recruitmentinternational_ri_201504

April 2015
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3www.recruitment-international.co.uk RI UK - April 2015
Welcome
One of the most widely used terms in the recruitment sector at the moment is engage-
ment and here at RI this is something that we deliver through our Q&A features. This
month we have included more of your opinions than ever, first within our finance and
banking feature (page 30), then our umbrella services feature (page 36) and finally our
physical expansion feature, which takes a look at some of the locations recruitment
companies are choosing to open offices in (page 44). Alongside this, Major Players tell
us how it has transformed its brand and its office (page 40), Petroplan address how oil
and gas recruiters can work intelligently around supply and demand (page 42) and our
city editor, Suhail Mirza, delves into the minds of both Dean Kelly at Synarbor and Gary
Ashworth at Interquest (pages 22 & 23). Don’t forget to check out our save the date
feature (page 24) for the latest information on our exciting upcoming conferences!
Rebecca Jeffrey
UK:
www.recruitment-international.co.uk
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teri@recruitment-international.co.uk
David Head - Director
david@recruitment-international.co.uk
Rebecca Jeffrey - UK Editor
rebecca@recruitment-international.co.uk
Alvin Tam - IT Support Manager
alvin@recruitment-international.co.uk
Patrick Duke - Customer Relations Manager
patrick@recruitment-international.co.uk
Erin Galey - Editorial Apprentice
erin@recruitment-international.co.uk
Shannon Cronin - Sales Apprentice
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Recruitment Publications Ltd - Apr 2015
Contact Us
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RECRUITMENT
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16
Liz Longman
In this issue.......
40
Helen Stokes
33
Simon Schnieders
23
Gary Ashworth
Lorraine Nugent
22
Dean Kelly
50
Craig Allen
21
Paul Jacobs
18
Ann Swain
Samantha Hurley
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48

4 RI UK - April 2015 www.recruitment-international.co.uk
full stories at www.recruitment-international.co.uk
news
Impellam
has announced that further to its
acquisition of Lorien Limited in
November 2014, it has issued a total of
409,818 ordinary shares of 1p each to
the vendors of Lorien at a price of £6.21
per share
Adecco Group
has announced the acquisition of
Canadian Knightsbridge Human Capital
Solutions for an enterprise value of CAD
80m.
Rowan Group
has exceeded its £1m turnover target
for the y/e 31st December 2014.
Brightwork Group
saw turnover rise by 3.6% to £32.65m
and gross profit jump to 9.8% to
£4.02m in the year to December 2014,
prompting it to declare its intention to
search for acquisition opportunities.
Raw Talent Academy
has announced a 71% increase in
turnover.
Noor Staffing Group
has acquired Corporate Resource
Development.
BG Staffing
has seen a profit margin increase of
nearly 1% and strong revenue growth in
2014 which exceeded 2013 by $21.1m.
Staffing 360 Solutions
has announced the sale of the company’s
wholly owned subsidiary, Cyber 360 Inc.,
to various original owners of Cyber 360,
Inc.’s business (f/k/a The Revolution
Group).
IS Recruitment
and Saxus have announced they will
merge with immediate effect and aim to
provide a unique service within IT and
technology, ERP, intelligent transport
systems and the insurance and pensions
sectors.
Korn Ferry
has announced a Q3 fee revenue of
$249.5m.
Hydrogen dip & board changes
Hydrogen has announced its final results for the year ended 31st December 2014 and
confirmed changes to its board effective from 4th March 2015. Financial highlights
include: Revenue down by 6.7% to £169.4m (2013: £181.6m) and a net fee income
(gross profit) of £28.2m (2013: £31.9m). Reported profit before tax for the year was
£0.4m (2013: £2.4m) and profit before tax and exceptional items was £2.4m (2013:
£2.4m). Operating profit before exceptional items was stable at £2.6m (2013: £2.5m).
Tim Smeaton has resigned as CEO, while Ian Temple, co-founder
of Hydrogen, has moved from chairman to full time chief executive.
Stephen Puckett, previously senior independent director, has been
appointed as chairman (non-executive). Finance director, John Glover,
has also stepped down from the board and a search is underway for
his replacement.
Adecco has released its fourth quarter and full year results. Q4 highlights: Revenues
up 4% YoY and up 2% in constant currency with a gross margin of 18.9%, up 60 bps.
EBITA2, excluding restructuring costs, was €272m and the EBITA margin, excluding
restructuring costs, was 5.3%, up 50 bps. Full year highlights include: Revenues of
€20.0bn, up 3% year-on-year and up 4% in constant currency. Gross margin was 18.5%,
up 20 bps and EBITA, excluding restructuring costs, were €965m.
Patrick De Maeseneire, CEO of the Adecco Group said, “Market conditions in 2014 were
rather mixed, but our colleagues showed again that they can adapt well
to changing conditions, and delivered another strong performance. With
5.3%, we delivered our best-ever fourth quarter margin. This provides
an excellent base as we head into 2015. In addition, revenue growth in
constant currency and adjusted for trading days was 4% for January and
February combined, a clear pick-up compared to the end of 2014.”
Adecco delivers record Q4 profitability
Michael Page International plc has announced its full year results for the year ended
31st December 2014. Highlights include: Gross profit was up 10.0% to £532.8m and
operating profit increased 23.8%. There was a net increase of 468 fee earners (+12%),
and total headcount at a record level of 5,578. The company saw strong country
performances from major economies with gross profit UK +11.5%, Germany +11%, US
+19% and Greater China +22%.
Commenting on the results, Steve Ingham, chief executive officer of
PageGroup, said, “We saw solid performances across our regions,
including strong results from the major economies of the UK,
Germany, US and Greater China. With two new countries launched,
and additional disciplines rolled out in both the Michael Page and
Page Personnel brands, the business continued to grow its market presence in core
target areas. Both our temporary and permanent recruitment businesses saw growth,
further diversifying our service offering.”
PageGroup sees 10% GP increase
Illegal worker fines up 75% in a year
British companies found to be employing illegal migrant workers were fined more than
£24m in 2014 – a 75% increase on the previous year. Figures obtained by professional
umbrella employer Parasol show that the gross value of civil penalties issued between
January and December 2014 was £24,652,500. That’s compared to the £14,107,750
recouped by the Home Office in 2013. The increase comes after the maximum civil
penalty was doubled from £10,000 to £20,000 per illegal worker in May 2014.

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news
H1 Healthcare Group
has acquired the business of housing
support and care-at-home service
company Absolute Care (Scotland) Ltd.
Simpson Booth
has reported a surge in turnover during
a rapid period of expansion. The firm,
closed 2014 with annual turnover of
£6.1million, up from £870,000 for the
previous 12-months.
SFP
has been appointed administrators to
Anystaff Recruitment Limited after the
firm amassed a significant number of
debts. Anystaff has subsequently ceased
trading, despite an intensive search for
a possible buyer.
Arrows Group
has launched ICG Medical as the holding
company for its separate healthcare
sector operating brands. ICG Medical
has appointed an independent board
that will be led by Michael Helleur in the
role of managing director.
Capita
has acquired ThirtyThree, an employer
branding and marketing agency.
Volt Information Sciences
has reported its net loss for the first
quarter of fiscal 2015 was $13.3 million,
or $0.64 per share, compared to $17.1
million, or $0.82 per share, in the first
quarter of fiscal 2014.
Korn Ferry
has announced that it has completed
the acquisition of Pivot Leadership.
Cross Country Healthcare
has confirmed its revenue is up 72% YoY
as it published its financial results for
the fourth quarter and full year ended
31st December2014.
Chad Harrison International
has formed a partnership, with Japanese
recruitment business, FocusCore Group,
which will help the company continue to
recruit in Asia.
Resource Solutions Group
has opened an office in Munich.
Empresaria Group has confirmed its operating profit is up 16% year on year as it released
its results for the year ended 31st December 2014. The company has seen a strong
growth in profit over the prior year and earnings per share up 44% on 2013. Highlights
include: Permanent revenue increased 7% offset by a 4% reduction in temporary
staffing revenues; Net fee income (gross profit) diversified by geography (continental
Europe 34%, UK 35%, Rest of the World 31%); Strong performance in Germany post
restructuring. Continued growth in offshore recruitment services in India. In 2014
investments were made in Dubai (March) and the UK (December). New offices were
opened in Chile, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Mexico and the UK.
CEO, Joost Kreulen, said, “2014 has been a strong year for the Group.
We have continued to invest in our existing businesses, opening
several new offices worldwide, and have seen particularly positive
results in Germany, India, Japan, Thailand and Australia.”
Empresaria operating profit up 16%
InterQuest Group has released its audited results for the year ended 31st December
2014. Highlights include: Adjusted EBITA was up 96% to £4.9m (2013: £2.5m) and
adjusted PBT was up 96% to £4.5m (2013: £2.3m). Statutory profit after tax was up
130% to £2.3m (2013:£1.0m), whilst net fee income (NFI) was up 33% to £23.2m (2013:
£17.4m). Revenue was up 31% to £150.7m (2013: £114) with permanent recruitment
fees up 35% at £7.3m (2013: £5.4m) and contract recruitment fees up 33% at £16.0m
(2013: £12.0m). The company has also launched IQ InfoSec.
Mark Braund, CEO of InterQuest, said, “We are delighted with the results and progress
made during 2014, which clearly demonstrate the benefits of our
decision to focus on specialist recruitment services that provide some
of the market’s most in-demand skill sets. ECOM, the UK’s leading
digital technology recruitment company, which we acquired in
November 2013, has made an outstanding contribution to InterQuest
and our programme of cross-selling digital skills to the Group’s existing
customer base has enhanced its contribution.”
InterQuest year end PBT up 96%
SThree has issued a trading update covering the period from 1st December 2014 to
date. Highlights include: Group gross profit is up 17% YoY and contract gross profit is up
24% YoY, with contract now accounting for 65% of group gross profit. Permanent gross
profit is up 6% YoY, with permanent deal pipeline volume up 5% YoY. Excluding energy,
permanent gross profit is ahead by 10% and permanent deal pipeline volume is up 12%
YoY. Americas are up 38% YoY, now representing 17% of group gross profit. ICT was the
strongest performing sector up 22% YoY, life sciences up 17% YoY and banking up 8%
YoY. Energy gross profit is also up 14% YoY, but with deal activity sharply down year on
year in Q1, as expected.
Gary Elden, chief executive, commented, “Overall, we’ve made a
pleasing start to the year, trading in line with our expectations in what
is our seasonally least significant quarter. Looking ahead, the expanded
Contract book and solid permanent performance give us a strong base
from which to grow this year. While the outlook for energy is more
challenging and Eurozone uncertainty persists, we have made a good
start to 2015.”
SThree Group gross profit up 17%

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news
Specialist People Services (SPS)
has announced the opening of a fourth
office by Driver Hire Australia.
Total Assist
has launched a new branch in Skipton,
North Yorkshire.
Oasis Outsourcing
has opened an office in Austin, Texas.
Frontier International
has opened its first office in India.
GCS
has opened an office in Dublin.
Hamlyn Williams
has opened an office in Hong Kong.
Kinnect Personnel
has rebranded to AT Globe Research.
The Change Group
is celebrating its 10th anniversary
with the launch of the first specialist
website dedicated to luxury hospitality
recruitment.
REC
research has revealed that 92% of
employers say temporary workers earn
more or the same as their permanent
counterparts.
Robert Half UK
has released details of a report
which found that one in 10 new
recruits are regarded as a ‘poor
hiring decision by HR directors.

Arrows Group Global
has appointed a new, independent
board led by Mike Jones as managing
director. Jones will lead the company’s
transformation from a local, specialist
recruiter into a global total workforce
solutions provider and is joined on
the board by Charlie Sell (Global Sales
Director), Paul Winchester (Global
Contracts Director), and Naveen
Narayanan (Global Operations Delivery
Director). The new team take global
responsibility for Arrows Group Global
which currently includes operations
in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, and
India.
Impellam has announced its preliminary, unaudited results for the 53 weeks ended
2nd January 2015. Highlights include: Revenue increased 9.7% to £1.3 billion and
staffing revenues increased 11.5% to £1.3 billion. Gross profit increased 11.9% to
£193.9 million and staffing gross profit increased 11.1% to £187.5 million. Permanent
placement mix was 13.2% (2013: 11.5%). Adjusted operating profit £36.7 million
(2013: £28.6 million) and staffing operating profit £40.5 million (2013: £36.8 million)
with strong performances across the UK businesses (Managed Services up 11% and
Specialist Staffing up 31%).
Julia Robertson, chief executive officer, commented, “I am pleased to
report that the Group has delivered a strong financial performance this
year in its staffing businesses and has made two excellent acquisitions
in Lorien Resourcing & Career Teachers, both of which are performing
in line with expectations and will be accretive in their first full year. In
addition, we have completed the exit of onerous contracts in Carlisle Support Services
and is on track for return to profitability.”
Impellam announce 12% profit increase
RTC Group has released its audited results for the year ended 31st December 2014.
Highlights include: Group revenue went up 4% to £51m (2013: £49m) and net fee
income increased 10% to £10.18m (2013: £9.23m). Profit from operations went up 27%
to £1.11m (2013: £0.87m) while profit before tax was ahead by 38% to £1.02m (2013:
£0.74m). Earnings per share (basic) up 56% to 5.92p (2013: 3.79p).
Commenting on the results Andy Pendlebury, CEO, said, “I am extremely proud of the
progress the Group has made during 2014. We have continued to grow
underlying profit and shareholder value ahead of much of our competition,
as can be seen from our profit and earnings per share progression and
each of our core recruitment businesses are well positioned to capitalise
on the growth which is anticipated across all our respective markets.”
RTC Group profit up by 27%
Omega Resource Group’s financial director Paul Day has issued the company’s half-year
financial statement 2014/2015. Financial highlights include £40m full year revenue
in 13/14 and predicted at £60M for 14/15 financial year. EBITDA predicted 50% YoY
growth. Gross profit is predicted 20% YoY growth. Staff see 15% increase and have also
peaked at a payroll of 2.500 contractors per week. Omega Resource have invested £1/4
million in new CRM tool and a new management board was introduced.
Day commented, “The recruitment sector has been generally strong -
combined with the slowly recovering UK economy, hard work from all of
our staff, and strategic decisions taken over the last two years has meant
our growth this year has been particularly good.
“We’ve also secured several new clients, especially within Datum, our RPO business,
that have made a significant impact. The automotive, aerospace, infrastructure and
facilities management sectors remain key for us and we predict much of our growth in
15/16 to stem from these sectors.”
Co-Founder James Strickland, added, “We’re delighted the business has and is
performing so strongly - investing in a new CRM system and with the help of our
management board we’re streamlining our business processes and ensuring the
business continues to grow well into 2015 and beyond.”

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news
full stories at www.recruitment-international.co.ukfull stories at www.recruitment-international.co.uk
Acorn
has launched a senior executive search
division.
NPAworldwide
has confirmed the following companies
as new members. The Pennsylvania-
based Cypress Search, the Hong Kong
AMAC Human Resources Consultants,
California-based L.G. Betts & Associates
and The Recruitment Group, Texas-
based MJR Resources and Alberta,
Canada-based AgCall HR.
The Andersen Partnership
has announced the opening of its tenth
office in Hong Kong.
9-20 Recruitment
has opened an office in Dundee.
Grays Executive Search
has launched an HR practice specialising
in the UK and International placement
of senior HR professionals.
Aeropeople
has become the first recruitment agency
to achieve SiR accreditation. SiR was
launched on 27th January as the only
genuine independent standard for the
recruitment industry across all sectors.
BlueSky PR
has won a contract to help RPO Guidant
Group to promote the RIDI awards.
Plus Point,
has opened a new office in Leczna,
Poland. It will be headed up by new
operations manager, Darren Tomlinson.
ClearStar
confirmed its gross profit has increased
by 29%, as it released its unaudited year
end results.
Employers
must take account of commission
payments when calculating holiday pay
for their staff, according to a new legal
ruling. UK law must now be brought into
line with a decision from the European
Court of Justice, which said commission
payments should be included in holiday
pay calculations for those workers whose
total pay usually includes an element of
commission.
Representatives from a collaboration of 38 companies, employing approximately 90,000
contingent workers, visited the House of Commons on the 11th March to showcase the
benefits of umbrella employment to Parliamentarians. The FCSA organised the event,
where Constituency MPs and members of the Freelance All-Party Group, Business
and Treasury Committees were all invited to attend the informal forum to learn more
about the freelance sector and address some of the common misconceptions about the
industry.
Umbrella companies visit parliament
Norman Broadbent board changes
Three people have been charged as part of a joint operation between Norfolk Police,
Suffolk Police and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority. Arrests were made in April
2014 by officers investigating people trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation.
All the individuals were from the local area and involved in vegetable and meat
processing. Konstantin Sasmurin, aged 32 and Linus Ratautas, aged 29 – both of
Yarmouth Road, Caister - were each charged with acting as a gangmaster without
a licence; holding a person in slavery or servitude or requiring a person to perform
forced/compulsory labour; trafficking people for exploitation and money laundering.
Evelina Perekriostovai, aged 22, also of Yarmouth Road, Caister, was charged with
money laundering. All three were bailed to appear at Great Yarmouth Magistrates’
Court on 1 April 2015.
3 charged for labour exploitation
Norman Broadbent has announced that Bruce Lakefield is retiring as a non-executive
director of the company with effect from 17th March 2015.
Jan Cameron, who in addition to her role on the Board, has headed
the group’s internal HR function on a part time basis, has indicated
her intention to stand down from the board with effect from 30th
April 2015. She has agreed to remain available as a consultant to
the company.
As part of its ‘Scale Up’ campaign for 2015, The Recruitment and Employment
Confederation (REC) has introduced the ‘Develop, Grow & Sell’ workshops. These
practical workshops will be led by top recruitment business mentor Jeff Brooks and
have been designed especially for SME business owners who want to put the key steps
in place to develop the value of their business to maximise profits.
The workshops will be broken down into three sessions – develop, grow and sell.
Attendees will be taken through the entire lifespan of a recruitment business, and will
be left well equipped with the keys to be a successful recruitment business owner. Jeff
will explain how to develop your company to deliver a consistent quality service, the
importance of attracting and retaining great employees, improving client relationships
as well as how to beat the growth plateau by making sure you can build and achieve
substantial growth every year.
The workshops will also explore how successful development will inform your strategy
at the next stage, whether this is by selling or acquiring other businesses. Develop,
Grow & Sell will be in Newcastle on 14th April, Edinburgh on 15th April and Manchester
on 4th June.
REC launch SME development workshops

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news
Appointments
Globetec Solutions Group;John McLeod,
security practice director.
Air Energi; Ford Garrard, vice president
for Africa.
Argyll Scott; Tom Swain, managing
director Argyll Scott Singapore.
Total Assist; Craig Jones, head of A&E.
La Fosse Associates; Amy Gilman, head
of learning and development and HR.
Datum RPO; Jarrod Mollison, business
solutions director.
GCS Recruitment Specialists; Richard
Brady, head of sales in London.
Capita Resourcing; Jo Matkin, sales
director.
CTPartners Executive Search; Sylvain
Dhenin, chief executive officer.
NES Global Talent; William Oram,
Papua New Guinea manager.
Korn Ferry; Jeremy Zeman, financial
services practice.
Insperity, Inc.; Ross Astramecki, senior
vice president of sales.
TEAM; Lesley Whiting, regional director,
TEAM’s East of England.
Hyperion Executive Search; Ross Hoare,
associate partner.
Michael Page (PageGroup); Ruth
Hancock, operating director, engineering
and manufacturing.
Spencer Ogden; Greg Morris, head of
legal and compliance.
RTC Group; WH Ireland, nominated
adviser and broker to the company.
Kellan Group has announced that Tony Reeves has stepped down as executive
chairman of the company. Richard Robert Anthony Ward has been appointed to the
board as executive chairman and Mark Andrew Darby has been appointed to the board
as a director of the company. Rakesh Kirpalani, Group Finance Director, commented:
“Michael and I are delighted to welcome Richard and Mark to the Board. Richard brings
a wealth of experience that will be invaluable to Kellan; whilst Mark’s promotion to
the Board is richly deserved for his efforts over the last nine years with the Group. We
would also like to thank Tony for his support and contributions over the last seven years
and wish him every success for the future”.
Kellan Group announces board changes
Eurociett has welcomed the EU Court of Justice’s decision that member states must
remove unjustified restrictions on the use of temporary agency work, expressing its
approval of the decision that will allow the agency work industry to contribute to
better functioning labour markets. This month the Court of Justice of the European
Union (CJEU) gave its first ever judgement (case C-533/13) interpreting article 4 of the
Directive on temporary agency work (2008/104/EC). The CJEU explicitly states that
article 4(1) of the Agency Work Directive limits the possibility of member states to
restrict the use of temporary agency work.
In order to comply, member states have only two options: either remove any prohibitions
or restrictions which cannot be justified under article 4(1), or, where applicable, to
adapt legislation in order to render them compliant with the Agency Work Directive. As
stated in the court ruling, prohibitions or restrictions on the use of temporary agency
work are only allowed on grounds of general interest, in particular the protection of
temporary agency workers, the requirements of health and safety at work or the need
to ensure that the labour market functions properly and abuses are prevented.
Eurociett welcomes EU Court of Justice
decision on temp agency work
Cordant People has officially opened for business in Scotland. The company has just
opened offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Livingston and Stirling with sites in
Aberdeen and Inverness to follow in the coming months. Parent company, Cordant
Recruitment, also operates a growing number of contracts in Scotland for nationwide
companies such as Amazon, Lloyds Banking Group and Tesco, which are driving
additional local jobs demand for Cordant People. James Orr, Operations Director,
Cordant People Scotland, has been appointed to establish the new offices and put the
company on the map. Orr says, “We’re seeing a number of trends, in particular a rising
demand in permanent vacancies – and as well as a particular jobs growth in the food
& drink, construction, financial services and tourism sectors. We’ve got some fantastic
industries in Scotland, from the very modern such as life sciences, to the traditional,
such as textiles.”
Cordant People launches in Scotland
Technology companies surging in popularity
IT & Telecoms companies are more popular as employers than at any time in the last
three years, according to Randstad Technologies, the specialist global recruiter. A survey
of 10,728 Brits – carried out as part of the annual Randstad Award – found that, for
the fourth year running, the Automotive industry was perceived as the most attractive
sector to work in. However, the research also revealed that IT & Telecoms is surging
in popularity as a sector to work within, with just under a third of all respondents
saying they view it as an attractive career path, the highest proportion for three years.
In 2013, just a quarter (26 per cent) of those interviewed said IT & Telecoms was an
attractive sector in which to work, but in 2014 that rose to 28 per cent – and this year
it hit 30 per cent, a significant upswing.

Finance Directors’ Forum
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What’s in it for you?
Help, guidance and information on all of the issues that are putting pres-
sure on your finance and accounting department. Great recruitment
companies need inspirational finance professionals and that starts with
your FD. This essential forum is now in its 6th successful year because it
delivers the answers and content your company needs to make it even
more profitable.
Who’s there to help you?
We have a collection of talented speakers ready to provide you the best
advice the industry has to offer.
Confirmed so far...
Louise Rayner NumberMill
Kath Reynolds Balance Recruitment
Sally Fields Global Career Company
Anna Jarrold BDO
Topics taliored to you
Our speakers will cover the topics which will give your FDs the edge
they need to get the best out of the department. Topics for this year
include:
• The latest requirements and reporting from HMRC
• Best practice for your contractors and temporary workers
• Practical advice from industry FDs
• Question and answer sessions
• Meet with and network with a select peer group – support an event
dedicated to you
Where and when?
This event will be held in London on Thursday 23rd April, hosted by
BDO at their offices, 55 Baker Street, London. It will run from 8.30 am to
12.30pm.
How to book
This event is for recruiters and has a very limited number of places for
suppliers.
Go to Eventbrite and reserve your places. Tickets are only £50.00 + VAT*
For more details call + 44 (0)1483 740874 today or email teri@recruitment-
international.co.uk
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By Liz Longman, Managing Director, TEAM
team
The dictionary definition is “The
imparting or exchange of information
ideas or feelings”.
In this hi-tech world of instantaneous
social media where we have access to
and are presented with an overload
of information it was revealing just
how much every one (including me)
benefitted from the recent annual
TEAM conference. Over 300 members
descended on Towcester on 6th March
2015 and resurrected that “old tradition”
of actually meeting and talking to other
human beings …face to face!
This was our third such conference and
I would like to think our best so far.
Many members arrived the day before
and over 200 stayed on into Saturday.
Members came from all over the UK
including a coach load from Scotland,
some from Europe and even one hardy
soul who jetted in from Hong Kong!
As is perhaps usual at such gatherings,
it soon didn’t matter as to what
sector you were in, or how large or
small your business was, just being
an independent recruiter meant that
everyone had something in common
and something to talk about. Many of
TEAM’s service providers were present
offering advice and demonstrations of
either their products or services and
some 20 workshops ran throughout the
day on diverse topics such as training,
business development, compliance and
employment law matters to name just
a few. However, many spent time in
one to one discussions and one TEAM
member reported that he had secured
over £12,000 in fees during the day
alone.
This perhaps just reinforces the fact that
whilst technology can and will enhance
your business, recruitment is all about
people, people and more people.
Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that
perhaps a “back to basics” approach will
actually produce better and a longer
lasting relationship than a tweet! I think
this is just as true whether it involves
your communication and relationships
with clients, candidates and don’t forget
your own staff! TEAM was originally
founded on establishing a trusting
relationship between members seeking
to network business and this holds good
to this day.
At this year’s conference we sought
to recognise this aspect in identifying
some of our best networkers from
over 550 TEAM locations. Whilst the
amount of a shared fee is undoubtedly
important… and we have yet to beat a
shared £36,000 placement fee… the
ability to regularly share business to
enhance your own brand is equally if
not more important. It was therefore
great to honour a single branch member,
Hart Recruitment from Birmingham,
who topped the list recording a total
of 77 different split fees during the
year with other members. Whilst that
in itself is significant, that member
does have a number of consultants and
therefore perhaps equally outstanding
was to see the number two on the
list, Vantage Recruitment from Castle
Donnington, Derbyshire who working
on their own, individually recorded 63
split fees during the year. These split
fees remember, may have all ended up
as being 100% of nothing as opposed to
50% of something!
Also each year the membership votes
for the “TEAM Member of the YEAR”
and this year the accolade went to
BBE Recruitment from Bromsgrove,
Worcestershire, which specialise in a
range of sectors including engineering,
technical and finance. One of the
comments received perhaps sums up
what singled them out…“The staff there
are really super, they have such a strong
TEAM ethic and are always receptive,
willing to help and professional.”
Given the number of members already
seeking to book for next year it perhaps
seems the art of real communication is
still alive and well!
“Sometimes we
lose sight of the
fact that perhaps
a “back to basics”
approach will
actually produce
better and a longer
lasting relationship
than a tweet!”
Communication

By Ann Swain, CEO, APSCo
It’s ironic that the recruitment
profession, while immersed in the
scramble for the brightest recruits, has
so far largely overlooked the current
‘war for talent’ within the recruitment
industry itself.
According to Staffing Industry Analysts,
the total global recruitment market was
worth £345bn worldwide in 2014, a
figure which is certainly not to be sniffed
at. However, despite the evidently
illustrious nature of our profession,
coupled with an improving economic
landscape, last year’s APSCo Deloitte UK
Recruitment Index found that 59% of
respondents reported that sourcing the
talent needed for further growth was
their primary challenge for the coming
12 months.
I, like many others, got my lucky
break by falling into recruitment after
graduation. Unlike other sectors, which
have the advantage of established
career structures, and arguably more
buy-in from schools and parents,
recruitment is not promoted as a viable
career path for millennials at a crucial
stage when they are making decisions
about their futures. It’s no secret that
the profession, for whatever reason,
has historically not been positioned
or perceived as a ‘career of choice’ for
bright young recruits. However, it is
imperative that this changes if we are
to compete with established graduate
programmes – such as those offered by
large accountancy and legal firms – in
the mighty ‘war for talent’.
Now in its second year, APSCo’s internship
programme is a fully co-ordinated
initiative which offers the recruitment
profession a rare opportunity to
engage with yet-untapped talent, both
here in the UK and Asia. Last year the
programme placed 24 high quality first
and second year undergraduates into
paid roles – a figure that we hope to
build on this time around.
This year APSCo is working directly with
high profile universities across the whole
of the UK as well as all of the universities
in Singapore. In addition, APSCo has also
partnered with leading intern placement
provider, Inspiring Interns, to ensure
that participating members really do
have access to a diverse pool of top-rate
talent from across the UK.
There is no doubt that the intern
programme will offer undergraduates
the chance to secure highly transferable
skills, sample a profession that they may
not otherwise have considered, and,
in doing so, significantly increase their
employment prospects post-graduation
– all whilst being paid for the privilege.
However, as a trade body representing
professional recruiters, the initiative
is driven with benefits to participating
members – and the wider recruitment
sector - in mind. Feedback from the
consultancies involved last year was
overwhelmingly positive.
There is no doubt that APSCo’s
intern programme provides a superb
opportunity for recruitment firms to
raise their profile as ‘an employer of
choice’ with the potential to invest
in early attraction to facilitate long
term business growth. Furthermore,
those recruitment businesses with
offices in Singapore are in a unique
position to offer an internship to a local
undergraduate studying in the UK, who
may take up a recruitment role upon
returning home in the future.
For those internships that are successful,
there is the opportunity to either
extend placements or employ the intern
directly once they have graduated –
and this service is provided without
a placement fee. Of course, not all
interns will choose to pursue a career in
recruitment after they graduate, but we
can be sure that they will have acquired
a strong understanding of the intricate
and important nature of the work that
the professional staffing market does.
At the very least, they will know how
to use recruiters to secure the very
best roles in their chosen field and
look to these companies for support in
managing their future needs - both in
terms of recruiting and managing their
own career paths.
If your business is looking for new talent,
you should take a serious look at APSCo’s
ground-breaking intern programme –
and remember, the future success of
the recruitment profession relies on
investment in the next generation.
Julie Bowen, member services manager
at APSCo will be giving advice at RI’s
How to be the Number One Recruiter to
Work For.
Call 01483 740874 or email Teri
Etherington for more details. You can
also visit the events webpage at
http://tinyurl.com/p5k6ym7
Raising the Reputation of Recruitment
“I, like many others,
got my lucky break
by falling into
recruitment after
graduation”

It’s no secret that HMRC made its
mind up well over a year ago that it
would make the recruitment sector
responsible for policing tax collection
from workers - and with no resources
itself, saw intermediaries as a useful
tool. While the recruitment sector
lobbied hard against these proposals –
and got some concessions, it was clear
that tax avoidance had become a huge
political hot potato and there was no
way that this issue was ever going to
disappear.
This obsession with tax avoidance goes
back to 2011 when it was revealed that
Ed Lester, the then chief executive of The
Student Loans Company, was having his
salary paid into a private company. This
caused a Whitehall crackdown on tax
avoidance and false self-employment in
the Civil Service which turned into what
I can only describe as a ‘feeding frenzy’
aimed at the professional recruitment
sector – and self-employed contractors
who are legitimately in business for
themselves.
The focus is now moving onto
overarching contracts of employment
and the umbrella model and while
nothing is certain until after the election,
we are hoping that this is the end of
intermediary tax measures for now.
During the consultation period on
intermediary reporting requirements
during October and November 2014,
APSCo made it very clear that we
had grave concerns about a number
of areas – not least the amount of
personal information required and
the excessive length of period during
which intermediaries had to report on
individuals. After stating in no uncertain
terms that their requirements were set
in stone, HMRC has now compromised
on many of the points that we raised.

The finalised requirements no longer ask
for the worker title, the hours worked,
passport number or national identity
card number. And where a National
Insurance number is provided, there
will be no need to report date of birth
or gender – two pieces of data that
would have had to be kept completely
separate from the CRM to avoid the risk
of potential discrimination claims.
However, at the same time, we do not
underestimate the difficulty members
may encounter in asking for NI numbers
from PSC contractors – or indeed the
necessity to consider the data security
of information coming into the company.
APSCo in conjunction with IPSE has
produced a guidance document for firms
to give to their contractors explaining the
fact that asking for a National Insurance
number is a statutory obligation.
HMRC has also conceded the point
around our concern regarding the level
of duplication in the original proposals
which would have meant recruitment
firms having to report on information
already covered in the RTI returns of
intermediaries further down the supply
chain. The final requirements now
only ask the intermediary to report
on payments for those contractors it
has engaged where PAYE has not been
operated.
The original proposals stated that a
nil return would be required for three
years – after our remonstrations on this
issue, this has now been reduced to one
year. We also raised the unfairness of
the original proposal which stated that
where a return was made that did not
have all the required information; it
would be rejected and treated as a non-
return. HMRC has now confirmed that
the return will continue to be processed
although there will still be a penalty
regime for incorrect returns.
So while it’s still not where we would
like to be, it’s certainly a long way from
the original proposals. However, a final
note of caution – it’s important to be
aware that if you are only using HMRC
guidance to help you comply with the
reporting requirements, there are some
discrepancies between that and the
actual legislation – and the guidance
does not cover more complex scenarios
and supply chains.
We have a number of outstanding
questions which HMRC assure us they
are working on and we will be updating
our guidance as and when those issues
are clarified.
HMRC Reporting – The Final Countdown
“While it’s still
not where we
would like to be,
it’s certainly a
long way from the
original proposals”
By Samantha Hurley, Head of External Affairs & Compliance, APSCo

First it was the Top 100, then came the Top 250
and now in 2015 Recruitment International is
delighted to bring you the Top 500.
This unique report is the only report on the UK
Recruitment Industry listing the Top 500 agencies
ranked by their UK only turnover.
The report provides comprehensive information on
turnover, directors, industry size, how many companies,
which recruitment companies specialise in which
sectors and features the top companies in a multitude
of disciplines and sectors.
Currently in its 17th year the report has increased in
size and standing within the recruitment community. As
part of the new Top 500 this year we will be hosting a
summer launch party which will be happening on 12th
August in central London.
Being listed in the report brings a whole host of other
benefits one of which is a free invitation for two
Directors to join at our invitation only awards ceremony
on 18th November 2015.
The free entries are now open with the entry level for
consideration expected to be a UK only turnover of at
least £5 million.
If you would like to talk more about participation in the
publication or the advertising options please contact:
Teri Etherington, UK Country Manager.
teri@recruitment-international.co.uk
Or call +44 (0)1483 740 874

NegotiatingisNotfor
the Faint Hearted
For too long, the default negotiation
position assumed in the recruitment
industry has been to roll over and
submit completely.
Fear rules and resistance is futile.
Have clients driven down margins,
or has collective panic within our
sector been the root cause? Are we
the architects of our own margin
erosion?
You draw your own conclusions,
but regardless of the reasons we
must now stand firm because the
tide has turned. No longer should
we succumb to the pressure of
mutilating our charges when the
demand is made, because smart
recruitment is all about the law of
supply and demand.
Identifying the most outstanding
talent “in the market” not just
“on the market” and then actively
representing highly sought after
candidates and holding the line on
fees is an imperative.
You have a “designer product” and
your fee level is non-negotiable. “If
you want this valuable commodity,
pay the appropriate fee, if not,
this candidate will be placed with
a competitor who is prepared to
invest in the finest talent”.
This is not as harsh as it may sound;
this is the basic law of economics.
The greatest challenge and cost that
we bear resides in the identification
of highly skilled candidates.
Can we all agree that it is high time
that we assumed a far different
posture; stand firm when you are
promoting a top talent.

“Negotiation” must be a win-win
position for both parties, or we
should refer to the transaction as
“capitulation”.
Paul Jacobs
Managing Director
LoveWorkLife
paul@loveworklife.
com
www.loveworklife.
com
(m) 07960 550756
Careers Advice Speed Dating:
Inspiring the Next Generation
By Kate Shoesmith, Head of Policy, REC
Earlier this month our CEO Kevin Green
joined Employment Minister Esther
McVey and a host of business leaders
to give careers guidance to students at
Langdon Park School in London.
The event was organised by education
charity Education and Employers
to connect Year 11 and Sixth Form
students with experienced professionals
via a ‘speed dating’ model. Students
were given the opportunity to quiz
professionals about their early career
experiences, and to hear their advice for
young people taking their first steps into
the world of work.
Employment Minister Esther McVey
delivered a talk to students at the
event, and it was encouraging to have
ministerial support for the initiative.
Leading professionals from finance,
retail, HR, media, and the creative
industries were also on hand to take
part in the activities.
Events like this are a great way for
employers to engage directly with
students and support the careers
guidance available in schools. It’s so
important for young people to be
given opportunities to talk to working
adults in all kinds of careers, because
by going through the process of asking
and answering questions, students are
prompted to reflect on what they want
out of work in the future.
We know that too many young people
are leaving education without enough
information about the career paths
available to them, and at the same time
we’re seeing skills shortages across the
economy. In the long term that’s bad
news for business and for individuals.
In our manifesto for jobs, we’ve
outlined key recommendations for the
next government aimed at ensuring we
build the best jobs market in the world.
Making sure that we prepare young
people for the jobs of the future is central
to this; we’re calling for careers advice
to incorporate and use the expertise of
employers and recruiters, so that young
people are made aware of the skills that
businesses are looking for.
Recruiters have an important part to
play in this as they are well briefed on
the realities of the jobs market, and it’s
been very encouraging to see so many
businesses in our industry sign up to our
Youth Employment charter and commit
to helping the next generation succeed.
We’re encouraging more of our members
to talk to us about they can get involved
in the campaign and have just launched
a new tool with WorkTree to specifically
support this development.
rec

By Suhail Mirza, City Editor
Dean Kelly is CEO at Synarbor PLC,
a leading provider of education
support and recruitment solutions
with a turnover for 2014 of £30m
and approximately 100 employees A
celebrated recruitment leader, he was
voted ‘Business Leader of the Year’ by
Recruitment International in 2013.
I have left every meeting with him feeling
motivated and enriched. His passion is
infectious, whether we are discussing
matters of political economy or the
world of boxing. Today he shares time
with political leaders and billionaires.
It is a long way from his roots. As Kelly
explains. “I grew up in a tough council
estate in North London. Although it was
a challenging environment at times,
being a local amateur boxer and Chelsea
FC schoolboy, always gave me a fair bit
of favour. I was also fortunate enough to
attend the leading boys’ state school in
the UK. I loved sport and this exposure
to those from a different socio-economic
background inculcated a belief that hard
work could level the playing field not
only in sport but also in life."
Kelly initially thought of becoming a
surveyor but saw the long-term rewards
were insufficiently motivating. He knew
his work ethic was Stakhanovite; he
just needed the right opportunity. That
opportunity presented itself in the form
of the recruitment industry. As Kelly
says, "The adverts in the press that
offered the highest OTE's were always in
recruitment. So I applied and eventually
joined Computer Futures in 1998."
Despite working longer hours than
anyone else (“hard work beats talent
every time") he struggled for the first
six months. This might have been due
to his doing manual jobs evenings and
weekends to supplement his income!
A turning point was a meeting with his
MD, the legendary Gary Goldsmith.
"I thought I was going to be fired,” he
says. “I admitted moonlighting. But
Gary believed in me and offered a three
month salary guarantee. My results
exploded. I was fortunate to be at CF
at a special time, learning from some of
the best recruiters the industry has ever
known."
Thereafter Kelly ascended the
recruitment ladder at bewildering
speed. He moved to Paragon IT and
then Dream (now Servoca) where he
built its IT and banking/telco division
to 40 consultants in 12 months! Having
spotted an opportunity within the
education sector at Dream, Kelly left
and founded Kellis in 2002. He recalls,
“Back then the education recruitment
market appeared nascent - certainly
when compared to IT- and I was happy
to disrupt the status-quo quite early in
its economic life cycle."
Despite just months within education
recruitment, Kelly developed Kellis into
one of the fastest growing start-ups to
exit recruitment groups in the UK. "We
secured our first contract having only a
handful of teachers on our books- always
think big! We eventually won 13 major
contracts with schools and authorities
within 24 months. We also secured a
contract with GEMS, the world’s largest
provider of independent education. Its
owner is a billionaire who I approached
directly after reading about him in the
Economist."
Kellis was delivering £2.2m EBIT when
acquired by Public Recruitment Group
for 6.5 times ebit - all within three years
of starting up! Kelly reveals," It was quite
a journey! Unfortunately within a few
weeks PRG issued a 2 year profit warning
- we had an earnout period so this was
a nasty shock-and the next phase of my
business education began!"
Within a few months of finishing his earn-
out Kelly took over as CEO of the whole
group, attracted outside investment to
save the business, disposed of failing
non-core divisions and de-listed from
AIM as the credit crunch hit. Kelly says,
“The outstanding work done by my
teams at Synarbor has meant that we
now have a business delivering great
growth year on year and one which is
financially very sound."
Synabor has gained a superb reputation
for its innovative "TeachIn" managed
service, and for being the only agency to
work with an LEA to manage a school out
of ‘special measures’ and present data
to show high quality ‘supply teachers’
improve outcomes in schools.
Kelly regularly meets Government
Education Ministers to share his ideas.
He also nurtures leadership of the next
generation of recruitment CEO's, being
the co-founder of the Recruitment
Directors Lunch Club.
Outside work Kelly is married with
three children and channels some of his
boundless energy through Boxing, Muay
Thai and MMA. He is justly proud of his
journey, stressing, “I came from a tough
background but I also believe that true
social mobility is possible. It is amazing
what can be achieved through hard
work, determination and focus. Those
gifts are not preserved for an elite;
anyone can tap them if they choose."
Stirring words from Kelly. He has walked
his talk and is a beacon of hope for
anyone.
Dean Kelly, CEO, Synarbor PLC
meet the CEO

listed leaders
To found and launch one stock exchange
listed recruitment business is impressive;
to do so a twice is plain showing off! Gary
Ashworth, a bona fide legend within
recruitment, has achieved this and is
currently chairman at Interquest, the
listed IT and related markets specialist,
which in 2014 delivered a turnover of
£150m and a 33% rise in NFI to £23.2m.
I met Ashworth at The Club at The IVY
and asked what drives him, to which he
replied, “Insecurity! More accurately,
the drive to create security throughout
my life. I was given up for adoption at just
six weeks old and that has always been
a driver of ambition.” Ashworth was
brought up in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
and values a close family for obvious
reasons. “My nest is important to me. I
was blessed with a lovely upbringing by
my adoptive parents and my sister and I
are still very close.” His entrepreneurial
flame was lit early. At 12, being creative
about his age, he secured a paper
round earning £1.40 per week, while
at 15 he began a lifelong interest in the
creative arts when he promoted a pop
concert. Shortly thereafter he entered
recruitment. “The Evening Standard”
was full of adverts from recruitment
businesses offering alluring commissions
and I couldn’t believe you could earn a
fortune from chatting to people so I
applied for some jobs.”
For three years Ashworth excelled,
moving through the ranks within a
business in the finance and banking
sectors, then he made a bold move. As
he explains, “A colleague and I decided
we could do this ourselves and aged 21
I set up Abacus in a shabby office above
a pub in the City. The EC4 postcode was
important.” However he adds, “I do not
think it was courageous given I had no
responsibilities, mortgage or children,
just bags full of passion.” The business
thrived and after two years he bought
out his partner. Sheer hard work and the
ability to spot talent in people led
to Ashworth growing Abacus and the
business eventually floated on AIM in
1995 (the year the junior market was
created). He sold the business for £17m
to Lord Ashcroft’s Carlisle Holdings in
1999. He elaborates, “I was 39 and had
two young children at the time but was
divorced so decided to go travelling to
Miami for six months where I set up a
property company and had lots of fun. It
was like Disneyland for grownups!”
He had by this time met Luke Johnson,
the celebrated entrepreneur, who
remains a key business partner and
who took a stake in Interquest when it
was launched in 2001. Ashworh says, “I
believe strongly in researching markets
and trends to identify what happens
‘after what happens next’. It was clear
that technology, and micro niches
within it, were sectors with exponential
potential and so Interquest was born.”
The business thrived, floating on AIM
in 2005. It currently employs over 300
people and has an enterprise value
approaching £50m. Ashworth reflects,
“One of the key lessons I have learned
particularly with Interquest and its
markets is you have to continually
innovate to differentiate yourself and
outpace your competition. Currently
this includes creating unique content
to access a unique talent pool of
candidates who can be brokered at
“above industry” margins. Paradoxically
you have to accept that today’s niche
may become tomorrow’s commodity
offering.”
Through more than 30 years of
entrepreneurship, Ashworth has
retained a profound interest in the
creative world of arts, producing
plays and managing jazz singers and
comedians. He says, “There may be little
money in it but I believe that business
people have a duty to give back to the
arts since they tend to spark ideas and
have naïve enthusiasm that can often
cross over into commerce.” His artistic
pursuits include financially supporting
the Assembly Rooms at the Edinburgh
Festival and he is rightly proud at
producing the play “Anonymous Society”
which won best overall production at
the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1999.
Despite creating two successful listed
recruitment businesses Ashworth’s
passion for the sector and his keen eye
for spotting the potential in people
led him to set up Recruitment Capital
Partners in the summer of 2014. “The
raison d’etre of Recruitment Capital
Partners (RCP) is to support recruitment
professionals with the passion to build
scalable businesses and who want to
be treated fairly in the process. Being
ethical as an investor is critical and
chimes with the values I believe should
govern the recruitment sector.”
He affirms, “I remain driven as my
passion for business is undiminished and
I have an unnatural fear that it all might
somehow be taken away one day. I am,
however, now proud to help the next
generation of entrepreneurs through
RCP and also continue to indulge my
interest in creative endeavours through
writing projects and supporting artists.”
I for one would not exclude the
possibility of this legendary recruiter
creating a third listed business in the
next few years...watch this space!
Gary Ashworth, Chairman, Interquest

By Teri Etherington, Recruitment International
RI’s Inspirational Conferences For
save the date
You may know Recruitment International
for its monthly magazines and
e-newsletters. You may also be aware
we run a number of events throughout
the year. With the recruitment events
becoming an increasingly saturated
market it is becoming harder and harder
for agency directors to not only cut
through the noise and find the right
one for them, but also justify the ever-
increasing amount of time out of the
office.
You are integral to the success of your
businesses and you need to be present
as much as possible but you also need to
keep up to date with all the information
happening in the industry to ensure you
are not only in-line with but ahead of
the competition.
At our Managing Exceptional Growth
Conference in March we heard that
recruiters should be looking at an
8-9% growth just to keep up with the
competition, let alone to get ahead. This
puts a lot of pressure on everyone at a
senior level within the business and with
recruiting staff expected to continue to
be the biggest challenge for any growing
recruitment business, how you attract,
retain and manage your business, brand
and employees is essential.
In light of this, we aim to provide
information on the events run by
Recruitment International throughout
the year and below we provide
information on the next few events to
enable you see how they could benefit
your business.
Future Word Leaders
The first ever conference ran by
Recruitment International was our World
Leaders in Recruitment Conference in
1995. Since then speakers at this event
have included many industry leaders
from companies such as Adecco,
Randstad, Manpower, Allegis, Hays,
Impellam, Gi Group, SThree, Capita,
Robert Walters, Pertemps, CPL Group,
Interquest, Hydrogen, Recruit Group
and Empresaria.
This was the first event in the history of
the recruitment industry for owners and
directors of the largest agencies in the
UK to attend. Although a lot has changed
in the industry over the years the
calibre of the speakers at Recruitment
International events has not and neither
has the importance and quality of the
information presented.
The thirst for new and rapidly growing
recruitment companies, as well as
those who are going through, or have
gone through periods of change, is ever
present in the current market. With
the largest challenges centering on the
attraction and retention of staff RI’s
events have changed to reflect this.
Reflecting this, the World Leaders
Conference has changed its focus to
Future World Leaders, where we will be
looking at fast growth entrepreneurs,
those who have had a big impact on
the industry. This is scheduled for 11th
September and we will release more
information about this event nearer to
the time.
Finance Directors’ Forum
Our next event to look forward to is our
Finance Directors Forum on the 23rd
April. This will be hosted by BDO and
is going to be one of the most intimate
events we hold. With around 40-50
delegates, the event is only for finance
directors of recruitment agencies. We
will of course be covering all the new
HMRC requirements and legislation
which is likely to have an impact on the
recruitment industry. We will additionally
touch on compliance, alongside the
inclusion of two fantastic case studies
from finance directors currently working
in the industry. They will be talking
through some of their experiences, and
come from Global Career Company,
which places candidates into Africa
and Asia, and Balance Recruitment,
which is a growing SME in Hertfordshire
which has recently opened an office in
London. The speakers will be talking
about their need to attract staff and
what their companies are doing to try
and compete with benefits packages
currently offered by the largest agencies
in the UK. Scheduled as a morning
event, the Finance Director’s Forum is
due to finish around 12.30pm, allowing
you sufficient time to network or get
back to the office. You can find out more
at http://tinyurl.com/ordtjv7
Following the Finance Director’s Forum
we have two unmissable events in
May. Our Marketing and Branding in
Recruitment event will take place on the
7th of May and was introduced last year
to show organisations in and around
recruitment just how important it is to
get the right messages out. The venue
for 2014 had capacity for 60 and it was
packed to the rafters – indicative of
growing popularity of discussion about
this issue.
Lee Mitchell ,Quanta Consulting,
Compliance Conference

Entrepreneurial Recruiters
overall). Opus will share with you a few
of its key strategies to success, some of
which you may already be carrying out,
however, there will certainly be a lot of
insight for you to take away. If you find
you have trouble with attracting staff,
reviewing employee benefits or staff
turnover, or if you find there are gaps
in the knowledge of the employees you
already have, this event will enable you
to think about solutions for these issues
and many more. You don’t need to spend
a lot of money to keep your employees
happy, just change the way you work
and How To Be The Number 1 Recruiter
to Work For will help you identify what
to change and what not to.
Although we do have more events
running through to the RI Awards on
18th November there is one more
event I would like to touch on and
that is Diversity in Recruitment on
the 16th of June. In 2013 Recruitment
International started an event entitled
Inspiring Women in Recruitment which
came about through the Lord Davies
report into the number of women on
boards. Although as an industry we do
have quite a number of women coming
into the recruitment industry, this is
not represented when you look at the
number on boards. When we held this
event again in 2014 it was was clear
there was an appetite to go far further
than purely women in recruitment and
this year we will look at diversity
as a whole. We will not only be talking
about how to remove the barriers faced
when applying or interviewing for a role,
but also looking at the role recruiters
pay in promoting a diverse workforce to
their clients. We will be discussing race,
religion, age, sexual orientation, ethnic
diversity and we will also provide an
update from women on boards and take
a look at the progress they have made in
the last few years.
As you can see our events are constantly
evolving to meet the needs of our
audience. We always ask for feedback
which we endeavour to listen to and then
take into consideration for subsequent
events. If there is something you would
like to know about which I have not
covered let me know as I would love to
hear your thoughts.
If you have been to previous Recruitment
International events you will know there
will not be a consultant or team leader
in sight. All our events are aimed at
owners, managers and directors of UK-
based recruitment businesses. We also
hold events in Asia and Australia so if
your business is international and you
would like to know more about this
please do get in touch, or visit our site,
www.recruitment-international.co.uk
This is a really hot topic and not a lot
of agencies are really focusing on their
marketing and brand as much as they
can, while many don’t know where to
turn.
We will have a real mix of speakers with
Nicola Lathom, marketing director of
Phaidon International giving an update
from where the company was 12 months
ago when she last spoke to us, as well as
Major Players and Become UK. We will
also have providers/suppliers to answer
questions and give you advice from
across the market. These include James
Whitelock of ThinkInCircles, Clair Bush
from Broadbean and ex-Head of SEO
from Zoopla Simon Schneiders, who
has recently joined CV Library. Luckily
this year we have a larger venue and
can hold 100 and I am confident it will
once again be full. There’s more about
this conference at http://tinyurl.com/
pnq9r62
This leads us nicely into the next event,
How To Be The Number 1 Recruiter To
Work For Conference. This will take
place on 15th May and will take a look
at what the best recruitment companies
look for, and should look for, in terms
of attraction, engagement, retention,
development and progression for
their own staff. This will be the third
consecutive year we will be running this
conference and as the line-up of speakers
changes each year it allows the audience
to gain new insights. In previous years
our speakers have included Goodman
Masson, Macildowie, SThree, Arrows
Group, ConSol, Investigo, CBS Butler
and InterQuest Group. This year, so
far, we have Pertemps, Aspire Global,
Opus Recruitment Solutions and The SF
Group speaking, with more names to be
confirmed.
Those chosen to speak are all listed
in the Times Top 100 to work for and
Opus Recruitment Solutions is actually
the Number 1 Recruitment agency (#2
Kevin Green, REC, speaking at Managing Exceptional Growth

By Recruitment International
feature
Savers have been promised benefits,
while a silence on plans for the NHS
has sparked suspicion. The Budget
has certainly got tongues wagging
throughout the UK and the recruitment
industry was equally keen to learn all
the details. Here we present a selection
of views on the Budget from agencies
and industry bodies working within the
recruitment industry.
Brookfield Rose
Matthew Sanders, CEO of Brookfield
Rose, parent group to thirteen
companies including temporary labour
procurer de Poel and payroll company
Paraplus, stated, “So what we do know,
following today’s announcement?
With the £6bn extra to play with and
recent reports indicating strengthening
recovery in the economy, employment
and wages, George Osborne, clearly
immensely boosted by this, made some
very interesting announcements.
“Conservative plans are to raise
the threshold at which people pay
inheritance tax on properties to £1
million, meaning that around 20,000
fewer upper middle-class families will
have to pay. I am fully in support of the
Government’s promise that millions of
workers will get a wage increase, with
the minimum wage going up by 20p to
£6.70 an hour, the biggest real-terms
rise in seven years. This means that more
than 1.4 million low paid workers will
benefit from the 3% hike in October.
“It was also decided that the statutory
minimum for younger workers and
apprentices will jump up by 57p to
£3.30, an increase of 20% – again, the
biggest ever rise. Having employed
apprentices for a number of years across
all of my businesses, I have witnessed
first-hand the real value they can add to
any organisation, and so I am delighted
that this decision has been made. Whilst
there is still a great deal of work to be
done, this minimum wage increase will
mean more financial security for all
and is another step forward in the right
direction.
“As a multiple business owner and
entrepreneur, I was also interested to
hear the announcements surrounding
entrepreneur’s relief growth plans in
the North West and delighted to hear
performance was strong last year. A
large proportion of my businesses are
based in the North of the UK, and so I
welcome Government’s plans to grant
new powers and continue to build our
Northern powerhouse; it is a thriving
and profitable economy and great place
to do business.
“With our umbrella payroll company,
Paraplus, as part of my portfolio of
businesses, I was also interested in
hearing what was decided with regards
to travel and subsistence for the self-
employed, contractors and agency
workers, but not surprised that Osborne
declared those operating unethically
will be “clamped down on”.
“Paraplus was founded under the ethos
that the worker’s rights should always
be protected, and so I passionately
disagree with all umbrella companies
being tarred with the same brush,
which has happened recently due
to the actions of a small minority of
umbrella companies who clearly do not
share our same values of transparency,
honesty and ethical practice. Umbrella
companies have been a part of the
UK labour market for many years and,
when operated responsibly, provide a
useful conduit through which payments,
including tax, can be made.”
Oil and Gas
Following the announcement that the
UK government will reduce petroleum
revenue tax from 50% to 30%, Andrew
Speers, managing director of Petroplan,
commented, “North Sea oil fields are
recognised internationally as a training
ground for some of the most skilled
oil and gas professionals in the world.
Providing businesses involved in this
sector with additional support in the
form of this significant tax break will
support the continued growth of talent
for a global industry.
“The North Sea is a mature basin
with operators focused on extending
the productive life of the existing
infrastructure and this change in
use of these assets will likely require
different skill sets. The required talent
may not have been attracted to the
region without this supportive fiscal
arrangement.”
David Spencer-Percival, CEO of energy
recruitment firm Spencer Ogden, added,
“This is the kick start that the North Sea
oil industry needed. George Osborne’s
£1.3billion support is the first, vital step
in reversing mounting job losses.
“The situation was becoming dire. We
had gone from a skills shortage to an
influx of jobless top talent. This is now
being addressed. With 40% of the North
Sea’s production expected to come from
new, currently untapped sources by
2018, a tax cut incentivizes the essential
exploration needed to secure a long
term future for North Sea workers.
“The fact is, without exploration now,
Recruiters React to the Budget

North Sea oil jobs will dry up long before
the oil sources do.”
Tom Hadley, director of policy and
professional services at the REC, said,
“It was good to hear George Osborne
open his speech by acknowledging the
continued success of the UK’s robust
and flexible labour market.
“The Chancellor’s focus on tax avoidance
by employment intermediaries will be
critical to ensuring a level playing field
for recruiters who play by the rules.
Progress here is long overdue and such
a public commitment to clamp down on
agencies and umbrella companies that
exploit travel and subsistence schemes
is very welcome news. It’s something
we called for in our Manifesto for Jobs
last Autumn and we’re glad to see the
government take action.
“The review of business rates was
announced before the Budget, this an
issue on which we joined forces with
the British Retail Consortium to seek
change. The fact that Manchester and
Cambridge will be able to retain 100%
of their business rates sets an important
precedent for further local and regional
devolution.
“Given the current skill shortages in
the UK, we’re concerned that it may be
difficult for the infrastructure initiatives
and investments to succeed. Recruiters
are already struggling to find suitably
skilled candidates in key industries like
IT, science, engineering and construction
and it is in these sectors where we will
need even more people now investment
has been confirmed.
“The next government must co-ordinate
industrial, regional and educational
policies to meet these needs by bringing
together the relevant parts of BIS,
DWP and DfE potentially under a new
government structure.”
APSCo stated, “Chancellor George
Osborne used his last Budget before
the General Election to announce that
“Britain is walking tall again” after five
years of coalition prudence. Although
he has promised that there would be
no giveaways he announced tax relief
for savers and said a squeeze on public
spending would end a year earlier than
planned, if the Tories are re-elected in
May.
“These announcements came on the
back of better than expected growth
figures, which suggest that the economy
will expand by 2.5% in 2015, rather
than the 2.4% previously predicted.
He said that the Government had met
its 2010 target to end this Parliament
with national debt as a share of GDP in
decline and suggested that “the hard
work and sacrifice of the British people
has paid off.” And while the figures still
need to be analysed in detail, a number
of key issues for APSCo members have
emerged.”
Responding to George Osborne’s
announcement that the Government
would be “clamping down on the
agencies and umbrella companies
who abuse tax reliefs on travel and
subsistence”, Samantha Hurley, Head
of External Relations & Compliance at
APSCo, commented, “The Chancellor’s
mention of “agencies” with regard to this
issue actually relates overwhelmingly to
umbrella companies and PSCs.
“Unfortunately, it is not entirely clear
from the Budget report exactly what
action the Government intends to take,
although it talks about restricting tax
and subsidy relief for workers engaged
through an employment intermediary
where the worker is under the
supervision, direction, and control of
the client.
“In light of this, it’s possible that they
may apply a similar test as already exists
to determine the workers employment
status for tax purposes. This seems
to suggest that the Government has
abandoned its original plan to abolish
tax and subsidy relief for such workers,
and listened to the over-whelming
response from the industry to tighten
the rules instead. This appears to
be a more positive outcome for the
recruitment sector as a whole, but we
will reserve judgement while we await
an official consultation.”
In response to the Chancellor’s
comment that the Government wants,
“employment intermediaries to provide
workers with greater transparency
on how they are employed, and what
they are being paid”, Hurley added,
“APSCo has previously confirmed
to the Government that it does not
believe that this is an issue within the
professional sector, and we would not
want to see our members burdened with
more unnecessary red tape to comply
with regulation aimed at protecting
potentially vulnerable workers. I would
imagine that a consultation from BIS on
this may well form part of its proposed
changes to the Conduct Regulations.”
Summarising other key points raised
during Osborne’s speech, Hurley
concluded, “APSCo welcomes ‘Northern
Powerhouse’ initiatives – including a
Greater Manchester devolution deal,
investment in local industry and the
green light for HS3.
“We believe that APSCo members,
particularly those based in the North
of England, will be able to positively
contribute to this proposed growth
by providing resourcing partners to
encourage highly skilled workers to
support these projects.
“APSCo also welcomes the support being
provided to the Oil and Gas sector, one
which has been under great pressure in
recent months.”

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city focus
The past few weeks have seen world
equity markets hit record highs. The
S&P500 for example hit an all-time
high of 2119 on the 25th February
before retreating to 2053 by the end
of Friday the 13th March. The NASDAQ
passed 5000, a mark it last reached in
March 2000 at the height of the dotcom
boom.
In the UK the FTSE100 closed at 6740 just
over 3% below an all-time high of 6974 it
recorded on the 2nd March. There was
also much cheer in late February when
the index passed 6930 given it had last
reached this level in December 1999!
It should also be noted that these are
nominal figures and taking into account
inflation since 1999 the FTSE100 would
have to pass 10,000 to be truly equated
with its end of millennium close.
In any event UK listed recruiters have
enjoyed a buoyant month amid a slew
of positive results announcements.
PageGroup, for example, has seen its
share price rise from 487.3p to 514p
over the past month. Delivering its
results on the 11th March (for the year
ending the 31st December 2014), CEO
Steve Ingham highlighted revenues were
up by 4% to £1.05bn and profit before
tax rose 25% to £80.4m. These figures
would have been higher had it not been
for some currency headwinds, “This is
the challenge if you’re an international
business. Currencies move both ways
and they don’t flatter us at the moment
which is frustrating. We don’t hedge
profits. We’re good at recruitment not at
hedging currencies,” Ingham explained.
Listed peer Hays saw a slight increment
in share price over the month to the
13th March ( 155p to 157.5p), although
reporting (in late February) its half year
numbers (for the six months to end of
2014) CEO Alistair Cox was upbeat, given
net fees grew from £363.4m to £383.9m
and PBT by 24% from £62.5m to £77.3m.
He said, “This is an excellent first half
performance, driven by acceleration
in the permanent recruitment market,
as candidate confidence continued to
improve in many countries.”
Elsewhere, Impellam’s share price hiked
from 620p to 687.5p and in early March
it reported staffing gross profit had risen
by 11.1% to £187.5m. Robert Walters
experienced a more modest price rise
from 334p to 342p although it reported
(for the 2014 trading year) a 14% rise in
gross profit and an eye watering 80%
jump in profit before tax (from £10.1m
to £18,2m). In addition Harvey Nash,
Matchtech, Staffline and SThree each
saw share price rises over the past
month.
Notwithstanding the positive nature
of the results and markets flirting with
record highs there remain uncertainties
for investors in the months ahead.
Clearly the situation in Greece could
unravel despite the deal last month
extending its bailout for four months.
The other challenge is the growing
expectation that the US Federal Reserve
will raise interest rates in the early
summer; whilst this should be “priced
in” to the stock market, history shows
that markets tend to wobble in the
period preceding an interest rate rise.
In the UK there is growing uncertainty
whether the May general election will
deliver a majority government and there
is a significant degree of disenchantment
amongst UK voters. This might in part
be driven by the fact that, according to
research published in early March by the
Institute for Fiscal Studies, real incomes
for those aged 22-59 are still lower than
they were before the financial crisis.
The other major global concern for many
commentators is the spectre of deflation.
As The Economist noted in its 21st
February issue, “The whiff of deflation
is everywhere”. It added that, “...the
world is grievously underestimating the
danger of deflation”. In the Eurozone for
example consumer prices fell by 0.6% in
the year to January. Prices have fallen in
Greece for 23 months. Elsewhere ultra-
low inflation is the norm; the US, UK and
China for example each have inflation
rates of less than 1%.
At first blush deflation (which means a
general reduction in prices) might seem
a welcome phenomenon; for consumers
it potentially is as their disposable
incomes grow and the recent precipitous
drop in energy prices is an example of
this. The danger of deflation is however
that these very same consumers may
defer spending if they expect prices to
continue to fall and a fall in prices tends
to squeeze business margins which
may have negative consequences for
employment. Furthermore deflation
can render the efficacy of loosening
monetary policy (i.e. reducing interest
rates) marginal at best.
The Economist is unequivocal in its
recommendations to policymakers,
“Governments need to boost demand
by spending more on infrastructure:
central banks should err on the side of
looseness”.
City Focus has long advocated such a
policy for the UK, where the cost of
borrowing remains at record lows, as
witnessed by this week’s issuing of a 53-
year bond by the UK Government at an
interest rate of just 2.62%!
There remains, however, little sign it will
be openly embraced by the Coalition.
UK Listed Recruiters Prosper

feature
By Recruitment International
We Ask You: Finance and Banking
In 2013 the UK economy, alongside
other world markets, was officially
declared out of the recession, six years
after the downturn began.
As companies began to stabilise,
vacancies began to rise again with
positive reports of growth, although
some industries faced continued staff
cuts and revenue flow issues, resulting
in lower salaries for new employees and
bonus cuts for existing staff. As markets
across the world continue to strengthen,
we asked you to tell us how you think
finance and banking recruitment has
changed as a result and what’s in store
for the sector.
Q: How has the post-recession
economy affected finance and banking
recruitment?
Nikki Turberville, manager at Michael
Page Financial Services, said, “Banks
are more cost aware and have in-
house recruitment teams that use
LinkedIn and advertise directly on
their websites to source candidates
for more generic roles. Subsequently,
banks are frequently using recruitment
agencies to fill niche positions and
using our industry expertise and
market knowledge to source relevant
candidates. Most banks now have a
10% cap on the salary increase they can
award to new employees and prefer to
reward people who have progressed
within the company. Candidates are now
less dependent on potential bonuses
due to them being greatly reduced since
pre 2008. Nowadays, it tends to be the
case that candidates move companies
due to an increased interest in the
role/company or for different career
opportunities, as opposed to an increase
on current package.”
Chad Lawson, associate director of
risk and compliance at Robert Walters,
commented, “Whilst the rebounding
post-recession banking and finance
market has brought relief to consultants
across the market, the recruitment
landscape has changed shape and
presents new challenges. While hiring
volumes have grown, recruitment
processes have become longer and more
convoluted as a result of cost pressures
and increased diligence, checks and
scrutiny of new hires. The recession
reinforced the importance of good
quality staff, so interview processes
are longer and more thorough. With
talent shortages emerging, in-demand
candidates are expecting larger
salary and compensation packages;
an unwelcome fact for employers
in the post-recession environment.
Yet employers are exacerbating the
problem by refusing to compromise
on hiring criteria, in the process ruling
out candidates with transferable skills.
Flexibility on both sides will be essential
to preventing deadlock from emerging.”
Richard Pickard, director of Oliver James
Associates, added, “The post-recession
trend has seen banks performing
strategic reviews to assess which
business lines are core, resulting in a
reshuffling of product mix, a focus on
specialisation and complete withdrawal
from non-core markets. Regulatory
pressure has increased leading to a surge
in internal controls recruitment. Top tier
banks are deciphering the implications
of frequent regulatory developments,
the latest of which, the CCAR 2015
has seen a host of related hiring hit
the market as teams are created and
adapted to achieve compliance. Balance
sheet optimisation is high on the
agenda, with banks having to comply
with the LCR and SLR rules so we expect
to see substantial recruitment activity in
this space. Technology is key; increasing
digitalisation of branch networks and
expanding the digital offering will mean
further recruitment needs within this
specialist niche.”
Q:Whatarethebiggestissuesinfinance
and banking recruitment currently?
Darren Burns, associate director of
banking and financial services at
INVESTIGO, stated, “A career in banking
sector is no longer as appealing as it
once was, with many students instead
setting their sights on a career in FMCG.
Training and development and job
security are now considered to be the
most important factors to job seekers,
with most searching for a role they
will enjoy and which has a degree of
flexibility. Professional services firms
have massively reduced their intake
of ACAs and there are now more
opportunities within practice firms, as
working with banks has become more
interesting and competitive. To attract
more professionals, banking must focus

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