The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 62: August/September 2022 | Page 36

PEOPLE

HR DEPT CELEBRATE 15 YEARS IN BUSINESS

The team behind Swindon-based Human Resources consultancy , the HR Dept are celebrating 15 years since their franchise was created .
The HR Dept Swindon , North Wiltshire and East Cotswolds was founded in 2007 , and has grown to a five-strong team , working regularly with more than 70 businesses and many more on an ad hoc basis .
Peter Jones , who took over the franchise in 2009 , said , “ The first 15 years have been great , and we have our fantastic team and clients to thank for that . Our next goal is to grow our retained client numbers to 100 , and to recruit more team members to help support them .”
When Peter took over the franchise he was based in offices in central Swindon , but to accommodate the growing team , the business relocated to Gemini House , Groundwell , in North Swindon .
The HR Dept supports clients in a range of sectors , including manufacturing , hospitality , finance , retail , leisure and professional services . Peter heads up an experienced team at the HR Dept , including Head of HR Consultancy Remy Morland , HR Adviser
Helen Imbusi , Recruitment Specialist Geri Hardy and Sales & Marketing Executive Drishya Dewan .
Peter himself has an extensive career in HR , and was HR director of a multinational engineering company , before stepping away to set up his own consultancy in 2008 . In
" The first 15 years have been great , and we have our fantastic team and clients to thank for that ."
2009 , he bought the HR Dept ’ s Swindon , North Wiltshire and East Cotswolds franchise .
“ I wanted to start my own business , so setting up an HR consultancy made a lot of sense . I ran it for a year , but when the
opportunity came up to buy the HR Dept it was a no-brainer . What the franchise centrally were offering was far superior to what I could offer working on my own . Our clients still benefit from that differentiator , in that we are an independent HR consultancy , but with the backing of a much larger organisation .”
Many clients have been with the HR Dept throughout its 15 years , including logistics and supply chain market research company
Transport Intelligence ; kitchen , bathroom , bedroom and home studio designers Home Inspirations ; and architects GCP .
Peter added , “ I can ’ t imagine working in a corporate environment again , as I so enjoy working with smaller businesses , helping with the issues they face , and at the same time running my own business .”
For more info : www . hrdept . co . uk / swindon-north-wiltshire-eastcotswolds /

At what point do you change your recruitment strategy ?

With an economic downturn , staff shortages , cost-of-living crisis , redundancies and market change on the horizon , the next six months are set to be a challenge . So , how you prepare and strategise now , will see you through to the end of 2022 . Wiltshire recruitment firm , CMD Recruitment share their top tips for getting ahead of the game .
A lot of times when there is economic disruption , the best companies get ahead . This is because , in a time of uncertainty , they get their head down , focus on their processes , and look to the future . They see disruption as a big opportunity . To make this disruption an opportunity , we need to utilise this time now to ensure your recruitment strategy and process are up to date . Of course , the sector of your company will determine how a recession and economic disruption would impact you . But it is still important to assess the impact of a changing economy .
The recruitment sector is still playing catch up from the pandemic and with low unemployment and high demand across various industries , the job market is very competitive . So , when was the last time you revised your recruitment strategy to ensure its fit for purpose ? Now is a good time to look as the better your recruitment strategy and process are the more successful your hires will be .
1 ) ARE YOUR SALARIES COMPETITIVE ? With the cost of living a centre topic and staff shortages rife , underpaying in comparison to your competitors will only put you at a disadvantage . Also , many companies have upped their pay in recent months so if you have not looked at your salaries this year , they may be quite different to your competitors . It could be worth getting your recruitment consultant to run a salary benchmarking review for you , so you know where you sit in the current market .
2 ) ASK FOR HONEST FEEDBACK Honest feedback can give you a real insight into how candidates , recruitment consultants , and employees feel about your recruitment process . Ask your new employees if there were any areas you could improve on . Ask your recruitment consultant their views , and if they could recommend ways to ensure a consistent strong recruitment process .
3 ) HOW LONG IS YOUR RECRUITMENT PROCESS ? Use your feedback to determine whether your recruitment process is too long or too short . If it ’ s too short , you run the risk of a wrong hire for your business , too long and you can lose the candidate to competitive offers . Likewise , onboarding and training plans are essential . It ’ s likely with an economic downturn that companies and hiring managers will have less patience with hires so now is a good time to ensure your onboarding and training is solid .
4 ) DOES YOUR RECRUITMENT PROCESS FLOW EASILY OR IS IT TOO DISJOINTED ? Having too many chains of commands or interviewers will cause a disjointed recruitment process as there are too many involved to clearly keep track and respond efficiently . Like above , a disjointed recruitment process will make your process longer where you can run the risk of losing your chosen candidates to another offer .
These are some simple steps to start looking at how effective your recruitment process and strategy are . With a tough market and a tougher economy on the horizon , it ’ s important that your recruitment consultant works as an extension of your team and aligns with your recruitment strategy . You want a seamless process , so the candidate has felt supported from the initial recruitment consultant call to being trained in and by your company .
For more info : www . cmdrecruitment . com
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