Business studies graduate Chris Reidy would be the first to admit that he
fell almost by chance into the recruitment game. ‘When I graduated, most of the
jobs paying decent money were in recruitment.’ Reidy, now 28, signed up with a
small IT recruitment agency in Holborn in 2002 and two months later had moved to
a large City rival, Huxley Associates, where he quickly built up a reputation as
a star performer.
‘I was their highest billing consultant for permanent candidates and I was
promoted twice to senior consultant.’ All this amid a very tight market. ‘The
market was dead,’ Reidy says. ‘But it taught me the value of good client
relationships and when the market turned around I got the payback.’
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In December 2005, Reidy made the decision to set up on his own, but took a
year out to travel before the career leap. ‘I made good friends with the back
office staff at Huxley and learned all about the financial stuff that went on in
the background of the business.
In February 2007, after a year travelling, Reidy set up Onside Appointments
Ltd.
A £30,000 cash injection from two private investors, one of whom had a 15-year
track record in the recruitment industry, allowed Reidy to build the right
infrastructure to underpin his business. ‘I wanted it to be as dynamic as a top
City recruitment firm. I invested in City lawyers and accountants and we have
nice offices off Caledonian Road, and cutting edge IT systems and recruitment
software.’ Around £12,000 of that money was spent on deals with major job sites
to advertise and search their CV databases.
The business started trading in June, with a clearly defined remit
permanent IT recruitment with a focus on IT support and infrastructure,
targeting London and the South East. ‘I wanted to stick to the area I had
experience in it doesn’t pay to spread yourself too thinly,’ he says.
Reidy wants to differentiate himself from the competition by making his
agency as ethical as possible. ‘I want to build a reputation for working hard
for clients and job seekers.’ He has invested in membership of industry
association, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, which he believes
helps to give clients confidence in the service they will receive.
Onside Appointments has been trading for six months and the figures are well
ahead of Reidy’s initial forecasts. He’s expecting a first-year profit of more
than £100,000 on turnover of around £140,000. ‘We’re getting a good reputation
and the spread of clients is good.’
But Reidy is conscious of the cyclical nature of the recruitment market. He’s
keen to expand and take on recruitment consultants at the start of his next
financial year in March, but wonders how he will know when his business is
commercially viable enough to take on staff. ‘Is there a rule of thumb,’ he
asks.
As and when he decides to take on staff, he also questions what their focus
should be? Would he be better off taking on experienced consultants with the
same background, or should they focus on a new area of business, albeit IT
related? Or is there an argument for expanding into a different but lucrative
recruitment field such as HR or sales? The other option is to recruit someone
with no experience and train them.
Increasing Onside’s client base is another area Reidy’s keen for advice on.
‘A lot of business has been generated through old contacts, and the business is
expanding through word of mouth.’ But what other ways are there to raise the
profile of the business without joining the ranks of recruiters that spend their
whole time cold calling. ‘I want to increase branding awareness, and one way to
do that is to invest more in advertising. But then should I take on staff to
pre-empt an influx of new work or wait until the work comes in, which could
affect my reputation if I can’t then fulfil.’
The main challenges:
• Are they any rules of thumb for expansion?
• Is there scope to expand into HR or sales?
• How can the company's profile be raised without cold calling?
• Is it better to invest in staff or brand awareness?
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