Extend opportunity to every willing heart

I’m a sucker for a great orator and must admit to finding Barak Obama’s Presidential acceptance speech thoroughly energising. Now I am well know for being apolitical (neutral), which has served me well in the past, but I thought his statement of hope could be the new call to arms for the UK recruitment industry (and especially the public provision, Job Centre Plus).

When he said, “We want to extend opportunity to every willing heart,” I thought the message was profound, insightful and extremely clever. You get our wholehearted support; if you want to succeed. We are here for those who are engaged; and committed. Resolve is a great personal asset and one the recruitment industry can place every day of the week. Intransigence, disinterest and apathy are the trait that caused the demise of many great industries; like manufacturing.

Instead of funding training programmes UK Government could also learn from this message and fund courses in prolonged passion (you know what I mean).

Gareth

There is only one cure for Recession

Sales, Sales, Sales!

So the most important people right now are not Bankers, Accountants, Lawyers, Adminstrators or even Marketers, they are Salespeople - the only people in business who create wealth; all others consume it.

Gareth

APSCo sets sail on the Arree Sea

I was mighty impressed by the launch of APSCo (the Association of Professional Staffing Companies) this week and the impressive attendance they mustered at the Headquarters of the Magic Circle, where it had its big splash.

Ann Swain made an impassioned rallying call for the recruitment industry to get behind her in her mission to improve people’s perception of the industry and persuade service users that professional recruiters are easily identifiable, simple to engage and honest to work with; and APSCo, with its new ethic, would be the perfect starting point. She stressed that, unlike “others” APSCo would be highly selective in assembling its crew and would fight off unwelcome boarders.

She couldn’t resist taking a few well aimed shots at another older vessel lumbering along in the same sea and making loosely veiled suggestions that its Captain may be more of a land lubber than a hardened warrior like herself.

Apart from a little friendly fire on some civil servants present the whole affair was credible, ambitious and well timed. I wish APSCo luck in the skirmishes ahead.

Gareth

PS. The Magic Circle Museum was fascinating to see. I only wish I’d learned sooner how to make the lady disappear or at least how to saw her in half; it could have proven useful in a former life.

Look for the BERR necessities

I am always pleased to see the results of BERR’s Annual Report (the latest issued on 23rd December 2008) on the work of the Employment Agencies Standards Inspectorate (EAS) and its evidence to support the recruitment industries claim that the majority are good and that only a small number of complaints are made against it each year and even fewer upheld and eventually actioned.

This is to take nothing away from the seriousness of the few major incidents but historically, when all omissions were anecdotal and the units ability to do much was hampered by the small number of Inspectors in the field, perception of the problem was much worse and the resulting corrective action more harsh. In 2002/3 four major incidents led to the creation of the Employment Agencies Act 2003/4 which was penal; so four rogue agencies caused the implementation of legislation that resulted in increased cost to agencies, their clients and UK Plc.

With colleagues at the REC we pressed hard to get to the bottom of the real numbers and it took a letter from me to Patricia Hewitt, then Secretary of State of the then DTI, under the greater freedom of information legislation to get to a situation where evidence could be shared.

My message to the critics of the industry would be to look closely at this report and combine it with the work of the REC’s outstanding Professional Standards Unit and recognise that together the complaints received would result in less than 2000 of any substance. Given that the industry is responsible for several million placements each year (temp and perm combined) this would suggest a complaint rate of less than 1:10,000 placements. I would suggest this is outstanding in business and worthy of merit and acclaim not continuous legislation and damnation.

Gareth


Click on the following link to find the latest report:
http://nds.coi.gov.uk/environment/mediaDetail.asp?MediaDetailsID=261244&NewsAreaID=2&ClientID=379&LocaleID=2

New Year Bank Statement

Is it just me or is anyone else seriously offended by the behaviour of the Banks following their recent mishandling of the global money markets?

I have noticed over Christmas that Nat West have been promoting their “Sale” and frankly I think they should be sanctioned for bad taste when so many of their customers are having to slash prices to uneconomic levels just to stay alive. Meanwhile they live off their Government handout, of our money, we all have to pull in our horns and economise and watch them continuing to spend on tasteless national TV advertising campaigns suggesting they are doing us a favour. The only Bank Sale I would condone would be that which sells off all the over paid and over rated Bankers to the private sector for use as Office Juniors.

Equally annoying was the publication I received before Christmas (extremely lavish I must add) from Barclays Commercial offering advice on how to run my business in tough times! I sent it back with a note saying “You probably need this more than me!”

The new uniform for Bankers in 2009 should be ‘sackcloth and ashes’ to replace the smug indifference they have been wearing for too long now.

RIP Bankers (Recession in Progress)

Gareth

Interesting Daze Ahead

Full marks to ATSCo, and the highly charged Ann Swain, for it’s (her) announcement in yesterday’s Recruiter magazine that they intend to take on the World and embrace all professional recruitment within their new incarnation, APSCo.

When I first heard the news, a couple of months ago, I thought it sad for the industry but quickly recovered my corporate head and asserted my well honed mantra that ‘any competition is good news, not bad’. At least there will now be pressure on REC to ensure it stops relying on its 75-years of history and market dominance and starts looking to its future for survival.

There is no better time than November to launch a competing organisation; being as it is, just ahead of 1st December when REC historically issues its corporate membership invoices for 2009 Membership, but I assume this point wasn’t missed by the APSCo Executive, and I’m also guessing there will be a few late night meetings in Welbeck Street; when someone gets around to reading Recruiter anyway, to consider a ‘rapid response’. That’ll be tough when your new competitor has captured 6 pages of the leading industry magazine to promote its launch. I make it 2-0 to APSCo at this stage but the games only just started,

But all parties should remember that there are plenty of goals to go for; REC has only about 35% of recruitment businesses in membership, and by my reckoning that means there is room for at least 3 major players in the market – so, there could even be room for me to get a game!

Ann, please don’t underestimate those out there for whom ‘professional staffing’ is an oxymoron when applied to Recruitment. In my first week at REC I was told by a senior official at DTI (now BERR) that I had to understand ‘it is a very dodgy industry’ and that view hasn’t really changed much since. If you are genuinely focused on the professional end of the market then you have to make sure the offering is far bigger, better and more highly valued by observers than just another badge. The title ‘Professional’ comes with equally high expectations of you and I wish you well in achieving them.

Gareth

Trust me I'm a Banker!

REC and partners Lloyds TSB have today announced the launch of its new Industry Report to March 2008. Sadly they closed the books just before the downturn started to impact on the market but it is none-the-less an invaluable piece of work and it seems quite rosie.

Overall total industry billings (inc. temp salaries) continued to rise and passed £27 billion for the first time ever.

Perhaps more alarmingly, much of the increase came from Perm placements which recorded a significant rise (from £3.5 billion to £4.2 billion). As we all know Perm business is the first to be hit in a downturn and Q3/4 figures for 2008 from the High Street will severely punish this trend. Equally alarming was the decline in Temp placement in the report (1.8% year on year). We desparately need Temp work to hold up if we are to weather the storm.

The biggest single challenge still facing the industry is the continuing decline in margins and let's not forget that guys; as we say at the sharp end, tunover is vanity, profit is sanity and, especially in a downturn, cash is reality.

With the massive reduction in the BoE base rate yesterday, intended to fuel spending in the shops pre-Christmas, let's hope hirers take the bait and spend, spend, spend commercially and don't batten down the hatches for 2009.

Gareth