According to CBI Scotland, employers are expecting to see an increase in the numbers employed in the three months to July.

While job losses in the hundreds have been announced at Barclaycard, Jarvis and Dounreay Site Restoration, this has been more than matched by new jobs at the Scottish Premier League and Whitbread. At the same time Scotland could be hit hard by imminent cuts in public sector spending.

This was the uncertain background to Recruiter’s Regional Forum held in Glasgow’s Blythswood Square Hotel earlier this month, attended by seven mainly small Scottish recruiters covering sectors ranging from search and selection to construction. The discussion was chaired by Recruiter editor DeeDee Doke.

Changing market
David Mains, director of search and selection firm Enigma People Solutions, suggested the survey sentiment wasn’t necessarily showing up in more business. “I am not sure we are seeing an uplift,” he said. It was more about building relationships with clients rather than recruitment at the moment, he added.

Emma Watts, director of construction recruiter Contract Scotland, said the market had changed fundamentally from pre-recessionary times. “People took it for granted they would have a job,” she said. And in contrast to two years’ ago when workers wouldn’t travel between Glasgow and Edinburgh for work because it was available locally, today “they would go to London”.

Bill Guthrie, managing director at professional recruiter Guthrie Jackson Recruitment, said that as client demand increased it was more important than ever to get as close to clients as possible. “They want 10 out of 10 boxes ticked, so the closer you are to them, the more they will listen.”

Chris Johnston, managing director of life & pensions, insurance and investment management recruiter JohnstonGreer, highlighted the importance of strong relationships with clients. “Revenue is the result of successful relationships with clients,” he said.

However, the agency/client relationship was fraught with difficulties, said former recruiter and consultant to the industry Alan Crockert. “We are an awful industry for assuming what the client thinks the added value we provide is, rather than sitting down with them and asking them,” he explained.

We are an awful industry for assuming what the client thinks the added value we provide is, rather than sitting down with them and asking them,” he explained.

Making assumptions
Recruiters around the table agreed that it was dangerous to make assumptions about what clients wanted from recruiters because this varied enormously.
While some only “wanted CVs, and agencies to stay out of it”, others wanted a more comprehensive service. Shan Saba, director of multi-sector recruiter niche Brightwork Specialist Recruitment, said that many clients didn’t need additional services such as behavioural profiling.

It was vital for recruiters to ask clients what they want, suggested Mains, though according to Watts, this was a question to which clients themselves often didn’t know the answer. There was a similar disconnect between clients’ and recruiters’ expectations about who should deliver the service, suggested Guthrie: “Where it falls down in recruitment is that the clients want the person responsible for establishing the relationship to actually be responsible for delivery.” They don’t like the person responsible for business development delegating service delivery to others, he added.

Building relationships
Watts emphasised the importance of spelling out that while you are the face of the team, other team members will be continuing the relationship.
Contract Scotland had moved from a commission-based remuneration system for its consultants just to encourage those long-term relationships. “We have moved away from the fast-paced and ’I am in it for the money’ attitude,” she said.

However, Mains said the biggest challenge was finding good quality consultants, with only one in 10 fitting the bill.

Watts agreed that consultants with a good understanding of a client’s business was key. “Phoning a client and just saying we offer our services at x% is just vulgar,” she said.

While there are tentative signs that the Scottish market may be over the worst, in these still tough times getting close to clients is more important than ever.
For recruiters faced with such a scenario, having high quality consultants on board should not be underestimated.

Key facts
Those who attended the regional forum were:

• Alan Crockert, former recruiter and consultant to the industry
• Richard Greenwood, managing director of online flat fee recruiter Tick Recruitment
• Bill Guthrie, managing director of professional recruiter Guthrie Jackson Recruitment
• Chris Johnston, managing director of life & pensions, insurance and investment management recruiter JohnstonGreer
• David Mains, director of search and selection firm Enigma People Solutions
• Shan Saba, director of niche multi-sector niche recruiter Brightwork Specialist Recruitment
• Emma Watts, director of construction recruiter Contract Scotland