Recruiter January 2020

January 2020

INCORPORATING Recruitment Matters

www.recruiter.co.uk

Business intelligence for recruitment and resourcing professionals

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NEWS

05 Recruiters power up the

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salary rankings in the North Recruiters rank among the top sectors in terms of average salary in the Northern Powerhouse In-house recruiters struggle with candidate experience The FIRM’s members see the candidate experience as their number 1 priority Hirers up their game thanks to worker feedback RedWigWam upgrades its online portal to allow its temp workers to give feedback to employers Start-up of the Month: Warne Mather Solutions Frankie Mather and Ash Warne launch the payroll and HR staffing specialist Contracts & Deals

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FEATURES

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THE BIG STORY HOT 1OO recruitment companies 2O19 Recruiter’s latest listings measuring the highest gross profit per head/employee 26 Future Gazing 2O2O Northern lights discuss recruitment beyond 2O2O

INCORPORATING Recruitment Matters

E COMMUNITY 29 Advertising special

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Introduce job-swaps to stop the job-hopping Tech & Tools Rise of the robo-recruiter: AI can help eliminate bias

Vision 2O2O: The year ahead Social Network The Workplace: Guy Hayward Workplace Innovation: Jane Burton Business Advice: Alex Arnot My brilliant recruitment career: Sophie Rice, Diamond Recruitment Services Movers & Shakers Recruiter contacts The Last Word: Simon Winfield

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INTERACTION Viewpoint JP Marks, Department for Work and Pensions Soundbites

I M AG E S | ISTOCK / SARAH AULD

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07/10/2019 03/12/2019 13:04 16:43

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UPDATE

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LEADER

H

appy 2020! What a great ‘brand’ to propel the new year’s momentum from the start – and don’t we deserve it? Clarity, vision, looking forward, a lucky double number – 2020 – we won’t see its like again for another century plus one year.

After the mixed bag that was 2019, it’s time to chase out the doldrums, the insecurity and the inertia, and simply get moving ahead.

Our 2020 optimism got off to an early start at the end of November when an eclectic group of imaginative, innovative ‘Northern lights’ recruiters joined Recruiter, supported “It’s time to

by NatWest, for a chase out the mini-conference in doldrums, the Manchester, to insecurity and share exciting best the inertia, and practices in their businesses and their simply get moving ahead” views of success for skills, workforce wellbeing, getting close to their sector and more.

Look on p5, p6 and p26 for what we heard at Future Gazing: A 2020 Vision for Recruitment in the Northern Powerhouse.

And – ta da! – welcome to Recruiter’s HOT 100 2019, which we also unveiled in Manchester. Is your company represented? Quite a few new joiners this year in our ‘hottest of the hot’ profitable recruitment companies, so congratulations to everyone in the HOT 100 2019!

Breathe deep, and take in the fresh air of 2020. We made it!

Recruiters power up the salary rankings in the North

BY GRAHAM SIMONS

RECRUITERS RANK AMONG the top sectors in terms of average salary in the bastion of innovation that is the Northern Powerhouse.

This is according to findings presented by Paul Johnson, corporate lawyer at North of England law firm Ward Hadaway, who run the Fastest 50 Awards.

Not to be confused with Recruiter’s FAST 50 rankings, the Fastest 50 celebrate the region’s fastest-growing, privately-owned companies and outstanding business achievement in the North East, Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.

Johnson, who gave the keynote address at Recruiter’s recent conference, ‘Future Gazing: A 2020 vision for recruitment’, told delegates that Ward Hadaway had always believed in the North and that it was in this spirit that they chose to develop the awards.

Sharing raw data from the Fastest 50 companies, Johnson revealed recruitment featured prominently among the top sectors by average salary.

While technology ranked highest, with an average salary of just under £100k, ahead of financial services (with an average salary of just over £60k), recruitment ranked third, with an average salary of just under £60k, coming in above construction (with an average salary of just over £40k).

Johnson, a champion of the Northern Powerhouse, also underscored to delegates that innovation had long been a tradition in Manchester. “The evidence is all around us today of the innovation… a real watchword for the city over the past 100 years.”

DeeDee Doke, Editor

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38,542 FOLLOWERS

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UPDATE

AS OF 5 DECEMBER 2019

In-house recruiters struggle with candidate experience, says FIRM

BY COLIN COTTELL

PERSONALISATION AND FLEXIBILITY enabled by technology are the keys to better candidate experience, according to the managing director of The FIRM (The Forum for In-house Recruitment Managers).

“People are used to self-service approaches such as online check-in, so useful tools such as interview scheduling software where people can book themselves into relevant time slots for interviews are becoming the norm,” Emma Mirrington told Recruiter. “The same goes for video interviews where people can book themselves in and respond how and when they want in a time that works for them and their busy lives.”

Mirrington’s comments were in response to The FIRM’s Annual Membership Survey 2019/20, which revealed that the candidate experience is the top priority for members. The online survey of 423 in-house recruiters showed that 49% rated the candidate experience as their top recruitment priority.

Although candidate experience wasn’t included in the 2018/19 survey, nonetheless it is seen as significantly more important than respondents’ second and third priorities: EVP and Employer Brand, and Building Talent Pools for Future Hires, selected by 33% and 31% respectively.

“The candidate experience is increasingly important as there are still some real challenges for our members over skills shortages and scarcity of talent, so improving the candidate experience will help differentiate employers against their competition,” said Mirrington.

Despite much talk about the growing importance of technology in recruitment, the survey gives the lie to the notion that so far at least in-house recruiters are embracing it with any great enthusiasm. Indeed, if anything the survey shows the reverse, with automation of the recruitment process, and mobile technology dropping in importance from 19% to 13%, and 6% to 5% respectively, compared to last

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JANUARY 2020

year. While the use of AI has stayed level at 4%, it remains near the bottom of in-house recruiters’ priorities. “So, whilst technology is important within the recruitment process, it’s not currently viewed as a major priority,” says the report.

The report also acknowledges the risk highlighted by respondents in qualitative research carried out as part of the survey that automation “and specifically bot responders, risk maligning the candidate experience”.

However, while technology is not currently seen as a priority, the report suggests that it will inevitably grow in importance, and that over time if implemented correctly, “it can free up people to concentrate on soft measures, such as the candidate experience and engagement”.

“I feel flexibility and personalisation are key here and technology can be an absolute enabler in making this happen,” added Mirrington.

IMAG E | ISH UTTE RSTOCK

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THOUGHTS FROM… PAUL JOHNSON CO R P O R AT E L AW Y E R , WA R D HADAWAY

“Tall floodlights can lead to great things.”

Reflecting on how Manchester City’s only claim to superiority over his beloved Manchester United a decade ago was their taller floodlights

Hirers have to up their game

BY COLIN COTTELL

GIVING ITS WORKERS the opportunity to rate employers might result in online temporary worker booking platform RedWigWam refusing to work with some of them, says CEO Lorna Davidson.

Speaking to Recruiter about upgrading the company’s online portal, Davidson said the portal already allows hirers to grade workers according to a 1 to 5-star rating system, with ‘5 stars’ denoting the highest level of satisfaction.

However, earlier this month the company extended this to allow workers booked through the site to give feedback to employers.

“This allows us to say to the hirer, ‘Actually, we are not sure we want to work with you because of the way you are dealing with our people, and these are the things we would like to improve before we send somebody else back into you’,” said Davidson.

Davidson said she hoped it would never come to this, and that hirers would respond constructively to feedback. “Quite often a hirer just doesn’t realise that things like getting a warm welcome, and being told where the bathroom is can make a huge difference in how workers feel,” she explained. “So hopefully we will be able to feed back and say ‘Look your induction wasn’t great. If you could spend five minutes with them when they arrive and cover these areas that would be great’,” she added.

The opportunity for workers to rate hirers and provide feedback will motivate employers to treat workers better, which she said was especially important in today’s labour market, “where the worker is becoming more dominant, and fewer Europeans are working in the UK”.

“I think hirers are going to have to up their game,” said Davidson.

K ATE MCCARTHYBOOTH M A NAG ING DIREC TOR , MCCARTHY RECRU ITMENT

“Now we box, we beat the sh*t out of one another on Wednesday lunchtime because that is who we are.”

BEN HAMMERSLEY FUTURIST AND STR ATEGIC FORECASTER

“If you make the country insane, nothing else gets done.”

Speaking to the BCI [Business Continuity Institute] World conference in London in November

STA RT- UP OF TH E MO NTH

I M AG E S | I STOC K / PA L HA NS E N

WARNE MATHER SOLUTIONS An extensive knowledge of exactly which contractors and staff are available – and when – is how new payroll and HR systems staffing specialist Warne Mather Solutions plans to stand out in the market.

The agency, set up by Frankie Mather and Ash Warne, focuses on placing specialists who work on the iTrent and Resourcelink HR systems.

Mather told Recruiter they chose to set up the agency because they are good at what they do and also to free themselves of the restrictions of working for someone else.

“We could only work above a certain percentage for clients, which made it very difficult, because in our section there are many charities and a great deal of public sector work.

“It’s given us a lot more freedom to say: ‘We understand that you are a charity. We understand the budget is everything – it’s still something we can help you with,’ whereas before, it would have been something that we probably would have had to turn down.

“We know the market and it’s not a case of where we say: ‘I’ll have a

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

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look and see what I can find.’

Particularly in the contracting world, we always know when somebody is available. So, we could be speaking to a client and we already have a shortlist of maybe two or three candidates ready to send.”

Looking ahead, Mather adds the agency plans to recruit additional staff by the end of 2020.

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THIS WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS… Here is a summary of some of the most popular stories we have brought you on recruiter.co.uk during the past 12 months…

J A N U A R Y •‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒→

9 JANUARY 2019

18 FEBRUARY 2019

FORMER APPRENTICE CANDIDATE THAKRAR STRIKES OUT ON HER OWN

R EXPELS MEMBER REC FOLLOWING GLAA F IINSPECTION

Right at the start of the year, we updated you on Trishna Thakrar (below), a candidate on the BBC’s The Apprentice reality series in 2016. She joined fellow ex-Apprentice candidate and 2012 winner Ricky Martin’s recruitment firm Hyper Recruitment Solutions (HRS) at the start of 2017.

We brought you news that she had left Martin’s firm to set up her own recruitment business, technology agency TT Tech Solutions. She told Recruiter that working with Martin and Lord Sugar at HRS enabled her to build the confidence to realise she could strike out on her own having built up a strong network before joining ning HRS. “Leaving g HRS was a big decision … I didn’t have ave the confidence ence coming outt of The Apprentice e to say ‘I can do this his by ing myself’. Being there and seeing myself self do it at another other company without much uch need for help elp or support – that I could d do it all on n my own – itt only made e sense for me to come out ut of there and build a business for myself.”

More: bit.ly/2XOyetL /2XOyetL 8 RECRUITER TER

JANUARY Y2 2020 02 0 20

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22 JANUARY 2019

JOBS AD PARODYING THE PM ATTRACTS MILLIONS OF VIEWS Later in January, readers – and millions of others – enjoy a jobs ad seemed to e ribbing the then gently ribbi Prime Min Minister Theresa May (yes, iit was only this year).

The video vid ad, the work of Studio Yes, Stu contained the tag conta line ‘Fed up with your job too?’ and features an feat exasperated May exas returning to the retu safe haven of 10 Downing Street. It Dow attracted millions attra of views across vi Facebook, Face Instagram, Ins YouTube, You LadBible, UniLad, LadB Imgur and an Reddit without a any media spend. spe More: bit.ly/2DupAaN bit.ly/

M Moving on to February and news that the Recruitment & n Employment Confederation E ((REC) expelled Southamptonbased recruiter ARZ b Management as a member M ssparked a lot of interest.

The Gangmasters Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) revoked ARZ’s licence in October 2018 after it was found to have contravened the GLAA’s licensing standards 11 times following st a compliance inspection in 2017. The REC revealed it had sought to conduct a comprehensive investigation including inviting ARZ to answer questions from the REC Professional Standards Committee (PSC).

As ARZ failed to respond to the REC’s requests for information, the Committee was forced to base its decision on the GLAA’s investigation.

More: bit.ly/2qCTCq1

21 MARCH 2019

HMRC SHOULD NEVER HAVE GONE AHEAD WITH ‘SLAM DUNK’ LORRAINE KELLY IR35 CASE In March, Recruiter spoke with industry experts after HM Revenue & Customs lost an IR35 Tribunal case against TV presenter Lorraine Kelly (above). The general consensus was that HMRC never had a strong case and shouldn’t have gone ahead with it.

In a particularly damning indictment on the case, we reported ContractorCalculator CEO Dave Chaplin saying: “The ruling was a slam dunk for Ms Kelly, and it’s astonishing given the level of ultimate control she exercised that this one ever got to court. Not only would I not expect this to be appealed by HMRC, but there surely must be a case for wasted costs to be claimed.”

More: bit.ly/2XSncUn

IM AGES | SHUT T ERSTOCK / ISTOCK / AL AM Y / STU DI O Y E S

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1 JULY 2019

EX-RECRUITER JOINS LOVE ISLAND TO SHAKE UP THE VILLA

When the sun was hot and thoughts turned to sun-kissed beaches, we got a text to say a former recruiter was going to brighten up our screens on the ITV feel-good reality show Love Island. Joanna Chimonides previously worked at education recruiter Tradewind Recruitment and entered the villa to graft away and shake up the bright young things on the island.

MONTHS

More: https://bit.ly/35xYSKf

←‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒• D E C E M B E R

9 MAY 2019

15 JULY 2019

WHO WERE THE WINNERS IN THIS YEAR’S RECRUITER AWARDS?

REED WARNS OF IMPENDING RECESSION FOLLOWING JOBS FALL

On to May, and our Breaking News story listing the winners at the 2019 Recruiter Awards was in the top 10 most viewed stories of the year. Held as usual at the prestigious Grosvenor House Hotel in the heart of London’s Mayfair, winners picked up awards in 31 different categories.

Well done if you were one of them – or if you numbered among the shortlist – and don’t forget to enter this year’s Recruiter Awards at recruiterawards. co.uk. But hurry, as the deadline is mid-January!

More: bit.ly/2qOaOsn

4 JUNE 2019

EXEC SEARCH SPECIALIST ONE OF MISSING CLIMBERS IN HIMALAYAN MOUNTAIN TRAGEDY In June we reported the tragic news that a recruiter was among the climbers believed to have died in the Himalayan mountains.

Rupert Whewell (above, top centre), managing director of executive search firm Bateman Gray, was named as one of eight climbers feared dead on Nanda Devi, India’s second highestpeak. The group was thought to have been hit by an avalanche on 27 May, the day after the missing climbers were last heard from.

In July, James Reed (below), chairman of recruitment giant REED, issued the gloomy warning that the UK was heading for recession.

His warning followed data from the reed.co.uk Job Index, which showed the number of advertised vacancies falling by 2.3% in Q2 2019, compared to the same quarter in 2018 – the largest percentage drop on reed.co.uk since 2010.

“The next prime minister [at the time, Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson were battling it out to win the votes of the Conservative Party faithful] will come to captain an economy with fewer job opportunities amid a national economic slowdown,” he predicted.

Maybe his predictions will come to fruition during this year – only time will tell.

More: bit.ly/2OPkNWF

More: bit.ly/2pQTG4Q

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

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28 AUGUST 2019

EX-PRIMARY CARE PEOPLE CEO JUNEJA JAILED FOR BEATING WIFE In August, Recruiter was in court as Tawhid Juneja, the former CEO of UK healthcare recruitment agency Primary Care People (PCP), was sentenced to 33 months in prison.

The sentence at St Albans Crown Court followed Juneja’s conviction in July at Luton Crown Court for coercive and controlling behaviour and two counts of assaulting his wife by beating.

Before handing down his sentence, the judge addressed Juneja directly telling him that he had had “to balance the way that you treated Ms Juneja with your good character”, which the defence had highlighted during the trial, including his charitable work, taking young people under his wing and inspiring loyalty in employees.

However, in view of the degree of seriousness of the offence and the harm done to Carrie Juneja, the judge decided that a custodial sentence of 33 months was ap appropriate.

Steve Stevenage-based Primary Care People went into administration in 2017, owing more than £2m to creditors. However, the assets credito were a acquired by multi-discipline recruiter McGinley Group, rec which Juneja left in July w 2018, according to the 2 company. c More: bit.ly/2slLU45 M

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CONTRACTS

CONTRACTS & DEALS

Intelligent Resource Staffing company and managed recruitment service provider Intelligent Resource has partnered with US fintech brand Stash to support the New Yorkbased firm’s recruitment programme as it opens an office in Reading.

Spktral A cloud-based technology company that helps organisations simplify the gender pay gap reporting process and improve their diversity & inclusion profile, has announced the completion of a seed investment round. The funding has been provided by a group of investors including Paul Atkinson, non-executive chair of Taranata Group, John Hall and Philip Pritchard.

First Advantage Background check and drug-screening solutions provider First Advantage has agreed a partnership with Shelters to Shutters, a not-for-profit organisation that helps individuals and families make the transition out of homelessness to economic self-sufficiency.

First Advantage will provide discounted background screens to Shelters to Shutters candidates and support the organisation through donations and volunteers.

Resume-Library US job board Resume-Library has teamed up with recruitment technology platform Recruitology.

In the partnership, the job board will match candidates from its database directly to Recruitology’s customers’ job descriptions.

GPW Recruitment Merseyside-based multi-sector recruiter GPW Recruitment is now majority-owned by an employee ownership trust (EOT).

Legal services firm Knights and RBS Invoice Finance advised on the deal.

Fawkes & Reece London-based construction and builtenvironment recruitment agency Fawkes & Reece has acquired Southampton-based recruiter Alltek. Regional specialist Alltek has been providing permanent and freelance recruitment solutions within the construction sector since its launch in 2003.

Retorio AI-based video recruiting software provider Retorio has secured a seed-financing round for a single-digit, million-euro sum from a top angel consortium. Investors include: Ulrich Holdenried, supervisory board member at Infineon; and Dr Wolfgang Kemna, former manager at SAP. Retorio says it will use this funding to roll out the software solution to its first early adopter customer, including the BMW Group.

Workday Business process outsourcing provider Capita, chemicals company Evonik, truck manufacturer KION, technology provider Quadient and medical technology company Siemens Healthineers have signed up to enterprise cloud applications provider Workday’s human capital management systems.

DEAL OF TH E MO NTH

MRG People Asia The newly created division of The Management Recruitment Group in the UK has been awarded the full recruitment process outsource (RPO) contract for global property group LendLease, specifically

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Bibby Financial Services Financial services provider Bibby Financial Services has provided a £800k funding facility to independent recruitment company D&A Recruitment. This is to support the business’s working capital and its goal of achieving a £10m turnover.

LendLease Projects. The LendLease Projects contract will be led by regional managing director Olly Piltz and supported by the local recruitment team Nora Latiff and Jackson Sebastian.

SAP German multinational software corporation SAP has partnered with experiential learning platform Enactus.

The partnership will involve joint initiatives to drive SAP UKI’s future talent pipeline. For example, SAP COO Ryan Poggi will join Enactus’ board of directors to look at how SAP can connect Enactus students to tech that has the ability to drive social change.

The partnership includes the launch of a major social entrepreneurship competition for Enactus students in the UK. Sponsored by SAP UKI, the competition involves students solving an important social challenge around the transition to a circular economy.

More contract news at recruiter.co.uk/news

05/12/2019 11:04

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Then check again.

Always ask why Take pride in what we do

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Sometimes things aren’t always quite what they seem

FCSA Accredited Members: Adhere to rigorous standards.

Are assessed against a published Code of Compliance.

Are independently tested by regulated accountants and solicitors.

Have their FCSA audit disclosed to HMRC. Prove their compliance annually.

Take a closer look at your PSL. Check they’re an

Accredited Member

0203 772 8622 | info@fcsa.org.uk | www.fcsa.org.uk

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03/12/2019 16:45

TRE NDS

INSIGHT

COMBATTING ‘MILLENNIAL BURNOUT’ One way to tackle the job-hopping and lack of engagement shown by millennials may be to set up a job-swapping programme

BY BEN REUVENI

illennials are increasingly shaping the future of work.

The generation born between 1980 and 1996 have represented a majority of the workforce since 2016, and a recent Gallup poll estimates that by 2025 they could comprise 75%.

But with ever more millennials entering the working world, an unsettling trend has started to emerge – a striking 84% of them report experiencing work-related burnout.

Evidence suggests that much of millennials’ notorious job-hopping and low engagement may ultimately stem from an unsustainable work environment.

Savvy employers can proactively curb these costly and disruptive trends through strategic innovations in workplace culture and practices. One particularly accessible and straightforward option is to institute temporary job swaps.

M

later by the World Health Organization’s official inclusion of ‘burnout’ in its handbook of recognised medical conditions.

Though this issue is complex, its effects are clear. Only 29% of millennials say they are engaged at work, and 21% have changed jobs in the past year – three times the average rate of change. They are not getting what they want out of work, and this is contributing to costly and damaging employee turnover.

So, what do millennials want out of work? The overwhelming majority desire deeper connections with co-workers and enhanced opportunities for professional development. What’s more, they want to navigate these prospects of their own accord. Research shows that employees are 43% less likely to suffer burnout when given flexibility and autonomy within their role.

“Only 29% of millennials say they are engaged at work, and 21% have changed jobs in the past year”

How job swaps can help The ‘millennial burnout epidemic’ The phenomenon of ‘millennial burnout’ cemented itself in the zeitgeist via a BuzzFeed article last January (2019). The article went viral, and after popular coverage, the idea was further legitimised a few months

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Job swapping is an innovative idea that is seeing renewed interest and promising results.

It involves employees exchanging roles or responsibilities for a predetermined period of time. The aim is to foster connections and develop

targeted skills on the job, while offering periodic breaks from routine. And in an ironic turn, one organisation seeing tremendous benefits from job swapping is also responsible for propelling the term ‘millennial burnout’ into the public conversation.

BuzzFeed recently published a blog post detailing the success of its own version of a job-swapping programme.

This initiative evolved organically out of an informal partnership between the news and technology teams. Each member of the tech team was granted ‘7% time’ – or half a day each week – to offer their technical expertise to the newsroom. After seeing strong results, the programme was formalised, with a

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INSIGHT

dedicated chat and ticketing system set up to streamline the process.

Employees on both teams were blown away by how productive these role swaps were –going so far as to call them a “fun break from our day-to-day ‘real’ work”. The process of collaboration also provided a more efficient division of labour and a stronger final product.

remember that the roles and qualifications of employees involved must be compatible. For example, a legal team member isn’t necessarily qualified to swap job duties with someone from the finance team.

Entry-level employees are often the best-suited for such programmes, as their roles tend to require less specialisation and ‘credentialing’.

Once you determine the ideal structure, duration and candidates for a job-swapping initiative, you need to put smart technologies to work on formalising and organising co-operation. A dedicated, cloud-based system to house your swapping programme is a must, especially when negotiating swaps across departments and disciplines.

Companies are facing the threat of impending skills gaps – the World Economic Forum estimates that more than half (54%) of all employees will require significant reskilling by 2022.

To tackle these skills gaps, job swaps could be used to target skills for employees and provide them with concrete, on-the-job opportunities to develop these skills while working with diverse teams.

Job-swapping programmes can vary depending on your organisation’s needs, but there are several commonalities to any such programme.

They promote organisational transparency, inject excitement into the daily grind, and alleviate burnout from the millennials most likely to experience it. Given the dramatic cost of retraining employees and the epidemic levels of turnover among the largest employee demographic, there is a strong case for your organisation to get swapping today. ●

Putting job swaps to work

↗

BuzzFeed’s model is just one of multiple ways to structure a productive job-swapping programme. The swaps can be for longer periods of time and can also happen within the same department, though it’s important to

BEN REUVENI is CEO and co-founder of InnerMobility, an internal recruitment platform powered by artificial intelligence

POWER POINTS

1

Millennials suffering burnout: ● Since 2016, millennials have represented a majority of the workforce. They are estimated to reach 75% of the workforce by 2025. ● Millennials have new expectations for the workplace, and catering for these attitudes will be a critical challenge for defining the future of work. ● One growing issue is ‘millennial burnout’– 84% of workers report it as a problem, prompting the WHO to recognise it recently as an official medical condition.

2

Job-swapping solution: ● Though multiple solutions are needed, one particularly promising and straightforward option is job swapping. ● A job swap is when employees exchange roles or responsibilities for a predetermined period of time. ● At companies such as BuzzFeed, interdepartmental job swapping has provided an outlet for creativity, a more efficient division of labour and a stronger final product.

Proven best practices: ● Ensure roles and qualifications of those involved are compatible – which makes entry-level employees good choices due to lower levels of specialisation and credentialing. ● Employ a dedicated cloudbased system to house your swapping programme – especially when negotiating swaps across departments and disciplines. ● Tailor your programme for reskilling employees, and give them concrete, on-the-job opportunities to grow and work with diverse teams.

3

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TRE NDS

TECH & TOOLS

The rise of the robo-recruiter Artificial intelligence can help eliminate bias SUE WEEKES

Technology is moving into a new phase in many business functions, and recruitment is no exception. The full effect of digital transformation and technologies, such as artificial intelligence, is starting to be felt and the impact is going beyond increasing efficiency. New business models, ways of working and opportunities are being created. 2020 will build on some key developments from 2019 in the recruitment technology space, and further empower agency and in-house recruiters to find and engage with the talent they need.

THE ROBOT COMES OF AGE Late last year, Tengai, an automated, physical interview robot with built-in diversity & inclusion (D&I) software, made its first real hire in the shape of Anders Örnhed, a digital co-ordinator at the Upplands-Bro municipality in Sweden.

Meanwhile, VCV.AI may not look like a robot but uses voice recognition and video recording to conduct interviews, and is being used by PwC, L’Oréal and Unilever.

Robo-interviewing can save time and money, but will its ultimate strength be in removing human bias?

THE PLATFORM ECONOMY In 2019, more than a quarter of the

population (28%) had tried to find work via online platforms, but not all of them succeeded, according to research from the TUC and University of Hertfordshire. The research also found that one worker in 10 in the UK is undertaking platform work at least once a week. Apps and platforms that match temporary/contingent workers to roles are not new (they include the likes of Shiifty and Gig) but momentum is building in this area.

Hela Job, which claims to match workers to shifts in as little as 30 seconds, is rolling out in a number of British cities. It is hoping to steal a march on gig economy giant Uber, which launched its Uber Works app in Chicago last year. Such apps are creating new business models – so will this be

the year major digital disruption lands on recruiters’ doorsteps?

EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE As automation and AI continue to take some of the routine and transactional work out of the hiring process, it leaves agency and in-house recruiters free to add value and enhance their service.

An obvious area of focus is candidate experience, but their thinking needs to broaden into areas such as employee experience (EX). Expect references to the concept of ‘workplace-as-anexperience’, where what happens in the workplace is re-evaluated and designed so employees feel inspired to perform at their best and develop a deep

L AT E ST W E A P O N I N T H E WA R F O R TA L E N T Employee experience is a new battleground for attracting and retaining top talent and the theory is that exceptional employee experience leads to exceptional customer experience, and becomes a business differentiator. IDC predicts that by 2021 at least three-fifths of global 2000 companies will actively monitor and manage employee experience.

14 RECRUITER

JANUARY 2020

p14_Recruiter_TechTools_em.indd 14

connection with their workplace (see box).

AN OS FOR NEW RECRUITING Sourcing techniques and technology, programmatic advertising, gamification and data analytics are among the developments that have reshaped the recruiter’s role. The next wave of recruitment systems needs to support these and ensure they can be integrated with daily operations. In 2019, what Beamery described as recruitment’s first ‘talent operating system’ (TOS) built for this new age was launched, with new workflows and a more candidate-centric approach, courtesy of a powerful data engine.

Anyone upgrading or buying an applicant tracking or talent management system needs to ensure functionality aligns with a recruiter’s daily operations. Gone are the days when new ways

of working can be mapped on to legacy systems.

AFFORDABLE, EFFECTIVE VIDEO Video interviewing is becoming embedded in many recruiters’ practices, but forward-thinking recruiters and employers are using it at the attraction stage and to communicate with candidates. Tools such as BombBomb make it easy to record video and send it in an email.

Monster recently launched its Studios tool that allows a hiring manager to quickly shoot video on their smartphone to show what it is like in a particular department.

It marks a move away from the expensive, corporate approach to video that often failed to engage candidates.

According to Cisco, 84% of internet traffic will be due to video in 2020 and marketing material, with video increasing click-through rates by nearly two-thirds. ● I M AG E | I STO C K

04/12/2019 17:09

I N T E R ACT TRIEONNDS

C

VIEWPOINT EARPIECE

Building resilience Just a few simple measures can boost staff wellbeing

BY JP MARKS

very morning, around 80,000 people set off to work at one of several hundred Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) sites across the country. Whether they are heading to a Jobcentre in Middlesbrough, a Service Centre in Blackpool or a DWP Digital Hub in Newcastle, we want our employees to feel part of a culture where they are valued, respected and supported. Our reputation for doing so has a direct impact on recruiting great people – and, importantly, on retaining them, as we strive to build a resilient, inclusive, wellbeing-confident DWP and Civil Service.

People care about their work-life balance now more than ever – and at the DWP we care about it just as much. While we focus on compassionate support for people from all walks of life, it’s our dual priority to make sure all DWP employees work in a safe, healthy and inclusive environment where everyone can be at their best and thrive in work.

E

Framework on support In November last year, the government launched a voluntary framework on how to report the number of employees who have a disability or health condition, and how we are doing in supporting them. By the end of the month, all

18 government departments will publish their results on gov.uk. Ours are already out there for all our future candidates to judge us by – that’s an important enabler for better recruitment.

We are proud of this progress. It shows that we have taken strides to put mental health on an equal footing with physical. We’ve trained 1,243 mental health first aiders, and this year we’ll have as many of these as physical health first aiders.

We’ve also built an operational network of more than 1,100 advocates who drive our wellbeing activities locally across the country.

Overall, our progress shows that our approach aligns with our strategic determination to better support people with disabilities and health conditions with independent living and, where appropriate, into employment. But as with our UK disability employment rate, although this has improved, we have much more to do.

For example, we have introduced our own free, interactive, wellbeing portal called PAM Life. It includes access to real-time wellbeing experts and comprehensive health assessments, which our teams value and enjoy. And we’re working even harder to encourage openness.

Sharing life experiences

+ JP MARKS is wellbeing champion and director general of work and health services, Department for Work and Pensions

From Prince Harry to JK Rowling, household names are talking more about their own experiences, sharing personal stories, from grief to addiction to depression. Inside our teams, we’re hearing people share all kinds of life experiences, from the joy and anxieties of parenting to the pain of bereavement.

By increasing this capability and openness, we believe we can improve wellbeing across the board, build more confident teams and be at our best at work.

Achieving this matters, because we need to build a resilient, capable Civil Service fit both for the challenges of today and for the future – we need to be an attractive employer and, quite simply, it’s the right thing to do. ● IM AGE | ISTOCK

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INTE R AC TIO N

SOUNDBITES

L ET T ERS TO T HE EDITO R THE UK NEEDS TO WORK MORE, NOT LESS, FLEXIBLY The Liberal Democrats set out some interesting proposals for the future of work (‘Recruitment bodies say Lib Dem tax plans will be music to contractors’ ears’, 21 November, recruiter.co.uk). Limber would absolutely welcome more clarity on the employment status of those engaged in modern working practices to enable platforms to flourish, without that growth being at the expense of basic rights.

The current regime is unfit for purpose and we are in desperate need of a new category of employee. It is of no surprise that individuals resort to self-employment when it avoids National Insurance.

Unless we have a system that properly regulates the shift to more flexible and empowering work models, you cannot blame people when they take the path of least resistance. What matters more – a growing economy supported by forwardlooking working practices or holding on to old employment-related income?

What’s also exciting is to hear about the Lib Dem proposals for a skills wallet.

As the world of work becomes more liquid, it will be important to make everyone more robust to changes in tech and the economy. We should be able to upskill as new tech emerges, and lifelong education will be much more important than a foundation degree. In fact, we’d question whether the degree is even fit for purpose today. Imagine if you could take that spend and blend it over 20 years, doing a different course every couple of years? As more people work more than one role, it will be our ability to adapt that trumps the knowledge we have.

What fundamentally doesn’t work is the restriction of zero-hours contracts. Political parties need to accept that flexibility and variety are good things and what people want. We should look to mitigate the impact of this, not prevent it – for example, by increasing the minimum wage to nonsecure roles by 20%, which is another, wellreasoned Lib Dem policy.

CHRIS SANDERSON, CEO OF LIMBER (AN ONLINE TOOL FOR THE SELFE M P L O Y E D, F R E E L A N C E R S A N D G I G WORKERS)

16 RECRUITER

What are you going to do less of in 2020?

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

“In short, accept all roles we are offered. Competition is a healthy reality for any business; however, recently we have seen companies engaging excessive numbers of agencies for their vacancies. This year we will distance ourselves from these organisations to concentrate on clients that value our expertise more and trust us to find the right people for their business. Internally, we’ll be investing in a more targeted, detailed media plan to drive the Boffin brand and unique working ethos to ensure our team of hugely experienced consultants continues to grow.”

HELEN PLUMRIDGE MA N AG IN G D I REC TOR , K IN G RECRUIT

“Chasing mice – I’m going to focus on chasing lions instead… 2020 is the year of ‘go big or go home’. At King Recruit, I’m driving the team to focus on engaging the lions – the bigger/growing businesses, over the mice – the companies with rare or infrequent hiring needs.

The big gains versus the small gains approach can be applied to anything. As an owner of a recruitment business, getting caught up in the day-to-day ‘urgent’ tasks is a dilemma we all face. If you want to have more impact and long-lasting results, however, you have to use your time and efforts more effectively, and focus on the challenging stuff that will deliver positive longerterm outcomes.”

OLIVIA SPRUCE CEO, P OS I T IV E H EA LT H CA RE

“Procrastination is something that I aim to not to do in 2020. As leader of a growing recruitment business in a volatile market, I find myself dealing with often competing priorities and so tend to procrastinate the biggest or more complex chunks of work. In 2020, I will not shy away from work or take longer to do something purely because of the size of challenge it presents. I'd say that the next thing I will commit to not doing is being afraid to fail and therefore being more reticent to act. It’s important as recruitment leaders that we accept that mistakes happen, we learn from them and move on. Taking measured risk is vital for growth.”

JANUARY 2020

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RECRUITER HOT 100 COMPANIES 2019

CLOSE FOCUS DRIVES PRODUCTIVITY IN UNSETTLING CLIMATE Recruitment firms in the latest HOT 100, compiled by Agile Intelligence on behalf of Recruiter, continue to outpace the wider UK industry despite gridlock in Brexit and an uncertain global economy B Y S U E D O D D, D I R E C T O R O F A G I L E I N T E L L I G E N C E

on hold after three years of Brexit gridlock. More widely, the global picture has deteriorated, with polarised politics, geopolitical escalations and the challenges of climate change. This has led to the cautious return of expansionary monetary policy at a time when a steady hardening had been anticipated.

So in these uncertain and complex times, how have recruitment companies fared?

Rising productivity has been driven by expansion in headcount,

Perhaps the most telling finding was the change in the

↗

THE HOT 100 highlights true leaders within the industry. They present an admirable 1.9% rise in average productivity, as headcount expansion of 8.6% drives strong growth of 10.7% in net fees. It also can be attributed to the focused ‘product’, targeted investment, as well as the self-confidence and entrepreneurial skills of these leading recruiters.

As ever, there is a wider backdrop of external factors. Within the context of a slowing global picture, the UK economy remains subdued, with much strategic planning

as sales and gross profit (GP) more than keep pace.

An impressive 73 companies in the HOT 100 reported productivity growth, while 68 have expanded their workforce.

Business mix between permanent and contract/temporary placement was not vastly different overall.

There were continued benefits from overseas growth but with less effect than last year.

Excluding the large recruiters, which predominantly expanded headcount overseas, remaining companies had even stronger gains in gross profit per head/ employee (GPH).

The bar for entry has risen sharply to £91,459, but the top-rated companies have in excess of £210k GPH. Gross margin slightly increased, helped by a near-stable business mix and what appears to be similar temporary pricing, although many constituents have managed their client portfolio to help protect margin.

Selective industry consolidation by acquisition is leading to more multi-sector recruitment groups; however, more start-ups are also appearing.

Managed services increased marketshare again, but at a slower rate.

Public sector business was mixed, with several companies increasing their share but others experiencing the fall-out from the IR35 reforms for contract staff. Front-line services in Healthcare and Education remain a challenge, especially in Social Care, where changed delivery models and local authority cutbacks have severely affected many suppliers.

Sector representation was easily dominated by Technology/IT specialists, with almost 40% of HOT 100 companies.

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RECRUITER HOT 100 COMPANIES 2019

size and gross margin profile. The long-term trend is the squeeze on middle-sized, middle-margin businesses. Targeted concentration, a finely tuned ‘offer’ and some degree of polarisation towards temp/contract or permanent appear to be paying off through higher productivity and higher overall growth rates. This was exemplified in a sharp rise of recruiters generating a ‘dream growth combination’ of both employees and productivity at 42%, against only 29% of constituents in the previous year.

Over the 14 years since the start of the HOT 100 the recruitment industry has changed enormously.

Technological advancements are both a benefit and a challenge, including: fewer branches; online candidate sourcing; apps-based direct sourcing and matching; automated and digitalised back-office processes; managed service delivery models; and the automation of jobs. New roles, especially technology-based ones, are emerging. However, the most important ingredient is: people. The HOT 100 highlights those companies that are able to extract optimum performance from that critical asset.

Which companies derive most ‘added value’ from their employees yet encourage a profitable and sustainable sales approach? Take a look at the 2019 HOT 100 on pp19-20.

2019 HOT 100 group sales turnover rose 9.4%, faster than the wider UK recruitment industry sales turnover growth of 7.5% reported for calendar 2018 by the Office of National Statistics.

Like for like, comparing this group against their own figures for the previous year: The 2019 HOT 100 companies collectively reported a sales increase of 9.4% to around £19.6bn.

HOT 100 combined GP reached 18 RECRUITER

£4.1bn, a gain of 10.7%.

HOT 100 companies’ in-house headcount rose 8.6% to 38,620.

Productivity (GPH) for this group of companies rose by 1.9% to an aggregated average £107,365, coincidentally 1.9% above last year’s HOT 100 group average.

However, a simple average of each of the GPH figures, neutralising the heavily weighted skew of the larger employers across both years, stood at £121,345 and 6.4% ahead of the 2018 HOT 100.

If the four largest recruiters are excluded, the headcount growth rate drops by over a half, yet the GP gain increases, resulting in a 7.7% rise in productivity. This points to overseas expansion by the larger recruiters, which is yet to fully yield results.

HOT 100 average gross margin again increased for this group of companies to 21.1% versus 20.9%, mainly attributed to business mix (perm, temp and managed service or RPO supply) and again some overseas growth. If the four largest multinational organisations are

10.7% gain in gross profit in this HOT 100

8.6% Rise in HOT 100 companies’ in-house headcount

↗

Key findings

Over the 14 years since the start of the HOT 100 the recruitment industry has changed enormously

excluded, average margin drops to around 15.6% versus 15.5%.

This HOT 100 group added £400m in net fees, with an additional 3,052 staff at an incremental gross margin of 23.7%, making an incremental £131,184 additional GPH. This incremental margin is similar to last year, while GPH is again lower, yet still at the higher end of the productivity range.

This signals a balance towards more temporary than permanent-driven gains.

Entry-level GPH (ranked 100) to the 2019 HOT 100 was £91,459, standing £5,329 above the prior year threshold for the ‘cut’ at £86,130. Extending below the HOT 100, once again the pursuing companies ran even closer than last year, with GPH only beginning to fall away (below £80k) at the 136th ranked.

Individual productivity growth was also again measured to offer a more rounded perspective on performance, and ranged from +91% to -19%, with 73 companies out of the 100 reporting some growth.

85 companies experienced individual growth in net fees versus last year’s 66.

A substantial 42% of HOT 100 companies achieved the dream combination of expanding productivity while increasing their internal headcount. This compares with 29% last year and 27% the previous year, with large recruiters (employing

Agile Intelligence Agile Intelligence has compiled the HOT 100 report on behalf of Recruiter to determine which companies are making the most of their intellectual assets.

By rigorously measuring the gross profit (net fees) per

head/employee (GPH), this indicates how effectively an organisation uses the skills of its people.

All in-house employees (excludes temporary workers or contractors) are included in the calculation; this is a

standard senior management key performance indicator.

Companies emerging strongly from this analysis are primarily those that balance the need for well-trained, directed and motivated staff against the minimisation of costs.

JANUARY 2020

p17-23 Hot 100 2019.SUBBED V4.indd 18

05/12/2019 11:05

Gross pro latest ye fit ar (£m) Gross pro previous fit year (£m)

Sector coverage

163,055

Sheffield Haworth

13.7

9.0

Financial services, digital & tech, business & prof services

210,002

181,687

Falcon Green

6.5

5.1

Construction & engineering

3

▲

194,929

158,595

People Source Consulting

8.0

6.3

Technology/IT

4

▲

183,107

165,415

SSQ

23.3

22.2

Legal: international & domestic law firms, companies & banks

5

▼

179,159

174,172

LA International Computer Consultants

19.7

19.2

IT professionals: national security and defence, public sector, international

6

▼

173,778

175,926

TRS Staffing Solutions

7

▲

168,097

146,952

Odgers Group

8

▲

166,667

119,800

Rullion Engineering

9.2

8.0

Engineering and Infrastructure

9

▼

156,848

176,511

Green Park Interim & Executive

10.4

7.9

Public sector, retail, HR, charities, finance, IT, transformation

10

N

155,879

114,362

ERSG Holdings

9.0

6.6

Energy: wind, power generation, marine and built environment

11

▲

152,810

128,376

Vector Resourcing Holdings

5.5

4.5

Business systems and technology recruitment

12

▲

151,783

136,386

CD Sales Recruitment

7.9

6.5

IT: software sales,sales engineers, prof services

13

▼

149,582

154,063

Red Commerce

22.9

22.2

IT, technology, SAP, contract, perm, exec search

14

–

147,465

145,539

NES Global Talent

106.9

88.8

Technical/engineering into energy, construction, chemicals, life sciences, manuf, mining, IT

15

▲

145,336

125,484

The SR Group Holding Company

47.1

40.2

Legal, compliance, risk, HR, marketing, digital, tax, treasury & corporate finance

16

▼

145,154

169,795

Marlin Green

6.2

5.3

IT – SAP, business intelligence and Big Data

17

N

143,925

100,007

Trilogy Consultants International

3.5

2.5

Technology & business change , mainly into FS, pharma & utilities

18

N

141,343

120,000

Levy Associates

4.9

3.2

IT – C-level, programme/project manager, analysis, design & development, testing, support

19

▼

138,781

138,434

WA Consultants

3.9

3.7

Technology/IT

20

N

138,194

167,469

Dartmouth Partners

7.2

5.2

M&A, strategy, banking, corporate finance advisory into financial services & corporates

21

▲

137,765

117,365

Walker Hamill

7.0

6.1

Accountancy & finance, private equity, debt, corporate strategy and M&A

22

N

137,655

144,221

Pure Recruitment Group

12.8

12.0

Financial services, legal, global markets, HR, technology, sales, engineering

23

▼

135,586

134,439

Investigo

24.7

21.6

Accounting & finance, change, ERP, life sciences ,strategy, procurement, property, HR, tech

24

▼

135,350

151,804

NRL

10.3

11.4

Engineering, construction, O&G, energy, technical

25

▼

134,307

135,016

Next Ventures Group

14.1

11.3

IT: SAP, data, business apps, dev & integration, cloud & infrastructure

26

N

133,720

136,389

Stott and May Holdings

10.6

9.1

IT & finance, finance & accounting, utilities, telecoms, manufacture & automation

27

▲

133,637

96,398

Amoria Bond

17.4

12.1

IT: banking & finance,life sciences, energy. Engineering: defence, automotive & power

28

▼

132,096

124,738

Oil Consultants

4.2

2.9

Oil & gas, primarily niche technical skills

29

▲

130,521

112,427

Eximius Group

4.7

3.5

Law, finance, operations, risk, technology, secretarial

30

▼

128,295

118,029

Penta Consulting

11.5

11.8

Telecoms, IT: incl architecture, business analysis, infrastructure, platform eng, software dev

31

▼

128,267

133,372

CMA Financial Recruitment

4.2

4.3

Accounting & finance, executive, HR

32

▼

125,142

124,647

Interim Partners

5.4

4.4

Retail/leisure, energy, financial/ prof, health, business, manuf/eng, pharma/life sciences

33

▼

124,946

120,836

La Fosse Associates

21.4

17.2

IT technology and digital – perm, contract, interim & executive search

34

▼

124,787

121,216

Rullion IT Plus

8.0

9.1

IT

35

▼

124,539

127,665

Resource Solutions Group*

33.8

29.4

IT, business change, corporate services and government sectors

36

▲

122,045

108,385

Resourcing Group

37

▲

121,641

112,074

PSD Group

38

▲

121,175

108,770

Oakleaf Partnership

39

▼

120,485

116,361

GatenbySanderson

40

▼

119,748

120,464

Shorterm Group (Grouse Topco)

41

N

119,503

119,291

42

▲

119,356

104,656

43

▼

117,750

44

▲

45

▲

46

Parent gro (where d up if name) ferent

210,423

▼

Company/ trading n ame

Gross pro head/em fit per previous ployee year (£)

▲

2

Rank 1

Change

Gross pro head/em fit per latest ye ployee ar (£)

RECRUITER HOT 100 COMPANIES 2019

Fluor Corporation

Rullion

New Street Group

Rullion

4.8

Engineering & design professionals into EPC: offshore wind, oil & gas, infrastructure

73.5

Interim management, executive search

13.4

11.3

Built environment, public sector

18.6

21.2

Accountancy, finance, digital/marketing, HR, tech, S&BD, supply chain, retail, hospitality

9.1

7.0

HR mainly into financial services, IT & technology, media & marketing industries

14.8

13.1

Execs in health, education, housing, government, NfP, tech/change, regulation

17.6

16.9

Engineering – aerospace, automotive, aviation, construction, rail, electronics, power

Intellectual Capital Resources

7.9

7.9

Tech: IT, sales & marketing, support, executive, creative digital

Orion Engineering Services

26.1

27.4

Energy, construction/infrastructure, mining, marine, rail, IT, finance, office

115,905

Law Morgan (t/a Morgan Law)

6.1

6.4

Healthcare, central & local govt, charities/NPF, education, housing associations

116,394

106,349

Parity Professionals

7.7

6.7

IT/tech/prof resources – especially in government, utilities, health

116,221

101,124

Experis

38.4

34.4

IT, finance & engineering professionals

▲

115,244

108,310

SystemsAccountants

4.5

4.4

Finance systems, finance transformation, EPM, BI, ERP

47

N

115,019

80,379

Orbis Consultants

2.5

1.4

Tech candidates in digital, technology, data & financial services

48

▼

114,768

109,132

Harvey Nash Group

106.5

100.1

Technology, board-level, IT outsourcing, recruitment solutions

49

▼

114,665

112,905

Airswift Holdings

79.8

74.9

Engineering,tech & business support staff into energy, process, infrastructure

50

▲

114,399

96,669

Prime People

15.8

13.1

Real estate, energy & environmental; tech, digital & data analytics, construction

Key:

▲

Up

▼

Down

– Unchanged

p17-23 Hot 100 2019.SUBBED V4.indd 19

N New

nGAGE Specialist Recruitment

4.7 86.2

ManpowerGroup

* From November 2019 now known as Sanderson

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Gross pro latest ye fit ar (£m) Gross pro previous fit year (£m)

Sector coverage

8.0

Medical locum & agency nurse supply

5.9

6.5

Social care into public, voluntary & private sectors

Goodman Masson

22.0

16.2

Accounting & finance, NHS hospitals & public sector, banking

116,625

Harrington Starr

3.6

3.4

Fintech, tech sales, change, security and data

101,347

Cornwallis Elt

4.5

4.0

Tech, operations & change in banking, insurance & medical

121,763

Synergize Consulting

2.7

2.6

ICT into defence, government, education, health, public safety

Parent g (where droup if ferent name)

8.2

Gross pro head/em fit per latest yeployee ar (£) Gross pro head/emplfit per previous oyee year (£) Company/ trading n ame

Rank

Change

RECRUITER HOT 100 COMPANIES 2019

51

▼

114,030

118,210

Interact Medical

52

▼

113,000

104,823

Caritas Recruitment

53

▲

112,800

100,828

54

N

112,690

55

–

112,582

56

N

111,478

57

N

111,177

58,185

Arrows Group Global

6.8

6.1

Tech: open-source, Microsoft, Agile, infrastructure, mobile, data,design, AI

58

N

111,175

110,147

Oracle Contractors

2.3

1.8

Oracle professionals in E-business suite, cloud apps, fusion middleware, BI apps, core tech stack

59

▼

111,157

130,111

William Alexander Recruitment

2.9

2.9

IT & business change

60

▲

110,399

93,952

First Call Contract Services

9.4

8.5

Industrial: logistics, food production, waste, print, aviation, driving, cleaning

61

▲

110,236

91,517

Petroplan Holdings

9.5

8.4

Oil & gas,energy professionals

62

N

109,976

82,974

Kin-Tec Holdings (now Kintec Group)

3.6

3.2

Technical into energy, rail, life sciences, infrastructure, chemicals

63

▼

109,529

101,984

Eames Consulting Group Holdings

12.5

12.2

Actuarial, audit, broking & underwriting, tech into insurance & finance

64

N

109,257

83,934

Signify Technology

2.6

1.2

IT – Scala language & functional programming: placing data and software engineers

65

▼

108,902

103,286

MRL Group

5.4

4.4

Semiconductors, IT, capital equipment, automotive, lighting, energy & storage, finance

66

N

108,822

103,877

Randstad CPE

67

▼

108,192

108,653

PageGroup

68

▼

105,055

129,743

Workforce People Solutions

69

▼

104,746

100,424

Eden Brown

70

N

104,745

64,298

Industria Personnel Services

3.6

3.7

Industrial, commercial, driving, technical

71

N

104,078

99,098

Sheridan Maine (South East)

3.1

2.8

Finance & accounting: partnering, financial control,audit, technical & project accounting

72

▲

103,872

96,641

Carrington West

3.8

3.0

Built environment – highways, town planning and utilities

73

▼

103,829

96,446

Opus Professional Services Group

25.3

23.1

Tech: incl digital/design, back-end dev, SAP, core tech; energy: incl renewables, oil & gas

74

▼

103,365

105,466

Orion Electrotech

6.3

5.9

Technical services: engineering, gas, manufacturing, construction

75

▼

102,836

98,897

Coyle Personnel

14.3

15.4

Construction, medical, rail, energy, tech, public sector, hospitality, office, industrial, FM

76

▼

102,013

98,199

Oliver James Associates Group

36.5

28.0

Financial & prof services incl accountancy & tax, actuarial, audit, data & tech

77

▲

101,004

90,940

SEC Recruitment

6.0

5.6

Life sciences: clinical ops, biometrics, reg affairs, drug safety

78

▼

100,446

100,725

SThree Group

321.1

287.7

Tech, banking & finance, energy, engineering and life sciences

79

▲

100,160

92,016

SmartSourcing

2.5

2.3

IT, project management, business change, digital, cyber-security

80

N

99,847

71,713

Hyper Recruitment Solutions

3.0

1.9

Science & tech primarily into pharma, life sciences and biotech

81

▼

99,762

109,477

Montreal Associates (Systems)

7.1

6.2

ERP , SAP, Microsoft, CRM, BI & Big Data, digital, dev, cloud & infrastructure, cyber-security

82

▼

99,665

95,281

Futureheads Recruitment

3.9

3.6

Digital media: user experience,design & creative, technical/IT, QA, project & product managt

83

▼

99,245

95,424

Optimus Search

5.1

3.9

Software – Java, C#, Python, Linux, Javascript, C, C++, .Net, DevOps – and life sciences

84

▼

99,022

110,585

PPF Group

9.5

9.7

Drivers, logistics

85

▲

98,381

89,169

Impact Recruitment

2.5

2.2

Temp & perm into commercial, industrial, supply chain and technical & engineering

86

▼

98,149

100,009

Hays

1,129.7 1,072.8 Finance, construction, IT, health/social care, life sciences, education, legal, marketing, HR, office

87

N

97,495

89,119

Randstad Solutions

88

▼

97,130

96,953

Robert Walters

392.0 345.2

Finance, engineering, legal, HR, IT, sales, marketing, supply chain, procurement

89

N

96,682

86,299

Technical Resources

3.9

3.8

Technical staff into telecoms & construction

90

N

96,553

104,697

Empiric Solutions

9.2

9.2

Technology & change: data, digital, cloud, security; contract & permanent

91

▼

96,552

93,247

Morson Group

84.1

72.1

Engineering/technical – all major sectors plus IT and scientific

92

N

96,213

76,741

Angela Mortimer

11.9

10.9

Executive and office support, EA, PA, secretarial, admin, reception

93

N

95,865

82,921

Tangent International Group

7.3

6.2

Professionals into telecoms, tech and engineering

94

▼

95,837

104,659

G2V Recruitment Group

21.1

16.2

Technical/technology/IT, engineering, construction, life sciences, energy, public sector

95

▼

95,517

83,022

Gattaca

70.6

71.4

Engineering (all major sectors) & engineering tech, IT, telecoms, prof, skills training

96

▼

94,300

100,646

Twenty Recruitment

6.9

6.3

Tech/change, risk/governance, finance/ops into fin services, commodities ,digital/commerce

97

▼

93,394

98,288

LMA Recruitment

5.5

4.0

Financial services, secretarial, HR, finance

98

▲

91,848

86,708

Square One Resources

10.3

9.8

IT – dev, digital/creative, digital.tech, MS dynamics, ERP, infrastructure, pharma, telecoms

99

N

91,705

78,907

Mane Contract Services

5.7

4.2

Technical into aerospace, automotive, eng & manufacturing, energy, IT, life sciences, rail

100

▼

91,459

90,412

Spencer Ogden

31.6

30.3

Technical eng professionals into oil & gas, power & utilities, built environment & renewables

20 RECRUITER

JANUARY 2020

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nGAGE Specialist Recruitment

Randstad NV

nGAGE Specialist Recruitment

RDL Corporation

Randstad NV

Empresaria Group

36.0

34.6

Construction, property, engineering

814.9

711.6

Accountancy, legal, engineering, IT, retail, sales, energy, HR, procurement, property

2.8

3.1

Skilled staffing into manufacturing, hospitality and healthcare

13.6

13.3

Built environment, public sector

21.4

17.9

HR, finance & professional, technology

Key:

▲

Up

▼

Down

– Unchanged

N New

04/12/2019 17:11

RECRUITER HOT 100 COMPANIES 2019

more than 200 staff ) more than pulling their weight.

Company trends

68% of HOT 100 firms expanded their workforce either organically or by acquisition

42% achieved a simultanious growth in productivity and internal headcount

Sector Profile Across the HOT 100 there are 39 IT companies, 25 Professionals, 23 Technical recruiters, 7 Public Sector and 6 in Office/Industrial/Trades.

In the top 20, there were five Professionals, of which three made the HOT 10. Nine IT staffing companies are listed in the top 20, but only two of these are in the HOT 10; the top 20 balance comprises just one Public Sector firm (Executive level) and five Technical recruiters (four in the HOT 10).

Drilling down to the HOT 10 by sector, there are four Technical,

three Professionals, two IT and one company that has a more than average executive-level Public Sector/not-for-profit presence. A previous leader has returned to the top spot – Sheffield Haworth (permanent, Professionals) narrowly pipped last year’s winner, Falcon Green (Construction & Engineering).

Sheffield Haworth has further concentrated its business across three main sectors both in the UK and overseas: Financial Services, Digital & Technology and Business & Professional Services with a host of sub-sectors. By increasing its workforce by 18% it added over 50% to GP, driven through productivity gains.

Second-ranked by a hair’s breadth, construction specialist Falcon Green has expanded into five offices across London, Birmingham, Dublin and Manchester, further increased its workforce by around 11% and turned a 28% rise in GP, benefitting also from previous expansion to drive productivity as new heads matured.

Four years ago this company was too small to enter the HOT 100.

People Source took third spot with little headcount growth but a strong push in its net fees. It has a broad stance in the Technology/IT marketplace with some solid permanent business and a strong presence in the public sector. Legal recruiter and past winner SSQ improves to fourth, with

↗

The bar for HOT 100 success this year increased by more than £5k to £91,459 GPH, but the gap between top and bottom still widened by over 20%, adding more than £28k for the top ranked to reach £210,423. Across the HOT 100, recruitment companies expanding their workforce has recovered to 68% (53% last year). A slightly higher 73% increased GPH, suggesting a modest strategic focus on staff productivity.

Meanwhile, that elusive dream combination of expanding workforce and rising productivity was achieved by a substantial 42%, compared with 29% in 2018. Of these 42 companies, 16 had fewer than 50 employees – an over-representation. A further 15, in the band of between 50 and 200 employees, were again underrepresented, while larger recruiters that exceeded 200 employees had a more than proportional presence with 11 constituents.

A breakdown of the 42 companies shows Technology as the stand-out performer with 17, but the main turnarounds came from both Professional and Engineering/ Technical/Science (technical) recruiters, each with strong gains compared with last year. Public Sector was stable at last year’s low point.

Among seven companies included in both the top 20 of the HOT 100 and the productivity growth top 20, there are some impressive growth rates. New entrant Trilogy Consultants International at 44%, Rullion Engineering at 39% – each with strong GP growth, although productivity was helped by a reduction in headcount – while Sheffield Haworth and Levy Associates managed strong gains in productivity as they exceeded 50% GP growth simultaneously with headcount expansion.

With stable employee numbers, ERSG added 36% to productivity, while People Source Consulting and Vector Resourcing, despite also expanding across the board, produced very strong gains in GPH productivity.

Methodology The data has been rigorously filtered by turnover, gross profit and employee numbers.

The companies employ almost 39,000 in-house staff and generate £19.6bn of industry sales revenue; many more were evaluated as part of the overall analysis. The latest available accounts have been used. Companies filing abbreviated accounts and not providing their full figures

separately are excluded. With the internationalisation of many UK recruitment firms, group accounts are now used for UK corporations where these prove more up to date – such as Hays, Harvey Nash, Robert Walters, Page Group, SThree and several IT and technical recruiters.

Companies operating primarily overseas have been excluded, although UK technical specialists placing

talent worldwide are included.

Overseas-based groups eg.

Adecco, Randstad or Hudson may be included, using their UK operating companies if filed transparently, or groupdisclosed UK divisions. Two prominent exclusions are Manpower UK and Reed, due to different accounting disclosures that invalidate comparisons. Companies combining temporary staff

in their employee count are not included, as this grossly underestimates their performance. The most specialist of search or ‘headhunters’ are omitted for a variety of reasons.

Disclaimer: while every effort has been made to ensure accurate reporting and analysis, no guarantees are made regarding the information portrayed in this document.

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RECRUITER HOT 100 COMPANIES 2019 H O T 1 0 0 C O M P A N I E S B Y G R O S S M A R G I N B A N D (in accounting year) 30

Technology recruiter and serial HOT 10 member LA International Computer Consultants grabbing fifth spot. TRS Staffing Solutions, Fluor-owned energy technical specialist, maintained a strong presence at sixth, despite a planned reduction in its parent group in-house business. It is closely followed by Odgers Group, Rullion Engineering and Green Park Interim & Executive. Finally, newcomer ERSG come in at 10th place, providing mainly contractors to the energy sector.

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

25

20

15

10

Source: Company accounts

5

0 less than 10%

10% to 15%

15% to 20%

20% to 30%

30% to 40%

40% to 50%

more than 50%

Gross market band range

Gross margin breakdown Polarisation by margin continues to be on the march, with clear symmetry in the trends reported here. Margin distribution of the 2019 HOT 100 sees a return of some pure-play permanent specialists to four, together with a solid rise in companies disclosing substantial permanent business.

Low-margin recruiters, below 10% margin and dependent on the temporary/contract market, show a similar solid gain.

The long-term trend persists, with further gains in ‘nearly 100% temporary’ lowermargin bands (up to 15%) at record level and now continued recovery in higher margin (>40%) recruiters, which stand at their highest number since before the recession. This remains at the expense of those middle margin 15-30% recruiters with a more even business mix.

35 agencies in the HOT 100 achieve gross margin below 15%. This is another record high for low margin band presence in the

HOT 100. The single, most represented group is now in the 10% to 15% margin band with 20 companies.

Biggest losers: middle margin, with their presence in both the temporary and permanent fees market. Yet again, losses were driven by a sharp fall in the 20-30% bandwidth to a record low of 19 companies and a small drop each in the 15-20% and 30-40% margin bands.

Permanent recruitment fortunes in 2018 were influenced by Brexit uncertainty, which affected decision-making on senior-level appointments. This has been offset by a combination of overseas growth and needs-based hiring in the UK, as skill shortages in some sectors encouraged employers to secure talent permanently. The consequences for contractors from the earlier IR35 reforms in public sector also had an ongoing impact.

Calculations Gross margin is the gross profit (GP) – or net fees – as a percentage of sales turnover.

GP is a combination of permanent fees (at virtually 100% margin) plus the profit on temporary supply after subtracting payroll and 22 RECRUITER

other ‘temp’ employment costs. The mix between temporary and permanent placements influences the level of gross margin, as does the trend in temporary pricing and employmentrelated costs.

With larger contract

business notoriously competitive compared with SME or ad hoc placements, the type of business and delivery model/cost structure play a crucial part both in determining temporary margin and bottom-line profitability.

Contract Type Profile The HOT 10 profile this year offers three – SSQ, Sheffield Haworth and Odgers – predominantly permanent recruiters (all estimated with perm business over 80% of net fees), while the remaining seven have a sizeable if not exclusively temp/contracting business base, reporting gross margin well below 20%. Falcon Green, TRS Staffing, LA International, Rullion Engineering and ERSG are all biased towards the temp/contractor market, along with varied proportions of permanent business. At the same time, contractor-biased People Source and Green Park engage in higher permanent activity than their peers.

Size Profile Overall, 20% of HOT 100 companies employ more than 200 staff, identical to the past few years. A further 17%, noticeably below last year, employ between 100 and 200 staff. There have been stable numbers of very small firms, with just 12% employing between 20 and 30 staff. The 30-49 band remained similar at 19% and the employee band 50-100 returned upwards to 32% from 27%.

The average size of the 2019 HOT 100 member again increased, to 386 employees, including the same large players as last year. Excluding the four largest where group accounts have been used, the average size drops to 126 staff per company.

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RECRUITER HOT 100 COMPANIES 2019

Among the large corporate groups where it makes sense to separate out the UK subsidiaries, these have again been listed individually – two of the Randstad subsidiaries have returned to the HOT 100 (missed due to late filing last year and merger of several separate operating companies) whilst the nGAGE Specialist Recruitment ‘stable’ again has three companies in the HOT 100. Manpower’s Experis retains its presence. Rullion’s Engineering and IT subsidiaries, Empresaria’s LMA Recruitment and RDL’s SEC Recruitment are also separately listed. However, Adecco subsidiaries are now omitted as trade, and brand business is being transferred between operating companies, and Morson’s acquisition The Bridge (IT), misses out despite being a high-flyer as its parent group is already ranked.

Office/Industrial/Trades/ General Staffing In order for this ‘sector’ – often called generalist or traditional – to compete against high-value professional salary recruiters, it must have the most up-to-date and efficient processes possible, and is out-performing expectations. This year there are six companies in the main HOT 100, compared with eight last year. Outside the HOT 100 came Forrest and a number of other companies with mixed specialisations that include some Office or Industrial skills, including Search Consultancy, Quest, Extrastaff, Adecco, Huntress, Champion, Pertemps and Impellam.

Returning to the top six performers, at 60th sits First Call Contract Services (Industrial, warehouse & logistics, driving & cleaning services), with 17.5% growth in productivity generated as slightly fewer staff increased GP by 11%. The company has almost certainly benefitted from the maturing benefits of a 40% headcount expansion made in the prior year.

Workforce People Solutions is at 68th despite a modest reduction in employees and GP, now specialising in skills into manufacturing, hospitality and healthcare sectors – historically sourcing trades mainly from across Europe. Industria Personnel Services moves in at number 70 following a substantial reduction in staff numbers with little impact upon GP. Drivers’ specialist PPF is ranked at 84th despite lower GPH as it expanded its headcount by almost 10%.

Impact Recruitment moved upwards to 85th by increasing GP with an unchanged headcount,

while a 25% rise in productivity returned Angela Mortimer to the HOT 100 at 92, as headcount was cut back and a sharp rise in margin implies a shift towards even greater perm recruitment.

These companies, together, are extraordinary achievers and oversee extremely efficient back-office systems, given that several often operate in the volume staffing marketplace where margin pressure is relentless and financial value per placement is low. It may not always seem the most fashionable of sectors, but it has an enduring quality. ●

Conclusion and outlook The HOT 100 outperformed the wider industry when measured against recruitment industry sales (Office for National Statistics) over the relevant period, and also against Agile Intelligence analysis of a much larger cohort of firms. It posted materially faster growth rates in sales, GP, headcount expansion and productivity and a significantly higher gross margin – a comprehensive win!

This report primarily examines company results from 2018 and early 2019, so cannot reflect more recent developments in the UK. However, there is little doubt that the uncertainties around Brexit have led to a slowing down in recruitment industry sales. It is reflected in the relatively pedestrian 4% annual industry sales growth (ONS) of Q3 2019 which, removing payroll inflation, suggests little overall current direction to the recruitment market. Quarterly corporate results more than confirm these findings. Nevertheless, official growth in sales in the first nine months of 2019 still totals 6.8%, boosted by payroll inflation, including

the National Minimum Wage, those pre-Brexit preparations and subsequent wind-downs.

Despite UK GDP growth no better than pedestrian, on track for around +1.2% for the full year and only +1% next year, the labour market has continued to expand.

The reasons are varied.

A reduction in European workers ahead of Brexit has led to shortages in sectors as diverse as agriculture, transport and the NHS. There are also underlying shortfalls and inadequate training programmes for several STEM-related roles, especially in niche, highdemand IT. Some industries also report a scarcity of experienced scientific and technical personnel.

However, it is only in the latter period of 2018 onwards that pay rates, overall, began to respond. It is only in 2019 that earnings growth has finally outstripped inflation.

Projecting the impact of these factors upon the recruitment industry is more difficult with a General Election looming and the next Brexit deadline date in January 2020. Experience tells us that forecasting the outcome of political events

is unwise. Nevertheless, on the assumption of no major disruptions to trade, 2019 looks likely to conclude with official industry sales in the region of +5%, but with a trickier start to 2020 until there is clarity on Brexit. Fundamentally, the underlying tightening market should drive the value of placements, and any post-Brexit bounce-back in investment, especially with the unfreezing of deferred projects, could be beneficial.

Of course, the General Election result may take the UK in a direction other than ‘delivering’ Brexit. The key factor will be certainty; simply knowing the direction will help businesses plan their futures.

In the past, the recruitment industry has been regarded as a forward indicator for the labour market. In the 21st century, with some many challenges of its own and fast-changing technological influences, it may not be quite such a bellwether.

Nevertheless, when skills are in short supply, candidates are looking for more support and the act of hiring is ever more complex, who better to turn to than recruiters?

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05/12/2019 11:05

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03/12/2019 16:47

FUTURE GAZ ING 2020

NORTHERN LIGHTS DISCUSS RECRUITMENT BEYOND 2020 Leading lights from the recruitment industry and experts gathered in Manchester to discuss issues affecting the sector into 2020 and beyond. Speakers and participants outlined their vision for recruitment in The Northern Powerhouse.

Colin Cottell reports FUTURE WELLBEING IN RECRUITMENT RECENT RESEARCH SUGGESTS that managers are a barrier to addressing the problem of mental health among staff in UK recruitment companies.

But according to panellists at Recruiter’s Future Gazing event in Manchester, with the right culture, training and support they can also be the key, not just to better mental health, but improved staff health and wellbeing generally.

In his presentation, Chris Mercer-Jones, learning & development director at CSG Group, said that a recent survey of UK recruitment agencies carried out for the company indicated that 59% of staff did not feel comfortable asking their manager for time off for a mental health issue, while 51% said they did not feel able to discuss their mental health with their manager. With 94% of managers saying they felt responsibility for the welfare of their teams and employees, “there is clearly a gap between responsibility and reality”, said Mercer-Jones.

With the survey also revealing that 71% of recruiters felt overwhelmed by day-to-day tasks at least a couple of times a month, and 13% all the time, it is clear that getting managers on board has the potential to make a big difference to the mental health of recruitment agency staff right across the industry.

26 RECRUITER

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Mercer-Jones told the audience that CSG was already taking action to address the problem by working with the company’s managers “to get them to recognise their behaviours and how they conduct themselves as managers”.

He added: “This has a huge part to play in the wellbeing of the people in their teams.”

Mercer-Jones said one of the problems was that many recruitment agencies promoted their top billers to managers “even though they don’t necessarily have the traits”. In recognition of this, he said that managers at CSG now went through a three-month programme that includes coaching and a 360-feedback. “Filtering people Chris Mercer-Jones, before they get into those roles learning & development director at CSG Group makes a big difference,” he explained. Work was also “Get them to ongoing so that top billers, who recognise their ended up going down the behaviours and management route, didn’t miss how they conduct out financially.

As someone to whom staff themselves as often approach when they managers”

JANUARY 2020

04/12/2019 17:12

F U T U R E GA Z I N G 2020

experience problems ranging from domestic situations to financial issues, Kate McCarthy-Booth, MD of specialist retail recruiter McCarthy Recruitment, has personal experience of how valuable a role senior staff can play in promoting mental Kate McCarthy-Booth, MD health and wellbeing within a of McCarthy Recruitment recruitment company.

“Be authentic to For McCarthy-Booth, especially in a relatively small company like McCarthy who you are, and Recruitment with its 30 staff, the answer meet the needs of doesn’t lie in sending out emails and the individuals on having lots of policies. “It all comes down your team” to authenticity and culture,” McCarthyBooth told the audience. And in the case of McCarthy Recruitment, she explained that culture was one of openness and acceptance. “We are a small team, so for me it is about talking, having a proper open door and everybody bring accepted as an individual.

“All of us here [at the event] have different businesses, with different cultures. One size definitely doesn’t fit all. It is all about being relevant to your team,” McCarthy-Booth added.

She advised those in leadership positions within recruitment agencies, who want to promote better health and wellbeing and to support staff facing problems, to be authentic. McCarthy said she had never been afraid to let her own staff know of her own troubles, including that she goes into therapy “every now and again, when I feel overwhelmed, as you do”.

“So be authentic to who you are, and meet the needs of the individuals on your team, and they will believe you as well.”

Heather Deering, health, wellbeing and engagement partner at Morson Group, told the audience that a key aspect of MorFit, Morson’s health and wellbeing strategy, Heather Deering, health, was to remove the stigma that exists wellbeing & engagement around mental health by encouraging staff partner at Morson Group to have those sometimes awkward conversations with their managers around “Actively mental health. Deering said that what encouraging really helped this was producing a mental people to health toolkit, that provides managers have these with practical guidance – for example, on conversations how to recognise signs of mental illness in is going a long their staff and how to approach a way to reduce conversation with them on mental health. the stigma” “We are actively encouraging people to have these conversations, and I think this is going a long way to reduce the stigma,” said Deering.

The company has also created a bespoke training module around mental health in the workplace, which she said is now mandatory for everybody who has line management responsibilities within the company.

Deering said this was particularly helpful for managers “who are perhaps a little bit old school, that do require a bit of a change in attitude, and we need to provide the guidance and support for them to do that”.

FUTURE TALENT NEEDED IN BOTH TECH AND SOFT SKILLS LAUNCHED TO A great fanfare by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne in June 2014, the Northern Powerhouse promised to balance the UK economy, by regenerating the North and producing new and better jobs. But five years on, recruiters and other experts at Recruiter’s Future Gazing 2020 event in Manchester, warned that without significant investment in skills the promised benefits will simply fail to materialise.

Speaking as one of the panel brought together to discuss the subject Andy Lord, founder of coding school Code Nation and a former MD of The Rethink Group, said: “Nerds are the powerhouse that is driving the Northern Powerhouse.” But the trouble is, he added, with a shortfall of 1.2m people with digital skills across the UK right now, there simply wasn’t enough of them to go around.

Set against this backdrop, Lord says that Code Nation’s target of training 1,000 people a year – even though it makes it the largest coding school in the country – “is just a drop in the ocean”. Lord went onto criticise university IT courses that did only 50 hours of software development, compared to 500 hours in just 12 weeks on his bootcamp courses.

And even then, Lord said that when it comes to delivering the Northern Powerhouse, technical skills are only part of the answer. “If you are a coding school, it makes sense that businesses want technical skills – that is what everybody thinks.” However, he said that every employer that he speaks to highlights the need for graduates from Andy Lord, founder of coding school Code Nation

“Nerds are the powerhouse that is driving the Northern Powerhouse” WWW.RECRUITER.CO.UK 27

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FUTURE GAZ ING 2020

Code Nation to also be trained in soft skills and in communication “so they are a work-ready and a business-ready individual”.

“Young people don’t get taught that at school, college or university; they don’t get taught what real business is like, they don’t get taught how to interact and they don’t get told that, actually, money makes the world go round,” said Lord. Indeed, based on his dealings with businesses, he said “the technical skills of the stereotypical techie are probably only about 30-35% of what they need”. He added: “Being a coder on your own in the corner with your headphones on – that world has gone.”

Lord said the exodus of EU workers from the UK following the original vote on Brexit in 2016 hadn’t helped, with Polish workers who completed his bootcamp courses going back to Poland after qualifying. “We are setting ourselves up for an even harder slog than we have today, and already it is almost impossible,” he added.

Nina Lockwood, founder and director at Intuitive Interim & Executive Search, and an expert on the rail sector, which is one of the main planks of the Northern Powerhouse, told the audience that she shared Lord’s concerns that a

28 RECRUITER

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lack of skills in the rail industry put at risk “the chance to ignite regeneration, foster new enterprise, and create jobs and better jobs in the North”.

None of this will be possible, she warned without a significant investment in the skills base of the railway workforce in the North. She pointed out that without such an investment in the current railway industry workforce, with its average age of 44, a lack of people skilled in technology and a lack of diversity compared to with other sectors, the rail industry is heading for a significant skills shortage. And if that happens, she said the workforce will simply not be capable of growing by the predicted 25% increase needed to support the future growth of the network.

“If the government was to give us the £39bn in investment tomorrow, we would be up the creek without a paddle because we don’t have the talent,” she explained.

There would be a particular shortage of project managers and engineers, she added.

Citing research, Lockwood highlighted how not investing to develop the skilled workforce necessary to grow the railway in the North could put a dampener on the wider economy, costing businesses

Nina Lockwood, founder and director at Intuitive Interim & Executive Search

“If the government was to give us the £39bn in investment tomorrow, we would be up the creek without a paddle because we don’t have the talent” £300m, the government £380m, and the economy over £1bn a year by 2034.

Lockwood agreed with Lord that technical and engineering skills are vital to delivering both Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2, which she said are central to delivering the promised benefits of the Northern Powerhouse. However, she said that in recent years she had noticed a shift, with greater demand for people with interpersonal skills, especially for very senior roles.

“Yes, the rail industry is a very technical industry, and we’ve got a lot of engineering. And they do technical roles to a very high standard and quality, but we also need people who are able to promote the railway, to promote their internal organisation, to be able to talk about what needs to change and what needs to transform.”

JANUARY 2020

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THE VIEW AND THE INTELLIGENCE

Raising the bar for recruiters p2 BI G TALKI NG POI NT

Prioriঞes for the year ahead p4

Recruitment Issue 81 January 2020 Matters

LEGAL U PDATE

Understanding wri en statements p6 PRODU CTS AND TRAI NI NG

2019 IPR Awards winners p8

A manifesto for government

New government must prioritise making great work happen M

ake a firm commitment to growth and opportunity in 2020 – that’s the call from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) to the new government.

Before the election, the REC published a manifesto encouraging all political parties to adopt policies that boost the economy, support jobs and make great work happen. It called on the new government to: • Ensure that good work and flexibility go hand-in-hand by designing policies that support the increasing number of people who choose flexible work. A priority is to unlock progression through access to training and reforming the Apprenticeship Levy.

• Harness brilliant recruitment to drive productivity and inclusive growth by putting people at the heart of the industrial strategy.

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The REC wants to work with government on a new ‘Good Recruitment Taskforce’ to help drive good recruitment.

• Create an environment for great businesses to thrive by ensuring regulation is fit for purpose. Delaying IR35 changes until it’s clear that compliant firms won’t lose out, with effective regulation of umbrella companies, is a necessity; as is an immigration policy that

Businesses are ready to work with the new government to support jobs

Making great work happen

addresses skills and labour shortages.

• Take the lead on the future of jobs by ensuring regulations keep pace with technological change to protect workers – tapping into the expertise of recruitment professionals to pre-empt disruption and facilitate career transition.

“Few things matter more to people than their job. Policies to make great work happen should be a priority for the new government right from the word go and businesses are ready to work with the new government to ensure the jobs market remains strong and versatile,” said REC Chief Executive Neil Carberry.

“We’re now renewing our pre-election asks, which together would support and protect workers while boosting business growth. This is a critical time for the economy as REC data shows business confidence is at a low ahead of Brexit. But it’s an opportunity for the new government to get 2020 off on the right foot and take steps now to support jobs and growth”.

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Leading the Industry

the view...

2020 is the year of the professional recruiter. It’s time to set ourselves apart, says Neil Carberry, REC Chief Executive

A b

new year is a chance to make a commitment. Mine is that as an industry we can come together and demonstrate the case for our value as a professional service, selling the human skills we bring. This will be the difference between surviving and thriving.

A new year is also a chance to renew. You’ll notice that this is the first Recruitment Matters under our new brand – for an REC fit for the road ahead. At the core of our new approach is promoting the professionalism of recruitment and you’ll see that coming out even more in what we say and how we do things.

Recruiters are needed now more than ever

2019 was bit of an uncertainty rollercoaster. But it’s important to start the year with some optimism, as well as realism about the challenges.

Our monthly ‘JobsOutlook’ study saw employer confidence in the economy slowing, translating into fewer job vacancies as business played it safe. But firms want to do more, and they have confidence in themselves to grow.

Even more tellingly, three quarters of employers told us they had little or no capacity to take on more work without needing to hire additional staff.

Talk to any CEO and they’ll tell you that accessing talent is their biggest worry.

This isn’t a recent problem – REC data has shown growing skills shortages across a range of sectors. Recruiters can help them bridge the gap between what they need and the mountain of talent that’s out there. Our challenge is to show that recruiters are more than a quick fix solution to a skills shortage. That this industry is more than matchers and dispatchers – it’s a professional service which can add value across many areas of the business.

Three ways for making the case for good recruitment

Firstly, it’s how we help to make businesses realise that success starts with good recruitment. From flexible working practices and diversity & inclusion, to investing in skills and innovation, recruiters are ideally placed to advise businesses on creating environments in which people can perform at their best.

The REC’s Good Recruitment Collective is all about making that case to business. Nearly 500 companies have joined us committing to best practice in recruitment; 90% of employers already value recruiters specifically for their expertise, but more firms need to start buying their services on value, not just price.

Secondly, it’s about convincing government that good recruitment is essential to solving the UK’s productivity puzzle. Skills help drive the economy, and recruiters help businesses plan their future workforce and invest in skills.

We help people move away from shrinking industries into new areas. And REC members have access to the local knowledge that can support those endeavours.

Thirdly, it’s about us. We have to ensure the REC badge is meaningful. This means practising what we preach and celebrating success. Our industry awards in November were a showcase of the brilliant outcomes recruiters can achieve. And as we approach some big changes this year – like IR35 in April – ‘low road’ routes to compliance that conspire against workers must be avoided.

It’s 2020. A new decade. A time to set ourselves apart.

Let’s make it clear this year that the specialist, professional service recruiters deliver is what makes great work happen, so everyone wins.

“Talk to any CEO and they’ll tell you that accessing talent is their biggest worry. This isn’t a recent problem.”

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

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Leading the Industry

the intelligence...

39%

2020 – A year of challenges and opportunities

Brits have worked as a temporary agency worker

Thalia Ioannidou, Research Manager

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ust as last year, 2020 will have its challenges – as Brexit again unfolds and the government extends the IR35 rules into the private sector.

But there are opportunities still out there.

The world of work is evolving

As businesses look for flexible labour to meet demand, flexible work remains a significant and steady feature of the UK labour market.

Our latest report, ‘Flexibility works: why people choose flexible work’, reveals two in five Brits (39%) have worked as a temporary agency worker, contractor or freelancer. People choose to work this way for many reasons.

Finding work and earning money quickly are important drivers, as is learning new skills and career progression.

Recruiters can great flexible work happen

62% who had secured temporary work through an agency were satisfied with the service provided

73% of employers who find staff via a recruitment agency are satisfied or very satisfied with the service provided JobsOutlook

10% increase in perm starting salaries Average permanent placement salary, Q3 2018 and 2019 £33,615 £34,000

£30,647

£25,500 £17,000 £8,500 £0 Q3 2018

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Q3 2019

The ‘Good Work’ agenda in Westminster has demonstrated how working through an employment business is more regulated than other forms of flexible work. Employment firms provide the right conditions needed to fuel the labour market with the two-way flexibility employers and workers want.

The recruitment industry has done well to meet the everchanging needs of both employers and candidates. The number of permanent placements made and the number of temporary and contract workers on assignment in 2018/19 remained strong and, according to our latest Recruitment Industry Trends, the industry grew year on year.

Satisfaction levels registered among employers and workers

At £33.6k, the average salary of permanent placements made by the average recruiter in the RIB Index was 10% higher in Q3 2019 than a year earlier.

Around 43,000 UK businesses, with 50+ employees, are currently assessing

were also strong. Seven in 10 employers (73%) who find staff via a recruitment agency are satisfied or very satisfied with the service provided ‘JobsOutlook’ November 2019). Similarly, three in five people (62%) who had secured temporary work through an agency were satisfied with the service provided (‘Flexibility works’).

Economic and legislative changes as well as slowing global growth are expected to put a strain on businesses and affect hiring activity this year. Recruiters will be faced with unpredictable demand and volatile decisionmaking. But it is in uncertain times like these that the recruitment industry has proven it has a vital role to play in providing strategic advice that employers need.

whether their contractors should be deemed as PAYE employees from April 2020 to comply with IR35 rules. Agencies will be busy into 2020 finding permanent placements for freelancers who are pursuing this opঞon or discussing temporary to

permanent transiঞons for exisঞng workers.

For those considering such a move, most starঞng salaries will be higher than the UK average. This acঞvity, adding to regular wage growth of 3.6% in the same period, will be contribuঞng to the 10% rise year on year.

Belinda Johnson runs employment research consultancy, Worklab, and is Associate Knowledge & Insight Director of Recruitment Industry Benchmarking (RIB). The RIB Index provides bespoke confidential reports on industry benchmarks and trends. www.ribindex.com

January 2020 Recruitment Matters

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Future of jobs

big talking point

Get ready for the future, now Tom Hadley, REC Director of Policy and Campaigns, gives his take on the priorities recruiters should be focusing on in 2020.

T

alk about the future of jobs, and images spring to mind of rampant robots overtaking workplaces across the land leaving trails of disruption.

The long-term implications of artificial intelligence, automation and demographic trends are hot topics for debate. There are, however, other more immediate concerns for the many recruiters who are busier than ever looking ahead at the next day, rather than the next decade!

But what can forward-thinking recruiters do to protect their business and drive growth in these uncertain times?

This is the core theme of REC regional workshops over the coming year. But, based on the feedback from recent events in Bournemouth and Birmingham to name a few, and from the annual REC Future of Jobs Summit, here are some of the big ticket items that will make a difference in 2020.

Be the expert your clients need you to be

Recruitment is getting harder.

Employers need to get better at it.

And a big part if this ‘betterment’ process is building genuine partnerships with the right recruitment experts.

With skills and staff shortages intensifying in many sectors, the need for new solutions to emerging workforce challenges and societal changes will set the tone for 2020.

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The top three external factors shaping the future of work Brexit/political stability 79% AI and automation 60% New regulations 56%

At the REC’s Future of Jobs Summit in November, Denis Pennel, Managing Director at the World Employment Confederation, talked of the rise of the “on-demand” economy and the increasing need for firms to be agile.

Business services need to be scaled up and down to meet demand and resources flexed accordingly. That has direct implications for workforce strategies and working patterns.

The faster things change, the more strategic recruitment professionals will be called on to help clients and candidates make sense of the evolving landscape. This is already reflected in the REC’s ‘JobsOutlook’ data, with 90% of employers citing ‘access to expertise’ as determining which recruitment partner to work with.

So how can we make the most of this in 2020?

The REC’s local intelligence reports in partnership with EMSI set the ball rolling with local jobs market analysis and we will be building on this with a series of regional workshops with LinkedIn. These will focus on how recruiters can use regional jobs market data to build more strategic relationships with clients.

Get to grips with what technology means for your business

Technology is continually evolving and affecting the way recruitment works.

It’s providing new tools for recruiters as well as new forms of competition.

The majority of recruiters recognise the opportunities.

They don’t see technology as an existential threat.

Instead they realise that they need to do the best possible job for clients and for candidates to ensure that what they do is not ‘automatable’. The ongoing need for that ‘human touch’ was an upbeat message from the last Future of Jobs Summit.

But the industry is at a stage where we need to do more to share experiences about what works and

(source: Future of Jobs Summit, 2019)

what doesn’t. We need to take a view on what technology can be harnessed and what can be pushed back on. When the REC gave evidence to the All Party Parliamentary Group on AI last year, the core message from MPs and AI experts was that ‘just because you can, doesn’t mean you should’.

Ethics around AI in recruitment procedures will be a hot topic over the coming year. The REC will be feeding into this and ensuring that online platforms and recruitment apps meet the same standards as established recruiters. This was one of the main points in our manifesto for the new government and is at the heart of our ongoing dialogue with the government’s Centre for Data Ethics.

Be ahead of the game

Tech isn’t the only game in town. Political, demographic and attitudinal changes all pose challenges in the world of work too. Good recruiters will already have strategies that take these shifts into account.

On political challenges, you need to pre-empt what Brexit scenarios might mean not just for your own business, but for clients and candidates. The REC’s Brexit Hub is there to facilitate these reflections. On regulation, recruiters will gain traction and recognition by understanding what new rules mean in practice and spreading the word to clients

Future of jobs

and candidates. The increasing number of REC members hosting client (and sometimes candidate) events, shows that the ‘experts in our field’ differentiator is gaining ground.

Being ahead of the game also means spreading the word internally. A big priority for recruiters in 2020 will be to equip front-line recruiters with the skills, knowledge, awareness and confidence to have different sorts of conversations with clients.

‘Recruitment Professionals’ is more than just a tagline. It’s about redefining recruitment as an integral part of the UK’s professional services sector.

Go the extra mile

You might need to keep a close eye on costs and efficiencies, but ensuring compliance and maintaining professional standards is a given. Together we also need to go that step further and be more proactive in singing the industry’s praises as a force for good and driving productivity and economic growth.

Driving change around diversity and inclusion is a good example of this. The REC will continue to use our Inclusive Recruitment Forum to showcase best practice and to support external programmes such as the Recruitment Industry Disability Initiative (RIDI). Other ways to create change include being active in our communities, and helping to build better bridges between education and work through the REC’s 200+ Future of Jobs Ambassadors network.

It’s important to run profitable, compliant businesses, but by going the extra mile and doing the right thing, we can show how we make a difference not only to the country’s economy, but to so many people’s lives. Making great work happen, that’s what we’re all about in 2020!

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Employment rights

legal update Written statements from day one

By Bunmi Adefuye – Senior Solicitor, REC

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romb6 April 2020, every new employee and worker will have the right to a written statement from day one of their employment.

In 2018, the government amended the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) with regards to written statements. Currently only employees receive written statements within two months of employment if the role will last for over a month. But come 6 April, this will change and will apply to both employees and workers from day one.

So what should a written statement include?

Everything must be set out in one document and include mandatory information under the current section 1 of the ERA 1996.

This includes the name of the employer and employee, date of

Stand by for the new REC

Follow our journey here: www.rec.uk.com.

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“Recruiters must agree terms with workers before finding them work.” employment, period of continuous employment, pay intervals, holiday pay and so on.

But from 6 April 2020, the written statement must also contain: • Days and times the worker is required to work • Duration of the contract • Notice periods • All remuneration, not just pay • Entitlement to sick leave and pay • Other entitlements such as maternity/paternity leave • Training entitlements • Duration and conditions of any probationary period.

And what does it mean for recruiters?

For recruiters that supply workers, the obligation to provide a written statement under the ERA 1996

O

ver the course of 2019, we’ve thought deeply about the REC’s purpose and future. We’ve worked with our members and stakeholders to make some exciting changes. And in November, we launched our new look at the 2019 IRP Awards. We’ve replaced an outdated brand with designs that are modern and relatable.

But more importantly, our new brand clearly sets out who we are, and how we support the industry.

We also replaced the IRP brand with ‘REC Professional’ for continuity. Our individual members told us they’d prefer to be closer to the REC brand as it’s the one that their clients and candidates know and understand.

is separate from the Conduct Regulations (the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003). The Conduct Regulations set out specific documents that must be provided to the worker at different stages of employment or engagement.

Recruiters must agree terms with workers before finding them work. Specific information must be obtained from the hirer about the role, and passed on to the worker before the assignment begins.

From 6 April 2020 there will also be a further obligation to provide a ‘key information document’ before the terms are agreed with the worker. Recruiters must bear in mind that the additional information in the written statement under the ERA 1996 exceeds what is required in the Conduct Regulations.

The REC agrees that there is a lot of duplication to the information required. As the timings for issuing the documents differ under both pieces of legislation, the process has to be carefully managed.

We will soon publish documents to assist members in meeting their obligations under both the ERA 1996 and the Conduct Regulations 2003. In the meantime, visit the REC’s Good Work hub online for more helpful information.

Similar motivations have led us to change the name of the GRC from ‘Good Recruitment Campaign’ to ‘Good Recruitment Collective’ – a growing network of over 500 companies employing more than 3.5 million workers in the UK. And launching in 2020, our new website coupled with our new CRM will be a powerful resource for corporate and professional members. It will be much easier to find the information you need, so that no matter how the jobs market changes your first port of call will be the REC. Now more than ever the REC is your organisation, on your side. www.rec.uk.com

05/12/2019 10:41

Inspiration

Andrea Prendergast,

Managing Director, Ryder Reid Legal, on flexible working People have lives outside work.

If you want a loyal, mo vated workforce, it’s important to recognise that goals and interests outside work are o en what give people the drive to succeed in work.

Flexible working doesn’t mean working less hard.

Recruitment is mepressured and there are things you need to react to quickly. But by working smarter and being organised, you can switch off when you need to.

You don’t have to sell your soul to be the best.

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Q&A

What I know

Behind the scenes with REC Professionals

with my second child the day I signed the deal for my management buyout of Ryder Reid. It’s been a challenge, but I’ve made it work.

As a company, we’ve focused on wellbeing since the MBO; we’re very open to flexible working and we’ll try to an cipate requests.

I’m currently on a phased return. As a breas eeding mum, I set aside me in the office to express – and when I’m not working, people know only to contact me in an emergency.

Leadership can set the tone.

People shouldn’t apologise for their flexible working request.

I have two children under the age of three and my business partner is a hands-on dad. I actually found out I was pregnant

It’s important to be realis c about your workload. But remember that there are clear advantages for your employer too.

Tony Ward and Dominic Coyne, founders, BuildSpace, on life after an MBO

After your MBO from UKL Group and subsequent rebrand, you’ve focused on being “deliberately different”. What does that mean?

Recruitment is generally only as good as the sales people in the team.

But we’re innovators and we’ll use the latest technology to drive efficiency and generate the best quality candidates in the market faster than our compe tors.

We don’t rely on CVs – we’ll send clients videos of candidates. We’re using AI, automa on, chat bots and machine learning.

We champion our candidates as much as our clients. But we’re si ing for gold, and technology helps with the first few si s.

We can also build

clients microsites within our website.

We’d rather be an extension to somebody’s business than take a sca ergun approach to winning it. And when clients’ biggest headaches are the me it takes to hire and the quality of CVs they receive, we’ve got a solu on to improve that process.

What about the challenges of rebranding the business?

The biggest challenge has been driving internal change. We had to persist with it and really sell the benefits. But we’ve been good at spo ng the opportuni es, and we’ve got strong rela onships with our clients, who appreciate our fresh approach. We’ll grow our headcount significantly in 2020.

January 2020 Recruitment Matters

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Products & Training

IRP Award Winners Recruiter of the Year Georgia Walden (pictured below), Hyper Recruitment Solutions Lifetime Achievement Debbie Caswell

Temporary Consultant of the Year Winner Josh Howell, Evolve Hospitality

Lifetime Achievement Grahame Caswell

In-House Recruiter of the Year Winner Vanessa van de Venter, Siemens Plc

Newcomer of the Year Winner Keegan Cooper, Evolve Hospitality

Business Manager of the Year Winner Lindsey Thompson, Search Consultancy

Highly Commended Ben Marsh, Human One

Business Leader of the Year Winner Danny Brooks, VHR

Permanent Consultant of the Year Winner Georgia Walden, Hyper Recruitment Solutions

Back-Office Support Team of the Year Winner PMP Recruitment b Recruitment Team of the Year Winner Randstad Recruitment Campaign of the Year Winner Meridian Business Support

People Development Business Award of the Year Winner Admiral Recruitment Corporate & Social Responsibility Practitioners of the Year Winner Girling Jones Ltd Highly Commended VGC Group Best Company to Work for (up to 20 employees) Winner Inspired Search & Selection Ltd Best Company to Work for (up to 50 employees) Winner Hyper Recruitment Solutions Best Company to Work for (up to 150 employees) Winner Carrington West Best Company to Work for (more than 150 employees) Winner Amoria Bond

Thanks to our headline sponsor, each winner will receive their own GC IndexÂŽ Personal Profile Report and an expert consultation session to unleash the future impact they can make.

HEADLINE SPONSOR

Recruitment Matters

8

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

Recruitment Matters January 2020

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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 Pip Brooking Pip.Brooking@rec.uk.com. Production Editor: Vanessa Townsend Production: Production Executive: Rachel Young rachel.young@redactive.co.uk Tel: 020 7880 6209 Printing: Printed by Precision Colour Printing Š 2020 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

05/12/2019 10:41

VISION

2020 THE YEAR AHEAD

I M AG E S | I STO C K / S HUT T ERSTOC K

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UHY H AC K E R YOU NG

THE YEAR AHEAD

2020: flex for change build foundations for the future 019 has been an interesting year. The economical and political backdrop won’t be something I’ll dive deep into but it certainly has impacted in business decisions across the UK as well as further afield, which has left many wondering, “What will next year have in store for me?”

We see 2020 as the year of transformation, full of changes and opportunities that business owners, especially recruiters, will need to prepare for as we go into the next decade. At the core of this transformation is flexibility in the face of change, whilst building a strong foundation for your future.

2

THE PUSH AND PULL OF IR35 As a recruiter, you’ll no doubt know all about the promise of IR35 off-payroll reform being introduced to the private sector, and should be making plans in order to be ahead of the changes.

When the Budget was cancelled in September because of the delay to Brexit, there were murmurs of concern (and relief ) that the IR35 off-payroll reform in the private sector might not happen.

Now, at the time of writing, election promises are on the lips of every parliamentary party and the review of the upcoming off-payroll reform is a pledge being made across the board.

Due to start on 6 April 2020, we’ve seen how larger businesses, banks especially, have already made extensive decisions on how they will deal with IR35 and their off-payroll contractors. This reflects the knee-jerk response of many public sector companies when IR35 off-payroll reform was introduced to them in 2017. Of course, if there is a turnaround on the reform once a new Government takes its seat, it could mean that these blanket reactions were made too soon.

We continue to advise our clients that reviewing their client and contractor portfolio on a case-by-case basis is the best form of preparation.

The HMRC CEST tool has had another upgrade, ensuring that with accurate information, it will provide a judgement on whether IR35 legislation applies or not to each individual.

30 RECRUITER

KEEPING COMPANY CULTURE AT THE FOREFRONT Talent acquisition, and more importantly retention, is harder than ever. Although job hopping is still seen negatively if too frequent, the average millennial will move every two years – compared to every seven years with the previous generation.

This may sound like a great opportunity for recruiters with more deals to make, however it does affect how you recruit internally.

The reason to move now centres on business culture and purpose, but perhaps not in the way you might expect. For a start, culture is not a ping-pong table or beer on tap. Yes, room to breathe and connect away instead of being chained to a desk is a great idea, but company culture is much more than that.

Although it is difficult to quantify, the culture within your business – and in turn, in your client’s businesses – will produce a set of values and behaviours that can be monitored. By observing elements such as communication, wellness, leadership, knowledge management, agility and innovation, you can ensure your values and beliefs are established and everyone is committed to the commercial and cultural vision of the business. For 2020, look at ways in which you can review this internally, and externally with clients, to get the micro and macro views you need to establish your future success.

FOUNDATIONS DON’T HAVE TO BE CREATED ALONE As a recruitment leader, the responsibilities of running your business often fall on your shoulders. It is easy to be heavily focused on income and making placements as well as frantically running other aspects of your business such as back-office, compliance, internal recruitment, marketing etc.

A familiar pattern we see is business owners being focused on income created for today, every day, sell-sell-sell, recruit-recruit-recruit, and then hit a brick wall, where the business owner becomes disillusioned as profits are falling

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despite more staff and more revenue. Without the foundations and with little focus on building cultural and commercial assets, it’s difficult to make the next step and scale up.

For many, in order to take the next step and break through the barrier, the recruitment leader’s mindset needs to be shifted in order to succeed. If you want to move away from a lifestyle business or pure disillusionment next year, then it might be time to engage outside support.

This support can take the form of a mentor, coach, or a business adviser – but by working with those who understand what you’re going through, you can make the necessary changes. Having worked with businesses through their transition to investment and/or exit, we’ve decided to develop our firm in-line with our clients’ needs, offering the guidance and tools to navigate your evolutionary journey.

If you’d like to talk to us about your 2020 vision, and find out about how we can support your transition, we’re going to be at the Recruitment Agency Expo on stand C3 and would love to see you there.

• Marie Pegram ACA, Partner and Recruitment Sector Specialist at Recruitment Accountants, a division of UHY Hacker Young. Known for our recruitment sector knowledge, real insight into the opportunities and threats in the marketplace and comprehensive view of the legislative environment, we provide recruitment businesses with dedicated accounting and tax expertise, back-office services and business advice to help you achieve your goals, helping you prosper. ●

We see 2020 as the year of transformation, full of changes and opportunities that business owners, especially recruiters, will need to prepare for.

MARIE PEGRAM ACA, Partner and Recruitment Sector Specialist at Recruitment Accountants

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PAYSTRE A M

THE YEAR AHEAD

Looking ahead to April 2020 – the year of compliance

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OFF-PAYROLL CHANGES ARE COMING Those hoping that Brexit will delay the off-payroll changes will be disappointed. From our discussions with civil servants and politicians it is clear that there is no political will to help the industry, particularly when all parties are committed to crack down on what they see as tax avoidance.

PROVIDE AN OFF-PAYROLL SOLUTION OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES We saw in the public sector, in the NHS in particular, that clients who found it difficult to understand IR35 or did not want to take any risk made blanket decisions that everyone was caught.

There is already a move away from using PSCs in the finance sector and we expect this to continue.

It goes without saying that contractors are unhappy about this. To retain talent, clients will need to be convinced that any IR35 process proposed is robust, and they are looking for solutions that: are slick and scaleable manage the workflow, as well as carry out role reviews are signed off by third parties deal with contractor appeals save documents relevant to the review provide an audit trail identify weaknesses from an IR35 perspective (so that changes can be made).

At PayStream we have developed IR35 Comply, which is our specialist online portal for IR35 status assessments. It’s easy to use, backed by experts, and enables you to manage and control IR35 right across your supply chain.

HMRC WILL TARGET CERTAIN COMPANIES HMRC will already have high profile targets in mind – in the public sector the focus has been on BBC and ITV presenters (which provides free advertising for its compliance activities). In the private sector the banks (demonised by the press) or a multi-national company not paying its “fair share” of tax would be obvious targets.

There will, of course, be easy targets for HMRC. There are always people looking for loopholes and providers with schemes (backed by counsel’s opinion), which purport to get round the rules.

These schemes sometimes take a while to unravel but ultimately HMRC will look to get the tax where it can.

In relation to off-payroll, HMRC is already looking at ‘solutions’ being marketed – for example, there are rumours they will issue guidance around Statement of Work (and if they do, it may have already beaten this issue to print).

THERE WILL BE A LAST MINUTE RUSH IN MARCH 2020 In the public sector we saw a large increase in the number of umbrella workers. Some agencies underestimated the amount of work required to engineer the switch, including new contracts, payroll changes and not least getting the contractor to join an umbrella. This resulted in late payments and contractors with another reason to complain.

Our advice is simple: don’t wait. Assess your risk and remember – whatever you need, PayStream is here to help. ●

Those hoping that Brexit will delay the off-payroll changes will be disappointed.

ompliance will become a key differentiator between recruitment businesses in 2020. With the introduction of the off-payroll rules in April, clients have a vested interest in ensuring a compliant supply chain; we have already seen large clients asking for details about how contractors are paid – this extends to umbrella PSLs, as well as PSCs. Recruitment businesses will need to prove that, not only are they compliant, but also that they are enforcing compliance throughout the supply chain.

JULIAN BALL Legal Director at PayStream

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CO M M U N I T Y

SOCIAL NETWORK WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO? GET IN TOUCH! In the run up to the New Year, there was still time for you to let us know what you’d been up to since the last Recruiter uiter…

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FAC E B OO K

Bristol SME’s say No to Cancer Inaugural Fundraising Dinner TUESDAY 4TH FEBRUARY 2020 Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol | £90 per ticket Sponsorship Opportunities for you to fund life-saving research

COOK INVESTMENT DELIVERS HALLOWE’EN PRESENT TO HOSPICE Hosted by Jeff Brazier and held at Ashton Gate Stadium, this prestigious black tie event will include a drink’s reception, a three-course meal, entertainment, music, auction, raffle and networking opportunities.

You will also have the opportunity to hear about Cancer Research UK’s local impact.

Your support will help save lives.

Directors from medical recruitment organisation Cook Investment Group went to see the work carried out by Willen Hospice in Milton Keynes. As part of its corporate social responsibility programme, the group raised £1k following a successful Hallowe’en fright-raising day.

Chris Gregg of Willen Hospice (left) receiving a cheque from founding family directors Glenn (second left) and David Cook, and HR director Liam Oakes (second right)

BRISTOL CONSULTANCY SAYS NO TO CANCER Baltimore Consulting, winners of the Best Micro Agency to Work For in Recruiter’s Investing in Talent Awards, will be hosting an event on World Cancer Day 2020 in memory of CEO Charmaine Vincent’s close friend who died from brain cancer at just 27 years old. ‘Bristol SMEs say NO to Cancer’ will be on 4 February at Ashton Gate in Bristol. Click here for more information http://bit.ly/37zAFot – tickets and sponsorship opportunities will all go to support the work of Cancer Research.

DB Charles Recruitment Early Xmas present from the team at Recruiter magazine in not only the new December issue but also giving us a small mention as well. Thanks.

I NSTAG RA M recruitermagazine Seen November’s @recruitermagazine?

Worth a read even if you’re not into auto tech recruitment as there’s some great a articles inside, including a care home w where the 90+ year old residents b became part of the #recruitment panel! @weareredactive @autotech_recruit @ @ re renaissancecare fu fullfocusrecruitment Lo Looks great. Will check out the link

CORDANT PEOPLE’S MD MEETS PRINCE AT CENTREPOINT Managing director of Cordant People Kelly Kendall endall (inset and second right) met Prince William at youth homelessness charity Centrepoint’s Apprenticeship House, which was opened by Prince William. Cordant People is partnering with Centrepoint to assist with work placements, career advice and recruitment industry expertise.

@RecruiterMag instagram.com/recruitermagazine/ recruitermagazine.tumblr.com/

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E CAREERS CO M M UNITY

The Workplace

BY GUY HAYWARD

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have achieved, what more you need to do and what new goals you want to set.

Tell people what you will be doing, share your commitments. Once others know, they can help you and it offers the right level of pressure to ensure you do what you set out to do. With the added weight of external expectations, you’re more likely to succeed. If you keep your boss in the dark about your objectives, they can’t possibly start to help you.

If you haven’t watched Free Solo, you really must. Alex Honnold climbed El Capitan in Yosemite, 3,000ft of vertical climb without a rope. A lunatic, you may say, but he did it. How? He set small attainable goals in his training, which gave continuous improvement and he told so many people of his ambition to be the first to climb the granite wall without any ropes that his statement drove him on and he became surrounded by people who wanted to help.

Health and fitness are the resolutions most people start with, and why not? A definite and clear correlation with your personal wellbeing and your performance at work.

Instead of a Pret a Manger sandwich at your desk, head to the gym. Buy a bike on a

“Set aside an hour on the first day of every month to review what you have achieved, what more you need to do and what new goals to set” cycle-to-work scheme, transforming your commute. Try meditation: switch your mind off for 20 minutes a day and feel the impact. Switch from overindulging on Haribos to a healthier snack at your desk – personally, I love sugar snap peas!

What about work-related goals? You will have your own business plan for developing your desk, you will know the content inside your personal development plan and you know what was in your appraisal.

All will give you a list of actions – set yourself a timetable to cross them off one by one and seek more.

As my old mentor once said: “If you’re not stretching, you’re not growing.” ●

↗

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS: there to be broken or to push new boundaries? There to stand the test of a calendar year or to fizzle out during the course of January?

Sleep more, drink less, join that gym or become vegan.

But what about work ones?

I wonder how many New Year’s resolutions are work related. Few, I suspect. I wonder if we enter the new year knowing what we need to do for our careers to move forward and then make a commitment to making them happen.

You hear so many stories and see so many people cruising at half speed in the world of routine.

It’s not about a reinvention of who you are, but a gentle consideration of what will take you further on in your career journey – most definitely worth the time to understand what you need to do.

Setting many small, attainable goals is likely to lead to greater success than one enormous shift. Make them realistic and you’ll keep to your promise. A list of changes where you only move on to the next one once the first one is completed makes achieving your new year commitments a real likelihood. Set aside an hour on the first day of every month to review what you

GUY HAYWARD – redefining the modern workplace CEO, Goodman Masson

JANUARY 2020

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CO M M U N I T Y

WORKPLACE INNOVATION

E

BRING ON THE BRILLIANCE Change your workplace to attract Gen Z ↗ JANE BURTON is a final year geography student at the University of Exeter with a strong passion for sustainability and environmental social responsibility

BY JANE BURTON

THE EARLIEST MEMBERS of Generation Z (those born between 1996 and 2012) are the newest group to join the workforce and are already proving to be different from their predecessors, prompting employers to adjust the way they approach and attract the newest talent pool.

Making up almost one third of the global population, the experiences Gen Z have encountered growing up have shaped their views on what comprises an appealing workplace environment. Employers mustn’t ignore what makes a desirable company to this generation or risk losing what will form 24% of the workforce by the end of this year.

Reboot your approach

“Gen Z are digital natives, risk averse and value-driven ... looking for an innovative and responsible company”

Gen Z, also nicknamed iGen or Net Gen, are the first generation to grow up surrounded by technology. The members that weren’t alive for the release for the first iPhone in 2007 are now entering secondary school where coding and computer science are taught in ICT curricula.

To prepare for the influx of tech natives into the workpool, employers must provide the most cutting-edge technology. A 2018 study by Dell found that 91% of Gen Z say that technology would influence their job choice among similar employment offers. Smartphones and laptops in place of static PCs will aid remote and more flexible working. Superfast broadband and online training portals are methods which could appeal to the youngest generation.

If employers want to reach out to the future tech-savvy talent, an active social media presence like Snapchat, Twitter and Instagram, the creation of apps and a review of communication mechanisms, shifting away from emails, may be the best tactic.

Students seek stability Gen Z have grown up in an era of political and economic turbulence. Most of this generation were children or teenagers during the recession in 2008 and are now choking with student IMAG ES | ISTO C K

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debt. No surprise then that young people today are risk averse, saving earlier and seeking stability in their career choice.

Offering loans for rental deposits, student debt repayments and information on first-time mortgages and other financial education are smart recruitment tools for new graduates looking for financial benefits. Moreover, employers can highlight clear career development plans and job stability through formal training or on-the-job opportunities and projects to involve and support the progression of Gen Z employees.

The echoes of Greta Thunberg and ‘Fridays for Future’ youth climate strikes are a telling example of how young people want to make a difference to the world. Gen Z-ers expect more from their employer and feel that companies should be addressing the environment, equality and diversity issues as a number one priority.

Clear diversity & inclusion policies can be cited by employers through gender pay gap reports and providing inclusion awareness training. Gen Z view the company they work for as a reflection of their personality, so will gravitate towards responsible businesses.

Providing volunteering opportunities and communicating clear sustainability strategies, such as reducing single-use plastics and carbon offsetting, will catch the interest of the incoming value-driven workforce.

Bringing out the best As the newest generation grows into adulthood, we are beginning to understand how their lifestyle and attitudes are different from their predecessors. Generation Z are digital natives, risk averse and value-driven.

They are looking for an innovative and responsible company, which can offer stability and engagement. So by recognising the changing demands of the future workpool, an employer can attract Gen Z into their team.●

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E BUSINESS ADVICE CO MM UNITY

ASK THE EXPERT I’m not sure our marketing is cutting through.

How can we stand out?

Differentiation in recruitment is challenging.

Whichever marketing strategies you use consistency is critical, as it is only by persisting with and refining your approach that you will deliver results.

Statistics to illustrate performance A history of empty promises has conditioned candidates and clients to assume there is a credibility gap between marketing claims and delivery. This creates an opportunity for recruiters that can quantify their success rates.

To distinguish yourselves from competitors, you might consider sharing statistics such as: the percentage of briefs your company fills; the percentage of candidates you put forward who are shortlisted; the average time it takes to get a shortlist to the client; the percentage or total number of candidates you secure roles or offers for; showing how many clients have been with you for 2+ and 5+ years – this demonstrates an ethos of building long-term relationships. Referrals or net promoter scores can also be used to highlight an excellent level of service.

Brand awareness and consistency Awareness and consistency are critical to developing a brand that cuts through.

Branding should make content immediately identifiable as yours. Consistent use of logos, fonts and colours on anything visual (business cards, letterhead, website, pitch decks, branded emails, marketing collateral, social media posts) is a minimum. An independent opinion on your branding is often advisable – some company owners struggle to find its personality, while others rebrand far too often.

Awareness is a combination of engagement and reach. If your marketing is vanilla it is unlikely to stand out on social media, in adverts or via email unless it is pushed with a frequency that can be off-putting.

High-quality insight, e.g. concise, well-researched insight or salary surveys, as well as highly creative content or design, will get engagement.

Recruitment companies should use a blend of marketing channels to reach a wider variety of candidates with greater frequency. Jobs boards,

38 RECRUITER

The SME Coach advertising, LinkedIn, other social media channels (e.g.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & Pinterest), e-shots, events, sponsorship of events (conferences, meet-ups, etc), public relations, SEO & PPC, awards and SMS can all have their place. A few notes on these channels: • the majority of agencies under-use their own databases for e-shot marketing. Many only use them to share jobs • LinkedIn’s wide range of products can be very effective but remember that the majority of clients or candidates engage with it less than we, as recruiters do • SMS or text marketing has not achieved the same saturation levels as other channels and can be an effective way to engage candidates, though some find it intrusive.

When using any of these challenges there is a balance to be struck between personalising the marketing and the cost-effective reach of each activity.

Measurement Marketing is iterative – you should be constantly refining what you are doing as you analyse results. Use your gut instinct to make decisions but also look for hard facts – where is your website traffic coming from and which pages are they visiting? Which channels generate the most applications and fees? What activities do the consultants say have helped their new business efforts?

Service matters Good marketing is not a substitute for poor service and while it will get candidates, clients and consultants in the door, they will quickly go elsewhere if your recruiters do not deliver to high standards. ●

↗

Use of marketing channels

Alex Arnot

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

JANUARY 2020

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CO M MU N I T Y

CAREERS

E

“I don’t know where I see myself tomorrow – you never know what’s round the corner!”

MY BRILLIANT RECRUITMENT CAREER

↗ SOPHIE RICE Branch operations manager, Diamond Recruitment Services, Northampton

What was your earliest dream job?

A PE teacher. I did try to go down that avenue but fell into recruitment.

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

As an apprentice recruitment administrator at another agency, and I built myself up to be a branch operations manager here at Diamond.

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

Our company owner, Donna Rogers.

She is the one I’ll always be in debt to.

She’s the person that took me on from a company I worked at for two years.

She gave me the opportunity to work at Diamond and for the past five years has groomed me to who I need to be at this point.

What do you love most about your current role?

The people I deal with. I have one guy who has been with us since I started at Diamond. He has Asperger Syndrome.

While he’s not been a great fit for some, I have found a company where there is a fantastic person that he’s working for, and he’s now a driver and got his certificate and his licence. He’s just grown, and it makes me feel good about my job.

I M AG E S | I STO CK / SH UTT ER STO C K

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SOPHIE RICE What would you considerr to be the most brilliant moment ment of your career?

Getting the opportunity to manage this branch on my own.

What is your signature dish? ish?

Chicken and mashed potato..

What’s the best or worst iinterview i question you’ve ever heard?

“Where do you see yourself in the next five years?” I don’t know where I see myself tomorrow – you never know

what’s round the corner! I just don’t like that question.

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

An operations manager for an industrial firm based over in Corby.

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

The guy who has Asperger’s came in and bought the whole office doughnuts and chocolates because he had been with us five years – bless him! It was a memorable moment for us all.

What would you regard as your theme tune?

Drake – God’s Plan.

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E CAREERS CO M M UNITY

ADECCO

CIELO

The recruitment giant has promoted Ralf Weissbeck to the position of group chief information officer, from chief technology officer.

David Whittingham-Jones joins the recruitment process outsourcing provider as executive vice president of global solutions.

ENCORE PERSONNEL The specialist recruitment firm welcomes Vicki Pennal as project manager within its managed services division.

ADMIRAL RECRUITMENT The hospitality recruiter has made three senior appointments. Chris Harrington has joined as operations director, Robin Hancox as managing director, and Shaun Hulse as finance director.

BERRY RECRUITMENT GROUP The nationwide recruiter has appointed Doug McCall as finance director.

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Mark Darby has taken the reins as managing director of East of England-based recruiter Cooper Lomaz Recruitment. Darby told Recruiter the decision to take over was an easy one.

“When I was approached by co-founders Charlotte Cooper and Jane Lovell, I was at a point in my career where I was eager to get my teeth into a new opportunity, in addition to identifying a role that gives me complete autonomy. I was excited by the chance of taking a well-established recruitment consultancy and turning it into a true market leader.”

Darby, whose previous roles include president, professional staffing, at Staffing 360 and chief operating officer at Kellan Group, added that having worked in the recruitment industry for more than 25 years there is not much he has not seen.

He said: “My experience in building and developing high-performance teams across a wide range of sectors will drive the business in 2020 and beyond.”

HOWGATE SABLE

HEADS RESOURCING GROUP The procurement, executive and HR recruiter has appointed Craig Elvin as director to head up its executive search and selection offering, Executive Heads.

The Manchester-based executive search firm welcomes Gaurav Batra as chairman and Liz Shay as head of research. Dean White has also joined the firm as partner.

MTHREE The emerging technology talent specialist has appointed Rebecca Roycroft

Email people moves for use online and in print, including a short biography, to recruiter.editorial@redactive.co.uk

as client services director, leading the newly established EMEA client services team. Jennifer Habib and Barbara Goodwin both join mthree as client services leads. A company restructure has also created a dedicated EMEA business development team headed up by Anthony Ginn. In addition, Piers Fox has been brought in as director of marketing to spearhead the global build out of the division. Finally, Christian Turek and David Baker join mthree as talent managers.

JANUARY 2020

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MYPEOPLE GROUP

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

The cloud-based relationship and performance analytics solutions provider has made Danilo Orlando head of analytics.

CONTACTS EDITORIAL +44 (0)20 7880 7603 Editor DeeDee Doke

SEARCH CONSULTANCY

ONEZEERO The Impellam group staffing company has appointed Brian Kelly-Mor to head up its SAP division in Germany.

POSITIVE HEALTHCARE The specialist mental health recruiter has made Martin Innes a non-executive director, effective at 1 January 2020. Innes is a former senior operational agency data and intelligence lead at NHS Improvement and interim workforce planner at CNWL NHS Foundation Trust.

The nationwide recruiter has made Jonathan Abell managing director of its energy, scientific and new procurement & supply chain discipline.

Former ASOS chief technology officer Bob Strudwick has joined the technology and cashflow provider as CTO.

UNIT4 The enterprise resource planning provider has appointed James Shand as global head of cloud transformation.

YOUR NEXT MOVE A selection of vacancies from recruiter.co.uk Wells Resourcing Recruitment consultant Southampton, Hampshire Competitive rewards & benefits

RESOURCE SOLUTIONS The global recruitment outsourcing provider has appointed Jon Bennett as managing director of its global leadership team.

SALT James Munroe joins the global digital recruitment agency as director of information and cyber security.

McGregor Recruitment IT sourcing director East Sussex Digital, IT/telecomms £100k-£125k p.a.

Eton Clarke Recruitment consultant South London £20k p.a.

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

Recruitment@recruiter.co.uk

+44 (0)20 7880 6215

deedee.doke@recruiter.co.uk

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

Contributing writers Sue Dodd, Sue Weekes Production editor Vanessa Townsend vanessa.townsend@recruiter.co.uk

SONOVATE

RECRUITMENT ADVERTISING

Art editor Sarah Auld Picture editor Akin Falope ADVERTISING +44 (0)20 7880 6213 Sales manager Paul Barron paul.barron@redactive.co.uk

+44 (0)20 7880 6245 Senior sales executive Joanna Holmes

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

RECRUITER AWARDS/ INVESTING IN TALENT AWARDS +44 (0)20 7324 2771 eventsteam@redactive.co.uk

joanna.holmes@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 subs@redactive.co.uk or +44 (0)1580 883844 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. © 2020 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

Recycle your magazine’s plastic wrap – check your local LDPE facilities to find out how.

Scan here to get your own copy of

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E THE LAST WORD CO M M UNITY

“Making a public commitment to improving sustainability shows you are taking it seriously”

Simon Winfield Recruitment’s environmental challenge gainst the backdrop of a popular environmental movement, more and more businesses are going green and seeking sustainable credentials. Whether it’s eliminating single-use plastics in the way that we’re doing at Hays, committing to carbon neutrality or offering package-free products, we’re waking up to the environmental impact of our organisations.

A

What does corporate sustainability involve?

What does it actually mean to be a sustainable business?

There are three pillars: Environment. This may mean reducing your carbon footprint, minimising wasteful packaging, limiting water or electricity usage or similar measures; Social. This involves securing the support and

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approval of employees, stakeholders and the business community; and Economic. In order to be sustainable, a business needs to be profitable. It’s this pillar that makes it possible for organisations to make sustainable changes at a financially stable rate.

How does this fit in with your business?

You may have noticed in your own organisation that your customers are more alert to environmental issues than ever and it is likely that you are being asked about it in bids.

Making a public commitment to improving your sustainability shows you are taking it seriously to those inside and outside of your organisation.

Every little certainly does count. As we’re a sizeable business at Hays, we’ve started to address our environmental impact by no

longer using paper timesheets for our temporary candidates and reducing plastic waste.

What steps can you take?

It’s likely that what’s important to your customers also matters to your staff, so find out what they think. We know from a poll we ran that the issue of plastic pollution is important to 84% of our staff – some have volunteered to support local environmental campaigns, such as beach clean-ups in Southend and Carmarthenshire. Even if you’re further along in your sustainability efforts, knowing your staff ’s opinion can be hugely beneficial.

Once you’ve made a start, measuring your progress is key to keeping up momentum. Transparency is valuable to staff, so be open about how your organisation is making headway.

Don’t fall behind the curve As we are an industry that aims to serve our candidates and clients, their priorities should also be ours.

Companies such as IKEA and Unilever have led the way with their sustainability policies, so as recruiters it is time we played a bigger part in shaping the world of work with sustainability in mind.

Thinking more deeply about the different aspects of corporate sustainability and considering what’s important to your staff is a good place to start to improve it and ensure that you are playing your part.

Environmental interest is only likely to grow, and it’s a challenge that the recruitment industry needs to embrace. ●

Simon Winfield is managing director, Hays UK & Ireland

JANUARY 2020

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