John Atkinson Head of commercial business Hitachi Capital Invoice Finance
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t’s been a positive but challenging year for recruitment firms. In a general election year, the potential of a new government left some companies adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach, which had a direct impact on recruitment. The expected upturn in the jobs market following the general election didn’t quite come to fruition and more uncertainty followed around the possibility of a ‘Brexit’. Yet the UK economy is proving still to be one of the most prosperous economies. It is within this environment that we recently surveyed over 100 managing directors and business owners of temporary recruitment agencies, and the positive news is that they feel the sector as a whole is growing. Recruiters specifically witnessed an increase in demand for candidates in the retail, manufacturing, healthcare and logistics & construction sectors. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t challenges. Managing cashflow will always be a test for the temporary recruitment agencies, as their candidates expect to be paid on a weekly or daily basis. Getting back office processes and systems right can also be a challenge, with over three quarters (78%) of recruiters agreeing that establishing a client base is one of the biggest challenges when starting up a business and is essentially why most fail. The fact that the businesses within this supplement find themselves on the Recruiter FAST 50 list shows that they have equipped themselves with a strong candidate pool, effective cashflow management and efficient back office support, and can now plan ahead to continue to grow quickly and enjoy success. We’re looking forward to supporting the next generation of recruitment firms and helping some of the most exciting businesses in the sector to grow. Congratulations once again to those that have made the Recruiter FAST 50 list and we wish you a bright and successful 2016. WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 19
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14/01/2016 11:32