Three months in to his role of Hays’ managing director for the UK and Ireland and Tim Cook has a busy agenda. He is working to a vision of a company that uses its considerable size to its advantage but can also make quick, deft moves when needed.

That is no mean feat — particularly in difficult economic times. But Cook, who began his career at the recruitment giant as a trainee
recruitment consultant in 1987, told Recruiter that he was “thrilled to be doing what I’m doing” as he embarks on a challenging agenda for the coming year.

“Our value proposition for a year ago is very different from what it needs to be today,” said Cook. “The market is moving very fast, and we need to make sure, as a large business, we’re agile enough and innovative enough that we can maximise opportunities as and when we see them arise.

“I think my vision is to have a large business with all of the benefits that gives you, but an agile and innovative front end that allows
you to move and morph to suit the environment you find yourself in. One hat doesn’t fit all recruitment.”

Given frigid trading conditions in the construction and property market, Hays is pressing forward in other arenas, notably public sector. “We’ve moved a lot of people into our public sector operations, in the construction environment and within different sectors such as education, health and social care,” Cook said.

Cook believes the key to operating effectively in the current climate is “all about cost control and cash control. I think you’ve got to cut your coat according to yourcloth. In terms of our world, you cannot carry people where there isn’t recruitment business to be done”.

He acknowledged that the company was taking steps to “reduce headcount” in the UK, “and we’ll continue to do so to match the market demand… But the flip side of that — one of the beauties of being Hays — is that we’ve got sectors in different environments in which we can transfer our personnel. So we can maintain what we consider to be our key staff”.

Also in 2009, Hays is replacing both its front-ofhouse and back-of-house systems, a £30m change programme which is expected to last through the calendar year. Additionally, the company is also reviewing its global branding to gauge how it can better leverage Hays’ size and scale.

In addition to Cook’s 20- plus years at Hays, he is armed to execute his MD duties with new ideas gleaned from a recent month-long course at the London Business School.

“It was a fascinating insight into corporate thinking and it was based around strategic innovation. I’ve come back full of ideas — some appropriate for our market and our sector, some not,” he said.

The course ran six days a week for 10 hours a day. Just as tough a regimen as in recruitment? “Not quite that hard,” he said.