Getting the processes right in any business is absolutely essential and is often a differentiator in a competitive market. However, a word of caution: ignore the people element at your peril. Julian May and Colin Cottell looked at the approach taken by several of the big recruiters


The recruitment industry has always faced a dichotomy of balancing its relationships with people and the processes which drive business. In a mature market, managers of recruitment firms need to be innovative to differentiate themselves from the competition.

But success doesn't have to be complicated.

Dutch staffing giant Randstad advocates a methodical approach, defining its business into five different 'product tool boxes': mass customised; in-house services; international professional; search and selection; and HR.

 managing director of Randstad UK, told Recruiter's Annual Forum recently that the process model was extremely successful when introduced to new markets.

"The advantage is that we can take it into new markets and, with a little adjustment, it works," he said.

"We have been very consistent in the way we work. We are pretty corporate in the way we operate. We can roll it [our business model] out anywhere."

Van der Tang (left) admitted that the only weakness with the model was that it "may stifle entrepreneurialism... although there is a line between strength of brand and corporate profitability".

But for Randstad the emphasis, says van der Tang, is very much focused on quality: employing the best people, excellent execution of service, developing relationships with clients, candidates and staff, and building superior brands.

And it has been very successful at developing different phases of growing the business, for example, 90% of the business is employing temps; organic growth in China and Poland; and specialist business in Italy, France, Canada, UK and the US.

Randstad also advocates the 'lily pad growth principle', ie growing the business gradually, leaf by leaf, each looking the same.

Each unit starts up as a unit with two people. The unit is then developed until it becomes a mature unit and only expands when certain levels of profitability/revenue are reached.

"It's a very methodical method," said van der Tang. "One advantage is that it is flexible and can go into reverse very easily. But it's quite successful."

Meanwhile, Tim Smeaton (right), chief operating officer at finance recruiter Hydrogen, said there is a danger of over-processing.

"The bigger you are, the simpler it has to become," he told an audience of recruiters at the Forum.

"If you can't understand something in three seconds and do it in one second, then it is too complicated. It doesn't matter how entrepreneurial you are, or what framework you use; if you don't know where you are going, there is no chance of you getting anywhere."

Smeaton added that the definition of framework was about demonstrating that "you have the legs to get where you want to go".

"It's a tool that enables you to carry on being entrepreneurial and demonstrates how you can take your business to the next level," he said.

Smeaton said that the biggest paradox is how to build and simplify processes in the business that makes it less people dependent but at the same time fit for entrepreneurs.

"I believe that entrepreneurs are people who are focused on the future. They want to know what the future holds for themselves," he added.

Peter Searle(left), chief executive of international IT recruiter Spring Group, has revolutionised the firm's payroll system, speeding up the payment of staff salaries and more importantly increasing the all important cash flow.

Searle's £3m investment in electronic billing and time sheets has increased the money in the company's bank account by £1.5m a day making him £45m richer and reducing Spring's debtor days from 60 to 38.

However, Seb O' Connell (right), Spring Group's group sales director, told Recruiter that he could never see a time when technology replaced people.

"People are our business. The benefits of being a large organisation is the ability to invest in processes and technology. Spring has invested in an online database, process flows and a contractor portal to support contractors on site. We also invested heavily training our staff to understand processes in the same way."

But he said the internal and external processes are "just a facilitator" to support the key part of staff's job of recruiting.

"Everything we do is to make sure that people are prepared to do their job," added O' Connell.

"Can you put too much emphasis on process? As long as you are not replacing your people with process, it is not a danger.

"People are such an important asset in your investment."