Interesting times. In fact, fascinating times from an Economic point of view. The newspapers will no doubt continue to be filled with doom and gloom for a while to come yet and there will no doubt be casualties out there with redundancies and companies going in to liquidation.

However, the more I think about it the more I believe this represents a real opportunity for us. We will need to be focussed on what we do and commercial about who we do it with. I believe that there are more positives than negatives for us in the current market and in to 2009. Events are playing to our strengths if we are bold enough to take advantage.

It won’t all be plain sailing and it will take a lot of hard work from all of us, but we should look at this as a real opportunity to excel and to further establish ourselves in our marketplaces. I look forward to the months ahead! Our clients and Candidates alike should do too.

All work and no play at the moment. It’s my Birthday, but no sooner are the presents unwrapped than I’m back in work mode and keen to get my thoughts on the blog.

We need to be our usual sensitive selves right now as many of our Clients will be nervous and some may be quite downbeat. There is plenty to be upbeat about so we must be the positive voice in amongst the grumbling crowds. Most people will prefer to do business with those talking positively rather than being depressing.

So that said, what is our message?

• This is a good opportunity for Clients to review the talent pool.
• It is also a great opportunity to pick up some new talent. The best people are looking around for good opportunities and forward looking employers. Candidates will respond well to Clients who present their “Value Proposition” well i.e. those Clients that use a Professional Recruitment Partner to promote their employer brand (this means us!!)
• Every Client should rightly focus on getting value from all suppliers. In terms of recruitment this means that shouldn’t be paying significant fees just for kids doing telesales and CV Searches with no depth. Recruitment should be about getting people in who will drive the organisation forward through being highly motivated because they really fit well in to their new company. To achieve this they need to work with a professional partner (again, this means us!)
• A focus on value is a focus both costs and profitability. Costs are minimised through getting recruitment right first time. Maximising profitability is about getting the right fit, and having upbeat, motivated people rather than demotivated staff who bring everyone else down….
• And the final point; the economy in recession, but only fractionally. The circumstances surrounding the Banking Crisis are unique and they will unwind themselves eventually. In the meantime, we’ve avoided inflation rising further which could have become a real problem, Interest Rates are lower and will be lower still, and underlying demand for housing still outstrips supply, so we’ll be back to normal relatively quickly. We will all come through this stronger, and conditions, which are probably over-hyped in the real Economy, will improve.

Understandably, recent Elite networking events have centred on the current challenging market we find ourselves operating in. Those who’ve been through this before are almost exclusively stronger for it and the reasons why become obvious when you think about it. On the face of it every bit of economic news coming at us is negative. However, we remain extremely upbeat for the following reasons:

• If Unemployment is rising (which it is) then more Candidates are available and Clients can choose more from a range of possible talent rather than having to settle for anything they can get. In this environment, the more skilful, intelligent recruiter has more scope to select and influence and less room is left for the scatter gun approach which relies on luck – finding the only Candidate through sheer weight of numbers.
• Competitors are retracting and talking themselves down. Other recruiters are already “hunkering down” and reverting to type i.e. even more calls and even less depth. The more they panic and struggle, the harder they will find it to win business. You cannot build relationships when you sound depressed, desperate or both.
• Our Value Proposition. We are clear what we do and how we do it. We take a long term approach, focussing on recruiting people who will genuinely drive our Clients forward. Our retention rates are really something to be proud of, and we can talk to our Clients with confidence about reducing their costs and increasing their profitability. The more Clients focus on getting value from their Suppliers and Partners the better we will fair.
• Cash Management. A lack of Cash and not Profits is what governs whether companies fold or not. Michelle and I are extremely close to this and we are on top of our game. We have a strong relationship with the Bank and we are extremely capable of managing growth and cashflow. I am not sure this is always true of Recruitment Companies.

I am delighted to share with you all that we were judged “highly commended” at last night’s Rising Stars ’08 Bedfordshire & Luton Business Excellence Awards 2008. The Mayor of Bedford presented the award to myself and Jane (our accountant from CNHA http://www.croucherneedham.com/).