We have just been notified that this website has been nominated as a finalist in this years Archant Herts & Cambs Hertfordshire Recruitment Awards. The results will be announced at a gala dinner on Friday 26th September. Fingers crossed everyone please!

We are extremely proud to have been appointed the sole first stage supplier of accountancy staff to property management firm, Peverel OM’s, Estate Accountancy department based in Luton. Wholly owned by Consensus Business Group (CBG), Peverel employs over 300 staff in their Bedfordshire branch. My Co-Director, Ben Sweeting said: “In the tender process we were up against industry heavyweights with a nationwide presence so I am delighted that our efforts to date have been recognised and that Peverel have faith in us delivering into this, their core operation”.

I am one of only 200 members UK-wide of Elite Leaders (www.eliteleaders.co.uk) “a peer to peer learning forum for the owners and managing directors of recruitment companies. Its aim is to bring advantage to its members and to help the ambitious take their company to a higher level. It is owned and chaired by some of the sharpest business minds in the sector, people who have achieved great success, and wish to give something back to the recruitment industry.”

The member MD’s are divided into regional groups of approx 10 and meet once a month – the opportunity to air my views falls on the first Wednesday in the grand setting of what was the Chairman of The Pru’s office – complete with en-suite bedroom – when they were headquartered at Holborn Bars – to debate topical issues affecting our respective firms and to listen to an industry heavyweight dissect a particular element of recruitment. Each and every time I come away brimming with new ideas to implement back in the office to the benefit of my candidates and clients alike. Oh how the team look forward to those debriefs 😉

Yesterday morning Jeff Brooks was the invited speaker and the topic was ‘How to get the best for your Company from Managed Service Programmes (MSPs)’.

Jeff started in IT in 1970 and entered recruitment in 1984. He has built three Agencies from scratch, selling two of them in the 1990s and worked as Sales Director of Parity’s Resourcing arm from 2000 to 2006. Jeff is a Board Member and Fellow of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation REC (www.rec.co.uk) (an organisation of which my ten years+ as an agent affords me Individual Membership status myself) and now works as an independent consultant within the industry providing advice and mentoring to owner managers, often as a Non Executive Director, as well as delivering training programmes to recent entrant recruiters. Jeff has also been a Local Councillor since 1992.

Jeff presented on his experience managing several major Managed Service Programmes for companies such as ICI and Lehman Brothers. Jeff has been managing such services since 1995 and covered the issues surrounding contractor migration programmes which are often a part of the Managed Service arrangements. Managed Services, sometimes referred to as Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), make up over 6% (over £1.5b turnover) of the recruitment market and is a growing factor in the industry. Jeff provided great advice on how to work with these services and get the best out of the arrangement. How do you maintain your supply line when the new service is implemented? How do you protect your margins? How do you continue your previous relationship with the end customer? All of these areas were covered in what was a very informative session from somebody who has, at times, run over £40m of contract staff and permanent placements per annum across all disciplines.

We are fiercely proud of the links we’ve forged with the local community over the past 3 years and last night I had the opportunity to add to these existing relationships AND satisfy my twin passions – talking and new business.

We are a member of TheBestofHarpenden (www.thebestof.co.uk/Harpenden) an award winning team dedicated to providing everything you need to know about Harpenden.

TheBestOf has been awarded ‘Innovative Business of the Year’ at the 2008 Fast Growth Business Awards, and to be listed 3rd in the current Sunday Times Tech Track 100.

Their in-depth Recommended Business Guide uncovers the real gems of Harpenden and the surrounding area. It’s much more than just a listing – each Business Feature includes contact information and real testimonials written by real local people. You can see ours here.

Last night I attended a speed networking event hosted by TheBestOf, held in Harpenden Public Hall and attended by 30 odd like minded business owners. Armed with a stack of promotional flyers and a box of business cards I was permitted 60 seconds to pitch Asset Resourcing to the person opposite me before switching roles to become the “buyer” and hearing how their business could help me / us. At the ringing of a bell I moved one place to my left and repeated this exchange with a new partner. At the evening’s conclusion even I was talked out, but I left with several promises of business next time they were hiring and a shared understanding that we would all do our utmost to promote each others’ businesses to others as and when the opportunity arose.

After a very busy and successful quarter we are taking our chances and applying for the Herts24 Advertiser/Archant Hertfordshire 2008 Recruitment Awards. Our rebranding and relaunched website has brought us so much success this summer that we want to celebrate in style! What better way than to win this prestigious Herts County award? Keep your fingers crossed for us! We are up against the big boys…

The Office for National Statistics has indicated a sharp decline in job vacancies over the three months to July 2008, with most sectors decreasing in activity over the quarter (down 47,000 compared to the same period last year). The most affected sectors are distribution, hotels and restaurants (down 17,700) and business services (down 16,200). [source: Office for National Statistics] This is the clearest indicator yet that the slowing economy is talking its toll on the labour market.

This means that in all market sectors, competition has never been greater for our candidates. Research and preparation for interviews is all important to ensure success. See our candidate clinic for preparation and interview tips here and look at the feedback in posted in July from happy candidates who found it useful…