Recruiter November 2018

INCORPORATING Recruitment Matters

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Business intelligence for recruitment and resourcing professionals

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INCORPORATING Recruitment Matters

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on the horizon Will you make it a Halloween to remember?

How to build up trust in recruitment A recent debate flags up the ‘toxic’ results caused by a commission-led culture Engineer exodus postBrexit warning The UK could find itself in a talent exodus in the automotive industry Start-up of the Month: GetaGraduateJob.com Smart Resourcing Solutions’ Sophie Milliken on the company’s new start-up This was the month that was...

Contracts & Deals

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Making mental health and wellbeing a priority Tech & Tools In blockchain we trust: Adopting the disruptive technology

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FEATURES

18 THE BIG STORY

Welcome to the UK? The UK’s post-Brexit immigration system could seriously damage some sectors’ ability to access talent. Find out what it could mean for the industry in which you recruit

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E COMMUNITY 29 Community: Upstart

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Acorn Recruitment: Women in Construction Social Network The Workplace: Guy Hayward Community Careers: Tara Lescott Business Advice: Alex Arnot My brilliant recruitment career: Alice Smith Movers & Shakers Recruiter contacts The Last Word: Karen Collier

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IN TERACT ION Viewpoint Gary Melton, director at Novo Soundbites

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UPDATE UPDA

WE LCO ME ME

LEADER In association with:

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our months and counting down until the UK’s place in the world changes in ways we couldn’t have imagined five years ago. Or will the UK change? Will Brexit be a window of opportunity – or a

closing door? Do read Colin Cottell’s in-depth analysis from p18 of a Brexit-driven quagmire with undoubtedly significant impact on recruitment – immigration.

The theme of trust in recruitment is on the boil this autumn. Having moderated a stimulating

“A consensus seemed to build that the recruitment industry needs to move away from a commissiononly model”

discussion around this subject for Feefo a few weeks back, I had the pleasure of hearing the debate go in different directions this

Investing in Talent shortlist shivers in anticipation of Halloween reveal

past week at an event held by crowdsourcing talent platform AnyGood?. Participants were divided about any benefits of regulation.

However, a wary consensus seemed to build that the recruitment industry needs to move away from a commission-only model and shift to implementing retainers to calm and eliminate the zoo-feeding-time fever that blinds judgment and blunts candidate care. Would this work? How his be done? could this

DeeDee e Doke, Editor

THE CEREMONY FOR RECRUITER’S Investing in Talent Awards on the evening of 31 October at The Brewery in London is nearly upon us.

The Awards highlight excellence in how recruitment businesses take care of their staff, temporary workers and contractors, and each year the standard is raised even higher by those who lead the way in showing all that’s great in our industry.

On pages 20-21 you can see a reminder of the companies and people who have been shortlisted in their particular category.

If you still haven’t got your ticket for the ceremony on 31 October, get in quick as the witching hour is fast approaching – let’s make it a Halloween to remember!

See pp20-21 for a full shortlist of Investing in Talent Awards entrants.

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UPDATE

AS OF 11 OCTOBER 2018

How to build trust in recruitment

BY DEEDEE DOKE

CLIENTS ARE THE ULTIMATE regulator for the recruitment industry, as the sector’s basic business model dictates that many of those employed work for commission only, a London audience heard in a panel debate on 9 October.

Panelists and audience members argued that as a result, the multi-agency scramble for commission, stemming from clients giving a single vacancy to a number of agencies, creates a dog-eat-dog environment in which recruiters devalue transparency and candidate care.

The ‘Trust in Recruitment’ debate was organised by crowdsourced talent platform AnyGood? and featured practitioners across the agency recruitment, executive search, in-house recruitment and supplier spectrum. Candidates were among the audience attendees.

Nick Barton, CEO of executive search firm the Barton Partnership, contended that the lack of barriers to entry and a lack of regulation in recruitment foster an industry culture in which quality falls short. Anyone with a laptop and phone could start a recruitment business, he said.

However, recruiter/blogger/coach and selfdescribed “annoying person” Mitch Sullivan countered that some of the best recruiters working today had set up that way. Panellist Sullivan also argued that government regulation of the recruitment industry had never worked and would not work now. Clients, he said, were the biggest regulator of the recruitment sector. “What does ‘trust in recruitment’ mean? It means trust to do a job,” he said.

Panellists at AnyGood?’s debate in London

The commission is where it all starts. It’s toxic, and it’s rotten in those environments. It’s about getting the fee at any cost 6 RECRUITER

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Candidates themselves need to do more d due diligence on recruitment firms they a are considering working with, several a attendees suggested. “As a candidate, be an in involved consumer,” urged panellist Jessica Hayes, head of talent at McCann. “I think the candidate has a responsibility to be educated as much as possible.”

One measure of trustworthiness might be to request figures for the employee churn at given agencies, an audience member said, citing 80% annual changeover in consultants at some major recruitment companies.

This churn then becomes part of a reputational problem instead of merely a symptom, said Sullivan, with new graduates starting at such companies then moving to boutiques “and the disease spreads”.

As long as the current model of commission-only pay for agencies and consultants persists, along with candidates not paying for services, many recruitment businesses will have no incentive to work harder at building trust, some in the audience expressed. The commission “is where it all starts”, said an audience member. “It’s toxic, and it’s rotten in those environments.

It’s about getting the fee at any cost.”

Juliet Eccleston, co-founder and CEO, AnyGood?, called for greater accountability and transparency within the recruitment industry to build trust. The subject of a recent survey conducted by AnyGood?, trust in recruitment will be the focus of continuing work, Eccleston said.

Find more daily news stories at recruiter.co.uk/news

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THOUGHTS FROM…

UPDATE

IAN PERKINS FO U NDER , RECONSTRU C T RECRUITMENT, O N T H E IM PORTANCE OF GIVING EX-OFFENDERS A S ECON D CHANCE IN THE WORKPLACE

“If we, as employers, can reach out to get people to give them an opening… what we’re doing is making our own communities a safer place.”

ROBERT WALTERS CE O, ROBERT WALTERS, BEING COY ON THE G ROUP ’ S POT ENTIAL EXPANSION INTO AN UNNAMED N EW TERRITORY

“We don’t announce that yet but that will be somewhere outside of where we are at the moment.”

JO SELLICK M ANAGING DIREC TOR , SELLICK PARTNERS H I P

“Incentives to get Jonny out of bed at 08.30 in the morning are poorly delivered, are often gimmicks, and have become worthless.”

Engineer exodus post-Brexit warning in automotive industry

BY COLIN COTTELL

LEAVING THE EU WITHOUT a deal would see an exodus of UK-based engineers to other countries, a specialist automotive recruiter has warned.

James Plant, principal account executive at IM AGE | PA VHR, told Recruiter that with recent warnings by Nissan and Toyota of the damage that a no-deal Brexit would cause to the UK automotive sector, “we would expect to see far more applications from UK-based and UK-trained engineers to where the work is going to go, to places they may never have considered before”.

Brexit uncertainty has already been blamed for a slowdown in the sector.

Other workers affected would need to upskill or retrain. According to Plant, while many of those working in the automobile sector have skills that would transfer to other areas of manufacturing and engineering, their ability to do so would depend on how specific their skill set was.

“The more specialised a person’s role, the more vital they are to that production line so when that production line disappears they are left out in the cold. Specialisation is good, but you don’t want to be so far along that line in terms of specialisation that you aren’t able to do something else if you do need to,” he said.

However, Plant said: “We are seeing companies taking on people who have 50% of what they are looking for but who have a really good attitude, and a willingness to work and to learn.”

STA RT-UP OF THE MONTH GETAGRADUATEJOB.COM Sophie Milliken, managing director of Smart Resourcing Solutions, has launched GetaGraduateJob.com.

The site complements Smart Resourcing Solutions’ work with employers, students and universities. The firm offers recruitment outsourcing, and designs exercises to test clients’ requirements for graduate vacancies; refreshing or designing scheme content; and training managers on recruitment techniques.

As for GetaGraduateJob.

com, Milliken told Recruiter the site contains free resources for graduates to help them land a job.

This includes CV templates, cover letters and an employer insight page, where employers can blog about their industry and graduate schemes. The site also contains a general blog page offering tips on an array of subjects including filling out application forms and taking part in video interviews.

Looking ahead, Milliken said the site would imminently be launching an eight-module online course for students taking them through the

entire application process.

“It’s identifying what they want to do in module one…. what it is that they want to apply to all the way through to application form, online tests, CV, cover letter, LinkedIn, through to assessment centre and interview. Then how they would negotiate or manage their offer and then ideas around how to perform well when they start their job.

“That’s a very detailed course – so it’s eight modules long and we’ve had it accredited by [awarding body] AQA at level 3, which students can put on their CVs.” 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 October issue of Recruiter was published S E P T E M B E R •‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒→

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RECRUITMENT COMES NEAR THE BOTTOM IN FITNESS SURVEY Recruiters have been urged to get active to prevent putting on the “recruitment stone”, as new research shows the sector lags behind other, fitter sectors.

Research by UK private medical insurance provider AXA PPP, reveals recruitment ranked 13th out of 18 sectors surveyed by duration of daily exercise.

The top sectors – agriculture and IT – put in 2 hours and 44 mins and 1 hour and 58 mins of daily exercise respectively. This was way above the UK average of 1 hour 23 mins exercise per day. Recruitment was below the average, with workers managing 1 hour and 13 mins a day.

Commenting on the findings, James White, current reality TV Apprentice champion and founder of Right Time Recruitment, told Recruiter at his previous employer there was an old adage about the “recruitment stone”, due to the fact new recruits tended to put on a stone after starting in the sector.

And Antal group CEO and chairman Tony Goodwin agreed, telling Recruiter he was not surprised by the findings: “I think we’ve [the sector] got a lot to do in this area. I cycle into work at least twice a week. If I have meetings within 2 miles of Baker Street [in London] I walk.”

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CONTRACTOR WINS CASE AGAINST HMRC FOR UNPAID HOLIDAY A contractor has won a case brought against HM Revenue & Customs in a claim for more than £4k in unpaid holiday pay.

Marketing and business development consultant Susan Winchester had her employment status changed by HMRC from ‘self-employed’ to ‘worker’, but then did not receive the holiday pay she was entitled to. Winchester subsequently claimed £4.2k in unpaid holiday pay under the Agency Workers Regulations.

Her company – SJW Marketing Solutions Ltd – had provided HMRC with marketing services in September 2016.

HMRC ran Winchester’s engagement through its Check Employment Status for Tax (CEST) tool, determining IR35 applied in her case. Winchester claimed that, as she was then effectively an agency worker under AWR, she was entitled to a transparent amount of holiday pay and to the same holiday entitlement as other HMRC employees. Representatives of HMRC and Winchester agreed to settle the case for the full amount claimed on the morning a tribunal was due to take place.

An HMRC spokesman said it “does not discuss identifiable individuals”.

More: https://bit.ly/2OA0yOs

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WORKER GIVEN SUSPENDED SENTENCE AFTER THREATENING AGENCY STAFF

More: https://bit.ly/2PbwjdK An agency worker, who had money deducted from his pay packet due to being overpaid in error, threatened to cut the limbs off staff at Newport recruitment agency, a court heard.

Swansea Magistrates Court heard Jamie Davies, of Commercial Street in Ystalyfera, was also alleged to have threatened to burn down the homes of these agency employees with their families inside. The court heard Davies had been employed to carry out work for Tata Steel through Acorn, but had been overpaid in error.

Acorn staff told him the overpayment would be deducted from his next pay packet.

The prosecution alleged agency staff had believed they had come to an agreement with Davies, but after receiving his next pay slip, he had called their office last December and become abusive. While a member of staff had 8 RECRUITER

initially laughed off Davies’s threats to come to the office to “smash his face in” the threats then escalated, including Davies allegedly telling him he would kill him.

The defence claimed Davies had admitted making threats including ‘smashing his [the victim’s] face in’, but denied making any threats about killing people, weapons or family and his comments were more about fighting the victim.

Davies claimed the incident had arisen due to financial issues, claiming a promise had been made by the victim for a small amount to be deducted.

More: https://bit.ly/2zQlF6Q

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MON, 8 OCTOBER 2018

RECRUITMENT’S GEORGIA BURGESS FALLS AT FINAL X FACTOR HURDLE Recruitment’s representative on the The X Factor has fallen at the final hurdle ahead of the live finals of the singing competition.

Judge Simon Cowell decided not to select Georgia Burgess, recruitment consultant at Masstemps in Dudley, to go on to the live finals. The hashtag #JusticeForGeorgiaBurgess began circulating on Twitter in the wake of her exit from the competition.

More: https://bit.ly/2OCuy9k

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EX-OFFENDER ON APPRENTICE HIGHLIGHTS NEED TO UNLOCK WORK CHANCES Recruiters have been urged to give ex-offenders a second chance in the workplace following a past conviction coming to light of one of the contestants on this year’s BBC reality show The Apprentice.

The Metro reports Apprentice candidate Daniel Elahi admitted intent to sell cannabis to students after police found a substantial stash of marijuana in his car in 2010. A BBC spokesperson sent over a statement confirming DBS checks are carried out for all Apprentice candidates by the production company ahead of filming.

“The charge brought against Daniel Elahi is a spent conviction, which therefore was not disclosed under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. Spent convictions are designed to help people move on in life and not be excluded from opportunities to help further their careers,” said the statement.

Commenting on the development, Ian Perkins, founder of ReConstruct Recruitment, an agency dedicated to finding work for ex-prisoners, told Recruiter society tends to hold offences over the head of ex-offenders for a “long, long time”. “By doing that we are creating an environment for that person not to be able to work and not to be able to provide for their family, for themselves…”

More: https://bit.ly/2OOxv9O

TUE, 2 OCTOBER 2018

I M AG E S | I STO C K / S HU T TE RSTO C K / R E X

APPRENTICESHIP LEVY REFORMS DON’T GO FAR ENOUGH, SAYS RANDSTAD’S BULL The CEO of recruitment giant Randstad in the UK & Ireland has called the Apprenticeship Levy “flawed, unfair, ineffective and an unjustifiable tax”.

Randstad’s Mark Bull renewed his attack on the Apprenticeship Levy, despite a series of reforms announced by the government. In November 2016, Randstad CEO for UK & Ireland Mark Bull spoke to Recruiter about the levy ahead of its introduction in April 2017. He condemned the levy as a “payroll tax” that would add more than 8% to the UK organisation’s annual payouts upon implementation. And commenting on the reforms, Bull’s views appear unchanged: “Let’s look at one of the several fundamental flaws of this levy – chiefly, that it is charged on a temp agency payroll. In itself, not a great wrong – if the rules around the apprenticeship were such that they enabled agency temps to access any Levy-funded training – but they do not.

“The very thing it is apparently engineered to give access to, it prevents, so it remains a payroll tax on agency temps... The amendments announced on 1 October have not More: https://bit.ly/2Qqvtdl addressed this.”

Find more daily news stories at recruiter.co.uk/news

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MON, 8 OCTOBER 2018

CAREER IN RECRUITMENT GIVES ARRESTED MAN SECOND CHANCE A man caught by police in possession of cannabis with intent to supply has rebuilt his life by becoming a recruiter.

Leicester Crown Court heard that Harry Darby admitted possessing the class B drug with intent to supply it in June 2016. He was sentenced to a 12-month community order with a 120 hour unpaid work requirement.

But Recruiter can reveal Darby has since gone on to find work as a recruitment consultant in the London branch of real estate and built environment staffing specialist Macdonald & Company. In a statement sent to Recruiter, the agency revealed Darby told the firm’s HR director about his upcoming court appearance during his onboarding.

Peter Moore, UK managing director at Macdonald & Company, told Recruiter the job has been critical in establishing Darby as an “independent and responsible individual giving him the ability to stand on his own two feet and put the past behind him”.

“We interviewed Harry and were impressed by his attitude, commitment and determination to build a successful career in recruitment. We continue to support Harry in his career, and today he is much more determined and committed to be successful, looking after his clients and candidates better as a result.”

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CONTRACTS SPONSORED BY RECRUITMENT MERGERS

CONTRACTS & DEALS

Cooper Edwards North Tyneside-based search and selection firm Cooper Edwards is expanding its services overseas through a partnership with RGF Executive Search in Osaka, Japan.

Specialising in senior management and board level recruitment, Cooper Edwards works with clients operating across manufacturing sectors such as automotive, aerospace and subsea, capital equipment and FMCG, both in the UK and abroad.

GatenbySanderson Not-for-profit sector recruitment and people development business GatenbySanderson has secured a contract to support nuclear decommissioning site licence company Magnox in building its new board and senior leadership team. The project covers search, assessment and selection for up to 39 individuals who will make up the senior team of the new subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), following its confirmation by the Secretary of State in June 2018.

Morson International Technical recruiter Morson International has been reappointed by Manchester Airports Group (MAG) to recruit all interim staff across its three UK airports: Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands. The three-year contract, with an option to extend for a further two, builds on Morson’s ongoing relationship with the airport group, which saw it fill more than 750 interim vacancies during the last four years, spanning engineering (construction), HR, procurement, digital, finance, IT and more.

Gi Group International HR services provider Gi Group has acquired Grafton Recruitment Europe. Grafton Recruitment has 26 offices across the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary, and employs more than 350 staff. In 2017 it placed 9,000 candidates into jobs. In July, the Ireland arm of Grafton Recruitment was bought by Staffline Group.

Hanover Search Group Executive search organisation Hanover Search Group has taken a 50% share in leadership and talent consultancy Talent ID. Talent ID helps leaders, teams and organisations increase performance through its assessment and development programmes alongside its talent management expertise. Advising Hanover Search Group in the share purchase was Carl Swansbury and Alex Simpson from RG Corporate Finance, with legal advice from Claire Willcock and Adam Rayner from Muckle LLP. Talent ID was advised by David Hughes of Canopy Law.

DEAL OF T HE MONT H

Staffline Recruitment and training group Staffline has acquired Passionate About People (PAP).

PAP is made up of two companies: Omega Resource Group, a provider of blue-collar, flexible, staffing solutions to the aerospace, automotive, construction, energy, logistics and manufacturing sectors; and Datum RPO, a provider of recruitment process outsourcing

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solutions to blue-chip clients.

Staffline said the acquisition is consistent with its strategy of accelerating the growth of its recruitment division through acquisitions that bring strategic benefits to the group. The deal will broaden its UK footprint, particularly in South-West England, with branches in Swindon and Gloucester, Staffline added.

For more information

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

More contract news at recruiter.co.uk/news

11/10/2018 11:05

RETAINED BUYER OF THE MONTH

REFERENCE CW0409 LOCATION National, UK

TEMPORARY AGENCY SOUGHT FOR ACQUISITION Overview Recruitment Mergers has been instructed by a specialist employment

Desired business features • Temporary focused • Turnover between £2 million and £30 million • 2nd-tier management team • UK based • Owners willing to commit to a handover period

company, with investment backing, looking to acquire recruitment agencies to add to their growing portfolio.

Should you be looking at an exit strategy this could be With multiple acquisitions under their belt they are looking for further targets to continue their planned growth strategy.

a perfect opportunity to join a growing company well versed in acquiring businesses. Recruitment Mergers is representing the buyer so should a transaction take

Any acquisitions made will be solely funded with cash reserves.

place no fees will be due by the seller.

GET IN TOUCH...

Charlie Watson Principal M&A Consultant +44 (0)7787 560 553 charlie.watson@recruitmentmergers.com

ARE YOU AIMING TO ACQUIRE OR PLANNING AN EXIT STRATEGY?

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

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INSIGHT

MAKING MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING A PRIORITY Organisations operating in WeWork, the open professional format that has allowed businesses to coexist alongside each other, have introduced some innovative methods to tackle mental health issues in the workplace

BY LENI ZNEIMER

S

ince its inception in 2010, organisations operating in WeWork collaborative work environments have began to tackle traditional approaches to mental health and start prioritising wellbeing activities. For World Mental Health Day on 10 October, WeWork and its members lifted the lid on big moves being made to change the way businesses handle mental health challenges in the workplace.

In WeWork locations around the UK, Gympass offers its employees regular wellness breakfasts, team fitness activities and summer sports days. However, what takes this beyond general workplace wellness is the introduction of mental health training courses for all employees. Recent studies by mental health charity Mind show that HR is the last place a person will turn to for mental health 12 RECRUITER

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support in the workplace, while the first people they speak to are their peers, so this investment into training not only promotes a working culture of inclusiveness and support, but also encourages employee productivity and happiness at work.

Another solution to increase important support between peers – and break down any barriers to vital communication – comes from an innovative idea, which has seen the introduction of Mental Health Wardens.

This is a peer network of employees who are trained in mental health interventions, with a system put in place so this team are known to anyone who might need their help. Based on the fire wardens programme, which offices have in place, the idea allows employees to discreetly reach out to that individual, knowing they’ll receive trained, confidential, peer support, and provide early intervention and support that can make all the difference.

An alternative method to promote discussion and break down barriers comes from the decision for senior partners at a global law firm to hold seminars where they share their experiences with mental health issues.

Discussing the support they did or did not receive and the impact this made, whether positive or negative. To finish, partners will make it clear that they are available to talk to anyone who needs support. This open discussion about senior members’ personal mental health battles and the opening of once-closed doors, allows employees to believe they have the freedom to open up about their own issues too.

Of course, all these initiatives work best if they’re supported from the top by policies that provide flexibility for employees. According to web meeting provider Powwownow, the percentage of employees that favour flexible working is on the rise – up to 75% in 2018 from 70% in 2017. As a result, businesses are ILLUST RAT ION | ISTOCK

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POWER POINTS

2 3 increasingly answering to this demand to attract and retain the best talent.

For Gympass, this is a core business philosophy, and the company encourages employees to maximise their ‘flexi-time’ options to attend events, do sports or even something as simple as taking time away from their desks during lunch.

At HATCH, the Canadian human behavioural analytics firm, bosses believe flexible working is the single most impactful thing that a business can do to support their employee’s mental health. At its UK head office

All these initiatives work best if they’re supported from the top

in London, HATCH offers complete flexibility to all employees with a ‘work anytime anywhere’ policy. Using WeWork for office space, HATCH gives their employees freedom to maintain healthy personal and professional balance, to stay connected to their peers when remotely working and be comfortable when in the work environment, too. HATCH also doesn’t police its employees’ holiday time. As HATCH says: “If a Hatchling feels they need time off, we encourage them to do so, because we know research says they’ll come back ready to contribute.”

World Mental Health Day is a fantastic means to raise awareness for the change, but we still need to see these initiatives go above and beyond a 24-hour timeframe. Whether this is about taking up space in a collaborative and creative environment or making in-house changes to HR and working policies, every step is a positive one and should be adopted as a long-term business attitude.

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Mental Health Wardens, following the fire warden programme, are trained personnel who create a peer network of employees to offer support when members need someone to turn to.

Senior partners at a global law firm promote mental health awareness through seminars to openly discuss their own mental health and how the support they did or didn’t receive affected them.

Seminars then finish with partners offering support and opening their doors to employees to do the same.

Many members promote flexible working times, with human behavioural analytics firm HATCH taking it a step further by promoting a ‘work anytime anywhere’ policy and not policing employees’ holidays. HATCH states: “If a Hatchling feels they need time off, we encourage them to do so, because we know research says they’ll come back ready to contribute.”

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Gympass strives to encourage mental wellbeing through wellness breakfasts’, team fitness activities and summer sports days. It also invests heavily into wellbeing training courses for all employees.

LENI ZNEIMER is the general manager of UK & Ireland at WeWork.

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T R E N DS

TECH & TOOLS

In blockchain we trust Adopting the disruptive technology SUE WEEKES

Sharing and verifying documents is a vital part of the recruitment process, and blockchain presents potentially exciting opportunities to streamline processes in this area. As well as efficiency gains, the distributed ledger technology brings transparency and traceability to the process. Data stored on the blockchain cannot be changed and is described as “immutable”.

Adopting blockchain-based platforms, though, relies on recruiters and candidates trusting the technology, and trust will only come after individuals have grasped an understanding of what the technology means to them (see August’s Tech & Tools).

BLOCKCHAIN IN CONTEXT Blockchain doesn’t yet have a public interface but some even argue whether it needs one as it is a layer of security on which services and functionality are overlaid and accessed. Consider it as an underpinning technology like Adobe’s portable document format (pdf ). Most of us neither know nor care how the software behind it creates documents that can be universally viewed but it is one of the most empowering and trusted technologies on the internet. So if blockchain-based recruitment platforms deliver their espoused benefits, no one will

worry what is going on under the bonnet.

DIGITAL PASSPORTS It is most likely that the public face of blockchain in recruitment will be a digital passport, containing all of the important documentation relating to hiring.

One of the newest platforms, Zinc, allows candidates to have their own digital work passport that provides recruiters with access to a verified work history, credentials and references before the interview stage.

Luke Shipley, CEO of Zinc, says the approach hasn’t been tested at scale yet but Zinc is

seeing trust in the technology build to the point that some hiring processes do not have to be repeated.

NEED FOR EDUCATION Shipley says education is the “biggest piece” of the puzzle right now.

To spread adoption, its approach has been to offer the technology to those who already work with blockchain. “Our user-base is currently heavily populated by companies building on Ethereum (below), which is the blockchain we’ve built on,” he says.

“We hope that will spread to more tech companies next and then into generalist markets.”

W H AT I S E T H E R E U M ?

One of the popular and established blockchain platforms on which developers can build their decentralised applications. Other platforms include Hyperledger, Ripple and Quorum and companies such as IBM, SAP and Mastercard also have their own platforms.

I M AG E | I STO C K

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BLOCKCHAIN AND GDPR Whether blockchain and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are compatible is already a talking point. If data is stored on distributed databases, how can it comply with regulation that relies on centrally stored data? Shipley says there is an important distinction between blockchain and decentralised networks.

“Not all blockchains are decentralised and not all decentralised networks need a blockchain; they aren’t mutually exclusive,” he says. “To comply with the right to be forgotten, you need to make sure that when needed, you’re able to ensure every copy of data is deleted in the network.

This is impossible if

that physical data is on a blockchain or in a decentralised network without some kind of agreement between nodes and watering down the decentralisation.

Blockchains and decentralised networks are compatible if used in the right way.” (We will explore this topic in more detail in a future issue.)

IS BLOCKCHAIN THE FUTURE? It is still too early to assess the impact blockchain could have on the recruitment industry. The technology can be clunky and there are interoperability issues.

Shipley says: “We have confidence that as the technology becomes more widespread, adoption by recruiters and workers will gradually become the norm.”

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C

INTE R AC TIO N

VIEWPOINT

Customer service A priority for recruiters or just a buzzword?

BY G A RY M E LT ON

ustomer service’ is a term often mooted by recruitment agencies, but is it something that is actually taken seriously, or simply part of an agenda to try and improve public perception?

Call me a cynic, but do agencies just say they are looking to improve the customer experience as a sort of tick box exercise, as opposed to making a genuine commitment to improving it?

This issue is not unique to the recruitment sector but it is certainly a sector in which this question is most prominent. In my experience, it seems that customer service – and more specifically its promotion – appears to be more of a fad that we feel we should be talking about rather than a genuine priority.

However, service and experience are totally subjective from a candidate perspective, which make them extremely difficult to assess. Two candidates may sign up to the same recruitment agency as part of their job search and be treated in exactly the same way throughout the process. Yet one candidate may feel the service they received was excellent, whereas the other may deem it substandard.

One thing is for sure: companies love to talk about it. In fact, 75% of companies surveyed in The Spigit 2016 State of Crowdsourced Innovation report revealed their number one priority was to improve customer experience.

If customer service truly is a ‘number one priority’, a company should determine who is responsible for driving the overall customer experience initiative. Somebody will need to be accountable for ensuring the entire business is pulling together and working in harmony so that they consistently

C

+ GARY MELTON is a director at Novo

16 RECRUITER

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NOVEMBER 2018

“It seems that customer service is more of a fad than a genuine priority”

deliver a service that is agreed to be ‘excellent’.

But herein lies the problem: most companies tend to presume that it is everyone’s responsibility rather than that of one individual.

Who in your recruitment business is ultimately responsible for the business delivering a great customer experience? The reality is, you probably don’t know, and chances are that there isn’t anybody. So, whilst many recruitment agencies will say they are committed to delivering great customer service, far fewer can clearly identify who is responsible for driving that objective forward.

If that sounds confusing, then consider this in relation to your company: • Are you aware of any business-wide message that is clear or transparent, relating to expectations in the delivery of customer service?

• Do you know how levels of service are monitored and who is responsible for monitoring this? More importantly, do you know who looks at the current customer service delivered and suggests (and implements) ways to improve it?

In an environment where every employee has the responsibility to deliver the customer service strategy, there will always be a lack of accountability. That also means there won’t be anyone to steer service levels in the right direction should people veer off track.

It’s time for agencies to stop simply saying they’re striving to improve customer service and do something about it. This can only be done by putting someone in charge of implementing the process, which includes understanding the needs of clients and candidates, determining the standard of service required, monitoring overall business performance and continually striving for improvement. Customer service is extremely important, and it should no longer be treated as just a buzzword.

IMAG E | ISTOCK

11/10/2018 11:06

I N T E R AC T I O N

SOUNDBITES

L ET T ER S/ WEB CHAT

RECRUITMENT’S SURVIVAL GUIDE I read ‘How your recruitment business can survive tough times’ (1 October) with interest. How can it survive? From personal experience I would say by being smarter in recruiting your applicants, and using some form of sifting technology to speed up the process.

DIGITAL GURU

TRUSTING THE IMPELLAM MESSAGE So that’s six finance directors occupying the seat since 2013 and share price drops circa 40% from peak in last few years (‘FINANCIALS: Impellam update predicts drop in earnings’, 27 September).

Hard to ‘trust’ the message that the strategy is working.

Are recruiters on The Apprentice a source of pride or embarrassment for the sector?

VIC TORIA DAVID FOUN D ER , BOF F I N RECRUIT MEN T

“It’s worth noting The Apprentice doesn’t attract the best individuals from any industry. For every Ricky Martin or James White, there are numerous ‘caricature’ recruiters who get kicked out in the first weeks and make the nation roll their eyes whilst they mutter about ‘standard recruiter…’. When the show has exceptional candidates, who progress well and illustrate the skills and characteristics of successful recruiters, the industry benefits. However, let’s not forget this is the show that gave the world Katie Hopkins!!”

LISA GRAHAM

PHIL TYKE

D IREC TOR , E1EW

KEEPING UP WITH GROWTH IN RPO Reading your article ‘Report claims RPO is fastest growing outsourcing market’ (29 August), it’s definitely a growth area of the market. What surprises me still is the lack of knowledge in this area. If I was in HR, Talent or Procurement, I’d be actively finding out what it could – and couldn’t – do for my business.

I’d then be keeping abreast of any advancement or changes by attending regular updates. And usually, they are free!

“I don’t think The Apprentice is a true representation of business people, let alone recruiters. This is a TV programme that seems to be turning into the office version of Big Brother. The emphasis is on characters and entertainment for TV audiences and not as a vehicle for finding talent. Recruiters and sales people by their very nature are often eccentrics and entertainers, hence why they are well represented on the show. I don’t think it gives our industry a bad name as they are after having fun... and that is what’s required to live the roller coaster life of recruitment.”

DAVID TULLY

The recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) market is definitely the upcoming and most quick growth market...

SUCHITRA MISHRA

CHARLIE RYAN MA N AG IN G D I REC TOR , T H E RECRUI T MEN T QU E E N A N D C M R RECRUI T MEN T

“I think the recruiters who go on the The Apprentice are a mix of pride and embarrassment. Their motivation appears to be more about fame than delivering their recruitment ambitions. There have been a couple of individuals who have delivered consistently well throughout the process – I wouldn’t go as far as being proud of how they have represented the industry, but I haven’t been as horrified as others have made me feel.

Any industry who has a representative on The Apprentice, because of the fight for your position to stay there, would be hard pushed to feel proud especially during those early weeks. The programme doesn’t demonstrate good recruitment in today’s world and hasn’t moved in line with what young people need to hear, see and understand about the world of future employment.”

IM AGE | ISTOCK

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18 RECRUITER

NOVEMBER 2018

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11/10/2018 11:50

T H E BI G STO RY: I M M I G R AT I O N

As Prime Minister Theresa May spells out her radical vision of the UK’s post-Brexit immigration system, Colin Cottell looks at what it might mean for recruiters, employers and workers, and how some sectors could be more affected than others any of those recruiters and employers who have been calling for more certainty about life after Brexit may be having second thoughts after Prime Minister Theresa May outlined her vision for the UK’s immigration system after the country leaves the EU. In a series of media appearances and in her speech at the Conservative Party Conference she spelled out her determination to drive through radical change.

In what amounts to a massive overhaul, she announced an end to free movement of EU workers into the UK, a commitment that the same rules would apply to everyone wanting to come to the UK to work irrespective of their country of origin, and outlined her intention to end low-skilled migration. If the UK’s departure on 29 March 2019 from the EU goes to plan as the PM expects, these changes will be introduced in just over two years’ time in January 2021.

With 2,437,000 citizens from the EU working in the UK in 2017, according to the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, and many sectors relying on a steady stream of workers from across the Channel, ending freedom of movement would be “one of the most significant changes to affect the labour market in many years”, says Dr Sybille Steiner, partner at law firm Irwin Mitchell. Some recruiters were less circumspect in their language. “Ending freedom of movement will absolutely crucify some UK job markets; it is criminal,” says Jo Sellick, MD of Sellick Partnership.

Although May outlined her vision for what a post-Brexit immigration system might look like in broad terms, for the all-important nitty gritty it is instructive to look at a recent report by the Migration Advisory Committee, ‘EEA migration in the UK: Final report’, published in September. As Denise Osterwald, an immigration lawyer at KPMG, explains although the government may not endorse each and every detail, “it appears that the MAC recommendations have been accepted”.

M

MAC recommendations One of the key recommendations of the MAC report is that a new skills-based immigration system should be based on the current Tier 2 general visa. This has two elements: the applicant is sponsored by an employer, and there is a minimum salary threshold. “The offer of a job meeting the required salary thresholds is much more informative about the skills of a worker than can be obtained by educational qualifications and a CV,” the report argues. The report recommends that the salary threshold be kept at its current level of £30k.

Many recruiters and immigration experts agree that the principle of a migration system based on skills rather than country of origin is a good one. “The principle of moving to a skills-based system is good because there is clearly a demand for these people from employers. We are absolutely in favour,” says Ford Garrard, MD EMEA at global workforce solutions company Airswift.

However, many are unhappy about the effects on the lower end of the market, and particularly on lowerskilled, low pay sectors, which currently rely heavily on EU migrant workers. These include sectors such as food production, hotels and restaurants, hospitality & leisure, transport and logistics, social care, construction and agriculture.

While the MAC’s recommendation that lowering the minimum skills threshold from RQF6 (bachelor degree level) to RQF3 (A level), bringing an estimated 142 occupations into Tier 2, would allow employers to tap into a bigger pool of talent from outside the EU, it’s recommendation that the Tier 2 visa will only be open to jobs starting at RQF3+ has caused consternation.

And not without good reason, according to Miglena Ilieva, an immigration lawyer at law firm Laura Devine.

“What we are hearing is that unskilled migration will be completely curbed. Employers are going to go from having complete access to a massive workforce to nothing at all,” she says.

The MAC itself accepts that the prospect of no

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11/10/2018 11:50

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09/10/2018 17:06

T H E BI G STO RY: I M M I G R AT I O N

work-based route for lowskilled migrant workers into the UK, not just from the EU but from anywhere in the world, is controversial. “Undoubtedly some sectors will complain vociferously about being faced with an alleged cliff-edge in their supply of labour,” says the MAC in its report. However, it goes on to argue that family members of those migrants already in the UK[?] will provide an ample supply of lower skilled workers.

One of those sectors likely to be hardest hit is food manufacturing and packaging. As the manager at a food packaging company in Hull, who asked that her own name and the company name remain anonymous, explains, with around 60% of the firm’s production line workers coming from the EU, mainly Poland and Lithuania, the consequences could be disastrous. “It will make it harder to find people to do the work that is available, and if we can’t get the staff we will struggle. Everyone in the sector will struggle, not just us.”

While an exemption for the sector would allow companies to continue to bring in lower-skilled migrant workers in from outside the UK would be helpful, “I am not holding my breath on that”, she says.

“Let’s hope we have plenty of people from the UK who want to work. Some do. Some don’t, but more don’t, which is why we have to have people from the EU come in. It speaks for itself really.”

Although it is impossible to predict the precise effects of an immigration regime based on the MAC’s proposals on sectors that rely heavily on low-skilled workers from the EU, analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research indicates that 75% of current EU fulltime workers would not be eligible to work in the UK. Those hit hardest include hotels and restaurants (97% would be ineligible), transport and storage (95%), and wholesale and retail (92%). The least affected industries include financial services (25%), and information and communications (30%).

“I don’t think the government is listening to industry,” says Gethin Roberts, MD of Driver Hire, whose sector, despite being free to bring in workers from the EU, currently has around 57,000 unfilled roles for drivers. “There

p18_25_recruiter_bigstory.indd 23

are so many sectors where they are saying these are the categories of staff we are already finding it hard to find now, and therefore if you cut off the supply from the EU surely staff shortages are going to become even greater. It shouldn’t be done on education, salary or skills levels – it should be decided on skill shortages.”

According to Roberts, the problem is already becoming more acute, with drivers returning home both because of Brexit uncertainty and a fall in the value of the pound reducing the real value of their salaries. Specialist blue collar recruiter Encore Personnel backs this up, reporting that while EU nationals make up 78% of its Slough workforce, this is down from 84% a year ago. Recruiters say the problem is further accentuated by almost full employment in the UK.

Special exemptions?

For those holding out hope that there will be some special exemption for sectors, such as construction, where more than 122,000 or 5.7% of the workforce are citizens of the 10 EU Accession States, the public announcements made by the PM offer scant grounds for hope. Apart from a small pilot scheme for seasonal agricultural workers, she appears to rule out sector specific exemptions, telling

BBC’s Radio 4 Today Programme: “I’m not saying there are suddenly going to be lots of sectors of the economy which are going to have exemptions, which means you no longer have an immigration policy.”

Sellick is in no doubt that the regime recommended by the MAC and endorsed publicly by the PM May is a disaster. He reiterates that by ending free movement of labour, “jobs markets such as food and leisure, hospitality, social care, getting your office cleaned” will be badly hit.

“We need a positive immigration policy to attract 300,000 to 400,000 people to the UK, to do the jobs that unfortunately UK-born nationals have no interest in undertaking.”

Although the MAC leaves open the possibility of extending the Tier 5 mobility scheme, which currently allows people aged 18-31 to come to the UK to study and work for up to two years, according to Ilieva, this wouldn’t be enough to solve the problem. While she would welcome an extension of the scheme, which currently allocates 1,000 places to just eight countries into sectors such as hospitality, she says the age restriction means that other sectors such healthcare, which needs more experienced workers who tend to be older, wouldn’t benefit to the same extent.

Although extending Tier 2 would undoubtedly benefit some employers

11/10/2018 15:48

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2XU FRUH SULQFLSOHV †| o†u 1Ѵb;m|vĽ m;;7v Cuv| Keep our promises Check and double-check.

Then check again.

Always ask why Take pride in what we do

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09/10/2018 17:08

T H E BI G STORY S A M A N T H A R A M S AY

POWER POINTS What the UK’s post-Brexit immigration system could look like

by giving them access to a new pool of mid-skilled global talent from outside the EU, recruiters say that moving from free movement to a system based on employer-sponsored visas brings its own problems. “The challenge I see for a lot of our clients, who are SMEs with turnover of under £50m, is the cost, the bureaucracy, the resource and the time it will take.

Either they will swallow the additional cost and paperwork, or they will shut off a potential source of candidates,” says Chris Beevers, managing consultant at engineering, manufacturing and technology recruiter Jackson Hogg.

Ilieva agrees that the new immigration regime envisaged by the MAC and broadly endorsed by the PM is likely to heap additional costs on employers. Not only will some employers have to increase salary levels to bring them up to £30k minimum threshold to be eligible for a Tier 2 visa, but application fees and an immigration health surcharge for both applicant and their dependents will add thousands to the cost of employing someone.

While this will undoubtedly put some employers off going down the Tier 2 route, if and when the UK leaves the EU, short of suddenly unearthing or developing a brand new pool of UKborn talent, many employers and recruiters will be left with little option if they want to fill their roles.

1 2 3 4 5 6

End to freedom of movement from the EU The same rules apply to people wanting to come to UK for work from across the world No work route for low-skilled migrant workers Some concessions may be made for countries with whom the UK does trade deals No cap on Tier 2 visa numbers currently 20,700 per annum Removal of the current Resident Labour Market Test, or imposing one that exempts more roles

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COULD IT BE TIME TO CONSIDER A NEW MODEL F EMPLOYMENT?

A

model that not only increases employee rewards but engagement, attraction, retention and welfare too!

As the gap between inflation and wages widens ever further, and the country is swamped by Brexit uncertainty, the impact on the labour market is acute. Add into the mix pensions legislation and the ever increasing HMRC spotlight on umbrella and off shore models for temporary worker pay, then it’s clear that now is the time for change and innovation.

Innovation in employment, is that possible?

Well we only have to take a leaf out of the US labour market book to see that yes, absolutely, this is possible - and potentially revolutionary.

In the US, a model of ‘co-employment’ has been operated by the Professional Employment Organisation (PEO) market for over 3 decades, now reaching values in excess of $156bn in gross revenues with 3.4 million workers being employed through this model. The PEO was born out of the challenges faced by smaller businesses competing with global brands to attract from the same labour pool. The PEO market is now servicing thousands of businesses, allowing them to compete for the best talent by being able to offer market leading benefits and welfare support to employees and streamlining their payroll – all serviced by the

*Source: NAPEO

REC.11.18.026.indd 26

network benefit power of their PEO partner business. The results speak for themselves, with businesses using the PEO model experiencing 10% faster growth, 15% reductions* in staff turnover and the significant savings on their employment administration costs increasing their bottom line.

Hive360 has adapted this highly successful model for the UK market, with a total solution that supports payroll, pension auto enrolment, HR legal support, and market leading employee benefits and welfare support.

David McCormack, Managing Director of Hive360, has over 20 years’ experience as a Director within the recruitment sector and over 15 years running payroll businesses, and quickly saw the scope in the market for a new model.

“Acquiring and retaining workers is one of the largest investments recruitment businesses have to make, and finding new ways to attract, engage and retain them is key to gaining a strong competitive edge.”

The Hive360 App McCormack continues, “Coupled with the ever-increasing compliance demands putting pressure on current models of temp payroll, a game changing employment solution is needed.

At Hive360 we put the workers at the heart of our service by providing world-class health, welfare, lifestyle benefits and payroll services, and we work with our clients to deliver significant bottom line savings and efficiency gains.”

Today’s trends show that workers are rejecting higher paid roles for more fulfilling ones, where they are more likely to find inspiration, so employee engagement is starting to become top of senior decision makers agendas.

The Hive360 solution delivers a complete employment support service to businesses of all sizes and across temporary workers, permanent employees and apprentices.

At the heart of the solution is a sophisticated Pay and Perks app that delivers world class employment services and benefits at the fingertips of employees. GDPR compliant digital payslips, 24-hour access to telephone GP and counselling services, lifestyle benefits from PerkBox, access to a leading training portal are just some of the features that Hive360 provide to their client’s workers.

www.hive360.com

09/10/2018 17:09

THE VIEW AND THE INTELLIGENC E

Recruitment and the post-Brexit economy P2 BIG TALKING PO INT

Why the government must pause on IR35 P4 LEGAL UPDATE

RECRUITMENT Issue 67 MATTERS November 2018

Payslips update P6-7 IR P AWAR DS

Full shortlist for this year’s awards P8

NHS

REC calls for review of NHS bank costs T

he REC is calling for an independent review of the real costs of using banks for supplying NHS staff.

It comes after a Freedom of Information Act request found that Derby Teaching Hospitals spent an additional £820,000 on staff and infrastructure to operate its trust bank.

Staff banks are often touted as a solution to chronic staff shortages in the NHS as they cut out agencies and offer greater worker flexibility.

But the REC says the 20% saving proposed by NHS Improvement fails to consider the cost of operating an in-house service for additional human and infrastructure needs.

The REC is calling for the cap on agency staff used in the NHS to be applied to trust banks too.

REC director of policy and professional services Tom Hadley

@RECPress RM_November_2018.indd 1

“It’s important the UK maintains a world-class health service and ensures patient safety” says agency staff play a key role in ensuring safe staffing ratios, and the playing field should be level.

“The staff bank service also lacks the expertise and compliance management that recruiters have when solving chronic staff shortages in the NHS,” he says.

The REC says a full independent review of bank spending will reveal the real costs, broken down separately by doctors and nurses.

World-class health service Tom Hadley says it’s important the UK maintains a world-class health service and ensures patient safety.

“We will continue to work with the NHS and key stakeholders to find a better solution and we ask for a level playing field for recruiters who are working hard to ease staff shortages,” he says.

“Temporary staff bring flexibility and emergency cover at short notice to ensure patient safety, which is of paramount importance.”

www.rec.uk.com 09/10/2018 15:39

L E A D I N G T H E I N D U S T RY

the view...

Deal or no deal? Whatever happens, recruiters will play a big part in the UK economy post-Brexit, says NEIL CARBERRY, REC chief executive

A

t the party conferences the REC represented members and talked about all things that matter to jobs, where recruiters are ideally placed to help. Skills. The future of work. Inclusion.

But Brexit focused most people’s minds.

Chequers, Canada, Norway… there are many options.

Each with enough support to be relevant, but none commanding a majority. With only five months before Brexit day, the clock is ticking.

One thing is for certain – businesses will need to be ready with contingency plans for whatever deal or non-deal we get.

Recruiters will play a big part in helping them. EU nationals keep many sectors going, so there will be a lot to do – either helping clients negotiate new rules or finding new ways of resourcing for roles.

Having worked with corporate HR leaders, I know they will value the support recruiters can give at this critical time.

There was mixed news for recruiters in September’s Migration Advisory Committee report on EU immigration. We would have liked to have seen more recognition of the shortages you all report in lower skilled roles.

But equally, the MAC report highlighted the benefits of mobility to skills and productivity – delivered at no significant cost to wage growth or UK citizen employment. We’ll use this to make a case for an immigration system that allows employers to hire at all skill levels, and for individuals to hold the right to work once they get here – so they can take on temporary roles if they wish.

Whatever the final outcome, a transition to a new system is essential. It was good to see reports that even in the event of a ‘no deal’ the Home Office is arguing in government for a two-year transition period for immigration rules. That’s the right choice – everyone in the REC is working to give the sector a smooth transition, not the dreaded cliff edge.

If you want to keep up to speed with all things recruitment then follow me on Twitter @RECNeil

2 RECRUITMENT MATTERS NOVEMBER 2018

RM_November_2018.indd 2

How do we measure ‘good work’? asks TOM HADLEY, REC director of policy and professional services HADL EY ’ S C OMMENT

What gets measured...

The UK jobs markets continues to defy gravity and remains remarkably robust, with record employment levels and falling unemployment. At the same time, the increasing focus on quality as well as quantity of jobs will continue to intensify.

Re-evaluating the way we measure ‘good work’ and the overall success of the UK jobs market is an opportunity to showcase the pivotal role of recruitment and employment professionals.

The need to find new ways of measuring job quality was a core message of the REC’s Future of Jobs commission and is at the heart of a report launched last month (September) by the Carnegie Trust.

It was also a key recommendation in Matthew Taylor’s review into modern working practices. So what does ‘good work’ look like? Taylor defined it as: ‘work that is fair and decent, with realistic scope for development and fulfilment’. On all of these measures, recruitment professionals can make a positive impact.

Our industry is predicated on helping find a job, then find a better job. Good work is also about how a job makes people feel. Doing the right thing in terms of compliance and worker rights is part of this; as is the ability to match the right people to the right job in the first place. Agencies also provide a crucial outlet for individuals; examples include providing Employee Assistance Programmes for temporary staff or taking forward issues raised by workers with end-users.

Driving ‘good work’ in specific industries will also help attract people into sectors such as hospitality, logistics and care, which face major staffing challenges. We will feed into sectoral initiatives through specialist REC sector groups. Looking at the longer term, recruitment professionals can become ‘Future of Jobs ambassadors’ by spreading the good recruitment message and helping future generations navigate the changing world of work.

As the saying goes, what gets measured gets done. What gets measured also gets recognised. Feeding into hugely topical debates around progression, good work and job quality measurement are a great example of the recruitment and employment sector driving social innovation and helping to build one of the most inclusive and dynamic jobs market in the world. Recruiters make good work happen; we need to be proactive in telling our story and explaining how.

You can follow Tom on Twitter @hadleyscomment

www.rec.uk.com

09/10/2018 15:39

£30K

the intelligence...

WITH REC SENIOR RESEARCHER, MARK HARRISON

A

t time of writing, we are still awaiting the release of the government’s long-awaited Immigration white paper. However, what has been published is the final report on EEA migration into the UK from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), an independent public advisory body. The report was commissioned by the Home Office to better understand EEA migration into the UK and inform post-Brexit immigration policy.

Whilst acknowledging that UK-EU immigration may form part of Brexit negotiations, the report sets out an immigration system that would apply to immigrants from both Europe and the rest of the world. This would mark a significant break from the present system where EEA citizens are covered by freedom of movement. The overarching rationale of the proposed unified system is to make higher-skilled immigration easier and lower-skilled immigration more difficult from all parts of the world.

At present, the ‘Tier 2 (General)’ visa (T2 visa) is the main route for high-skilled immigration into the UK, with up to 20,700 T2 visas granted annually. The MAC proposes using a significantly modified and expanded T2 visa as a template for future high-skilled and also medium-skilled immigration.

PERMANENT PLACEMENT MARGIN UNDER PRESSURE

17.5% 13.8% 11.0%

20.9% 16.8% 12.8%

Upper quartile RIB recruiter Median RIB recruiter Lower quartile RIB recruiter

Average permanent placement margin H1 2017 2018 Average permanent placement margin, H1 2017 & 2018, for the median recruiter and those in the upper and lower quartile

www.rec.uk.com

RM_November_2018.indd 3

Firstly, the MAC proposes removing the annual cap on T2 visas, allowing all who meet the criteria to qualify.

Secondly, the MAC proposes lowering the qualification level required to apply for a T2 visa from National Qualification Framework Level 6 (ie. bachelor’s degree or equivalent) to NQF Level 3 (ie. A level or equivalent).

Thirdly, the MAC proposes removing the resident labour market test, a requirement for most skilled vacancies that they are advertised for 28 days in the UK first to ensure settled workers have the first opportunity to fill any vacancy. The MAC proposes retaining the current T2 salary threshold (£30,000) and Immigration Skills Charge on employers (up to £1,000 per migrant employee) as ways of protecting against the potential for (or perception of) undercutting of wages.

Whereas the report proposes expanding and liberalising the T2 system, the proposals would largely cut off the current supply of EEA workers into low-skill roles. The MAC leaves open two potential routes for

The latest real-time information from the RIB Index shows that average permanent placement margins were lower in H1 2018 than those achieved a year earlier.

For the median RIB recruiter, the average margin across H1 2018 (13.8%) was 3 percentage points lower than in H1 2017 (16.8%).

The MAC proposes retaining the current T2 salary threshold (£30,000) and Immigration Skills Charge on employers (up to £1,000 per migrant employee) as ways of protecting against the potential for (or perception of) undercutting of wages.

low-skill immigration: a Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme and an extension of the Tier 5 Youth Mobility Scheme (which allows 18-30-yearolds from certain countries to come to the UK for a two-year period).

However, these are highly unlikely to provide the necessary pool of labour currently required by a wide range of industries.

The government should ensure that there is still a route for immigration into the UK for such roles in the years following Brexit to enable businesses to continue growing and thriving.

This margin pressure similarly affected recruiters at the higher and lower end of the performance spectrum, however. For RIB recruiters in the upper quartile, the average margin dropped by 3.4 percentage points, year-on-year, to 17.5%, whilst there was a 1.8 percentage point fall in the average margin (to

T2 visa

The MAC proposes using a significantly modified and expanded T2 visa

11%) for those in the lower quartile.

With employer demand for support from recruitment agency partners increasing, recruiters are able to offset some of the reduced yield per placement through increased volumes and/or making placements higher up the salary spectrum.

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. See www.ribindex.com; info@ribindex.com: 020 8544 9807. The RIB is a strategic partner of the REC.

NOVEMBER 2018 RECRUITMENT MATTERS 3

09/10/2018 15:39

TA X

big talking point

The taxing issues behind IR35 Due to the upheavals eavals caused by IR35 reforms in the public sector, the private sector or needs to get to grips with what’s heading its way.

The REC is currently ently working hard to delay the proposed extension of these tax reforms orms by April 2019. Pip Brooking investigates why

veryone yone should pay the correct rect amount of tax. But if the he government rushes through ough poorly designed reforms orms to how contractors payy it, it risks damaging many ny businesses – at a timee when they can least afford ord it.

Proposed changes to IR35 5 in the private sector would add cost and complexity omplexity to firms already facing uncertainty inty around Brexit and skills shortages, and nd it could have wider economic ramifications ns than the government expects.

What’s the deal with ith IR35?

IR35 was introduced in n 2000 to combat tax avoidance by workers using their own limited company to ‘disguise’ their employment. In April 2017, these off-payroll payroll working rules were tightened in the public sector and the government has proposed osed to extend them to the private sector by April next year.

But the rule changes have caused upheaval in the public sector. And the difficulties are likely to be replicated, rather than resolved, if

4 RECRUITMENT MATTERS NOVEMBER 2018

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the roll-out continues as proposed.

The issues have been highlighted in several studies: • The rules are difficult to comply with, say half the central government bodies surveyed in research commissioned by HMRC. • Skilled contractors are going elsewhere. Half of public sector hiring managers think they’ve lost talent because of the changes, and nearly three quarters are finding it hard to retain it, according to research

by CIPD and IPSE, the association for the self-employed.

• Too many contractors are being made liable for more tax than they should be. The burden of the reform means worker status is not being decided on a case-by-case basis as it should be. In a survey of REC members in 2018, 69% said more often than not July 2018 their public sector clients have made ‘blanket in or out of scope decisions’.

• The number of unregulated intermediaries is rising. 42% of REC

members have observed this increase since the new rules were introduced. So instead of benefiting the Treasury, this means the taxpayer is losing out – as are compliant recruiters and workers.

www.rec.uk.com

09/10/2018 15:39

TA X

So, what are the issues at stake for the private sector?

There is nothing to suggest the same difficulties won’t apply – but the size and diversity of the private sector and the limited capacity of HMRC to deal with the challenges are likely to worsen the effects.

A significant majority (72%) of REC members believe aggressive tax avoidance is likely to increase in the private sector, just as it has in the public sector. And 74% said early implementation would reduce flexibility of the labour market, while 68% said it would exacerbate skills shortages.

From a more practical point of view, many businesses will need to replace or upgrade their payroll systems to accommodate the deduction of PAYE and National Insurance contributions from limited companies – and will not have budgeted for it in the upcoming tax year.

Others may need to change their back office and IT functions, which some members fear could cost them more than £100,000.

“Our current accounting does not support payroll on such a scale and as such we would need to invest heavily in accounting advice, training and possible increased staff overheads,” said one REC member.

“The changes would affect more than 500 of our current contractors, and the administrative and practical burden of wholesale change to our back office functions and renegotiation of contracts will be seriously problematical in such a short timeframe,” said another.

And when small businesses have only just recovered from months of preparation for the arrival of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), they understandably worry about being “swamped”.

How can this damage be avoided?

In its submission to the Chancellor ahead of this month’s Budget, the REC has urged the government to adopt an approach to any private sector reforms that allows businesses adequate time to prepare, resolves the issues with the off-payroll rules in the public sector and reduces

www.rec.uk.com

RM_November_2018.indd 5

42% of REC members observe an increase in non-compliant umbrella/ intermediary models since the introduction of the public sector IR35 reform in April 2017 72% of members expect the same to happen in the private sector if the reforms are implemented in April 2019 74% of members worry about the impact of early implementation of reforms on the flexibility of the labour market 68% of members it will exacerbate skills shortages But only 15% think it will improve compliance with IR35 rules

the administrative costs and burden to business.

Included in its asks were the following: • Let the Matthew Taylor review into modern working practices run its course. Recent consultations on employment status, agency work and transparency all have a bearing on IR35 discussions. With possible further changes to tax and employment status and ways to tackle non-compliant intermediaries in the pipeline, it is better to wait than implement piecemeal and flawed reforms.

• Resolve issues with the public sector reform before implementing any changes in the private sector. And if changes are made in the private sector this should also be replicated in the public sector, so there are no tax or administrative advantages for contractors choosing to work in one over the other.

• Speed up investigations and implement an appeals process for contractors who disagree with their IR35 status determination.

The current process for reclaiming overpaid tax is also inefficient and excessively burdensome, considering that the deductions should not have been made in the first place.

• Make clients liable for the decisions they make on the tax status of contractors. It cannot be right that a fee-paying agency is wholly liable for a decision taken by the end-client.

• Run an education campaign. When knowledge and understanding of the IR35 legislation in the private sector is low, the government needs to help to ensure organisations can comply with any new legislation – and allow businesses time to prepare.

“Rushing through these reforms could be a gift to the unscrupulous – encouraging those who use tax avoidance schemes not those workers and companies who do the right thing,” says the REC chief executive Neil Carberry. “The government needs to pause for thought on IR35.”

NOVEMBER 2018 RECRUITMENT MATTERS 5

09/10/2018 15:39

REFERENCES

legal update Changes to payslips for employees and workers Changes to the Employment Rights Act means agency workers are now entitled to receive payslips. REC solicitor and commercial advisor BUNMI ADEFUYE explains

E

arlier this year, the government announced that there will be two amendments to the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) with regards to employees and workers receiving itemised pay statements. The itemised pay statements will be applicable to employees and workers whose pay varies according to the hours they work.

6 RECRUITMENT MATTERS NOVEMBER 2018

RM_November_2018.indd 6

The Employment Rights Act 1996 (Itemised Pay Statement) (Amendment) Order 2018 was laid before parliament on 8 February 2018 and it comes into force on 6 April 2019. Under the ERA, only employees were entitled to receive pay slips, and agency workers were not. However, this amendment extends the entitlement to agency workers.

The Taylor Review which was published in July 2017 played a key role in the changes to the ERA as it set

out recommendations on the rights of agency workers. The response from the government to the Taylor Review confirmed that they will introduce legislation to improve the rights of agency workers, which includes the right to receive a payslip.

The amendments to the legislation will assist both employees and agency workers to determine whether they have been paid correctly and also increase transparency with regards to their pay.

Section 8 of the ERA set outs the information which must be included in the itemised pay statement as follows: • show the total number of hours worked for each payment that is being made; or • separate figures for the different types of work or different pay rates.

In order to comply with the new requirement in April 2019, employers and employment businesses should review their payroll process and make the necessary changes to obtain the additional information required and adjust the format of their payslips to comply with the amended ERA.

www.rec.uk.com

09/10/2018 15:39

I N S P I R AT I O N To keep up to date with everything the Institute of Recruitment Professionals is doing, please visit www.rec-irp.uk.com

STEVE GRIMSLEY is the

managing director & head of Search InfoSec People

How did you get into recruitment?

What sector do you recruit in?

What sector do you recruit in?

We work within the block management sector, which is an industry not many people know about.

What are some of your big challenges?

Like most niche sectors it comes down to candidates – as per my previous answer we

RM_November_2018.indd 7

CHRIS DUNNING-WALTON is

managing director of TemplePM

I used to work in the sales team for a small business and my favourite client was an interim recruitment company. When I left the company, I went into the first recruitment agency I saw and said I was thinking about becoming a recruiter.

My feet didn’t touch the ground! The rest as they say, is history. Fifteen years later it has proven to be a great choice.

www.rec.uk.com

Q&A

What I know

BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE INSTITUTE OF RECRUITMENT PROFESSIONALS

work in a sector that many people aren’t aware of, so there is no natural feed into the industry. We are actively looking to help with this issue within our field.

What are you looking forward to?

Fridays! I am lucky that owning my own business has meant I am able to work a four-day week. I believe that life is for living and not just for working.

What advice would you give a recruitment entrepreneur/ leader starting out?

Know your sector – this is so important and is the reason why clients choose you! Also use support from friends and family.

I launched InfoSec People 10 years ago and we’re a specialist in the cyber security sector.

With cyber security seeing such fantastic growth over the last few years, it really has been a rollercoaster ride – with the InfoSec brand recently adding a further two businesses.

What are some of your big challenges?

I’ve always wanted to challenge what ‘good’ looks like in recruitment.

The recruitment industry hasn’t evolved significantly in the last 20 years, with the same aggressive sales tactics being adopted by the majority of agencies.

As such, recruiters generally do not trust candidates or clients – or each other!

By far my biggest challenge has been in proving that recruitment

does not need to be like this. Our trust-based, KPI-free culture has resonated with our clients and means we have never lost any of our team to a local competitor – in fact, it is quite the reverse.

What advice would you give a recruitment entrepreneur/leader starting out?

Be true to yourself. Do not worry about the money, be excellent at everything you do each day and the score will take care of itself. Read widely and be brave.

Above all, do not give up and make it your mission to inspire others to be great.

NOVEMBER 2018 RECRUITMENT MATTERS 7

09/10/2018 15:39

W H AT ’ S C O M I N G U P ?

IRP Awards 2018 The complete shortlist For 10 years, the IRP Awards has been celebrating the best practice and professional excellence of our inspirational members. We’ve seen 190 winners, 1,150

shortlisted recruiters and companies, and thousands more recruitment professionals come together to celebrate the best of our industry.

The REC would like to congratulate the following individuals and companies who made this year’s awards shortlist: Individual awards NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR Sariat Adeniji - Hyper Recruitment Solutions Yasmin Boffa - Academics Heather Eaves - Term Time Teachers Chris Forsyth - Redline Group Josh Howell - Evolve Hospitality Daniel Thompson - Acorn Recruitment Theo Varcoe - RedLaw JOBS TRANSFORM LIVES: BEST CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE Adriana Brito Brito - One Step Recruitment Emily Garvey - Consultus Care & Nursing Jodie Rafferty - Rafferty Resourcing Courtney Wardle - Jane Lewis International PERMANENT CONSULTANT OF THE YEAR David Alexander - Star Isabel Brehcist - Give A Grad A Go Adam Cardey - Gattaca Matthew Covell - Search Consultancy Firaz Hameed - Airswift Chantelle Mensah - Admiral Recruitment Claire Philpott - Cartwheel Recruitment Kristy Potter - Acorn People Louise Scott - Castle Employment Group TEMPORARY CONSULTANT OF THE YEAR Mehreen Ayub - Admiral Recruitment Sophie Banks - Monarch Education Molly Fielding - Evolve Hospitality Laura Jeffreys - New Directions Education Asha Kacha - Star Denise McGillivray - Search Consultancy

RECRUITMENT MATTERS

BUSINESS MANAGER OF THE YEAR Pavan Arora - Acorn Recruitment Fiona Blackwell - Girling Jones Beth Daniels - Jane Lewis Peter Denham - Airswift Jon Evans - New Directions Education Chris Pritchard - Search Consultancy Kate Salt - Castle Employment Group James Tuckett - One Step Recruitment Anna Wilson - Castle Employment Group Joe Wilson - Matchtech BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR Sasza Bandiera - Oyster Partnership Richard Bradley - Kelly Services Debbie Caswell - Search Consultancy Edward Clark - LSC Education Amy Hambleton - RedLaw Jodie Rafferty - Rafferty Resourcing Suki Sandhu - Audeliss Kieran Smith - Driver Require Raj Tulsiani - Green Park RECRUITMENT APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR Alfie Colmer - England Associates India James - England Associates Abigail Robertson - England Associates Matthew Stimpson - Human Capital Ventures Claire Taylor - Connect2Staff

The official magazine of The Recruitment & Employment Confederation Dorset House, 1st Floor, 27-45 Stamford Street, London SE1 9NT Tel: 020 7009 2100 www.rec.uk.com

8 RECRUITMENT MATTERS NOVEMBER 2018

RM_November_2018.indd 8

Christopher Moon - Monarch Education Laura Preston - Redline Group Zoe Rogers - Evolve Hospitality Georgia St John-Smith - Hyper Recruitment Solutions Ellis Thorne - Class People

BACK-OFFICE SUPPORT TEAM OF THE YEAR Compass Associates ea Change Group InterQuest Group Meridian Business Support Pertemps Star

BEST COMPANY TO WORK FOR (UP TO 150 EMPLOYEES) Admiral Recruitment Bespoke Careers BPS World Commercial Services Group Recruitment Concilium Search Extrastaff VHR

PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE YEAR Amoria Bond Class People Jane Lewis Healthcare Sidekicks

BEST COMPANY TO WORK FOR (OVER 150 EMPLOYEES) Amoria Bond Pertemps Search Consultancy

BEST COMPANY TO WORK FOR (UP TO 20 EMPLOYEES) Cityscape Recruitment Girling Jones InfoSec People Lawrence Dean Recruitment Group Marine Resource Oakwell Hampton Red Berry Recruitment TRIA Recruitment Wilkinson Partners

ADVOCATE COMPANY OF THE YEAR Affinity Workforce Evolve Hospitality Serocor Group

Company awards

BEST COMPANY TO WORK FOR (UP TO 50 EMPLOYEES) Bramwith Consulting Building Careers UK Carmichael UK Carrington West Driver Require ea Change Group Hyper Recruitment Solutions Jane Lewis Oyster Partnership

RECRUITMENT CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR Guidant Group Jane Lewis International CORPORATE AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PRACTITIONERS OF THE YEAR Commercial Services Group Recruitment Give A Grad A Go Harvey Nash HR GO Hyper Recruitment Solutions Oyster Partnership Red Berry Recruitment Thorpe Molloy Recruitment VGC Group What’s next?

Book your table, get your glad rags on and join us on 29 November in London.

Find out more at www.irpawards.com

Membership Department: Membership: 020 7009 2100, Customer Services: 020 7009 2100 Publishers: Redactive Publishing Ltd, Level 5, 78 Chamber Street, London E1 8BL Tel: 020 7880 6200. www.redactive.co.uk Editorial: Editor Michael Oliver michael.oliver@redactive.co.uk. Production Editor: Vanessa Townsend Production: Senior 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.

www.rec.uk.com

09/10/2018 15:39

How to Grow Micro-Niche Recruitment Teams

$ IDVW JURZLQJ LQĂ XHQWLDO GLYHUVH UHFUXLWPHQW EXVLQHVV

bossprofessional.com

Paul Thompson caught up with Ross and the senior management team as they prepare for another period of growth. “We’ve experienced an unprecedented change in the last four years at Boss Professional Services having transitioned from a ‘group RI JRRG IULHQGV¡ WR ZKDW LV QRZ D VROLG EUDQG ZLWK Ă€YH HYHUJURZLQJ Micro-Niche Recruitment teams,â€? says Ross.

At the start, things were pretty tough We were operating with little more than a desk and phone with Gmail plugging everything together. At that time everything was hand-cranked; Finding leads, writing adverts, visiting candidates and clients, managing compliance etc. It all needed to be done.

When we could, we also tried to make a few placements!

Back then, it was a pretty rocky ride, but a diet of adrenaline, coffee and dog-eared determination got us through. Budgets were naturally very tight and we made some bad choices, but the work ethic was there and so we knew the long hours and late nights were going to bear fruit in the future. We tried to work smart, but in reality, we didn’t, we just worked harder and longer than the competition.

We celebrated our successes building a small family team largely from friends and people we knew, but you’ll need more than energy and enthusiasm to make it in today’s recruitment world. :H HDUQW RXU OXFN 5LJKW DW WKH VWDUW ZH VSRWWHG WKDW DQ\ ÀQDQFLDO gains needed to be ploughed back into the team and infrastructure – it’s a policy that’s served us well.

Building a micro-niche recruitment team The ‘SAP & Utilities’ sector gave us a small but growing sector and a niche largely overlooked by many of the bigger players. We quickly grew a name for ourselves as a specialist search and selection WHDP DQG LPSOHPHQWHG VRPH EDVLF WRROV DQG ZRUNĂ RZV WR FRYHU the cracks. Most of our time was spent at the coal face, but as the teams grew so did the admin, pain and non-essential costs. Having your top billing staff dealing with the admin and growing pains was something we needed to address, and our inability to scale-up had fast become our biggest challenge.

We researched the market for a Software CRM partner that shared our appetite and vision for growth – we chose Voyager 6RIWZDUH 9R\DJHU ,QÀQLW\ KDV EURXJKW KXJH HIÀFLHQFLHV WR WKH ÀYH 0LFUR QLFKH EUDQGV DQG KDV IDFLOLWDWHG D VPDUWHU IDVWHU DQG more compliant way of working. We’ve centralised all data into one platform and host everything on the Microsoft Azure Cloud. $OO XVHUV UXQ 2IÀFH ZKLFK PHDQV ZH¡UH EHWWHU FRQQHFWHG WKDQ HYHU EHIRUH DQG ZH ORYH WKH 3KRQH $SS ,QÀQLW\ &RQQHFW The CRM has also allowed us to address challenges like the GDPR with the minimal of fuss and distraction. In fact, there were virtually no GDPR distractions for our team’s, thanks to Voyager. We even employed a GDPR expert who gave us a clean bill of health and we’re really grateful to our technology partners.

Boss Professional Services has now expanded to include - Boss Sales, Boss ERP, Boss Medical and SmarkTek in addition to the original Boss Energy brand and as such, we’re extremely excited about the future.

REC.11.18.035.indd 35

When it comes to a CRM you need something that will keep you at the front of your game.

It’s not just about the features, it’s about the people you’re working with and we’ve found Voyager Software and the Infinity recruitment CRM to be a great fit for our business.

Finding and motivating like-minded people We totally recognise that things are done differently here at Boss, but it’s a proven business model and one we plan on replicating further.

Right from the start I wanted to build a team of experts, but make it a fun place to work. We’ve totally achieved that.

The pinball machine and PS4 makes a refreshing change, but it’s much more than that, it’s like a family. “I’ve run out of mates to employ,� jokes Ross.

We’ve worked hard to retain a special bond with our staff and suppliers and put a real value on the relationships we hold inside and outside of the Boss family. You can feel the passion and hunger LQ WKH RIÀFH DQG ZH ZDQWHG VRIWZDUH SDUWQHUV WR IHHO WKDW WRR Having built a solid management team, we’re now able to outsource non-recruiting tasks to subject matter experts.

An accountant does the accounts, a marketing expert does marketing and Voyager manages the CRM – which means our recruiters can focus on recruiting.

Ross on technology and the future of Boss When it comes to a CRM you need something that will keep you at the front of your game. It’s not just about the features, it’s about the people you’re working with and we’ve found Voyager Software DQG WKH ,QÀQLW\ UHFUXLWPHQW &50 WR EH D JUHDW ÀW IRU RXU EXVLQHVV We’re delighted with what we’ve achieved thus far, but we’re not sitting on our laurels and we plan on further increasing our internal HIÀFLHQFLHV E\ SOXJJLQJ LQ D VHOHFW IHZ UG SDUW\ WRROV WKDW ZLOO DOORZ customers to better engage with us. We’ve morphed from a few oldschool recruiters into a super-cool recruiting brand - and we love it!

sales@voyagersoftware.com voyagersoftware.com 7R ÀQG RXW KRZ ,QÀQLW\ FDQ PDNH D UHDO GLIIHUHQFH WR \RXU business, contact Voyager Software today for a demo.

09/10/2018 17:09

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09/10/2018 17:11

CO M M U N I T Y

UPSTART

BREAKING DOWN THE BUILDING BARRIERS

E

Acorn’s Careers for Women in Construction aimed to show the diversity of roles on offer in the industry

BY COLIN COTTELL

W

ith only one in eight of its workforce female, the construction industry remains dominated by men. Indeed, the numbers of female roofers, bricklayers and glaziers are so miniscule that they aren’t even picked up by official statistics.

However, an initiative launched earlier this year by Newport, South Wales-headquartered recruitment firm Acorn Recruitment aims to change all that.

Working with a range of community partners, in October the firm held its second careers fair attended by around 100 women. And although it is early days, one woman without previous experience in the sector has already been placed in a role, while others have begun training, joined mentoring schemes and been offered work placements.

“We 100% believe that there is no reason why women can’t do every job we are covering off on I M AG E | I STO C K

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WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 29

11/10/2018 11:07

E UPSTART CO M M UNITY

a construction site. So why not?”

Among Am mong other quirky says Lawrence Beach, Acorn elem ments is the V7 bar elements Recruitment’s construction operations manager, who came up with the idea for the initiative entitled Careers for Women in Construction. Beach says the reasons for launching the initiative were twofold. Not only are women an untapped resource for a sector “with a shrinking pool of labour” that is faced with a need for 40,000 new workers a year, but “generally as a company we feel it is the right thing to do”.

Beach admits it’s a tough task to break down the barriers that are he holding women back from entering the industry. “The old adage is that the only way a woman can work in construction is if they don’t mind mixing with the boys and getting their hands dirty; that is true in some respects,” he says.

However, Beach says the biggest barrier is that women are not aware of what the sector has to offer.

“Women do not have a full picture of the variety of roles that are available,” he says. According to Beach, there are a host of roles that women, indeed people in general, tend not to automatically associate with construction – among them design roles, white-collar roles, administrative roles and community roles: “The second thing is they don’t appreciate what the environment is like on these bigger projects, how clean they are, how clinical, how professional, and how they really do value every employee.”

Beach says the construction companies that he works with are already “doing huge amounts to promote diversity, and to make their companies and their sites a more accommodating and welcoming environment for people from all different backgrounds”.

However, he says the message is just not getting out to women.

“What we are trying to do with this initiative is to drive the fact that there is some great stuff going on. We don’t have to change things that much. We just have to get women in front of construction employers to show them that opportunities are accessible,” he explains.

Beach says the idea for Careers for Women in Construction stemmed from Acorn’s existing partnership with The Wallich, a Cardiff-based charity that works with the homeless – “people who are as far away from the labour market as you can imagine”.

“So we thought, why can’t we relate this to females getting into construction? Why don’t we look at all the barriers and find people to take away the barriers to the point they are ready to start on a site?”

So Acorn reached out to those with similar goals to their own. The result is that those who have exhibited at the two careers fairs to date have not only included local colleges, the Construction Industry Training Board and Acorn itself, but also other community-based organisations such as charities and social enterprises.

F For example, one social ent enterprise offers taster ses sessions for women to try a bit of carpentry or br bricklaying, while other so social enterprises provide op opportunities for free tr training and courses to iimprove employability, as w well as mentoring support.

P PACE, a Welsh government llinked project supports women whose careers are held back by lack of funding for childcare.

The local Torfaen County Boroug Borough Council also played an important role, with its employability team going out into colleges, schools and into the community generally to publicise the event. The council also helped secure a venue, the Congress Theatre in Cwmbran, for the October event.

Acorn’s own marketing team designed the 2,000 flyers and two huge banners. Among the total of 25 exhibitors were major construction companies Willmott Dixon, Sir Robert McAlpine, BAM and Laing O’Rourke. Acorn itself had six local vacancies, leading to 10 potential interviews.

“We couldn’t do this on our own,” says Beach. “We rely on a partnership because everyone is chipping in. The idea is that we join up the dots, so we have a lot of people who can answer at lot of questions, and in doing so they can take away a lot of the barriers perceived to be there. We just need women through the door.”

Nicola Millard, an employment liaison manager at Willmott Dixon, one of the construction firms that exhibited at the career fairs, says they have been a great way of meeting women, and making them aware of opportunities and promoting the sector: “We have been able to make women with no construction experience aware that we are open to accepting inexperienced people onto our sites, and to developing and mentoring them ourselves.”

She says Willmott Dixon is aiming to have a 50:50 gender split by 2030.

Rebecca Jones, who is studying to be a carpenter and is the only female on her course, attended the careers days in October. “It’s good because it shows how you can get into the industry and easily work your way through,” she says Such sentiments will clearly be music to Beach’s ears, who says the plan is to take the concept further afield to new venues around South Wales. “Even if it’s only a speck in the ocean in the whole scheme of things, if 200 people decide they now want to enter the construction industry that would be amazing,” he says.

“Women do not have a full picture of the variety of roles that are available”

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CONNECTING YOUR RECRUITMENT BUSINESS

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

E

From pounding up and down piers to bringing early Christmas cheers, you’ve been busy as usual outside of recruitment…

JOBSHOP’S WRIGHT RUNS BOURNEMOUTH MARATHON FOR MONTACUTE SPECIAL SCHOOL Months of hard work and training all paid off for Jobshop UK recruitment consultant Helen Wright when she ran the Bournemouth Marathon to raise funds for the company’s chosen charity, Montacute School, a specialist school for young people with learning difficulties or disabilities. She completed the Bournemouth Marathon (26.2 miles) in a brilliant 4 hours 40 mins and 34 secs, knocking a good 30-40 mins off her best time achieved during training. https://www.montacute.poole.sch.uk/

TEAMJOBS STAFF POUND THE PIERS IN AID OF CANCER Seven staff from across Dorset-based TeamJobs took part in a very chilly night-time 5km Supernova run from Bournemouth Pier to Boscombe Pier and back. All money raised through their sponsorship will go to Dorset Cancer Care Foundation (DCCF).

OBSTACLES DON’T GET IN THE WAY OF ATA RECRUITMENT

Castle Employment Group are hoping to provide 100 selection boxes for children in Scarborough

ATA Derby team members took on the 10km obstacle acle course X-Runner, battling their way across, through and over 60 obstacles. Business development manager Chris James (below, centre) has a child that attends Bennerley Fields School, a school for children with learning difficulties and additional needs. ATA’s intrepid runners raised £1,130 to help buy specialist trampolines to improve movement and balance, promote relaxation and improve communication skills in children with physical and learning disabilities.

TW I TT E R

CASTLE EMPLOYMENT BRING 100 CHRISTMAS SMILES Castle Employment Group in Scarborough are hoping to put a smile on 100 children’s faces this Christmas with a donation of 100 selection boxes to The Rainbow Centre, which helps the homeless and families in crisis.

Calco Services @CalcoServices Sep 20 Love this, very clever @RecruiterMag @RecruiterMag instagram.com/recruitermagazine/ recruitermagazine.tumblr.com/

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E CAREERS CO M M UNITY

The Workplace

BY GUY HAYWARD

34 RECRUITER

policy to staff surveys, from internal comms emails to television screens around the office. Our regular emails, which celebrate individual successes, promotions and good service, don’t just make our employees feel valued; they also give others something to strive for. Share everything in the pursuit of complete transparency, so your people know what’s going on.

Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, records every meeting and makes the recordings available to all employees.

Why? Because the company’s CEO sees this as the ultimate communication vehicle, a learning tool that illustrates how decisions are made and encourages precise thinking.

I liked my weekly blog that I would send to the business – it was a great way to share an update on our performance and good news stories and to celebrate successes. However, I still felt we could go further.

Now a different person writes it every week, and it’s a wonderful way for each team to share what they have been up to. It’s proven that this oldschool style of communication can work, but it must now also complement how we use technology.

The landscape of internal communications continues

“The old-school style of communication can work, but it must now also complement how we use technology” to change. If as a sector we continue to recognise that, we have an opportunity to reduce the turnover levels that are so often associated with our sector.

Lush, the British cosmetics company, communicates direct to its people’s phones only using Slack, and doesn’t use email. Imagine if we did that ourselves: direct, clear, concise and visually stimulating communication.

And what can I say about emojis? Well it’s a new language in the modern world, we all use them, they are easy to understand, and they connect everyone, with a feeling of familiarity. Are they right for the workplace?

100% they are.

↗

WHAT HOLDS OUR BUSINESSES – well, good businesses – together? I have thought for many years now that it is about communication and the art of speaking to our people. The willingness to share ‘everything’ in the spectrum of the good the bad and the ugly is what creates trust.

Offices have changed from the days depicted in Mad Men, of gossip, miscommunication and whispering. We’ve all probably worked in those environments, and they are horrid – as are long, thesisstyle emails.

We want messages that are brief, to the point, yet with all the relevant content and we want it now, with speed, direct to our hand-held devices that are so important in feeling connected to today’s world.

Who would have thought that networking and collaboration tools such as Yammer and Slack would be able to connect entire organisations, where email and intranet have failed for years?

Recent research published by Cass Business School suggests that poor communication is costing UK businesses £2.7bn a year.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

There is so much we can all be doing: from an open-door

GUY HAYWARD –redefining the modern workplace CEO, Goodman Masson

NOVEMBER 2018

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CO M M U N I T Y

CAREERS

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

You’ve got the power

BY TARA LESCOTT

↗ TARA LESCOTT is managing director of Recruiter Republic

EVERY DAY I TALK TO RECRUITERS who have the feeling that perhaps they are worth more/are ready for more/ could achieve more; but their uncertainty about how their skills and experience would be valued by another employer holds them back from realising their full potential.

If you’ve survived the rollercoaster that is the first year in recruitment, then you are likely to be more valuable than when you started out.

So how do you know if you should be rewarded at a higher level or if you’re ready for more responsibility? How can you tell if you could achieve a far higher level of performance in a different environment?

Let’s look at those three key issues: 1. Are you worth more? Did you join your current firm as a trainee on a low basic salary, and despite having worked

I M AG E | I STO C K

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“Knowledge is power.

Challenge how you are rewarded and ask for more” hard, built a successful desk and proven your skills as a recruiter, you are still paid a trainee’s salary? If so, know that at this point in your career you are 100% worth more to another employer than your current one. Knowledge is power. Challenge how you are rewarded and ask for more. In most cases, putting forward your case with confidence is enough to gain you a pay rise.

If not, you will have many options available to you with a firm that will value you.

2. Are you ready for more?

How can you tell if you are ready for more? Take a look at how you operate today. Are you achieving the targets set for you unaided? Can you think of specific examples where you have gone beyond the remit of your role and added additional value to the team around you?

Are other people coming to you for advice or help? If so then clearly you are ready for more of a challenge and other people are aware of it too. Believe me: many companies are looking for people with potential that

can take this first step up into a management role. Sometimes you just outgrow what your company can offer.

3. Could you achieve more?

Some of the most exciting transformations we see are when recruiters go into a nurturing, supportive firm after having had a tough initial grounding in recruitment.

Battle scars and all, those recruiters are tougher, more resilient, more disciplined and go into a better class of firm with a greater sense of excitement and gratitude. A massive leap in performance nearly always happens as a result. I’m talking £100k per year performers stepping up to £300k+. The impact of pride, opportunity and rewards is significant. Review how you achieve what you do: is it because of your brand name or despite it? Does your rewards scheme incentivise or demotivate you? Your answers will tell you whether you can achieve more elsewhere.

If you’re serious about a longterm career in recruitment, don’t waste your opportunities.

The industry needs you. Many great agencies would welcome you with open arms, and while your current employer can be forgiven for seeing you as the trainee, it is up to you to stand up and change that perception.

You have more options available to you than perhaps you realise.

You’ve got the power.

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E BUSINESS ADVICE CO MM UNITY

ASK THE EXPERT Q: Your last article mentioned that building relationships is fundamental to operating efficiently. How do you approach this?

Building relationships is the foundation of maximising growth and profitability; the most efficient way to build those relationships is to invest time in them.

The process of getting through the door, familiarising yourself with the client’s business and earning their trust is the most expensive period of the relationship but will pay dividends in the long run.

Starting relationships – getting meetings in the diary Simply asking for a meeting invites your prospect to decline; however, a little bit of research often goes a long way.

If you offer to discuss competitors’ current hiring patterns, or update them on remuneration trends based on your recent salary survey, or have noticed they are suffering high staff turnover and offer to provide them with your analysis, then they are more likely to see the value in agreeing to a coffee.

This discussion will also afford an opportunity to ensure others involved in the hiring process are invited to the discussion. If the prospect indicates their diary is too busy then suggest pencilling in a date for the following month that you will confirm a day or two beforehand. Send the meeting request immediately, then confirm the day of the meeting, lowering the chance of them cancelling.

Prepare properly: it’s critical If the meeting is worth having, then it is worth preparing well for. Try to both uncover issues facing the prospect so that you can tailor your presentation and also second guess which objections are most likely to arise (eg. we already have a PSL) so you are prepared to address them, for example, with relevant testimonials.

Six elements to effective meetings

36 RECRUITER

The SME Coach current recruitment partners fall short? Do they have retention challenges?

4. Give solutions and educate – explaining how you have overcome similar problems for other clients will help differentiate you from your competition.

5. Close – having invested in securing and preparing for the meeting, too often consultants walk out the door without concrete promises. Asking “Given I can help you with these problems, how happy would you be to call me first the next time you have a role on?” and if they cannot do this, as they have an existing PSL, follow this with, “In which case how happy would you be to call me alongside your PSL?” will often close without appearing pushy.

6. Confirm in writing – conversations are quickly forgotten or misremembered, so within 24 hours confirm in writing what was agreed, together with dates for next actions.

Maintaining the relationship…

Recruitment is competitive and the best way to stay ahead is to understand your strengths and areas for improvement. A face-to-face, four question quarterly client service check (see below) with every client, ideally over a coffee or a beer will help keep you ahead of the game.

My quarterly client service check 1. How happy are you with my service?

2. What could I do to improve my service?

3. What are my competitors doing that you wished I was doing?

4. What are my competitors doing that you’re glad I’m not doing?

↗

Once through the door there are six elements to achieving effective meetings.

1. Control the agenda – leading the meeting maximises your chances of you achieving your objectives.

2. Fact find – listen to the prospective client to understand the context of their challenges. Cover everything from growth plans, to hiring structures and processes.

3. Uncover problems – as you get to know your client probe for their biggest challenges… What roles have they struggled or are they struggling to fill? Where do

Alex Arnot

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

NOVEMBER 2018

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11/06/2018 09/10/2018 16:14 17:15

E CAREERS CO M M UNITY

“I really look up to Malala Yousafzai or her dad… I’d happily get stuck in a lift with either of them” MY BRILLIANT RECRUITMENT CAREER

↗

What was your earliest dream job?

It sounds really boring, but I used to really want to be a lawyer.

What was your first job in recruitment and how did you come into it?

This… I started a year ago. I’m a trustee for a charity and I was on the board that recruited our current CEO. I really enjoyed the process and I knew after university that I wanted to do something in business that would really sharpen my teeth. I loved the challenge of recruitment – the ‘sink or swim’ thing naturally encouraged me, so here I am.

Who is your role model – in life or in recruitment?

I really look up to Malala Yousafzai [Pakastani female activist] or her dad…

I’d happily get stuck in a lift with either of them.

What do you love most about your current role?

That I’m never bored. I’ve been here a year, I’m now senior and have got a trainee. Before recruitment, in my gap year I had about eight part-time jobs at any one time per week. I was a bit worried that when I started graduate life I wouldn’t be challenged enough, but this is consuming in all kinds of ways.

38 RECRUITER

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ALICE SMITH, senior consultant, Oscar Technology

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

When I was made senior consultant having been here just under a year.

That was my dream. I thought maybe I’ll do it in 18 months, so I’m really happy with that.

What’s your top job to fill at the moment?

A lead PHP developer role in York.

What is your signature dish?

Salmon en croute – I love making it for big dinner parties.

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

In my first week I came across a candidate with an amazing CV. I prepped her, got instant interview requests everywhere. She had a few interviews in my second week, got offers, so it all happened really quickly.

But she was so difficult to manage.

Although she was lovely, she was one of those people that would never give you a straight answer. She ended up rejecting all my offers and moving away, which is something she never told me she was even thinking of, but we built quite a bond… and she ended up sending me about £60 worth of chocolates to the office as a ‘thank you’ for all my work.

That was an example of what you think is going to happen in recruitment and what actually happens isn’t quite the case.

What’s the best or worst interview question estion you’ve ever heard? ard?

How w many sick days have you had in the last two years? rs?

at would you What ard as your theme regard ne? tune? ’t Stop Me Now w by Don’t een – I absolutely love Queen een and that song Queen kes everyone feel good. makes

IMAG ES | SHUTTER STOCK

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E CAREERS CO M M UNITY

AIRSWIFT: The global workforce solutions provider has promoted two from within its leadership team. Albert Kahlow becomes regional director for the Middle East from director of the UAE and Iraq, and Peter Denham is promoted from business development director for Europe to regional director for Europe.

ALEXANDER MANN SOLUTIONS: The global specialist in talent acquisition and management solutions welcomes Michael Wachholz as president of the Americas and global head of contingent workforce solutions.

EURO LONDON APPOINTMENTS: The language staffing specialist welcomes Pete Gerrard to the newly created role of commercial director.

THE FREELANCER & CONTRACTOR SERVICES ASSOCIATION (FCSA): Chris James joins the trade body as its new chairperson.

James is head of accounting operations at JSA Group.

GREEN PARK: The executive search and interim management consultancy has appointed David Oliver as senior retail adviser in its retail and consumer practice.

Staffing solutions firm Gattaca has appointed a successor to Brian Wilkinson.

Wilkinson stepped down as CEO at the engineering and technology staffing specialist in February. He joined from recruitment giant Randstad back in December 2013.

In a statement, Gattaca revealed Kevin Freeguard (pictured) would be taking on the role of CEO on 1 October.

Freeguard’s most recent role was at US multinational Verifone Systems, where he was managing director of UK and Ireland from 2014-18. Before Verifone, he worked at De La Rue, the British company that makes banknotes, as well as security printing of passports and tax stamps, where he was managing director for its solutions division.

IMPELLAM GROUP: The managed

NORRIE JOHNSTON RECRUITMENT:

services and specialist staffing provider’s group chief financial officer Alison Wilford has resigned to take up another role, leaving Impellam on 31 October. Brian Porritt succeeds her on an interim basis while Wilford’s successor is being recruited.

The global executive search and interim management firm has appointed Erin Berry (bottom left) as associate director to strengthen its talent management team.

CIPHR: The HR and recruitment software provider has appointed Claire Williams as head of people.

CLAREMONT CONSULTING: Tony Wilson joins the multi-sector recruiter as its new finance director.

40 RECRUITER

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NP GROUP: The global provider of executive search, recruitment process

outsourcing and specialist technology recruitment services welcomes James Kelly (below left) as chairman.

PEDERSEN & PARTNERS: The international executive search firm welcomes Michael Getchell as a client partner for the US and co-head of Latin America, based in San Francisco. Alex Eymieu joins as head of Asia Pacific region, based in Hong Kong, Elena Schreivogel joins as principal to its German team and Julia Casoli joins as principal in the Netherlands.

RESOURCE SOLUTIONS: The recruitment process outsourcing

Email people moves for use online and in print, including a short

11/10/2018 11:12

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

CONTACTS provider has appointed David Tully as associate director.

VARGO RECRUITMENT: The Cardiff-based recruiter has appointed Tom Miller (bottom left, first column) as its new associate director.

EDITORIAL +44 (0)20 7880 7603 Editor DeeDee Doke Reporters Colin Cottell, Graham Simons

Contributing writer Sue Weekes Production editor Vanessa Townsend vanessa.townsend@recruiter.co.uk

hospitality and events staffing app’s new CEO.

Designers Craig Bowyer, Sarah Auld Picture editor Akin Falope

SMARTRECRUITERS: The US recruitment software provider has appointed HRtech veteran Dave Carter as company president.

WORKING LINKS: Emma BarrettPeel joins the skills specialist in the newly-created position of head of apprenticeships.

XPERTISE RECRUITMENT: The technology staffing specialist welcomes Leo Humphreys as associate director.

YOUR NEXT MOVE A selection of vacancies from recruiter.co.uk

SUPERTEMPS: The North Walesbased recruiter welcomes Vikki Lycett as construction business manager.

TRUSTEES UNLIMITED: Sophie Livingstone has been appointed managing director at the trustee recruitment specialist.

CNA International Executive Search Build your own brand UK-wide £50k-£120k Highways England HR employee relations adviser HR, personnel Birmingham, West Midlands £29,831-£32,367 Stericycle In-house recruiter/Senior resourcing consultant West Yorkshire £competitive + bens

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

biography, to recruiter.editorial@redactive.co.uk

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recruiterjobs@redactive.co.uk

+44 (0)20 7324 2777

deedee.doke@recruiter.co.uk

colin.cottell@recruiter.co.uk graham.simons@recruiter.co.uk

ROTA: Stephen Segel is the

RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING

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

ADVERTISING +44 (0)20 7880 6213 Sales manager Paul Barron

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

paul.barron@redactive.co.uk

eventsteam@redactive.co.uk

+44 (0)20 7880 6245 Sales executive Jonathan Adebayo jonathan.adebayo@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 2017 & 30 June 2018 – 14,837. is also sent to all REC members

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11/10/2018 11:12

E THE LAST WORD CO M M UNITY

Karen Collier Running your business after a life-changing diagnosis

I received a shocking breast cancer diagnosis in January this year after I found a pea-sized lump in my left breast. Although I would in no way want it again, having cancer has changed my working life for the better.

Whilst some people take a year off work, I knew I needed to run my business and working would aid my recovery. I think my healing would have suffered had I not been able to carry on doing something I loved. Jobs change lives!

After the initial disbelief of having cancer, I didn’t regard it as an illness – just something I had to get through. I approached it as I would a business task, drawing up a plan, revealing the news to my clients and candidates. I was very open about it from the start.

Following a lumpectomy, I was told the cancer had been

removed. I needed further treatment: six sessions of chemotherapy and 20 sessions of radiotherapy.

Phase 1: Operation; Phase 2: Chemotherapy; Phase 3: Radiotherapy. Diarising start dates, end dates and dates in-between, there could have been delays; I may have caught an infection or my immune system may have been too low. Like any business plan, the critical path may not always remain static. It can change leading up to the project completion date as unforeseen circumstances can happen.

I monitored and diarised my first chemo session. I was advised that this would be pretty much the same pattern for all six treatments.

My chemotherapy was every three weeks on a Thursday.

The first three days I would be fine; Sunday would be my down day. The days following got progressively better. But

You can still run your own business through a diagnosis and your figures can be up 42 RECRUITER

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I felt uncomfortable with background noise, and could only focus on one task. I used the time catching up on reading and writing fashion articles.

Later that week I would go into the office to make calls to my clients. They would hear my upbeat voice and how my recovery was going.

I still wanted to receive roles and keep things as normal as possible. The second week I would feel fine. Being mindful that my immune system could be weakened by chemotherapy, I tried to avoid crowds or public places where there was a risk of picking up an infection. I worked in the office that week. The third week, when I felt almost back to normal, I would plan two to four client meetings in London; my immune system would be stronger and I could travel on the train.

KAREN COLLIER is managing director of Karen Collier Careers

I understand that this may not be for everyone, but work kept me focused.

I met my final critical path date, without any delays, on 7 August 2018. However, I could not have done this on my own. I had two amazing colleagues who assisted with the workload while I was having treatment.

At the beginning of the year, I was nervous our figures would fall as I might not have been able to put in the time. This has been one of our best years so far.

With careful planning, the right mind-set, good organisational skills and a fantastic team, you can still run your own business through a diagnosis and your figures can be up.

NOVEMBER 2018

11/10/2018 11:12

WE’VE GOT A LOT TO SHOUT ABOUT...

AND YOU CAN READ ALL ABOUT IT ON THE BOOMERANG FUNDING™ BLOG! With some of the biggest names in the recruitment industry acting as our key contributors, the Boomerang Funding™ blog is the ideal place for you to catch up with the latest news and views from thought leaders in the UK recruitment industry.

To get updates directly in your inbox visit : www.boomerangfunding.co.uk/subscribe

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CHANGING THE SHAPE

F PAY AND BENEFITS

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