“It would be great if you could write a blog” says Russell “something about why you joined us and what your plans are”.

“Ok” I replied tentatively never having written a blog before.  So, here goes, my first blog at the tender age of 46 years and 6 months.

2012 has been quite an interesting year – I’d had a 20+year career in the recruitment industry working for an industry trade association however, on New Years Day 2012 I resigned!  Maybe it was taking the ‘New Year Resolution’ thing to a whole new level but I needed a change, I’d had enough being sat at a desk day in, day out churning out reports, crunching numbers and hardly ever getting out to meet recruiters!  I wanted to get back to doing what I do best – building relationships with people, rolling my sleeves up and getting stuck-in.  But what exactly would I get stuck into? Here I was, living in rural Northumberland – not exactly the epicentre of recruitment industry activity!

So, my new life got off to a bit of a slow start but I had a trip to London planned for the end of January and used the opportunity to meet up with my old contact, Russell Bennett who had established RecruiterHub some three years previously.    Over the course of the next few weeks Russell and I met regularly and our common drive for excellence in business was a reoccurring theme.  He was passionate about the industry and in supporting SMEs to develop and grow – I too have a real passion for the work of SMEs – not just in the recruitment industry, I am fiercely supportive of all small business (but more about that in another blog) and a drive to support individuals in their quest for development.  Over numerous coffees (Carluccios at St. Pancras became our London office) we realised we both felt incredibly strongly about ‘doing the right thing’ – running a good sound profitable business which treats customers and suppliers with respect, honesty and, as individuals.

It was late spring when Russell popped the question!  Would I join him and set up RecruiterHub Training. “Yes, absolutely, I’d love to” was my reply.  This was an exciting and unique opportunity that would allow me to remain in the industry I so love and to develop a business based on principles I give great importance to: measurable return on investment, good value for money, UK wide accessibility and unsurpassed client and supplier relationships.

Over the past few months the RecruiterHub training offer has developed – we now offer four key workshops – True Client Control, Build a Contact/Temp Desk, Strategic Placement Planning and Review and Maximise Market Share and Revenue.  Additionally, we have established Local Hubs in Bristol, London, Leeds and Nottingham.  Not only do we offer ‘open’ workshops for companies with one or two recruiters wanting training, we have a team of associates who can deliver these and other bespoke programmes in-company anywhere!

I was determined that attendance at a RecruiterHub training event would give measurable results and to that end we incorporated a pre-course learning style assessment for all attendees. The results of this assessment assist trainers in shaping the workshop sessions and in personalising post workshop activity for the attendee.  With RecruiterHub, managers also receive post training feedback to help them support the attendee once back in the office.

I believe we have got a unique offering for the recruitment industry and I’m really excited about what lies ahead for our clients and ourselves.

Judith Armatage FIRP – Director of Training at RecruiterHub

Before you read on, it’s very important you understand the reason and inspiration for this blog.

A client of mine, Chris Hall of Hall Gregory lent me a book recently called “Getting Naked” by Patrick Lencioni. Well, once the childish humour came to an end, he explained that whilst reading it he concluded that it summarised our working relationship and confirmed to him the factors of why both parties have done so well and continue to work together.

Lencioni’s book is about ‘naked service’ and the importance of transparency, trust and honesty when it comes to your own business’s capabilities and sales process.

The fear of losing business, making mistakes and feeling inferior to your prospective client means in most cases businesses move into ‘sell mode’ and take on work that is possibly beyond them. It is incredibly debilitating that this should dictate your service.

I set up RecruiterHub 3 years ago with the objective of creating a company to help SME’s to grow and become self-sufficient by developing new business models and challenging traditional methods and behaviours.

What I have discovered since leaving employment and entering into the consultancy and training world has driven me to write this blog.

I have no real interest in the running commentary between the associations that in my opinion has ended up in the playground on recent occasions.

I am not another new flag bearer for better standards and raising the industry’s profile.

I do however run a business focused on generating profit and delivering only what we are capable of achieving whilst developing new solutions.

However, what I was not prepared for is the number of occasions we have had to pick up the pieces at the beginning of a contract where the trust and advice an Owner has afforded to a previous business consultant has resulted in poor results and increased costs. In some cases we are talking of tens of thousands of pounds of spend which hasn’t driven the business forward.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some great businesses and individuals that work in our space, in fact we work alongside some of them on specific projects, however, any Owner considering bringing in external expertise should meet a number of prospects before making their decision.

I have compiled a check list that I strongly recommend any Owner considering external advice should follow;

1. Companies House

If you are looking to bring in external expertise then run a report on their business to see how well they are doing. It will raise some really important questions during the selection process. If you want advice on how to run your business then make sure they run their own well.

2. References

Ask to a see a client list and pick ones most relevant to your situation. The relationship with your Advisor must be based on trust and transparency. The referees, being Owners will give you a black and white appraisal.

3. Statistics

Where possible, gauge how successful the current and previous client programmes have been. Key indicators are headcount, profit and evidence of business model changes such as growth, diversification, risk awareness and turnaround. However appreciate that not all of this may be discussed due to client confidentially.

4. Level of involvement

The Advisory/Consultancy world is relatively under developed in the recruitment sector and is made up of numerous individuals and businesses offering similar solutions. As a result it is easy to get wrapped up in flash titles and levels of involvement. Make sure you find a solution that gives you the level and type of commitment you need. We encounter a lot of “Owner To Do Lists” on our travels.

5. What they do and don’t have experience in

Look past the “yes, we can do that” and dig much deeper.

For example, right now we work with SME’s with turnover from £90,000 through to £15 million. All of our clients so far have been UK based with involvement in international markets at varying levels. Turnover is also a red herring in some cases. It’s about profit/EBIT not turnover.

Regarding headcount, 1-50 is the current scale and size of our clients, with the majority being 4-22.

We do not have the experience right now to set up MULTI international operations, take your business to market for sale or structure management buyouts etc.

We also don’t have expertise in HR, Legal, Compliance, Tax or Share Option Schemes. We can however refer you to people we have used and trust.

We have grown businesses for various reasons and so far work with SME’s pre-sale because we build the value and the self-sufficiency to give our clients the best opportunity of a high multiplier.

Where recruitment is strong in some areas and incredibly difficult in others, take emotion and hope out of the equation and trust the facts when looking for assistance.

I really hope this helps and thanks for reading this blog.

Russell Bennett

Founder – RecruiterHub

Recruitment’s a rollercoaster industry, and in some ways tough times are part of the ride. However you do want to make sure you’re protected against the really tough times, the make or break times.

Making your business bigger by adding people in order to ride out tough times might seem counter-productive. Don’t companies usually downsize during a downturn? Sometimes. But recruitment is about sales and revenue, and all your consultants are, or should be, income generators. In certain situations you need to be able to add more critical mass to generate more income quickly and effectively, and this involves a strategy. It’s not something you can leave to chance.

If you have existing markets which are stable or strong in terms of employment then building on them will strengthen your business. If you need to protect yourself against competition for example, or you’re experiencing a downturn in one of your markets but not in another, or you feel that your business is vulnerable to staff leaving, you need to start making yourself stronger and compensating for (or eliminating) weak areas.

The easiest way to do this is to add critical mass – more employees. It’s important though that you don’t just panic and put an ad on a job board or ask a rec to rec agent to send you a few people who “look ok”.

Firstly, think about base salaries. Ideally you want to keep these low. While it’s true that consultants are revenue generators and should pay for themselves, you will have to make an initial investment in them and so if you’re hiring to protect your business you want to minimise this investment.

Secondly, think about your onboarding strategy. You want your new staff to assimilate quickly into your business and start bringing in income as soon as possible, and if you’re recruiting trainees this can seem like a fairly difficult task. But it needn’t be. Really think about what sort of qualities you want in a new consultant – personal traits and abilities as opposed to qualifications and experience. If you are open minded about backgrounds you will be able to find good people faster.

Once they’re with you, you need an efficient training programme, like Recruiter Hub’s Academy. A comprehensive in house training schedule will allow you to quickly identify people who just won’t perform as you want, or a delegate’s weak area so that you can work on it before it’s too late. It also means that they can earn money as they’re being trained, which is great because the whole point is that you’re trying to strengthen your business and unprofitable staff is not the way to do that.

Before you know it you will have built up one of your existing markets with a strong and productive team which is performing well and helping to protect your business.

Let’s look at your recruitment training options. You could go for:

Option A: External trainers, either on a pre-arranged course off site, or someone coming in to you to train your staff in house. The main problems with day courses are:

They are usually focussed on one aspect of recruiting, so unless you want to shell out for all aspects, you have to pick what you think are the most important points.

You also can’t ever really tell what level the course is going to be pitched at. Even if it says “introduction” it generally assumes a certain amount of knowledge and experience, but also once your delegate gets in there the experience levels of others in the room will impact the direction the training takes.

They’re impersonal. Increasingly these days, recruitment agencies are trying to build a unique identity and culture, based on the sector they work in, their work ethic or style. External courses teach everyone the same techniques regardless of industry, focus or culture. Bringing a trainer in house to teach your staff while you’re there can seem like it will solve this, as they won’t be taken out of the environment you’ve created and you can have input if needs be. However, there are often minimum numbers required, so if you’ve only got 1 or 2 newbies this could be a problem. Additionally, it’s expensive and restricted by time, and you’re still basically getting a “cookie cutter” approach.

So, what are your options for DIY training?

Option B: Give them training materials to work through in the office. Online videos, downloadable guides and presentations, DVDs and books all promise to teach recruiting. However, a lot of these assume a certain amount of knowledge anyway. They’re on subjects like “increasing sales” rather than “creating a client base from scratch”. They probably have nothing to do with your agency and industry, and they assume that everyone learns in the same way. They can leave your new start feeling overwhelmed and confused about how to implement any of the things they’re supposed to have learnt. They’ll be working while they learn, but their progress won’t be monitored efficiently. You could find after 4 months that you have a member of staff who doesn’t really know how to close sales.

Nothing seems to be really catering for new starts who’ve never recruited before but who show promise. Nothing says “here are all the fundamental points of recruiting and here are some ways to practice”. Nothing gives a personal and flexible level of training which takes your business into account, and lets your trainees gain practical experience and start making placements at the same time.

Actually, that’s not true. Something does. Recruiter Hub’s Training Academy is a comprehensive in house training programme, which lets you assess development, strengths and weaknesses, incorporates your individual company needs and lets delegates contribute to revenue from day 1.

BEDFORDSHIRE – Russell Bennett, Managing Director and Founder of Recruiter Hub, is one of 5 finalists for the Federation of Small Businesses Bedfordshire Real Life Entrepreneur Award. The award recognises innovation and entrepreneurial spirit as well as success in building a business.

Russell Bennett set up Recruiter Hub to provide a revolutionary growth product to SME recruitment businesses. Recruiters can purchase a complete in house training programme, (The Academy) which acts as a training department for their business and provides all the necessary tools, assistance and support to fully train and develop recruitment consultants. If they require further support and guidance to achieve their growth plans they can engage the assistance of hands on consultants to provide business advice and strategic help.

The idea was formed after Russell, from a recruitment background himself, realised that there was a need a desire with recruitment from business owners who want to grow their businesses themselves and create their own identity, but need some initial support and advice. Believing that well trained and motivated staff are at the heart of growth, Russell created The Academy. Since its launch Recruiter Hub have sold 24 Academies, and have also been engaged by many other SME recruiters to provide consultancy and strategic assistance. In a short amount of time they have helped companies increase revenue and headcount considerably, and boasts an unrivalled turnaround and growth ability in the most difficult of circumstances. It is achievements such as these which have led to Russell and the company being recognised.

The awards ceremony is on June 13^th, and rewards small businesses and employees for a range of achievements.