or reputational loss. The insurance covers any legal costs and expenses incurred as a result of a claim, plus any compensatory costs that are awarded. Willmore, who is head of recruitment at Fuel Recruitment, says it’s vital that every contractor and freelancer has PI. And he also says it’s vital that every agency insists upon it, in order to protect themselves as much as to protect individual workers. Everything needs to be completely watertight in terms of insurance and professional status, particularly given the current uncertainty around tax status and IR35 (or off-payment working rules to give it its proper title). “We require all of our contractors to have PI,” says Willmore. “Clients often request it too.” It is far from unusual for a recruitment agency to stipulate I L L UST RAT I O N | IKO N /ISTO C K

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that contractors have PI. But not all agencies actually check to see if it’s in place. “Lots of agencies don’t police whether a contractor has insurance,” says Seb Maley, CEO at Qdos Contractor, a provider of specialist contractor services. “A lot say you can’t start work until we have seen your insurance documentation, but actually, many don’t follow that through.” This is despite the fact that not having the correct insurance in place puts both the individual worker and the agency at risk. Why is the agency at risk if it’s the contractor that has provided inadequate services, advice or work? Because the agency has effectively hired them and if the contractor doesn’t have PI and a client decides to sue, the agency is their next port of call when they are looking to recoup their costs.

WHY WOULDN’T YOU? Given all of this, why would a freelancer or contractor not have PI in place? Chris Williams, a freelance digital strategist, thinks a lot of freelancers disregard the need for PI because they think it doesn’t apply to them. “If you are a creative copywriter or someone who is building a website, what damage can your work cause? Actually, a wrongly written word or piece of code could do a lot of damage.” Like Willmore, Williams thinks it is

highly unlikely that either a contractor or freelancer would ever have to draw on their PI, but if such a situation should arise, they would be very glad that the insurance was there. “It’s something you don’t want to pay for but would be damn glad you did if ever it happened to you,” says Williams. “We don’t like having to pay it and people want to get away with not paying it, but really, we should have it.” And actually, PI is relatively inexpensive, says Ben Rose, insurance director at Digital Risks, providers of insurance for digital businesses. He says the costs are small precisely because insurers know the likelihood that they will have to pay out is also small. “The premium is so low because underwriters assume the risks are so low.” Rose is in agreement with Williams and Maley that it is imperative that all contractors and freelancers have PI. If they don’t, it is up to recruitment agents to educate them as to why they must have it. Insurance and the professional status of contractors are big issues at the moment in the contract and freelance world, but particularly so in the contract world. It all started with some fundamental changes to IR35 rules in the public sector in April 2017. IR35 exists to make sure that any limited company contractors that are working as if they are employees pay the same amount of tax as actual employees. It was created to combat tax avoidance and HMRC is always on the look out for ‘disguised employees’. The new IR35 rules made the engager – the client – responsible for correctly determining the status of contract workers, rather than the contract worker themselves, as was previously the case.

WORLD OF CONFUSION This has caused huge confusion and upset for recruitment agencies, contractors and clients, although HMRC is hailing it as a big success, according to Maley. Why has it caused such confusion and upset? Maley says it’s partly because it’s quite tricky to ascertain the status of contractors: “It is very easy to get it wrong. It’s a task that HMRC fails in itself.” Maley is WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 25

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CO NTR AC TO R IN SUR ANCE

an expert on tax status, insurance and IR35 and Qdos Contractor has defended many contractors who say they were incorrectly classed as disguised employees. “To date we have defended 1,500 and lost only three of those. And if HMRC can’t get it right…” This confusion and uncertainty and the incorrect classifications will continue until HMRC clarifies what self-employment is, says Maley. Until then, agencies, contractors and clients have to be really careful. For agencies, there is a lot riding on getting it right. “There are massive ramifications if you get it wrong. Agencies in the public sector are sitting on massive tax liabilities that they have no control over at the moment. Agencies foot the bill if a client is deemed to have got it wrong because the party that hires the worker is liable for any missing tax.” As a result, many contractors working in the public sector have decided to play it safe, resulting in huge swathes of contractors leaving the public sector and going to work as contractors in the private sector instead, as the private sector doesn’t yet fall under the new rules for anti-tax avoidance legislation IR35. A lot of clients are also playing it safe and to avoid being caught out by IR35 are deeming all contractors working for them to be inside IR35. And some recruitment agencies are also playing it safe, such as Fuel Recruitment. “We will only refer candidates to umbrella companies,” says Williams. “We don’t engage with sole traders or managed services companies in any shape or form. We make sure our supply chain is compliant.”

from the public sector and the talent pool was decimated. “At the moment, a lot of contractors have jumped ship into the private sector,” says Williams. And those contractors that have remained in the public sector often demand higher salaries, because they are being taxed more. Williams gives the example of a contractor who charges £250 a day outside of IR35, but £375 a day inside of IR35. “This makes it more expensive for the client and ultimately, more expensive for the tax payer. So HMRC have raised more money through IR35 reforms but it costs much more to engage people. It’s robbing Peter to pay Paul,” he explains.

FURTHER DISRUPTION AHEAD ContractorCalculator is a website for the UK contracting industry, run by Dave Chaplin, a former contractor himself. A recent survey of roughly 2,000 contractors conducted by ContractorCalculator predicts signiﬁcant disruption if the new IR35 rules are rolled out to include the private sector. The survey found that:

PUBLIC SECTOR MAYHEM

• 98% of contractors either wouldn’t consider an ‘inside IR35’ contract or would only do so with a signiﬁcant rate rise • 51% would consider switching career in response to an off-payroll expansion • 94% believe those deemed ‘employed for tax purposes’ status should automatically receive employment rights • 89% would at least consider taking legal action to secure these rights • 99% do not agree that CEST accurately reﬂected employment status law • 79% do not consider CEST to be accurate

This has wreaked havoc in the public sector, according to Williams and Maley. For starters, there have been huge delays in public sector projects because all of a sudden, there was mass exodus

The wait is on for the outcome of HMRC’s consultation on off-payroll working in the private sector, which closes in August. But the expectation

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is the new rules will be implemented in the private sector too, perhaps as early as next year. Maley urges agencies and contractors to respond to the consultation. He also urges agencies to prepare themselves for what he says is the inevitable. This means working with and educating clients about IR35 and contractor status. “Agencies have to really engage with this, provide the education piece and communicate both with clients and contractors. Get well ahead of any change coming in.” Playing it safe and claiming that all contractors are inside IR35 is an option, but it is not necessarily the safest option. A lot of contractors are prepared to ﬁght back, as the ContractorCalculator research shows. The best thing an agency can do is communicate properly with everyone, ensure the correct classiﬁcation is made and document everything clearly along the way. As Maley says: “All three parties need to work together.” It’s imperative that everybody follows due diligence and that includes taking out the right kind of insurance. Should a contractor or agency come under the IR35 spotlight, it counts in their favour if the contractor can tick all of the right boxes, including PI. “Having PI is a good indicator of being genuinely self-employed,” says Maley. “Having insurance bolsters that argument.” Williams agrees that by having the correct insurance in place, agencies and contractors are minimising the risk of falling under the disguised employee banner. It’s not to say that professional indemnity insurance will be the clinching factor in any dispute, but it will certainly help. And given the current climate and all the uncertainty, the more distance that a contractor puts between themselves and actual employees, the better. It’s all about mitigating risk. ●

AUGUST 2018

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Issue 64 August 2018

RECRUITMENT MATTERS The View and The Intelligence

The big talking point

Legal Update

New beginnings

The digital CEO

Flexible working

p2-3

What’s coming up p6

Legal Eagle and the IRP Awards p8

AGENCIES CRUCIAL IN FINDING RIGHT CALIBRE TEACHERS Ninety-eight per cent of recruitment businesses receive less than two hours’ notice from schools to place a teacher on the day, according to a new survey by the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC). More than three-quarters of respondents say the quick turnaround is why schools use agencies, and 66% said schools are approaching them more to find teachers with specific

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skills for permanent placements. REC director of policy Tom Hadley says agencies are under immense pressure to find highquality teachers at great speed, relying on agencies to bring in fully-vetted and qualified teachers at short notice. “When a teacher can’t be in the classroom for any reason, pupils can’t just be passed off to existing teachers or teaching assistants in the place of a fully qualified teacher– they need dedicated resource,” he says. “We all understand the cost pressures on schools but these costs must be put in context and weighed against the cost of

employing more permanent staff or having in house recruitment banks replicate the work of specialised agencies in sourcing, and placing suitably skilled substitute teachers.” Teacher retention is a

92%

Recruitment agencies say their consultants ﬁrst get in the ofﬁce between 6am-8am in order to meet demand.

74%

recruiters are able to supply a teacher at least 90% of the time, despite the short notice.

84%

recruitment agencies provide CPD opportunities for teachers registered with them.

challenge, with statistics from the Department for Education showing that 26% of teachers that started in 2013 were not in post three years later – the lowest figure since records began in 1996. The REC survey shows three quarters (76%) of agencies have persuaded a candidate to remain in the teaching profession in the last year. Hadley says the importance of education agencies in finding teachers can’t be understated. “Ensuring that the right calibre of teacher is in place isn’t something that can be compromised which is why majority of them use specialist agencies for advice and support,” he says.

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Leading the Industry

THE VIEW

The World Employment Conference has me thinking about the future, says Tom Hadley, REC director of policy

New beginnings EC abound for the REC and recruitment as a whole, says Neil Carberry, CEO of the REC

I am delighted to have taken up my post as the new chief executive at the REC, and penning my first column for Recruitment Matters. The warm welcome I have received from both my colleagues at the REC and also members has blown me away. The commitment from the team here is deeply impressive – and essential for our ongoing success. The recruitment industry has certainly advanced since the time I was working in the sector some 20 years ago. The transition to a more strategic and inclusive recruitment industry that is worth £32.2 billion is a testament to how our members play a vital role to the UK economy, which makes it an exciting time to join. One thing that is really important to me is to be able to talk to members on a personal level. I want our members to fully understand what is on the menu at the REC, allowing members to really feel involved – there is a lot of work that goes on here, and I want to prioritise enhancing our customer

TALKING #FUTUREOFJOBS IN DUBLIN’S FAIR CITY relationships to ensure we know our members well and are delivering products and services you value. In fact, in my first few months, I am really focused on getting out on the road and meeting with as many recruitment professionals as possible – getting to know the sectors you work in, and the challenges you face. We already know candidate availability is one of the biggest challenges facing the UK jobs market, made worse by the lack of clarity on how the UK will leave the EU. I will be working really closely with my teams to make sure that we continue to tackle this issue by speaking up for our members, ensuring the REC is visible and noisy throughout the rest of this year – making sure we are seen as the voice of the industry by government, the media and your clients. You can read my full interview with Recruitment Matters on pages 4-5. But for now, I am thrilled to be here and look forward to meeting you. There are some exciting opportunities ahead.

“THE TRANSITION TO A MORE STRATEGIC AND INCLUSIVE RECRUITMENT INDUSTRY IS A TESTAMENT TO HOW OUR MEMBERS PLAY A VITAL ROLE TO THE UK ECONOMY” 2 RECRUITMENT MATTERS AUGUST 2018

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Last month’s high energy World Employment Conference, hosted by Ireland’s National Recruitment Federation (NRF), brought together over 400 industry leaders from 40 countries (including an elite squad of REC members!). The event generated a number of key messages on future labour market challenges that will resonate with UK recruiters. Here is my Dublin debrief: • Staffing and skills will remain top of the corporate agenda – David Collings from Dublin Business School underlined that “80% of CEOs fear a lack of key skills will hurt their business”. Key roles within organisations are not necessarily tied to hierarchy; flight attendants are key to the passenger experience on airlines, and cleaners in hospitals can avoid MRSA outbreaks. We need to rethink what really adds value. • Innovation is the word – economist David McWilliams underlined the need to “reward unconventional thinkers in our society”. Innovation will become increasingly key in recruitment as well as other sectors. • Making a step-change on inclusion is a priority – this is an opportunity for recruiters to develop innovative approaches. Helen Tynan, head of people operations at Google, argued that “a diverse mix of voices lead to better discussions, decisions and outcomes for everyone”. • Technology and leadership will drive further change – cultural expert Fons Trompenaars said the increasing need “to develop genuine multi-cultural leadership”. The 4th Industrial revolution is already upon us and is affecting most sectors, including recruitment, particularly with the convergence of traditional recruitment with the pure online marketplace. • The future of work means new opportunities – the sheer speed of change will provide a unique opportunity for the global industry to step up and help clients and candidates make sense of the evolving employment landscape. The industry must remain at the forefront of the future of work debate; this is the core aim of the REC’s Future of Jobs commission. You can follow Tom on Twitter nt @hadleyscomment

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1975

THE INTELLIGENCE RETAIL RESEARCH

Thalia Ioannidou, REC senior researcher The UK’s current labour market continues to perform well, yet persistent issues are particularly challenging. Demand for skills and people is mounting, with the UK’s unemployment rate the lowest it has been since 1975. A fall in net EU migration, which is driven by a fall in EU citizens coming to the UK for work as reported by the Office for National Statistics, has further intensified candidate shortages. According to the REC’s Report on Jobs, growth of demand for staff strengthened to a six-month high in May, with sharp increases in both permanent and temporary roles. Data continued to show that demand for private sector staff continued to increase at

2017 SURGE IN NUMBER OF CLIENTS BILLED The latest data from Recruitment Industry Benchmarking (RIBIndex), measuring participating companies’ performance, shows that, across 2017 there was a surge in the average monthly number of clients billed by the median RIB recruiter. The most intense periods of pick-up were, notably, in the quarter running up to and the two quarters after the change in public sector

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a steeper rate than that for public sector workers. Despite growth in demand for staff, candidate availability declined at a sharper rate midway through the second quarter of 2018. As has been the case since May 2013, the availability of permanent workers across the UK fell in the latest survey period, with the rate of deterioration being the most market for four months. Similarly, recruitment consultancies signalled that the number of candidates available for short-term work continued to decline at the quickest pace since November 2017. Although employers are feeling more confident in the prospects for the UK economy, following eight months where more employers felt conditions were worsening than improving, and in making hiring decisions, staff shortages are progressively becoming business critical, particularly in areas like

DEMAND FOR SKILLS AND PEOPLE IS MOUNTING, WITH THE UK’S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE THE LOWEST IT HAS BEEN SINCE 1975.

nursing, engineering, manufacturing and IT. Strong demand for staff and declining candidate availability have, in turn, underpinned further increases in starting salaries and pay of temporary workers. It is worth noting that salaries awarded to successfully place permanent workers rose at the steepest rate for three years. Meanwhile, recruitment agencies signalled a further marked rise in contract/ temporary staff pay during May, with the rate of inflation holding close to April’s twoyear record. Persistent skills shortages have also been highlighted in our JobsOutlook monthly publication, especially in sectors such as engineering, health and social care,

Average monthly total number of clients billed by Median RIB recruiter versus last year (%), Q1 2016-Q1 2018 13.8%

15%

13.1%

11.0%

10% 71.7%

0% -1.2%

-5%

-10%

Q1 2016

protocols relating the offpayroll working, which came into effect in April 2017. As such, there is potential

Q1 Q2 2017

Q1 2018

that, with many contractors seeking to exit public sector engagements, there were more freelancers available for

PERSISTENT SKILLS SHORTAGES HAVE ALSO BEEN HIGHLIGHTED IN OUR JOBS OUTLOOK MONTHLY PUBLICATION, ESPECIALLY IN SECTORS SUCH AS ENGINEERING, HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE, EDUCATION AND HOSPITALITY.

education and hospitality. Amid the ongoing uncertainty around labour provisions once the UK officially leaves the EU, candidate availability remains a most pressing challenge for UK businesses. The Report on Jobs and JobsOutlook are unique in providing a comprehensive guide to the UK labour market, drawing on up-todate original survey data provided by recruitment consultancies and employers. See www.rec.uk.com for more on the latest recruitment and employment trends. placing with private sector clients, via existing, new and/ or rekindled relationships. Whilst marginally down (-1.2%), in Q1 2018, on prior year numbers, the comparator was a quarter when there was an average 11% year-on-year surge in client volumes. Belinda Johnson runs employment research consultancy Worklab, and is associate knowledge & insight director of Recruitment Industry Benchmarking (RIB) – part of the Bluestones Group. The RIB Index provides bespoke confidential reports on industry benchmarks and trends.

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The Big Talking Point

INTERVIEW

THE DIGITAL CEO

It’s a time of change for the Recruitment & Employment Confederation, and its new chief executive Neil Carberry is determined to put members at the forefront. He tells Recruitment Matters editor Michael Oliver what his plans for his first 100 days are, and why members can expect a more digital REC Michael Oliver: What’s brought you to the REC?

Neil Carberry: Personally, I felt it was time for a change and a new challenge. I wanted to do something which had more commercial impact for a sector, so I’m very driven by making sure the REC puts its members first. Clearly there’s an opportunity as chief executive to really drive that. And professionally, it’s a fascinating time to be back in the recruitment sector. You’ve got huge challenges coming down the track around technology and society’s expectations of work – big potential changes in terms of the British labour market. Every business I talked to while I was at the CBI had finding the right people as

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the first thing on their list. With that in mind, there is no sector that is more crucial to our continuing success as a nation and our prosperity than recruitment, so it’s great to be back in it.

sector is just how much value good recruitment adds to clients, and what good client service looks like. It’s something that I’ve always been passionate about.

Michael Oliver: Michael Oliver: With your previous involvements in the industry, albeit some time ago, is it something you’ve always thought about returning to?

Neil Carberry: I spent four years recruiting in the City in the late 90s and early 2000s. I enjoyed working in it then, but I wanted to explore something else when I left it. I wanted to do some work around industrial relations and the CBI gave me an opportunity to do that. But the two things I took from that time in the

What are your impressions of the REC as it stands?

Neil Carberry: The REC has a unique position and it offers members significant support in terms of how they run and develop their own business. It has a unique voice in terms of speaking for the sector, and an authority which comes from much of the research work that’s been done and the professional standards we hold members to. One of the things that members tell us that they want the REC to do is really

lead for the sector in making the case for the value it adds. That’s about demonstrating the contribution the sector makes to the UK in everything that we do. So, there’s a really strong base at the REC to do that – especially if you look at the training, the advice we offer members, the kind of Scale Up work we do for firms as they grow, as well as the excellent work people like Tom Hadley have been doing on the policy side. There’s a strong core there. What I want to do coming in, is enable that team to fly. And what I mean by that is making sure that the REC is more focused, that it’s very clear about what members are asking for and delivering that well, and it’s noisy. The REC has a strong platform, which we need to use really well in the interests of the sector.

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Michael Oliver: What are some of the REC’s big challenges right now?

Neil Carberry: Digital and modernisation is a big part of my agenda, and the REC is already beginning to do some work around that in terms of how we look after members. Part of that is a process that I’ve been heavily involved with at CBI around segmentation, which means making sure that each individual firm is getting a menu of products from the REC which is best for them. We’re going to be thinking a lot more about how we listen to members and tailor our offer to each individual member. We’re going to be doing more digitally and that will, of course, support our reach so that more recruiters

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in the industry will see and hear and feel and touch the REC every week, every month, every year. My other big goal is around voice. If you look at a sector organisation like the EEF in manufacturing, you see a body which has significant access and punch. The REC has the potential to operate at that level. We can be one of the most powerful voices around jobs in the media and in government on behalf of members, but there is more to do more to secure that.

Michael Oliver: Thinking beyond the REC, what are some of the big challenges the recruitment industry faces?

Neil Carberry: We have the highest

employment rates that we’ve had in living memory and the lowest unemployment rates. So the fundamentals for recruitment are strong. Clients need to find the right people – but candidate availability is tight. The technological challenge that is coming, though, is this idea that recruitment can in some way be commoditised so that it just becomes a margin game for firms. One of the things we must do is demonstrate that good recruitment is not just a process. It’s about understanding client need and finding the right candidates and supporting those candidates into position. It is a professional service, not a commoditised manufacturing process. And as the REC, we have got to help members to help clients understand that.

valued and by workers and companies alike, and that it opens up opportunity for staff.

Michael Oliver:

How do you want the REC to shape the labour market in general?

What do you want to have achieved during your first 100 days as chief executive?

Michael Oliver: And what role will compliance play in that?

Neil Carberry: While what happens in our industry is high quality, and really effective in demonstrating value to client and candidate alike, we do need to make sure that we’re maintaining the role of the REC as a guarantor of standards. It’s vital to demonstrate, and if you have an REC badge on your door you’re hitting a standard that clients and candidates can trust. That’s really important to me, and if we don’t get it right it will damage the ability of the REC and the sector more broadly to be influential on other issues.

Neil Carberry:

There’s a lot of debate around both what the post-Brexit immigration system is, but also around flexibility in general, where there’s a school of thought in some quarters that says that anything that isn’t an openended direct employment contract is in some way poorer quality. I spent 14 years fighting that idea at the CBI, because flexibility is critical to the heart of national prosperity. And I think the REC must step up on that... We have to demonstrate that temporary and agency work is hugely

We’re going to our Council about the REC’s overall strategy during the summer, but in the first few weeks I want get cracking on mapping our offer to the sector and focusing it more on what members really want. I also want to make sure we are noisy through the summer and autumn on the issues members really care about. Finally, I need to get on the road. Spending some time visiting members is critical. I’ll be gathering their views and understanding their businesses better as part of our strategic review.

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Legal update

FLEXIBLE WORKING By Bunmi Adefuye, solicitor and commercial adviser at the REC An employee’s request to flexible working could stem from changes in their personal circumstances, which could be for health reasons or she/he needs to care for a loved one. The employer’s requirements for the role must be considered and the best outcome is when the employer and employee’s needs are reconciled. No employee has an automatic right to work flexibly but has the statutory right to make the application and the employer must process it properly. A flexible working request is typically to change the hours, the location or when the work is done. This could include different working patterns such as working from home, job sharing or parttime working. Previously only employees that had to care for a child under age 17 (or 18 for a disabled child), or for an adult relative, could make an

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application. However, from 30 June 2014, any employee that has 26 weeks continuous service and has not made a request in the previous 12 months can make a flexible working application. The Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Flexible Working Regulations 2014 specify the contents of a flexible working application, which must be in writing, dated and: • confirm that it is a request for flexible working; • explain the changes required; • state the date when the changes should be made; • explain the impact on the employer and how it can be dealt with; and • confirm whether a previous application has been made and when. When the employer receives the application, it must be discussed with the employee. An employer is legally required to deal with the application

promptly and in a reasonable manner. Instead of considering the negative impact on the business, the employer should assess the possible benefit to both parties. When a decision is made the employee should be notified in writing and the process must be completed within three months, although it can be extended if agreed by both parties. As the employee does not have an absolute right to work flexibly, there are permitted business reasons where an employer can reject the application: • additional costs; • detrimental impact on customers’ demand; • inability to reorganise work among staff or recruit more staff; • detrimental impact on performance and quality; • insufficient work during the proposed hours; or • planned structural changes. Notwithstanding the above,

an employee can issue an employment tribunal claim if: • the decision to reject the application was not based on a permitted business reason; • they believe that the employer did not deal with the statutory request in a reasonable manner or within the timeframe; • the decision was based on incorrect information; or • the request was revoked but the employer was not entitled to do so. If the employee is successful, the employment tribunal could instruct the employer to reconsider the request, or pay the employee compensation, which could be up to a maximum of eight weeks’ pay. Now that more employees choose to work flexibly, at times and in locations that fit around their lives, employers should be consistent, not discriminatory and consider applications in a fair and accommodating way.

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Inspiration

BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE INSTITUTE OF RECRUITMENT PROFESSIONALS

The View

Rebecca Simkiss is a managing director at SimkissGuy Recruitment

Anne Corder is the managing director of Anne Corder Recruitment

Q&A

WHAT I KNOW

Congratulations on your recent Director of the Year Awards nomination To be recognised for such a prestigious award is an honour and I’m so proud that it is for our Corporate Social Responsibility. CSR is something that is truly at the heart of all we do as a company, with it ingrained in the SimkissGuy Recruitment ethos. Giving back is something I’m truly committed to and I’m lucky to have built a team that reflects this at their core too.

What is the background of Anne Corder Recruitment (ACR)? I started Anne Corder Recruitment in 1995 with a background in HR, working for major organisations in retail, manufacturing and service sectors.

What kind of work do you do? We support a number of local organisations, who all do phenomenal work to help people across the city [Birmingham] that we’re proud to call home. For us, it isn’t just about one fundraising day a year; we’re passionate about providing a platform for causes to be heard by new audiences, by giving them opportunities to speak at SimkissGuy Recruitment events, advocating for them in our networks and using our skills to advise those who need it most. What makes your approach to CSR different? I wholeheartedly believe we would not have the reputation we do across the region were it not for our unique approach to CSR. In an industry that is seen as cut-throat, we are not afraid to stand alone, to be different, and to use our network and connections for the greater good of the region. I think the SimkissGuy Recruitment model is one which is easily relatable, and very adaptable to every business across the West Midlands and beyond, and I challenge business leaders to pledge to do more.

“FOR US, IT ISN’T JUST ABOUT ONE FUNDRAISING DAY A YEAR; WE’RE PASSIONATE ABOUT PROVIDING A PLATFORM FOR CAUSES TO BE HEARD BY NEW AUDIENCES”

How would you describe your unique selling point? Our different business model: we have a team approach – we’re focused on finding the right person for the right job each and every time. Our model has enabled us to retain talent – therefore our knowledge of clients and candidates is excellent. What was behind the decision to not pay commission to consultants? My aim was to build an agency based on a culture of listening – not one with an invasive sales approach. A commissionbased model simply didn’t fit that: I had to find an alternative. How does a commission-less model affect the culture of ACR? We’re not plugging away at a quota of morning calls, we’re all engaged in the business. We’re up and about meeting and greeting candidates and clients, collaborating together and celebrating the success we are having as a team. We have a lot of fun! What do the next 12 months for ACR look like? Despite the political and economic landscape, we’ve not seen any signs of recruitment slowing down – perhaps that is because businesses are looking to partner with an agency that isn’t about quick wins but aims to provide them with the right employees for now and into the future.

To keep up to date with everything the Institute of Recruitment Professionals is doing, please visit www.rec-irp.uk.com

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What’s coming up?

RECRUITMENT MATTERS The official magazine of The Recruitment & Employment Confederation Dorset House, 1st Floor, 27-45 Stamford Street, London SE1 9NT

Membership Department: Membership: 020 7009 2100, Customer Services: 020 7009 2100 Publishers: Redactive Publishing Ltd, 78 Chamber Street E1 8BL. Tel: 020 7880 6200. www.redactive.co.uk Editorial: Editor Michael Oliver michael.oliver@redactive.co.uk. Production Editor: Vanessa Townsend Production: Production Executive: Rachel Young rachel.young@redactive.co.uk Tel: 020 7880 6209 Printing: Printed by Precision Colour Printing © 2018 Recruitment Matters. Although every effort is made to ensure accuracy, neither REC, Redactive Publishing Ltd nor the authors can accept liability for errors or omissions. Views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the REC or Redactive Publishing Ltd. No responsibility can be accepted for unsolicited manuscripts or transparencies. No reproduction in whole or part without written permission.

Tel: 020 7009 2100 www.rec.uk.com 8 RECRUITMENT MATTERS AUGUST 2018

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E EMPLOYABILITY CO M M UNITY

Schoolchildren from Southwark get to try new sports at the Street Elite festival, including American football

A SPORTING CHANCE BY COLIN COTTELL

charity supported by FTSE 100 housebuilder Berkeley Group is building bridges across the cultural and social divide separating the lives of disadvantaged and marginalised groups across South London and the world of work. Launched seven years’ ago Street Elite, a programme run by The Change Foundation, recruits young people off the street using sport as a hook to arouse interest. Street Elite youth worker Ross Defoe, speaking to Recruiter at a Street Elite Festival in Burgess Park, Southwark, where the most recent 15-strong cohort of the programme’s graduates have just picked up their certiﬁcates from the deputy leader of Southwark Council, says the background of those on the programme make the task a challenging one. “Those on the programme are not working, they are from disadvantaged areas, and they don’t really have aspirations or know what they want in terms of work.” Often, the environment in which they live is characterised by “crime, drug dealing and violence”, he adds. Some of those who come onto the programme have been to jail “and are looking for a second chance”, while others are referred by youth offending teams or the Probation Service. However, despite targeting people who are often “living on the edge of gangs, crime and isolation”, Matt Bell, head of external affairs at Berkeley Group, says the programme has enjoyed considerable success, with 78% of its 350 graduates going into employment or education. Since it began, Berkeley Group, through its charitable arm 28 RECRUITER

Berkeley Foundation, has invested almost £1m in the programme that primarily targets those aged between 18 and 25, who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). In March 2018, 808,000 young people across the UK were classiﬁed as NEETs. Galan Ali from Peckham, who has just completed his training programme, explains how he was recruited. “Ross came up to me when I was on the street, and said ‘Do you want to play football, and get paid £15?’ I thought what? It doesn’t make sense. Get paid to play football, I would do it for free’.”

Mentoring Although surprised by this unusual approach, Ali took the bait. And although he says he found work as a security officer in Mayfair soon after starting the programme, encouraged by ongoing mentoring support from Defoe, he says he expects to start a work placement with Berkeley Group soon. He says his options include becoming an electrician, or getting qualiﬁcations in security, where his ambition is to be a bodyguard and do close protection work. Defoe says the use of sport as a hook to get people into the programme is no accident. “Sport is a good way because the majority of young men I work with

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CO M M U N I T Y

EMPLOYABILITY

Below: Street Elite graduate Osman collects his graduation certificate from Change Foundation coach Ross (r) and London rapper Youngs Teflon (l)

“The programme smashes lots of stereotypes”

love sports.” He says that having a choice of sports – both individual and team sports – allows the charity “to teach different things”. Although participants attend only one twohour session a week for between 12-14 weeks, Defoe says this is enough to begin to help them make the connection between their own lives and what they see as the alien world of work. Not only does holding the sessions during normal working hours get them used to structured activity at that time of the day, but the sessions establish the habit of “turning up, and getting into a routine”, Defoe explains. Work on interview skills and CVs is also important, as is making participants aware of the expected norms around communicating in a work environment, such as being polite. “It’s about building a natural relationship and working on that relationship to build that trust and support them in their dreams,” says Defoe.

Sport is a good way because the majority of young men I work with love sports

Defoe says there is a misconception that those who are unemployed don’t want to work. “Young people don’t necessarily not want to work, but sometimes they are just not confident and comfortable in a working environment,” he explains. “A big part of the programme is developing that confidence, and once that confidence builds up it helps give them that selfbelief they can achieve.”

Engagement The next stage of the Street Elite programme is community engagement, as the participants move from playing football, to beginning to run sports sessions on their local estate. Bell says as this happens, many of the old ways of behaving drop away, even for the so-called ‘bad boys’. “They have to present a different face to their community, and they take on a changed identity and take responsibility,” says Bell. “Letting down a 10-yearold feels quite unacceptable no matter how rough and tough you are.” Defoe says the transformation in individuals can be remarkable. “The whole mentality changes, the whole posture, their mannerisms; they address everybody in the room and they fully come out of themselves.” The Change Foundation runs separate Street Elite programmes for young women, typically recruiting them from gyms and cafes. “There are lots of young mums, and lots of the young women have caring duties and lead complex lives,” says Bell. He says it has proved much more effective to run the programme for women in groups of three or four rather than the 15-strong groups for men. WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 29

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E EMPLOYABILITY CO M M UNITY

often implicit in the working environment but that needs to be articulated and explained.”

Programme Bell says a big factor in Street Elite’s success is the length of the programme. “After 18 years’ of chaos in your life, a two-week or a two-month [programme] simply doesn’t cut it,” he says. By way of contrast, he says Street Elite’s nine-month programme gives participants the time they need to make the “absolutely profound psychological transformation” to complete the journey from where they started to a disciplined professional working environment. Making sure that participants have access to constant support throughout this period is vital, says Bell, because they often go through periods of doubt. Bell says a critical time is often soon after they begin their work placement at Berkeley Group. L-r: Cllr Jonathan Situ, However, he says sometimes even those London Borough of Southwark, Galan and who have been working as a permanent Osman (Street Elite employee at Berkeley Group experience graduates), Cllr Stephanie Cryan (Southwark), Charlie a wobble when they doubt how far they (Street Elite graduate), have come, and whether they really belong Cllr Kieron Williams, in this environment. Bell says continuing Bell says the programme “smashes lots (Southwark) and Youngs Teflon access to their coach from the charity, who is of stereotypes” with one young woman able to provide reassurance and allow them to training to be a plumber. vent their concerns and frustrations, means that these potential crises can be overcome. “It shows how Placements long you have to stick with people to help them make After the initial 12-14 weeks, when participants the transition,” says Bell. participate in sport while receiving mentoring As well as the “moral driver” of helping to address support and advice, the next stage is a work the issue of the UK’s NEETs, Bell says programmes placement at Berkeley Group. During this period, such as Street Elite make business sense for which lasts for a minimum of two weeks, Bell says employers too. Not only can they help address serious there is no let-up in the process of helping them labour shortages and the skills crisis that is likely to adjust and make the transition from what Bell be exacerbated by Brexit, but also they provide access describes as often “chaotic backgrounds” to the world to a wider and more diverse talent pool. If Street of work. By way of example, he explains how “a very Elite is anything to go by such programmes can be strong gaming culture, with young people staying up winners all round. ● half the night playing FIFA [video game]” that results in them turning up tired for work clashes with Berkeley Group’s 8am or 9am start. “You need a line manager who can talk through with them about the Onboarding lessons from the Street Elite need for this sort of personal discipline,” he says. experience Bell says the 15 graduates from the Street Elite • Don’t assume the person has any experience of a programme, who have been taken on permanently by workplace Berkeley in roles such as marketing and sales, and as • Be clear about the standards you expect in terms of site managers, “are doing incredibly well”. However, punctuality, absenteeism, etc he continues “they all say the same thing about • Don’t assume they know anything that you may take coming into an alien environment, and having to for granted, for example, industry jargon, or how to greet read the language and essentially adapt to the culture senior people before they can offer the talent and everything they • Do take time to find out about their personal situation can provide”. • Make sure they have a mentor and that they spend at The onus is on employers to play their part in least 15 minutes twice a week with them helping to make this process of adaption easier, • Don’t give them made-up roles. They need a real job says Bell. “There is lots of culture and behaviour in with real responsibility a professional office that never gets explained, for example about email protocol and dress codes,” he Taken from Talented People Work: an employer’s guide, says. “This is often very basic practical stuff that is published by the Berkeley Foundation 30 RECRUITER

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I found The Recruit Venture Group and quickly learnt that their start-up and support package was a no brainer. Vicki Lyons - Lyons Personnel Ltd

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Having dreamed of starting my own agency it was great to be introduced to The Recruit Venture Group and launch my business. Glynne Dyer - Vanta StafďŹ ng Ltd

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31 October | The Brewery, London

EVENING AWARDS www.investingintalent.co.uk

AWARDS ENQUIRIES: Laura Wright T: +44 (0) 20 7880 6208 E: laura.wright@redactive.co.uk @RecruiterAwards

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SPONSORSHIP ENQUIRIES: Paul Barron T: +44 (0) 20 7880 6213 E: paul.barron@redactive.co.uk

10/07/2018 16:14

CO M M U N I T Y

SOCIAL NETWORK WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO? GET IN TOUCH!

From climbing and cycling up mountains to baking cakes and playing golf, you’ve been busy again outside of recruiting…

DRIVER REQUIRE TEAM PEAKS FOR CHARITY VIA An intrepid team from Driver Require has completed The National 3 Peaks Challenge, a gruelling 23-mile trek, which involved climbing Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon, ascending 3,064m in under 24 hours. The recruiter has raised nearly £3.7k for the British Heart Foundation, Macmillan Cancer Support, Cancer Research UK and Parkinson’s UK.

NRL CEO REDMAYNE RIDES THE ROCKY HEIGHTS FOR MIND VIA

RICKY MARTIN GETS HIS JEANS ON FOR GENES 2018 VIA

Ops director Paul Springall, sales director Terry Irish-Jones and MD Stewart London, raised £1,645 in one day

ATHONA DRIVES UP FUNDRAISING EFFORTS VIA Staff from Brentwood-based Athona Recruitment have been not only been whisking up cupcakes but taking on four rounds of 18 holes at golf in an effort to raise funds for Alzheimer’s Society, Athona’s charity of the year.

Ricky Martin, former winner of BBC’s hit TV show The Apprentice and managing director of science recruitment agency Hyper Recruitment Solutions (HRS), is one of the ‘faces’ supporting the Jeans for Genes 2018 campaign on 21 September. Martin says: “As a business, supporting Jeans for Genes makes us feel more in touch with how science and technology makes such a difference in changing lives.” https://www. jeansforgenesday.org/

Global rail and engineering recruiter NRL Group’s CEO Andrew Redmayne is in the middle of a gruelling challenge as part of the 2018 Trans Am Bike Race for mental health charity MIND. NRL’s challenge is to raise £25k. Cyclists must complete the route completely unsupported even in unpopulated areas, including organising their own bike repairs and accommodation. So well done, Andrew, for getting as far as the Rockies!

EA CLIMBS EVERY MOUNTAIN – WELL, MT KILIMANJARO! VIA In the first fundraising initiative for the year, ea Change Group’s deputy managing director Daniel Sutherland and regional director James McNicol took on Africa’s tallest peak and the highest free-standing mountain in the world, Mt Kilimanjaro. To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the recruiter has committed to raise £20k for charity in 2018. WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 33

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E CAREERS CO M M UNITY

The Workplace BY GUY HAYWARD

34 RECRUITER

retention strategies for us all, and the impact this would have on an employer brand. Nobody wants to work in an office with the age diversity of a ‘boy band’. Some companies are deliberately targeting older demographics. Barclays’ ‘Welcome Back Programme’, supporting older workers at the bank, is inspiring. Insurance company Aviva’s desire to hire 1,000 ‘older than 50’ members of staff by 2022 is wonderfully ambitious – the rewards that have followed from hiring from within the ‘baby boomer’ generation is well publicised. I’m working with a housing association (HA) that has made a big play to hire an older generation to complement youth. Its point is that someone in their mid-50s, for example, wants to come to work for camaraderie, not out of necessity, thus injecting a burst of energy into the office. The HA’s hiring across generations has introduced exciting debate on ideas about experience and youth. Its engagement strategies, as a result, are wonderful in their diversity. Another company appreciating age diversity is SEO and search marketing agency Propellernet. It claims to ‘make life better’ for its employees with beneﬁts that celebrate their differences. My personal favourite of these beneﬁts is the company’s Dreamball Machine, which builds the dreams of its teams

“Nobody wants to work in an ofﬁce with the age diversity of a ‘boy band’ ” into the business plan. What is central to making this beneﬁt work, and gaining Propellernet its sixth-place award in the Great Place to Work league, is that the Dreamball Machine allows employees to decide what it is that inspires them personally. The company has rejected the idea that the younger generation crave pool tables and the older generation don’t, and lets its people decide what they want. For every 20-year-old worried they aren’t being taken seriously, there’s a 50-year-old concerned they’re being thrown on the scrap heap. Yet combining the concerns of the two groups, and having a range of approaches for their engagement, is wonderfully powerful. ●

↗

WHEN I LOOK AT MY JOB SPEC and at what is on my ‘to do list’, it has changed dramatically from even 12 months ago. Increasingly, I am spending my time inside organisations, not just to talk recruitment but to help them build an employer brand – and I’m loving it. How can organisations improve the working experience for their people, and how does this turn into a brand that tells a compelling story for future talent? What has struck me over the past year in these conversations is the tendency to generalise: businesses not having a permutation of ideas, or combination of initiatives, to engage all; or not recognising that different generations of varying age proﬁles require, need and want different things. There seems to be an unhealthy emphasis on building people strategies around the millennials, when we work in a world where we have high levels of generational diversity. The employment rate for people aged 50-64 is at a record high, and has increased by almost 15% over the past 10 years, as people are staying in work longer. Yet articles and papers discussing retention centre overwhelmingly on millennials. Imagine if the discussion was overwhelmingly about

GUY HAYWARD – redefining the modern workplace CEO, Goodman Masson

AUGUST 2018

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CO M M U N I T Y

CAREERS

Is your work set-up holding you back?

Find your next move in recruitment on jobs.recruiter. co.uk

BY TARA LESCOTT

↗ TARA LESCOTT is managing director of recruitment-torecruitment agency Recruiter Republic

IT CAN BE HARD TO ASSESS your true value as a recruiter. This ‘value’ is not just about salary and commission, but about the experience at work that you should be achieving. However, sadly, there is no easily identiﬁable and reliable source of information that will tell you what ‘good’, ‘great’ and ‘exceptional’ look like in terms of environment, management style, training, earnings and progression. How do you know if you are achieving the best experience? Are you positioned to maximise your opportunities? To help you self-assess, over the next two issues is a simple checklist that should offer you some insight. Find out next month what your responses mean for you and your career.

Do you know your promotion criteria? Are you confident that, if you hit exactly this target and you achieve these specific goals, that your promotion will happen? What will that promotion mean to you in terms of financial rewards, responsibility and job title? Your promotion criteria should be SMART – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timely. Yes or no? If it’s not abundantly clear what you need to do to get promoted, or if there are any vague, subjective and unquantifiable clauses, you need to ask yourself why that might be. Firms that are dedicated to your progress

“It’s impossible to achieve your ultimate performance and get promotions if the goalposts keep moving” will have no problem being transparent on this – they should want you to succeed. If your boss resists offering you a ﬁrm and agreed guideline, then you are not in control of your career.

Are the goalposts clear and unchanging? Following on from before, do the goalposts ever move at your company? Does your target change, or do others’ targets change? Yes or No? Why do you think this might be? It’s impossible to achieve your ultimate performance and get those promotions if the goalposts keep moving. There are many reasons for this problem. Whatever the reason, it leads to an unstable foundation on which to build trust with your employer, making it impossible to be in control of your progress.

Do you have access to useful training and coaching?

There’s a big difference between training and coaching. Training is typically more classroom-based, formal learning for your career, mainly centred on topics such as recruitment skills – clients, candidates, business development, and so on. But what about coaching and mentoring? What happens beyond your basic training? To achieve your best career, you need to be constantly stretching, learning and embracing ideas. You should be being coached at all times for your next role – whatever that may be. Do you have a coaching plan? Yes or No? If not, how will you develop in the longer term?

Can you see evidence of growth – both for the company and for individuals? In your time with the company, have you seen promotions and an increase in headcount? Do you know which areas of the business the management is focusing on? Do you understand the forward plan for the team, division, and company? Yes or No? And if no, why is that? Do you work for a boss who is just getting by? Will that lead you where you want to go? Or are they failing to share that vision with you? Unless you know the plan and feel excited to be a part of it, you are in a job – not a career that ﬁlls you with passion and purpose. See part 2 for the conclusions to assessing your role as a recruiter

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E BUSINESS ADVICE CO M M UNITY

ASK THE EXPERT Q: Are consultants who bill more than £500k a year born or made? And how do I get them? Big-billing consultants are made. I believe that, after a few years in a sector, more consultants could bill £500k-plus as long as: • They are hungry to bill and willing to learn. • They are prepared to be disciplined and consistent in their daily routine. • You invest in the structure, technology and framework they need to hit those numbers. • You reward consultants for their performance in a way that they want, so it is motivational – otherwise they will leave you or be happy with lower billings.

Create the hunger The primary reasons that most consultants lack ambition to bill big are: they don’t realise how achievable it is, and they lack the coaching to show them how to achieve their potential. People benchmark their capabilities by those around them. If everyone around you bills £500k, it appears normal. If nobody is billing above £150k, then £250k seems remarkable. To achieve the right culture, you need to ensure your team has role models, or to help your team understand how achievable the large numbers are.

Consistency predicts future success

36 RECRUITER

The SME Coach

quickly see the results and buy into the targets you are setting.

Facilitate success To create an environment where your consultants can achieve their potential, you need to both remove obstacles that make them less efficient and provide the support that can help them improve. Ask your consultants what would help them to bill more – new software, changes to processes, more training, less managerial responsibility? The list is endless, and will vary from consultant to consultant. Not only will this process of continuous improvement help your existing team perform better, but it will also make it easier to attract new recruiters.

Retain the big billers The more your consultants are billing, the more attractive they will be to other employers, and so the more important it is for you to understand what motivates each big biller and create bespoke incentive schemes for them. Salary and commission are not always the key motivators. Some people will want increased ﬂexibility or holiday; others will want career progression or equity. Some may respond to short-term targets, while others will be driven by a competitive edge.

↗

Consultants who make the same number of calls every month typically generate a consistent number of interviews, resulting in a steady level of billing. The correlation between activity and outcomes in recruitment is inescapable. Yet too many consultants don’t understand how important it is, and as a result they are reactive. It takes conﬁdence to ignore possible leads in favour of business development and nurturing fresh candidates. But the only way to achieve consistently high numbers is to focus on new business week in, week out. If consultants want to chase semi-promising leads, then that needs to be done on top of the business development work. Calculate the key ratios for individual consultants, use those to set monthly targets, and then break those down into weekly targets delivered through daily plans. If consultants adhere to those daily plans, they will

Alex Arnot

ALEX ARNOT is founder of MyNonExec and board adviser to more than 30 recruitment companies

AUGUST 2018

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E CAREERS CO M M UNITY

‘The team’s there to pick you up when you’re down and celebrate with you when you make placements together’ MY BRILLIANT RECRUITMENT CAREER What was your earliest dream job?

↗

A dancer – I became a dancer at a very, very young age.

JOANNE DAVIES, senior recruitment consultant – perms, Agenda Partnership, and dancer in The Addict Initiative, who made the 2014 Britain’s Got Talent final

What was your first job in recruitment and how did you come into it? An admin resourcer role. I’d relocated from Basingstoke to Kettering, walked into an agency and sat down. The lady interviewed me and offered me a position there on the spot.

Who is your role model – in life or in recruitment? In life – my mum; but in recruitment, one of our company directors, Richard Fletcher. If it wasn’t for Richard taking a chance on me, guiding me, then 100% I wouldn’t be where I am now. His approach, whether it’s for candidates or clients, is just ﬂawless and everything I would aspire to.

What do you love most about your current role? It’s got to be the team I have around me – from colleagues to company directors. They’re there to pick you up when you’re down and celebrate with you when you make placements together.

Joanne Davies I better be looking for another job in about 12 weeks’ time. But within six months I had smashed my target out of the park. Within 12 months, I had achieved everything I was expected to that year and was named the top biller in the office.

What’s your top job to fill at the moment? Drivers, all around the UK.

What is your signature dish? A slow roast leg of lamb with spring onions in red wine sauce, dauphinoise potatoes and steamed veg.

Laugh or cry, what did your most memorable candidate make you want to do and why?

I was set a target for my ﬁrst year at Agenda Partnership and I remember looking at the number and thinking

I had a worker, who was one of the hardest workers I had for one of my clients. But one day he was in the canteen area and I got called in to review some CCTV footage. It was him from the day before, mucking

38 RECRUITER

IMAG ES | ISTOCK / SHUTTER STOCK

What would you consider to be the most brilliant moment of your career?

AUGUST 2018

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around in the canteen, went to run away from something, tripped over a bag and fell into the plasterboard drywall. When I say ‘into the drywall’, he actually went through it, got stuck and they had to call out the ﬁre service to cut him out. Needless to say, he wasn’t asked back again.

What’s the best or worst interview question you’ve ever heard? The worst: ‘If you could be a fruit, what type of fruit would you be?’

What would you regard as your theme tune? The Woody Woodpecker theme tune – everybody that knows me really well knows that my laugh is uncannily just like the Woody Woodpecker sound.

12/07/2018 09:53

View the latest jobs at jobs.recruiter.co.uk To place your advertisement E: recruiterjobs@redactive.co.uk or T: 020 7880 6215

W W W. R E C RU I T E R .CO.U K

RECRUITMENT

Recruiter Jobs helping you to attract the best candidates for your vacancies.

Contact our sales team recruiterjobs@redactive.co.uk +44 (0)20 7880 6215

Recruiter Jobs is the online recruitment site for Recruiter magazine, the principal magazine for recruiting and resourcing professionals. You can search through a wide range of roles; from recruitment consultants to in-house recruitment, based in both the UK and International markets.

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E CAREERS CO M M UNITY

BCL LEGAL:

CROWN WORLD MOBILITY:

The legal staffing specialist welcomes Natalie Young and Jess Holt as talent acquisition manager and associate, respectively.

The ﬁrm, which helps corporations manage global talent, has appointed Nick Sutton and Liana Ciatto (bottom left column) as vicepresidents of account management and global business development respectively.

BERRY RECRUITMENT: The driving, technical, IT, industrial and rail staffing specialist has appointed Kathy Rusher as operations manager in its Oxford branch.

Recruitment technology ﬁrm Volcanic has appointed Victoria Bond as human resources director. In a statement, Volcanic revealed Bond, previously business partner at Manchester Airport Group, is a strong advocate of diversity in the workplace, which ties in with Volcanic’s stated aim of a 50/50 workforce. Commenting on her appointment, Bond said: “I’m a huge believer in ﬁnding the best talent and developing an inclusive culture within a business. “As a technology company, we’ve smashed the glass ceiling and are proud to count nearly one third (32%) female employees, in roles including the senior management team, heads of department, graphic designers and website developers.”

EAMES CONSULTING:

BROADSTONE: Noelle Batema joins the recruitment technology company as community engagement manager.

40 RECRUITER

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The banking and ﬁnance staffing specialist has promoted James Rydon from manager to associate director within its actuarial and insurance risk team. In London, Liam O’Mahoney has been promoted to manager of the compliance and risk teams, which focus exclusively on the banking sector.

GREEN PARK:

HAYS:

HEAD RESOURCING:

Karen Camilleri has joined the search ﬁrm to lead its interim operations, business change and transformation offering.

The recruiter has appointed Simon Winﬁeld managing director, UK & Ireland. He was Hays MD for the SouthWest, Wales and Ireland.

The Edinburgh-based recruiter has hired Gillian Williamson as its new marketing manager. She joins from Stewart Milne Homes.

Email people moves for use online and in print, including a short 12/07/2018 09:54

Redactive Publishing Ltd 78 Chamber Street, London E1 8BL 020 7880 6200

CONTACTS

SPENGLER FOX: The global talent consultancy welcomes Maciej Kotowicz as country manager for Poland.

EDITORIAL +44 (0)20 7880 7606 Editor DeeDee Doke deedee.doke@recruiter.co.uk

Reporters Colin Cottell, Graham Simons colin.cottell@recruiter.co.uk graham.simons@recruiter.co.uk

Contributing writers Sue Weekes, Roisin Woolnough Production editor Vanessa Townsend

HOWGATE SABLE: The headhunting ﬁrm has appointed Damien Bower as partner to lead its new life sciences and healthcare division.

LANGLEY JAMES: Sarah Benton joins the specialist IT recruiter as its new office manager.

PEOPLEREADY: Kristy Willis has joined the senior leadership team of the blue collar staffing ﬁrm as senior vice president and chief sales officer.

RIDGEWAY PARTNERS: The international executive search ﬁrm has appointed Katie Thomas as a partner to lead its retail practice.

vanessa.townsend@recruiter.co.uk

Designer Craig Bowyer Picture editor Akin Falope

WILLIS TOWER WATSON: The global multinational risk management, insurance brokerage and advisory company welcomes Amanda Scott as GB head of its talent and rewards business.

YOU R NE X T M OV E A selection of vacancies from recruiter.co.uk Ruella James Temps manager/associate director London, West End Finance & accountancy £50-70k basic Cooper Lopaz Recruitment Head of professional services Accountancy/finance/sales East Anglia £45k-£55k + bonus + benefits Ruella James Divisional manager London c.£50k basic + comms up to 50%

SELLICK PARTNERSHIP: The professional services recruitment ﬁrm has promoted Nikki Kinsey to director.

dario.cappelli@redactive.co.uk

+44 (0)20 7880 6215 Sales executive Rakshy Shekar PRODUCTION +44 (0)20 7880 6209 Senior production executive Rachel Young rachel.young@redactive.co.uk

PUBLISHING +44 (0)20 7880 8547 Publishing director Aaron Nicholls aaron.nicholls@redactive.co.uk

+44 (0)20 7880 6245 Sales executive Jonathan Adebayo

RECRUITER AWARDS/ INVESTING IN TALENT AWARDS +44 (0)20 7324 2771

jonathan.adebayo@redactive.co.uk

eventsteam@redactive.co.uk

paul.barron@redactive.co.uk

CIRCULATION and SUBSCRIPTIONS Recruiter is the leading magazine for recruitment and resourcing professionals. To ensure each issue of Recruiter magazine is delivered to your desk or door, subscribe now at https://subs. recruiter.co.uk/subscribe. Annual subscription rate for 12 issues: £35 UK; £45 Europe and £50 Rest of the world • Recruiter is also available to people who meet our terms of control: http://bit. ly/RecruiterCC • To purchase reprints or multiple copies, or any other enquiries, please contact mysidekick@recruiter.co.uk or +44 (0)20 8950 9117 CONTRIBUTIONS Contributions are invited, but when not accepted will be returned only if accompanied by a fully stamped and addressed envelope. Articles should be emailed. No responsibility can be taken for drawings, photographs or literary contributions during delivery, transmission or in the editor’s hands. © 2018 Redactive Media Group. All rights reserved. This publication (and any part thereof) may not be reproduced, transmitted or stored in print or electronic format (including but not limited to any online service, any database or any part of the internet) or in any other format in any media whatsoever, without the prior written permission of Redactive Media Group. Redactive Media Group accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein. The publishers cannot accept liability for any loss arising from the late appearance or non-publication of any advertisement for any reason whatsoever. ISSN 1475-7478

Total average net circulation between 1 July 2016 & 30 June 2017 – 14,995. is also sent to all REC members

For more jobs, people moves and career advice go to ● recruiter.co.uk/jobs ● inhouserecruiterjobs.co.uk ● internationalrecruiterjobs.com

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12/07/2018 09:54

E THE LAST WORD CO M M UNITY

Gregory Allen Culture eats strategy for breakfast

Recently I have been recruiting for senior roles for my organisation, and have met some interesting candidates. What I am noticing, now more than ever, is that candidates have been asking about our culture – not just to cement a psychological contract, but more to assess how they will be set up for success. There are many books written on the ‘ﬁrst 90-day plan’, supporting great onboarding experiences. There is also much in the way of statistics that has analysed and displayed fall-out rates, time-to-productivity rates – all of which are affected by a good, or bad, onboarding process. So why the need to worry about culture? What is causing this zeitgeist focus on culture in the interview process? From my reﬂections, the questions asked in interview are more about identifying if the company will suit the candidates’ working styles,

behaviours and values, as such a match will be conducive for that person to thrive rather than survive. It is encouraging that people now know that it’s not just their skill set or leadership qualities that affect success. I have known many leaders who have got the sense of culture wrong. They have pushed too hard, driven short-term delivery before they understood the culture, and pushed hard against it. In many cases, they ended up exiting the companies. The current focus on inclusion, diversity of thought and the enablement of bringing your whole self to work is an important driver of one’s own psyche. It allows people to choose companies whose culture will enhance, embrace and encourage their capabilities. Large organisations are now trying harder and harder to encourage into their organisations. Large

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IT companies are now losing the war on talent to ﬁntechs and start-ups. Large banks now have empty stands at graduate career fairs. Money has become less of a driver than sense of spirit, attachment and personal social responsibility – even when most graduates leave with larger debts than their Generation X colleagues have. As a candidate, seeing yourself in the organisation is the ﬁrst step. Knowing the culture can raise your emotional connection to the company, and its strategy then becomes the focus: developing loyalty, happiness and purpose. So often, the strategy is the easy part of the interview to purvey to our new hires. Now the new task is: how can we convey our culture simply, to encourage or allow candidates to selfselect out?

GREGORY ALLEN is global head of resourcing at Lloyd’s Register

AUGUST 2018

12/07/2018 09:54

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