Press Coverage
Moving Forward...
Inside Recruitment - 2002-01-24
Often a recruiter that has started their own business will go back to their own company to poach trusted workers. Recruiters also obviously know their own business and may set about doing their own recruitment of staff. However, that is not always possible, especially as your company grows larger and the services of recruitment-for-recruitment companies are becoming increasingly employed.
Zena Everett, managing director of recruitment-for-recruitment company Perriam & Everett, warns that start-ups may find it difficult to attract staff. "Start-ups need to work on their key differentiators. 'You join us because of these reasons'," she says. "If they don't, they are going to find it difficult to get the right type and it's very tempting for start-ups to go for people that talk a good story, slightly out of desperation or naivety."
She advises that start-ups ask potential employees to conduct a mini-business plan, outlining how they have worked in the past, how much they have billed and for how long and the cost of achieving their billing figures.
She says: "Most people say 'I'm bringing these relationships with me and I can bill £150,000 a year', but actually it is the first quarter and the first six months that are really important because the people can be a big drain on cash flow."
A poor appointment can mean harsh financial hits, as well as damage to your company's reputation through bad practice. A leading recruitment company estimated that it was £100,000 out of pocket after an appointment went wrong in the late 1990's. The worker was bought in with excellent credentials to head a new division, but disputes with team-mates and the failure of the division resulted in the worker's departure and the collapse of the division.
It is incidents such as these that make it advisable for recruiters to take out insurance. By law you are required to hold employers liability insurance and recruiters should take out basic insurance to cover damage to property and hardware. It is also advisable for recruiters to hold public liability and professional indemnity insurance, which covers recruiters from litigation against bad practice.
