Louise's UK Recruiter Blog

Should Recruiters just ignore disabled Candidates, Clients & Colleagues?

UK Recruiter has been working with Anne Tynan on accessibility issue around our events (she’s our Events Access Co-ordinator!).  Here is a guest post from her.

Exactly a year ago, I suggested to Louise Triance that the UK Recruiter events were the ideal place to carry out a little experiment.

She agreed to let me go ahead with my idea. This was not, after all, anything too drastic – just the proposal to provide UK Recruiter event delegates with accessibility details for each venue. I would also attend as many of the events as possible to engage delegates in light touch conversation about the topic.

A year later and has anything been achieved?

On the face of it, the UK recruitment world is spinning along in exactly the same orbit as before. Most recruiters appear to care as much or as little about accessibility issues, as demonstrated by their websites. New delegates with challenging accessibility requirements have been conspicuous by their absence at UK Recruiter events.

A respect for delegate confidentiality prevents me from repeating anecdotes told to me over the course of the year. They highlighted some recruiters’ concerns that they are just ignoring disabled candidates and that they often feel unskilled when dealing with disabled clients.

I questioned people about what they thought might happen when they and their colleagues aged and therefore might became less mobile. Some thought that the only solution would be to give up as (quote) “Isn’t the recruitment profession about the survival of the fittest?”

In more public feedback, many delegates candidly admitted that they hadn’t noticed the accessibility information provided as they didn’t need it. Those who had noticed it were pleased to see that an effort had been made, although nevertheless were often unsure as to whether recruitment is the right place for anyone who actually needed accessibility information.

On a more positive note, the mere mention of the words ‘accessibility, disability, equality & diversity’ set off some delegates on an impressive account of what their company was doing or had achieved. Although some spoke in what I would describe as ‘annual report speak’, it was clear that individuals and companies are striving to address specific areas within the whole equality ambit.

So what do you think?

Promoting accessible events for recruiters is a way to focus their attention on candidates, clients and even colleagues who might be disabled. It can help them to become better recruiters in the long run by making them more in tune with many more people.

Bullhorn's Latest Staffing and Recruiting Trends Report

Today sees the release of the findings from the annual Bullhorn staffing and recruiting trends report;  A Rising Tide.  The report looks at how agencies across the region measure success, their candidate sourcing strategies, client development trends, social media’s impact on recruitment, compensation trends and challenges and opportunities over the coming year. The full report with statistical breakdown and graphical analysis is available for download here. 

However, findings include:

61 per cent reporting that their firms either met or exceeded their 2011 revenue goals
88 per cent believing their firm’s revenue will increase in 2012
89 per cent planning to increase their headcount in 2012

Social media stole the spotlight this year with every agency in the EMEA region reporting some use. Almost every respondent claimed to use LinkedIn (98 per cent), with around half using Twitter (52 per cent) and Facebook (43 per cent), a fifth claiming they use Google+ for business and 11 per cent actively blogging.

A very high proportion (91 per cent) claim LinkedIn as the most effective tool for generating candidates, half of businesses also claimed social media was crucial for building an agency’s brand.

 

Recruitment Agency Comparison Site

There’s a new site launched where job seekers and employers can submit their own and read other’s reviews about recruitment agencies.  It’s called CompareMyRecruiter.com and is aimed at improving industry standards and helping people make more informed decisions when choosing and working with recruitment agencies in future.
 
It was launched by an ex-recruitment consultant who came up with the idea upon realising “just how bad the general perception industry appeared to be – and knowing that in many instances this perception was inaccurate”.
 
They are hoping for similar success to sites such as TripAdvisor – where reviews are plentiful and where affected businesses have had to improve their service or simply lose out.
 
Whilst I can’t fault the idea of a site where recruiters are named and shamed and then clean up their act, or where brilliant agencies are given the credit they deserve I can’t help but wonder why similar sites haven’t worked. I wrote about Recruitment Reviews over two years ago and from what I can see there are still only 97 recruitment companies listed on the site – many without reviews.
 
Are Recruitment Agency comparison sites something that can be made to work?
 

Recruiters Sending CVs Without Asking The Candidate

This is an issue which has raised it’s ugly head on a regular (probably constant) basis since I first entered the recruitment industry.  Whilst I know the majority of recruiters abhor this practice I also know that there are LOTS of recruiters who, upon taking a spec, search their database, excel spread sheet, rolodex, brain... for candidates who could possibly do the job and then send over their details straight away.. without talking to the candidate.
 
There are so many reasons why this is wrong:
- The candidate may not want to work for that company
- The candidate might not want that company to know they are on the market
- You are doing NOTHING for your fee
- You are possibly stopping reputable recruiters from earning a fee
- You are perpetuating the stereotype of dodgy recruiters
but the main one .... IT'S ILLEGAL
 
It's in contravention of the Data Protection Act AND The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations
 
Here you go:
Requirements to be satisfied in relation to the introduction or supply of a work seeker to a hirer
Confirmation to be obtained about a work-seeker
19. Neither an agency nor an employment business may introduce or supply a work-seeker to a hirer unless it has obtained confirmation —
(a) of the identity of the work-seeker;
(b) that the work-seeker has the experience, training, qualifications and any authorisation which the hirer considers are necessary, or which are required by law or by any professional body, to work in the position which the hirer seeks to fill; and
(c) that the work-seeker is willing to work in the position which the hirer seeks to fill.
 
So, don't just get cross when this happens to you (as a jobseeker, a recruiter or an inhouse hirer caught in the cross-fire) - Get in touch with the law!
 
Having stepped off my soap box - I’d love to hear your thoughts on this practice and how it affects all parties in the process.
 
 

Recruitment Ethics.... and compliance

Right, don't switch off - this isn't a technical in-depth article about that awful C word which recruiters would pefer to sweep under the carpet.
 
I'd been reading a blog post by the ever insightful Steve Ward about Recruitment Ethics whilst working on our next Directors Only event and I realised how recruitment ethics fits very neatly into the product offering from NowWeComply.

So, recruiters, in general, are good at sales (and listening) but bad at admin.  Recruitment businesses tend to like to the keep the cost of overheads down (that includes admin staff).  The combination can mean that things like sending out terms of business, checking references, doing the “right to work” checks can be left to the last minute, done badly or skipped.  Things like ensuring you meet data protection is VERY often skipped from what I've been hearing anecdotally lately.  Also, getting “right to work” wrong can be very costly indeed (apparently up to £10,000 fines); I hear over £19 Million in fines were handed out to agencies and businesses who slipped up last year!
 
So whilst compliance is a total heart sink - why not think about it in a different way.  Consider it a way to ensure you hit your ethics target (please don't tell me recruiters aren't ethical!!) and deliver a better service to your candidate and client.  Additionaly, if you are thinking that one day it would be rather nice to sell your business and retire, then having the right processes in place and ‘doing things properly’ can make a significant difference to what you’ll get for it.
 
If you really can't face tackling the problem yourself you could speak to someone like NowWeComply.  Their funky little system allows you to add in all your processes (you may have to do a bit of work on them first mind!) and then each time you deal with a new client, candidate employee or supplier you can treat them properly as the system will do it for you automatically.
 
However you do it just make sure you do; it'll make you a more streamlined recruiter, it'll make you a more ethical recruiter - it will earn you more money and it might just also help to break that awkward stereotype our industry has!
 

Email Blunder .... could it have been you?

I’ve noticed that the response from people to this email, which I blogged about yesterday, has been split into two main areas. 

a) Should Gary Chaplin have been fired for sending the email(s)
b) Debate as to whether you would ever be in a similar situation. 

Obviously the stereotype of recruiters is that of the type of person who is always slating candidates, bitching about clients, abusing everyone in sight.  We see plenty of comments of that nature on the discussion board from disgruntled jobseekers and HR professionals.  I can assure you I don’t have rose tinted specs – but I really don’t think it’s fair to tar recruiters with that same brush. 

However, I can see how a recruiter could quite easily get cross with a lazy jobseeker emailing his CV, with no covering note, to 4,000 recruiters in one go (and with another recruiter using the opportunity to try and do a spot of headhunting).  In those circumstances can you see why he (or she) could have, in a heated moment, sent an email back saying they were both a pair of twonks?  Do you find yourself regularly annoyed by the attitude of jobseekers and do you ever want to tell them to brush up their act?

Or, regardless of your frustration levels, would you NEVER even think of responding to a candidate in a negative way.

What do you think?  Which camp do you fall into? 

Gary Chaplin's Email Blunder

I’m sure we’ve all accidentally hit “reply to all” rather than “reply” and had an awkward few minutes worrying about our blunder.  Or perhaps accidentally hit send before removing the bit where you call your client a plank in a late night email.  However, nothing can compare to Gary Chaplin who sent an abusive email to 4,000 recruiters, rather than the one (poor) jobseeker he meant to abuse!

You can read all about it in the Daily Mail

But as a top investigative reporter I’ve searched far and wide (actually I just asked a friend on Twitter) for the email correspondence for anyone who wants to see exactly what Gary said.

ORIGINAL EMAIL

Dear Sirs,

my name is Manos Katsampoukas and I am interested in finding a job in the banking/ marketing sector in the UK. Please find attached my CV. Further information available upon request. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Kind Regards, Manos Katsampoukas

RESPONSE FROM DAN

Thanks, Emmanouil, for introducing us all.

I'd like to take this opportunity to mention that One Search are actively hiring experienced Recruitment Consultants who have a couple of years' experience but are now looking to switch to Financial Services front office. Alternatively you may already be a front office recruiter disenchanted with the bureaucracy and looking to run your own desk.If you have the drive and intellect to work in one of the recruitment market's toughest yet most rewarding sectors, please give me a call or drop me an email to arrange a chat.

I will of course make a donation to Emmanouil, in lieu of a Rec2Rec fee!

Regards Dan

EMAIL FROM RICH (who turns out to be Gary Chaplin)

Emmanouil - I think I speak for all 4000 people you have emailed when I say "Thanks for your CV" - it's nice to know you are taking this seriously and taking the time to make us all feel special and unique.

If you are not bright enough to learn how to 'bcc' and thus encourage cock-jockey retards to then spam everyone on the list (yes Dan from One Search I'm talking about you - you opportunistic thunderc*nt) then please f*ck off ....you are too stupid to get a job, even in Banking.

I get enough retarded spam from idiots - I don't need the Dan 'F*cktard' McCunthy's of the world thinking they are being smart and original by spamming back to your 4000 best friends. (PS – is 'One Search' what you've successfully completed on this year?).

Yours hitting the delete button Have a nice day! Rich

There is more; it does go on.  However, I won't post it all here.  If do you want to see the rest of it, which resulted in Gary losing his job, just drop me a note.

Whilst I don’t condone abusive emails to candidates I can see Gary’s frustration at a candidate who has mass mailed his CV out. In the old days I’ve had candidates send their CV, by post, in response to up to a dozen completely different adverts. I no doubt wanted to tell them what a numpty they were being. Luckily I kept my thoughts to myself!  

What do you think about Gary losing his job over this and how do you think it'll affect his own jobseeking chances?

The Independent Recruiting Group – update

I wrote about the IRG a while back.  Well, some things have changed over there and I thought I ought to share the update. 

The IRG is a “Social Enterprise community” of small independent recruitment agency owners. They've been going since January 2010, and in that time have grown to over 120 member firms. The idea behind the enterprise is that members will find comfort in the fact that they are no longer alone in the market – they have the support of their fellow members behind them. They collaborate, share ideas, share opinions, share jobs and candidates, learn from each other, save money through group purchasing power, and the best bit.... they charge no membership fees whatsoever. 

They don’t see themselves as a professional body in that they support each other from within; everyone is in the same boat.

If you want any more information take a look at the content on their www.irg-uk.com and www.irg-socialise.com websites.  They have plans in place to launch new marketing and PR initiatives over the next month, and intend to see member numbers grow to over 300 early next year.

Their aim; to become the true voice of the small independent agencies.

A moral question for recruiters

Here’s a question for you;

You have placed a candidate, Bob, with a client, SinksRUs.  You’ve been paid your fee, you are out of the rebate period and client and candidate are happy.... Then Bob phones you.  He says he is thinking of moving on and wants your advice, as a recruiter, on negotiating terms with his potential new employer.  Obviously you tell him you can’t help him with that as your loyalty lies with the client. Bob says he understands but asks that you protect his position by not saying a word to his current employers.  However, two days later the MD of SinksRUs calls you to say he’s a bit worried about Bob.  He has a feeling he’s looking at moving on and is worried, with the position Bob holds at the company, how that might leave SinksRUs open to financial loss.  The client just wants your advice on how to handle the situation.

So, what do you do?  Where does your loyalty lie?

REC Annual Trends Survey - key findings

I've just got my copy of the REC's Annual Trends Survey and have been taking a look.  It's certainly a well researched and chunky read crammed full of data.  

Their summary reads:

Turnover in the UK’s recruitment industry has bounced back by over 25 per cent to just under £25 billion over the past year (April 2010 to March 2011), according to the latest annual industry report by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).  The Medium Term Forecast is for single digit growth over the next four years with the industry expected to peak at over £30 billion in 2014/15.

The sharp upsurge in the annual turnover to £24.6 billion, an increase of 25.3 per cent, compares to £19.7 billion in the same period the previous year (April 2009 to March 2010). More recent data from agencies confirms that the growth has decelerated– reflecting ongoing economic uncertainty.   However, the upbeat message from the REC’s Annual Industry Trends Survey is that the industry has an innate ability to re-energise itself and to come back stronger.

Some key findings of the survey are as follows:

•    Turnover in temporary/contract staffing has returned to 2006/2007 levels at £22 billion compared to its low point last year of £17.8 billion, a rise of 24.1 per cent.
•    Permanent recruitment also rallied to reach £2.5 billion in the past year, a massive 37 per cent increase on £1.8 billion recorded in 2009/10.
•    Volumes of perms placements rose by 38.3 per cent from 436,822 last year to 604,193 in 2010/11 while temp placements were up 19.3 per cent and top the million mark again at 1,049, 333 compared to 879, 000 last year.
•    The number of people working in recruitment has gone up 13.1 per cent from 80,528 last year to 91,114 this year.
•    A rise overall industry turnover to £24, 683 billion compared to £19.7 billion in 2009/10. This represents a 25.3 per cent increase in overall turnover.
•    Overall turnover for temporary/contract staff went up to £22,095 billion from £17.804 billion, a rise of 24.1 per cent. Total turnover for permanent staff also grew from to £2,587 billion from £1.888 billion, a rise of 37 per cent.
•    The largest number of temporary placements was again in the Industrial and blue collar sector which grew to 24 per cent compared to 21 per cent last year. This was followed by secretarial/clerical at 17 per cent and computing/IT at nine per cent.  Accounting/financial placements were again bottom at three per cent. .
•    The largest sector for permanent placements was secretarial/clerical which rose from 14 per cent last year to 22 per cent while bottom were other industrial/blue collar at two per cent.
•    The ratio of permanent to temporary staff has also shifted as a result of these latest figures. The temporary staffing sector has dropped back one per cent this year from 90.4 per cent last year to 89.52 per cent while the permanent sector now accounts for 10.48 per cent of the industry compared to 9.6 per cent in 2009/10.
•    Nearly one in ten agencies working in the permanent sector reported earnings at their lowest level – under nine per cent, twice as many as last year. The number of agencies reporting margins of 25 per cent and over has halved from 7.6 per cent last year to 3.7 per cent this year.
•    The REC’s Medium Term Forecast predicts the recruitment industry’s annual growth at 3.6 per cent next year (2011/12) followed by 4.7 per cent in 2012/13, rising to 7.1 per cent for 2013/14 and 7.3 per cent in 2014/15. This represents a return to single figure growth over the next four years to reach a new peak of £30.8 billion in 2014/15.

Growth predications aren't exactly going to knock anyone's socks off - but at least the surveys suggests movement in the right direction!

If you want a copy of the report it's available from the REC website

The FIRM's Online Recruitment Survey

The FIRM have conducted their first member survey and I've been looking at the results. In May and June they invited members to take part in the research and got responses from a healthy 386 individuals.

I've pulled out a few interesting bits of data:

• The top 3 priorities for recruiters this year are sourcing great talent(91%), cost reduction (59%) and talent pooling (53%).
• 54% expect their level of recruitment to increase compared to last year.
• 50% have an average time to hire of 4–8 weeks, 32% take 8-12 weeks and only 9% under 4 weeks.
• 27% have an average cost per hire (attraction and selection costs only) of under £1,000*
• 39% of the FIRM members have 10 or more members of staff working within their recruitment team
• 78% do not currently use Pay Per Click advertising as part of their recruitment campaign with 25% never intending to use it.
• 42% say that they use Search Engine Optimisation as part of their recruitment campaign with only 11% saying they do not intend to use it.
• 73% use Social Media as part of their recruitment campaign with 24% intending to use it.
• 33% of respondents filled less than 10% of their vancaices using agencies in the past 12 months.  31% filled 11%-25% of vacancies using agencies.

There is an awful lot more inforamtion in the report about use of social media platforms and size and structure of resourcing departments.

If you want to know more or get a copy you should contact Emma Mirrington at the FIRM.

Why dont companies advertise their jobs directly?

I get all sorts of questions by phone and email.  Many are interesting, relevant and ones which I'm happy to help with. 

Some are ridiculous ("I want to set up a horse breading centre in Minehead; can you help?").  Others have me scratching my head as to where to start.  

How on earth do I respond to this email which has just come in....

Hi Louise,

I was just wondering why all the jobs on sites like Reed, Monster, CV-Library, are all posted by recruitment agencies? 

The job seeker doesn't get to see the company they are applying for in most cases. And it makes the application process much more difficult for job seekers when they have to go through a middle man (recruiter), as your application often disappears into thin air, and you hear nothing.

Why dont companies advertise their jobs directly?

Thanks for the insight!
Mike

Recruitment Apprenticeships

I recently came across this brand new Apprenticeship Scheme for the recruitment industry which seems to me like a interesting opportunity for newcomers looking to enter the recruitment sector, and for recruitment businesses looking to expand their team.  Whilst there’s no shortage of training opportunities in the industry there hasn’t until now been a dedicated scheme for recruiters targeted at entry level and I think this kind of scheme could be a really effective way of helping to professionalise the industry.

The scheme is being run by Expedient Training Consultancy, who have created 150 placements spread across London, Manchester, Nottingham and Birmingham.  The apprenticeship scheme is suitable for niche boutique agencies, high street brands, global consultancies or recruitment divisions within corporations. 

The scheme funds the training element of the apprenticeships, which can be worth around £6000, and includes the REC’s Certificate in Recruitment Practice.  The employer pays the apprentice a salary (which can be at the lower end of the scale due to the regulations governing apprentices).  However, I understand that the employers that Expedient are currently working with are paying their apprentices competitively and adding in commission structures to provide an incentive. Expedient support the Apprentices throughout the 12 months with mentoring and training and the Apprentices will gain 4 qualifications. 

The apprentices are typically post-A level students (although anyone can apply but the funding contribution varies for over 19 year olds).  Recruitment companies can take on a single apprentice, or a whole team and Expedient are building a talent pool of pre-screened candidates which employers will have access to.  Interestingly, the scheme isn’t just open to new employees -  employers can also use the scheme to train existing staff who meet the eligibility criteria which could be a great way for a recruitment company to get some solid training for their junior staff at low or no cost.

There are around 50 placements remaining, and the Apprentices are due to start in September, so employers looking to expand their recruitment teams need to act quickly.  To find out more visit the apprenticeship site or call Sue Reader (for Manchester, Birmingham and Nottingham placements) or Paul Deen (for London placements) on 0800 612 5402.

LinkedOut by the REC

Since yesterday afternoon I have had a number of individuals contact me to ask my thoughts on a situation which has occurred with The REC and their IRP LinkedIn group.

The facts that I can report are that at least two people have been removed from the group as posts they made “breach the sites protocol”.  The individuals concerned were asking questions around the recently lost employment tribunal, the recent Chair issue and some other seemingly pretty minor concerns.

This is part of the REC’s response (made in the LinkedIn group):

...Unfortunately, as a result of persistent breach of this protocol two individuals have had their access removed from the group.

The REC would like to make it clear to all Members that this decision has not been taken lightly. We have engaged these individuals and written to them on many occasions. We also issued final warnings that they need to modify their approach or they would be removed. These have been ignored.

I guess what I can’t quite decide is if this is newsworthy.

Is it about freedom of speech and/or censorship?  Are the REC avoiding dealing with these members’ concerns?  Is it an issue which should be dealt with within the REC rather than in a public forum?  Should disgruntled members just leave the REC?  

What do you think?

 

 

Have you heard of the Independent Recruiting Group?

Don’t say it...... “not another recruitment industry body!!”
 
Well, they say categorically no!  They aren't getting involved in the politics or trying to change the industry as a whole.. they just want to support independents and anyone looking to start up for the first time. 
 
I had a chat with founder Sean O’Donoghue and this is what he told me:
 
There are two parts to the Independent Recruiting Group (IRG).  The first part IRG-Socialise is their “association” for independent recruiters.  The second element is for independent recruiters wanting to set up for the first time and wishing to be part of a managed service type network.  They become an IRG Recruiter; offering them back office support (email, website, credit control, etc) for a small percentage of the fees they bill (this is lower than most of the managed service systems and is capped).
 
The bit which I was most interested in is the IRG network.  They were ready to launch in January this year, but with all the whoha around IOR they decided to be absolutely certain they had all their ducks in order before hitting the market.  The basics are:
 
Membership is for owner/managed businesses with up to 10-15 staff
It’s free to join
It’s a support network
IRG is operated as a not for profit business.  They are currently working towards being a Community Interest Company (this is a new type of registered business designed for social enterprises that want to use their profits and assets for the public good).
They have 65 agencies at present and are looking to have 500 by the end of the year
 
The whole thing feels a bit more community driven than the REC or IOR.  They are more about support and less about membership, enforced codes of conduct and regulations.  In many ways they are a lot like the TEAM network which I’ve always thought beaver a way for good.
 
However, very much like REC and IOR they are talking with confidence. They intend to go global and have a strong impact within their sector of the recruitment market.
 
If you are an independent feeling like a bit of support wouldn't go a miss – check them out (ps, they are also on the look out for Regional Directors....).  They are on Twitter too if you want connect there.
 
 

Bullhorn 2011 UK Staffing and Recruiting Trends

In December 2010, after several years of conducting a worldwide survey of recruiting professionals, Bullhorn performed its first UK-specific survey seeking data and insights into recruitment agencies’ performance, goals and business practices, as well as individual remuneration. We helped them to collect some of this data so we get to share the results first!
 
Overall, UK recruitment professionals are optimistic that 2011 will see a continuation of the business growth they saw in 2010. Many UK respondents reported taking a "back-to-basics approach" to best take advantage of continuing market recovery. Here's the summary:

In 2010 the UK and other prominent world economies started showing new signs of life. This renewal extended into the staffing and recruiting industry, with 88 percent of UK respondents reporting that their agencies either met or exceeded their revenue goals, and 69 percent predicting further revenue growth in 2011. Similarly, nearly half say that their salary increased in 2010 over the prior year. Overall, the data shows that UK respondents were slightly less exuberant about their industry’s growth prospects than their worldwide counterparts – but the vast majority still predict accelerated growth in 2011.
 
Key Findings
• 88 percent of respondents report that their agencies either met or exceeded 2010 revenue goals.
• 69 percent believe their agency’s revenue will increase in 2011.
• The average placement ratio for respondent agencies was 33.2 percent.
• 88 percent report using social media for sales or recruiting efforts in 2010, and 79 percent report an increase in social media focus in 2011.
• Nearly half of respondents report that their total salary increased in 2010 over 2009.
• 75 percent believe their take home pay will increase in 2011.
• Three out of four respondents plan to add staff to their business in 2011.
 
The report is jam packed full of interesting information, from how consultants are measured to effective sourcing methods and the best methods for client acquisition.  It’s well worth getting hold of a copy.
 
 

Apprentice Finalist Blogging for UK Recruiter

This year we are lucky to have Chris Bates blogging about The Apprentice for UK Recruiter.  Chris was a finalist in the series last year so will know all about the pressure these guys are under.
 
This week’s episodes are on Tuesday and Wednesday. However, Chris is at The Recruiter awards on Thursday so I’m expecting to get his first blog up Friday morning.  Assuming he makes it home in one piece!
 
If you want to find out all about the characters we have for this series (including two recruiters; Natasha and Ellie) check out the BBC website.  

A corporate MAKING the candidate pay back the agency fee!

We recently had this posted on our discussion forum:

 

Just had this from a client..

  

We will continue to pay your fees as per our previous agreements however we are changing our internal new employee terms. Currently if an applicant leaves within their 1st 6 months, we ask them to repay 50% of their fee or we recoup in final paycheck or by other means – we recently have taken an ex employee to court and got a judgement against them.

 

This year for any employee taken on by introduction through an agency, we will ask them to repay 100% of their fee across their first few wage packets – the amount of months will depend on their role, the fee and what we can legally deduct but will be between a minimum of 3 months and maximum of 12 months. This is not if they leave, but a term of their employment regardless

 

Thoughts??

 

You can read the responses on the thread - but most people really couldn't believe that a company would do that.

 

I thought it would be interesting to get the legal angle (if there were one) and this is what my friendly recruitment law specialist, Louise Fernandes-Owen of Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP, has to say:

  

In the current economic climate, there is little doubt that the priority for most employers is to save costs wherever possible. In the context of recruitment, agency fees are often an obvious target and many employers are reviewing their recruitment processes in order to make savings. However, rather than stop using recruiters altogether, some employers have taken the controversial step of recovering agency fees directly from the wages of employees hired through agencies. In extreme cases, employees who are required to repay agency fees in their first year of work could therefore receive very little in the way of actual salary. This unusual practice is, arguably, not too far removed from the colonial times of "indentured servitude", which generally required workers to work for a fixed period in exchange for transportation, food, clothing and lodging rather than wages. 

 

Whilst employers can technically require new employees recruited through an agency to repay the agency fees in full from their salary, this practice gives rise to a range of issues. From a legal perspective, employers would need to ensure that the new employees have given their prior written consent to such deductions being made from their salaries.  Employers would also need to take care that the employees' salaries did not fall below the national minimum wage by virtue of the deductions. Issues may also arise in relation to employees who decide to leave before repaying the agency fee. If, for example, an employee was not permitted to leave employment until he or she had earned enough to repay the agency fee in full, this could be an unlawful restraint of trade.

 

Legal issues aside, if employers begin to recoup agency fees in this way on a regular basis, it may well have a detrimental impact on recruiters. Certainly, for applicants on lower salaries who are less able to meet the cost of agency fees (which are negotiated with businesses, rather than individuals, in mind), it is likely to be an incentive to sidestep recruitment agents entirely. Although there are obvious savings for employers, the recruitment industry will undoubtedly suffer in the long run. Whether this practice will become widespread remains to be seen...

 

 

Legal issues aside, I would advise any recruiter to steer well clear of this sort of organisation.   In fact I wish I knew who they were so I could name and shame ... and maybe get their side of the story.

Top ten ways to add value through REC Membership

Last week I had a cuppa and chat with Kevin Green, CEO of the REC (and Alison Henderson who is their lovely Press Manager).  I will write a blog post about the things we discussed as it was a good meeting.  However, before the meeting I mentioned I was going to meet with Kevin and I got a very good question on my blog post asking:

What does REC do. I have worked in the recruitment industry for the last 10 years. Every company I have worked for has been a member of REC and one even achieved GOLD Audited Standard though I was never sure what that meant. What I am puzzled by is what REC actually does for it's agency members? Other than have a sticker in the window we have had nothing else, in ten years. Yes I know that you hold seminars telling people how to run their business more effectively but what tangible help does a business which made over £600 million in profit in 2007 give to it's members. I have asked everyone I work with if their previous agencies were REC members and they all said 'yes' but were, like me, unable to point to anything that passed as a result of their membership. I really feel that I am missing out on something as there must be something useful I can take from REC. Can you let me know please.

So, rather than taking 15 pages of notes during the meeting I asked Kevin and Alison if they could come back to me with a response that I could share.. and what they’ve sent me is a VERY comprehensive response:

Top ten ways to add value through REC Membership:
1.    Legal Services: You get unlimited free access to the REC Legal Helpline, regular legal updates, bulletins and a suite of model documents and contracts. Keep your business and also your clients well informed by using these legal services to establish yourself as a knowledgeable resource. You can also save on your bottom line - for example, one London-based agency saved over £50,000 by speaking directly to the legal helpline about a specific inquiry relating to the construction industry.
2.    Lobbying and Campaigns: The REC works  hard to get the best possible outcome for recruiters needs and issues by engaging, influencing and representing members’ interests direct to key stakeholders, clients, trade bodies and Government – acting as the voice of the UK’s recruitment industry. Industry campaigns such as the ‘Your AWR Advisor’ provide you with client and candidate briefings, presentations, workshops and webinars. In addition, a National AWR Summit being held on 5th May will provide you with all of the support you need to prepare your business for the October 2011 introduction.
3.    Professional Standards: Clients and candidates value professional standards and the REC provides you with the most tangible evidence of professional standards through the Code of Professional Practice, compliance assessments and inspections, the Diversity Pledge and other services which demonstrate to both clients and candidates that members are operating ethically.
4.    Research: The REC undertakes and publishes research and information which keeps members fully informed of the most up to date trends, facts and data relating to the recruitment industry. Its monthly Report on Job published with KPMG is now seen by the media, stakeholders and the industry itself as the most accurate monthly review of the jobs market.
5.    Expert Business Advice: If you would like an objective assessment of your business, you can call on the REC to provide services such as mentoring, performance coaching, start-ups advice, bespoke legal support and consultancy.
6.    Qualifications: A range of qualifications which are recognised industry-wide and which are about to be re-launched this year to make them more relevant to the ever-changing world of recruitment will help you and your staff to demonstrate to clients and candidates that they are working with the best in the business.
7.    Sector support: Specialist support through 21 individual sector groups covering all aspects of the industry from drivers, engineering and industrial, through to legal and HR, technology, education and executive search provide you with an opportunity to show your clients that you are a niche provider that understands their business.
8.    Latest industry updates: Marketing and communications offer expert support in promoting your business. This comprises a range of marketing tools, regular e-comms, PR support and an in-house magazine Recruitment Matters. By keeping up with the latest industry developments, you can pass on your knowledge gained from the REC to demonstrate your business as a consultative service capable of providing your clients and candidates with the latest industry information.
9.    Institute of Recruitment Professionals: A bespoke individual membership programme, the Institute of Recruitment Professionals (IRP), through which recruiters gain access to exclusive tools and services, has been designed to help them further their careers and make the most of their professional potential. The highlight is the annual IRP Awards where the best in the business are rewarded and honoured for their achievements and successes as professional recruiters.
10.    Award winning events programme: A year-long programme of events including an annual National Convention which provides discussion and networking opportunities; summits on issues affecting the recruitment industry and numerous regional events, such as workshops and policy forums to enable all members to have a say in what they want from their representative body.

If you want to contact the REC their number is 020 7009 2144 and email is info@rec.uk.com

This isn’t my advert for the REC – I do want some feedback!  So, what do you think?  If you are a member do you feel you get value?  If you are not... why not?

Annual Salary & Benefits Survey – From the REC

Don’t let the fact that the survey is actually called Annual Salary & Benefits Survey 2009 put you off taking a look further.  This is the REC's most up to date report and was only launched at the end of 2010, so it’s not going to be totally out of date.

This is one of the very thorough reports that the REC produce; the exuctive summary alone has more detail than many similar surveys:

Salaries
• The average basic salary for the UK recruitment industry currently stands at £27,420.
• Consultants (£25,010) earn a basic salary that is over £9,000 less than the average basic salary of Managers (£34,109), and since 2008 the average basic salary of Consultants has fallen significantly (by £1,777 on average).
• The average total salary of recruiters, including bonus/commission, currently stands at £38,218.
• Overall the average total salary has remained almost static since 2008 (down just £134 from £38,352, to £38,218).
• On average, in 2009 recruiters received a bonus/commission of over £12,500 on top of their basic salary (£12,526).
• Bonuses received by Managers (£15,476) were on average around £4,000 higher than Consultants’ (£11,531).

Benefits
• Overall, training schemes or training days are by far the type of benefit most likely to be enjoyed by those working in the recruitment industry (64%). After some margin, home/mobile telephone bills, pension schemes and personal incentives are next most likely, and received by at least 40% all respondents.
• In addition to the range of benefits offered, in nearly two-thirds of cases other employee recognition programmes are in place (38%).

Annual Leave
• On average respondents are entitled to 24 days annual leave (excluding Bank and Public holidays).

Satisfaction with job overall and pay
• Overall, job satisfaction in the recruitment industry remains high. Just under three quarters of all recruiters are satisfied with their job overall (73%, compared with 76% in 2008).
• Managers are significantly more satisfied with their job than Consultants.
Staff Turnover
• The average rate of staff turnover is 37%, (i.e. the average proportion of staff that leave and are replaced in a 12 months period).

I think it’s fascinating stuff… but if you want more information you’ll need to buy it (£49 for members and £149 for non members) 

What do you want to ask the REC?

I've got a meeting with Kevin Green, CEO, of the REC on the 23rd March.
 
Apparently we are talking about "REC updates".  So, shall report back on that.  However, I want to get more from my meeting... so if you've got any questions you want me to put to Kevin please leave them in a comment here.

Institute of Recruiters puts Launch on Hold

The Institute of Recruiters (IOR) is meant to be launching today.  Instead they are publishing a video on their site and working towards a slower launch in the next few weeks.

Looking from the outside you might think that a website not launching on time is hardly breaking news.  However, the IOR (and their LinkedIn group) has caused a lot of debate and discussion over the past couple of weeks.  If you’ve missed this can catch up on my earlier blog post, one from TheHRD and one from RecruitGal; as well as checking out what Steve Huxham at the Recruitment Society has to say on the subject within his own LinkedIn group.

I think, in a nutshell, what has happened is that the IOR thought they’d enter the market with a bang and that bang has rather backfired.  They wanted to create a lot of buzz and anticipation prior to their launch but definitely weren’t prepared for the cynicism and probing they’ve been subjected to. To create this buzz they have established a LinkedIn group with a not-insignificant 4000+ membership, they have been talking big around their qualifications (Harvard University has been named as a potential partner) and they’ve created an air of mystery with an unnamed, but well know, Chief Executive. I’ve also heard they have plans for recruitment-body-world domination; they’ve not said it to me but I know that individuals inside the IOR have spoken of the Institute blowing the REC and APSCO out of the water.

The backfiring?  Well, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the recruitment industry has many cynics as dodgy recruiters and that at the merest sniff of the later the former is on the hunt. 

A lack of straightforward clarity around the “institute” status has been a major issue.  The complexities of this particular issue are in my original blog post and comments.  However, having received (second hand I ought to add) advice from a barrister I understand that the IOR are legally able to use the term institute due to having a “US HQ”.  That’s not enough for many people who think that an institute with UK origins should have UK institute status.  So, legally the IOR are in the right, although I understand some people still debate this, but nevertheless it doesn’t feel quite as right as it should.

Then there is the LinkedIn group; which is currently their primary route to market.  Firstly, the case of fake administrator profiles which muddied the waters and generated quite a number of concerns. These were apparently set up by their PR company (who I understand are not working for/with them anymore).  Then they started to exclude from the group of a number of people who were apparently asking the wrong sort of questions. 

The IOR has perfectly reasonable responses to both of these issues (it’s not my job to defend them so if you want the full story contact them directly) and you can’t deny that it’s up to them who to let into their group.

Another fly in the ointment is that of recruitment to recruitment involvement.   Dave Barber has been seen as a major player within the IOR (it was him and Azmat who first came up with the idea of making a better industry body).  Dave is a R2R consultant.  I understand that other board members/Directors are also R2Rs.   If you ran a recruitment business would you want your staff joining an institute with R2Rs on the main board?  Azmat assures me that none of the board will have access to any additional details on members that other members will have.  But as the LinkedIn group isn’t a forum for asking these types of questions I doubt he’s been able to allay many other’s fears on the subject.

I ought to also mention the strange activity around blog post comments. On mine, TheHRDs and RecruitGal’s there have been a number of occasions when similar posts are made by differently named contributors.  They can’t be directly linked to the IOR but I strongly believe that someone within the organisation is attempting to defend them with these anonymous (and sometimes quite offensive) posts.

Where are we now?

On Friday The Executive Grapevine took down a press release about their association with the IOR (I understand they are considering their position).  The new Chief Executive of the IOR (who is meant to be anonymous for now) has been repeatedly contacted and quizzed about his involvement.  I’m not sure how his name was first leaked but he can’t be too surprised at the calls as his CV is one of the first results returned by Google – and it includes his home address and phone number !

As I said at the start, the IOR won’t be launching today.  They will be taking stock of the situation and hopefully thinking of a way to allow the industry to openly communicate with them.  It’s not enough for the founders to say “anyone can call me”; people want to comment on blogs, twitter and on LinkedIn – make yourselves available to talk where they are!

So what have we learnt?

A group of people don’t think that the REC has teeth and/or that ASPCO serves the needs of the whole industry
Not everyone thinks we need an alternative to the existing governing bodies/associations
Lots of people join LinkedIn groups to see what’s going
Some people care a great deal about honesty and integrity in this industry
Some recruiters are a bit shady
There are some powerful players in the social media world who are well connected the are listened to.
People don’t like spin
If there’s a bandwagon some people will jump on it

I could go on…. but the interesting thing is – do you really think we are seeing anything new in the situation here?  We have a probably genuine, but poorly executed, plan to improve the recruitment industry which leads to backlash and debate.  Recruitment is, without doubt, a tough industry to operate in!!

What’s next

I suspect The IOR will still launch.  If they can provide full clarity on the issues which are of concern then they have a chance of regaining some integrity.  They probably need to wise up on who the influencers are in the industry ands perhaps build some bridges with them.

My personal opinion is that we don’t actually need another governing body for the industry; I like what APSCO do and I would love for the REC to find a way to meet the needs of the industry.  In order to do that they’re going to have to confront some issues head on, wise up on every day recruitment issues and get a bit more ballsy!

If they don’t and if the IOR can sort out their “teething problems” then we could have a bit of healthy competition in the confederation/association/institute marketplace! 

What’s all this about the Institute of Recruiters?

In the past week there has been quite a lot of talk about The Institute of Recruiters (IOR).  They aren’t officially launching until the end of the month but have been creating interest with their LinkedIn group. 

I thought I’d see what I could find out and had a chat with two of the founders; Dave Barber and Azmat Mohammed.  These are the notes from my conversation with them.  What I would like to point out is that the purpose of this blog post is to state what Dave and Azmat have told me not to give my personal opinion on institutes or associations or on any of the rumours that are abundant at present.  All that can come later!!

Overview of membership

The Institute of Recruiters is an international member organisation - owned by the members; standing for the representation of recruitment agency and HR/inhouse recruiters.  The IOR recognises that in-house corporate recruiters have a separate set of needs to agency recruiters so they cater for both differently, and they see their acknowledgement of this as a USP. 

Membership levels geared around qualifications taken.  The entrance exams are being worked on now and will be sanctioned by one of the Universities they are partnered with (Harvard is one they are talking about working with too).  

Any recruiter will be able to join initially as an affiliate.  By taking the entrance exam and then other qualifications they can move up to a Member then a Fellow of IOR. 

The focus for the IOR is going to be on continued professional development (CPD).  So once you become a Fellow you will need to attend relevant training/educational events to show that you are continuing to invest in your learning (they are calling these “qualification hours” which work towards maintaining your fellowship basis).

However, the focus of the IOR is not just around individuals.  There are also offerings for companies to become corporate members.

Corporate or individual members will be expected to abide by certain “rules” and these operating guidelines/standards will be revealed on the launch date.

In case you are interested, the IOR is a not for profit organisation.  They have international institute status and are currently going through the process for institute status in the UK. 

Why the IOR was created

Dave had been a regional director for the REC for a number of years so has previous hands on experience of working with an institute.  Dave and Azmat’s paths crossed and they felt there was an opportunity for another organisation to raise the standards in a more exclusive way.  Specifically to help the recruiters at the actual “coal face”. 

They also state (and I do love this!) that they want to make recruiting a more professional service than that “estate agent in the 80s” imagine.  Can’t fault that!.

The IOR’s board is largely made up with individuals from a corporate and agency recruitment background. 

They’ve already got nearly 3000 members to their LinkedIn group in the eight weeks it’s been launched; growing at a rate of 250 members a day and is officially the largest and fastest growing online community of any recruiting body in the UK.  As long as you are involved in the recruitment industry is some capacity you can join the group.

Why would you care?

I asked what affiliate members get on joining the IOR, however, we’ll have to wait until the 28th to find out!

What they would tell me is that if you join there are real tangible benefits…. but, again, they can’t talk about that right now.  Interestingly they mentioned a “second phase” which is where we will see a technical offering that is “probably the most radical the industry will ever see.  It will make businesses more profitable and cut thousands off costs”.  Apparently it’s something that no one else in the industry is thinking of it and will make people join The IOR in flocks and make them stay for years. Now that’s what I want to know about!!

They also talked about the promotion of recruitment qualifications and standards – but again we’ll have to wait until launch to hear more about that.

Overlap

I did ask about “overlap” our existing member organisations.  They didn’t deny the overlap but say that the IOR is offering a very different approach.  They state their vision is far beyond what we are used to.

The key elements are that “they are a group linking like minded individuals.  Secondly it’s sharing best practice from the HR side of the industry with the recruiter side with strong representation from the agency recruiters.  Plus their offerings are beyond what any other body offers…. and it’s international”.

Finally, they will have a Chairman who is apparently a well known name within the industry… but who is a secret at the moment.   They know how to build interest and create a buzz, that’s for sure!

I'm very keen to hear your comments!

REC’s Recruitment Industry Trends Survey 2009/10

I’m always being asked about getting hold of industry stats – so I thought if I post about this here then it’ll help some people (and me!) find information when they next need it.

The Recruitment Industry Trends Survey is is an annual report report compiled by the REC’s Industry Research Unit.  You do have to pay for it and it’s £49 for members and £99 for non members.

If you don’t want to buy the report and just need a few facts/figures the major findings of the Recruitment Industry Turnover Survey covering the April 2009 to March 2010 were:

• A drop in overall industry turnover to £19.7 billion compared to 22.491 billion in 200/09. This represents a 12.4 per cent decrease in overall turnover.
• Temporary placements fell from 1,068 million to 879,302, a contraction of 17.7 per cent.
• Overall turnover for temporary/contract staff went down from £19.882 billion to £17.8 billion, a drop of 10.4 per cent.
• Permanent placements decreased from 582,803 to 436,822, a fall of 25 per cent.
• Total turnover for permanent staff also decreased from £2.609 billion to £1.9 billion, a drop of 27.6 per cent
• The largest number of temporary placements was once again in the Industrial and blue collar sector which after last year’s peak of 33 per cent of the market fell back this year to 21 per cent. This was followed by secretarial/clerical at 13 per cent and drivers at 12 per cent. Bringing up the rear was accounting/financial which dropped from 20 per cent last year to just two per cent.
• The largest sector for permanent placements was professional/managerial at 23 per cent, two points higher than last year followed by secretarial and clerical which has remained static at 14 per cent.
• Staff employment in the recruitment industry fell from 95,867 in 2008/09 to 80,528.

I'm hoping to blog a few stats from the RECs recent salary survey report  in the next week or so (once I remember where I put it!!)

2010 Recruitment Market Survey report

Back in October we helped i-Business Resources (i-BR) conduct a survey of UK recruitment agency professionals.  The survey covered attitudes on the current state of the recruitment market, the main challenges faced today by recruiters, and the views on the importance of IT solutions in facing these challenges.

If you’d like to see a full copy of the report you can download it for free (2010 Recruitment Market Survey report) but I thought I’d share a bit of the summary.

Agency market recovery and buoyancy

Overall, 53% of Recruitment Agency recruiters feel the UK recruitment market is more buoyant than this time last year. However, the recruitment market still appears to be in an unstable and unpredictable position when looking at differences in sectors and regions.

The South East / London / Midlands are the least buoyant areas in the UK. In these areas nearly equal numbers of recruiters reported a less buoyant market as those reporting a more buoyant market.

The further from the Midlands/South East/London you go the greater the recovery being reported. In Scotland and N. Ireland for instance over 70% felt the market was more buoyant than last year.
Overall, Perm business is seen as the area of greatest recovery over the last year. Temporary business is less buoyant but (with the exception of Care and Education sectors) overall Temp business is still more buoyant than last year.

Market Confidence

Agencies are expecting a long period of uncertainty in a difficult market and economic climate.
In the short-term, 58% of recruiters felt the market will remain the same in the next 6 months, 22% felt the market would get worse, and 20% felt we would see an upturn.

This Short-term confidence seems to be justified when looking at the plans of Employers. 88% of Employers felt their recruitment levels in the next 6 months would remain the same, or increase, in both Perm and Temp/Contract areas.

Over the longer-term however, most Agency staff felt that a full recovery to pre Credit-Crunch levels is at least 18 months away. 38% felt that a full recovery would take at least 2 years, with some of believing this would be much longer, if it would ever recover to the levels previously seen.

Today's challenges for Agencies

In addition to the uncertainty in the economy Agency recruiters also highlighted the following as challenges they are faced with:

• Eroding margins. Due to Master Vendors, Employers demanding low fees, and agencies themselves under-cutting each other to win business.

• The ability for employers to do their own recruitment. Fears over employers using Job Boards and Social Media to perform their own recruitment were raised, as were the equalisation impact of the Agency Workers Regulations.

• Poor perception of agencies by clients. It can be difficult to persuade some employers to use agencies due to their perception of agency service.
 
Within this strategic background the key areas of operational concern for recruiters were as follows:

1. Finding good Candidates was rated as the biggest challenge facing recruitment consultants. 56% of people rated this as their 1st or 2nd priority.

2. Finding new Clients was rated overall as the second biggest challenge, with 52% of people rating this as their 1st or 2nd priority.

3. Reducing costs and being more flexible to exploit new market opportunities were rated approximately the same on an overall rating scale.

4. Overall, the least important issue for agencies was improving service with only 16% rating this as their 1st or 2nd priority.

The report also looks at the use of technology by agencies (you can check that out in the full report).  The bit I’d like to share is the areas that the highest percentage of recruiters thought they needed to improve in.

1. Social Media – 29% of people felt that their use of Social Media was already good or excellent, and 33% wish to improve their use of Social Media. This illustrates a growing adoption of Social Media as a useful recruitment tool.

2. Email Marketing – This area has grown considerably in terms of importance to recruiters in the last 12 months. 41% of recruiters now recognise a need to improve in their strategic use of email marketing. This perhaps shows a growing recognition that email marketing can be a useful part of an agencies overall marketing strategy to attract clients and candidates and build brand.

Finally I thought I’d share something from the Employers View of Agencies section. 

The services received from Agencies was rated overall as ‘Adequate’ by employers. 42% rated the services as ‘Good’, but 14% rated the service as ‘Very Poor’.

The main benefits for using Agencies were the time-savings that were provided to employers (e.g. from not needing to sift through CV’s themselves), and how quickly Agencies can turn around recruitment compared to the employer if they were to do this all themselves.

The top 3 frustrations when using Agencies were:

1. The quality of service provided
2. Poor screening of Candidates (against employer culture, references etc).
3. Candidates not matching the level of requirements for positions.

Certainly interesting when we see that agencies don’t feel the need to improve the quality of their service to employers!

Full copy of the report here

REC Chief Examiner role

I had an email from John Cunningham (the REC’s Head of Qualifications) just before Christmas talking about how, following a major review of its qualifications’ portfolio, the REC is seeking Chief Examiners.

I thought this sounded like quite an interesting job so I’ve just had a chat with one of their existing Chief Examiners about his role.  Tony Taylor is the Chief Examiner for the REC's current entry level qualification, the Certificate in Recruitment Practice.  He is very enthusiastic about the work that he does with the REC and the benefits being a Chief Examiner brings to his business.

The actual work involved is centered around the four examinations per year. A Chief examiner is responsible for a specific unit (or units) of the qualification and has to produce the syllabus for each.  They then have to ensure that the training materials match what’s covered in the syllabus. The role involves writing the exam papers for your unit (this is probably the most time consuming bit according to Tony) and then later down the line actually marking the exam papers.

Once you’ve entered any industry it’s so easy to become static and to fall behind the times.  By being involved in a role like this you have to keep up to date with legislative changes and modern practices and technologies. This has got to benefit your own business and staff.

So the key points… you are going to need a good grounding in recruitment and have the ability to impart your knowledge and experience to other people (you don't actually need to be a trainer to apply for the role).  You’ll also need to be able to find some “free” time to get involved in the exam process and be able to make it to the REC’s offices 4x a year; this may be easier if you are the MD of your own recruitment business - but isn't going to be impossible for someone working for a larger business where you aren't the boss.

If this appeals then check out the rest of the information on the REC site.  You only have until the 19th Jan to apply!

APSCo Awards for Excellence roundup

Last week APSCo held their annual Awards for Excellence event.  The focus of the awards is on how members are demonstrating and supporting the professional standards that APSCo embodies. The awards are open to all members and winning has nothing to do with company size or technology.
 
The categories and winners were:
- Recruitment Company of the Year 2010 Under £20m t/o: HobsonPrior
- Recruitment Company of the Year 2010 £21m - £100m t/o: CBSbutler
- Recruitment Company of the Year 2010 Over £100m t/o: NES Group
- Recruitment Sector Service Provider of the Year 2010 (for the APSCo affiliate member company that has most consistently demonstrated the professional values associated with APSCo membership throughout the past 12 months): Broadbean
- Innovator of the Year 2010 (for the individual or company who/which has conceived and brought to the Professional Staffing market the most innovative or pioneering idea over the past 12 months): MyResourcer.com
- Individual Contribution to APSCo 2010: Jon Cox (MD of Start Resourcing)

There are a few photos the event on the APSCo site and Broadbean have also got a video on YouTube of them winning their award.

It was such a shame that a prior engagement meant I wasn't able to attend the charity ball and awards.  However, by all accounts, it was a great evening and (as usual) raised a great deal of money for Childline (APSCo's long time supported charity). From what I see and hear Ann Swain and her team work really hard all the time - but especially when organising and hosting their annual ball's!  Hope to be there in 2011!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

RecruitRank Awards roundup

Last week's Jobsite had their annual RecruitRank Awards bash.  The awards recognise the country’s top performing recruitment agencies based on candidate feedback.

The categories and winners were:
- Low volume Jobsite user: Best Candidate Communication - Kensington Consulting
- High volume Jobsite user: Best Candidate Communication - networx
- Low volume Jobsite user: Best Understanding of Candidate Needs - Core Talent Recruitment Ltd
- High volume Jobsite user: Best Understanding of Candidate Needs - Wynnwith Group Ltd
- Low volume Jobsite user: Best Industry Knowledge - MECS Communications Ltd
- High volume Jobsite user: Best Industry Knowledge - Morson International (Aerospace)
- Low volume Jobsite user: Best Recruiter - Kensington Consulting
- High volume Jobsite user: Best Recruiter - networx
- Low volume Jobsite user: Most Improved - Blue Octopus Recruitment Limited
- High volume Jobsite user: Most Improved - Solutions Driven Ltd
- Best Recruiter Overall - Kensington Consulting

There are also photos on Flickr and in a slideshow.

I like the idea of these awards.  However, obviously/naturally they are rather biased towards Jobsite clients so aren't reflective of the entire recruitment industry.  Don't get me wrong - I'm not dissing them - I still think that these winners should be very proud of the achievement (and that Jobsite do a great job organising them).  It's just a shame that, as these are the only industry awards based purely on feedback from jobseekers, someone else out there (a more independent resource) couldn't perhaps take over these awards and make them more industry encompassing.  

HR Forum - Savoy Place Review

Our roving reporter, @LisaScales, recently attended the HR Forum at the Institute of Engineering & Technology on Savoy Place.  Here is her review:

What looked like initially to be quite a sober day with a true conference style format turned into an enlightening day for me watching senior Human Resources professionals from large organisations sticking their hands in the air and saying "yes we want to learn" "yes we have issues and how do we solve them"

The day started off with the opening speaker Richard Donkin, author, public speaker and all round font of knowledge (extending past the world of work and into the work of finance,fishing and sailing!)

Richard has written 2 books, the History of Work and the Future of Work and is, I believe, one of the few Baby Boomers who really "gets" the seesmic shift the younger generation is having on the world of work and how we approach work

Richard gave some astounding statistics (he wrote a column for the FT so he likes his stats) and one of which I found particularly interesting was that by 2020 there will be 600,000 fewer young people between the ages of 15-24 in UK labour market - only this week it was reported that graduate unemployment has risen to its highest level for 17 years. Hard to believe Richard's statistics rang true but with all the factors he talked about including the declining population etc it had many of the audience shifting uncomfortably in their seats!

The HR forum is not only a day to listen to great speakers and learn it is also a chance for industry suppliers to meet decision makers face to face and whilst there were speaking sessions throughout the day alot of the time is taken up with delegates meeing suppliers on a one to one basis - I could really see the benefits that this could have for a supplier to have maybe up to a 10 new business meetings in one day (try that if you have to circumnavigate the M25 or deal with tube strikes)

Jacqueline Davies, Global Head of Talent, Performance & Resourcing - Barclays Global Retail Bank had the pre lunch slot and I think you could safely say she wet everyones appetite for finding and keeping "fabulous talent" in their organisations. Jaqueline took a year off to write her book The Truth about Talent (all profits from this book go to charity) and is 8 weeks into her new role. Jacqueline is a dynamic and inspirational character with a no nonsense approach and is exactly what Barclays need to find the best talent to support their ambitions as a bank.

Jaqueline was keen to emphasise that her presentation wasnt a "catch all" approach and every organisation needs their own strategy before they embark on any talent hunt but she is happy to throw the rule book out to get the right result - one point struck a chord in that she says there isnt a war for talent but more a capability crunch - she means that there are plenty of  people out of work and looking for work but their skills dont match the skills that organisations are looking for so there is a mismatch in the market. Jacqueline went on to say that the education system doesn't support the capability mismatch and that organisations will have to be more involved at grass roots level to support this.

The afternoon was taken up with more one to one meetings and more speakers. Fat Face talked about their employer branding and engagement journey starting with turning their employer brand and aligning it with their core values - the "Fattitudes" - that engage with current and future employees. Graham White from Westminster City Council also spoke about challenges being faced in the public sector and how you keep morale high, head count low whilst incurring ever reducing budgets.

I spoke to a couple of the delegates from the day to get their feedback and the general consensus was that it was a great line up of speakers aswell as a really good way to connect with their peer group and share ideas.

All in all a great day watching industry professionals coming together, collaborating and sharing ideas with a real want to improve things for their workforces. 

RecruitRank Awards 2010 Finalists Announced

The RecruitRank Awards have been around since November 2005. Last week they  announced the finalists for the RecruitRank Awards 2010. "Recognising best practice and quality customer service in recruitment agencies for the last 5 years, the RecruitRank Awards are the only awards in the industry where finalists and winners are chosen by feedback from candidates and not a panel of industry judges."

You can view the finalists on the RecruitRank website

The awards are being held on 9th November at Grace in London. I was hoping to get along to the awards but am sadly otherwise engaged.  So, if anyone wants my ticket (in return for doing a write up for me) please let me know.