Monday 5th August 2013 A nondescript day to many.
To me, it was the first day I walked into a one-person office and started Permanent People. I’d come from a busy recruitment business, where there was always lots’ going on, and my previous 10 years had been a variety of frenzied busyness, as is normal in recruitment. Then nothing.
No phone ringing, no one chasing me, me not chasing anyone, no clients, no candidates, no money.
I started thinking I would concentrate on just the Welsh market, where I was based. The main reason was that I could see the potential in Welsh recruitment companies, but soon I got asked to recruit in London, Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham then Australia, then the USA, then Amsterdam…you get the picture. And I thought “Why not!”, it’s just the same thing, finding people a job they want. It doesn’t matter if that’s on St Mary Street or Keizersgracht or South Beach Miami.
Fast-forward five years, and a lot has changed, except my belief (and those that work with me), on how Rec2Rec should be done.
As I say to many people, even though we’re nice and like to help people, obviously we aren’t a charity, we’re a business. Like all other recruitment businesses, we place people to make money, and the more the better. However, I’ve always seen Permanent People as making a provision to the recruitment industry, and a personal service to those looking for a job. And I believe that if we do that well, and treat people like we would want to be, then we’d make money from that. I don’t believe that’s rocket science.
A massive case-in-point is the first person I placed. It was in the first couple of weeks, so I got lucky and it got the business off to a flyer.
The man I placed was Neil Maddocks, he was looking, I needed to place him, so we needed each other. Out of that first conversation, struck a couple of common grounds, with the main one being West Ham United. From that day on, me and Neil have stayed in touch, we’re mates now, and in a full circle moment and in a way to completely underline what Permanent People is all about, Neil was recently looking for a new challenge in June 2018, and we helped him secure another great position!
Neil came back to us because of the relationship that we built with each other, and as all good relationships go, this was built on trust. Something that we hear daily, isn’t always in great supply within the industry.
And whether a placement is worth £1k or £10k, we’re happy because we’re helping people find what they want. It’s about providing the service first and foremost, the rest takes care of itself.
We aren’t special. We don’t reinvent the wheel. But we do treat those we speak with, clients and candidates, with respect, give them our industry knowledge/insight and try to do our best for all concerned. They all know this and it’s why, after five years, we supply recruiters to companies all over the world from Australia to the United States, Cardiff to Amsterdam. I’m proud of that.
Like any growing business, there’s been people who have come along for the ride with me, and without this sounding like an acceptance speech, “I couldn’t have done it without any of you”.
So, thank you: Bindu, Amy Morgan, Louise Reid, Will Bierrum, Sheli Barton (special mention for putting up with me for three years!), Abi Picton-Turberville, Demi-Lee Powell, Jack Laidler, Sophie Mudge, Ben Godfrey and Ella McGerty. All have contributed to the growth of Permanent People in their own way, and we wouldn’t be here today without that input.
And thank you to every candidate that has chosen to pick up the phone, send us an email or make an application to us, it’s been a pleasure getting to know you and helping you find a new position. And to every company, from all corners of the globe, that has chosen to work with us, we’re lucky to be able to represent some great businesses and work in conjunction with some brilliant people!
You can’t do these sorts of ventures without the love and support of a wonderful partner, in my case, my Wife, and also my daughter, son, mum, dad and the rest of my family and friends, who have all always been nothing but supportive.
They have always been impressed by what I do (although I still not sure they really get exactly how I spend my days). But I’ll let you into a secret, it’s not that difficult really, it’s just finding good people, new jobs in good companies. So, here’s to the next five years!
Simple as that.
PR
