Winner: NES Global Talent

Sponsored by: 6CATS International

NES Global Talent delivers compliant workforce solutions, providing candidates across the oil & gas, power, construction & infrastructure, life sciences, manufacturing, chemicals and mining sectors worldwide. With more than 45 offices in 28 countries, the company has access to the best international talent. Despite the difficult trading conditions over the 12 months in question, the company has managed to not only increase its market share within oil & gas, but also successfully transfer this brand reputation to new sectors.

• For the past 24 months NES has been on-site in Jazan, Saudi Arabia, near the border with Yemen, supporting gas and chemical supplier Air Products. Yemen is experiencing civil unrest and military conflict, so Air Products needed a partner with in-country expertise to source quality candidates and mobilise them safely, co-ordinating the visas and travel for this troubled region.

• G2X Energy had to staff an operations and maintenance team to run its greenfield gas-to-methanol plant in Texas, US. The site is in a difficult region for recruiting talent, owing to the stable workforce and the retention strategies of the many well-established plants in the area. NES, through its local and international talent pools, was able to source and attract the required large workforce.

• The firm’s response to the sudden illness of one of its contractors for BP, based in Oman, showed the excellent candidate care. When the contractor suffered a heart attack, NES first attended the local hospital and later arranged for him to be repatriated to the UK, acting as a liaison point throughout his illness and recuperation.

• The company showed innovation by embarking on a survey of the oil & gas market in partnership with job board Oil and Gas Job Search, in January 2017.

Judges’ Comments:

“The winner showed an impressive knowledge of the international market it operates in, and has supported clients and candidates in some of the most challenging locations in the world.”

Winner: Christos Tsaprounis, Head of People and Culture, Auto Trader UK

Nominated and voted for by the Recruiter Awards judges, the Impact Award recognises a recruitment professional who makes a profound difference to their own organisation, their profession and the wider world.

This year’s winner describes himself as a “people geek and diversity & inclusion advocate”. Those who know him describe him as “extraordinary”. He believes in creating spaces for people to thrive – and that the first step in effective recruitment is to be a great employer, that you need to make your organisation worthy of being loved.

Teaching children to code, pushing his business to participate in community events such as London and Manchester’s Pride and active involvement in charity work, our Impact-ful winner exemplifies the best amongst recruitment professionals today.

Working at Auto Trader UK for four years, where he has also held the role of Head of Resourcing, he previously worked at The Co-operative Bank.

Winner: All we need is you!: Guidant Group in partnership with Shop Direct

Recruitment outsourcing provider Guidant Group has a tailored managed service partnership with digital retailer Shop Direct, fulfilling the retailer’s requirements for temporary warehouse staff across all its fulfilment centres. To support peak hiring, Guidant’s internal recruitment marketing team worked directly with its on-site team and Shop Direct to deliver a cost-effective and innovative candidate attraction campaign. Guidant’s campaign was underpinned by a well-researched, planned and executed recruitment marketing strategy. It targeted specific types of workers, and challenged perceptions that warehouse work was not really for women. Guidant successfully recruited more than 1,500 temporary warehouse operatives for the peak period. The budget for the entire campaign was just £15k, making the average cost per hire £10 (based on the 1,500 recruited during the peak period).

• Guidant met key stakeholders at Shop Direct to discuss the importance of the retailer’s reputation in the local candidate market, hiring trends and the main benefits of working at Shop Direct. These became a core focus of Guidant’s strategy and helped to form its campaign, ‘All we need is you!’.

• The company focused on four key personas – Daytime Dave, Weekend Wasim, Night Shift Nick and a new target demographic, Female Farah – and what would appeal to them in terms of pay and monetary benefits, work environment, random acts of kindness within the workplace, and a strong charity culture.

• Guidant based its campaign theme on real workers at Shop Direct, to help candidates relate – as well as be able to imagine themselves working within the team in a warehouse environment.

• Guidant’s in-house design and copywriting teams worked closely with the marketing team and Shop Direct stakeholders to come up with concepts for creative across all chosen media platforms, and accompanying engaging job advert copy.

• The Female Farah persona proved a success, as 69% of all female hires occurred during the period Guidant’s candidate attraction campaign was live. In addition, it has also further developed diversity within the workplace.

Judges’ Comments:

“This was an extremely well researched campaign – we loved the use of personas. It won, though, because of its stand-out cost-per-hire and other impressive metrics.”

Winner: Amberjack

Amberjack provides end-to-end outsourced recruitment services including consultancy, candidate attraction, online recruitment systems, candidate management, assessment and selection, onboarding and development. The company’s advanced systems and intelligent solutions are designed to deliver an improved candidate experience, which the client benefits from. As a strategic partner, Amberjack focuses on not only optimising return on investment for all its clients, but also creating tools and processes that deliver results, from intelligent attraction to recruitment process outsourcing, and bespoke assessment and selection tools. A deep emerging talent specialist, its tools and understanding enable it to differentiate an employer’s propositions and ensure it recruits the best early talent. All the support and the tools it develops are tailor-made for each organisation. The company’s technology makes volume recruitment more effective, and it is also expert in diversity and adverse impact management.

• Client Mars – which nominated Amberjack for the award – says the supplier ensured “world-class levels of candidate experience” in its recruitment partnership with the food manufacturer. The supplier provided transparency and efficiency, it cared about Mars’ processes as much as the client itself did, and it was fun to work with, says Mars.

• The company delivers effective research in the Future Talent space – The Future Talent Insights Report – and engages the professional community by running Masterclass events.

• Innovations that make volume recruitment more effective include the imPACT paperless assessment platform and the Amberchat platform. The Ambertrack applicant tracking software includes integrated net promoter scores to measure candidate experience.

• The company is regularly recognised for its commitment to diversity & inclusion, as can be seen from its work with Network Rail.

• Amberjack carries out an independent Do, Check, Review process, which guarantees that it identifies any potential inconsistencies for Amberjack and its clients before they become problems.

Judges’ Comments:

“The winner was a good all-rounder, applying technology insight, innovation and social good. We were impressed with the detail and exceptional client focus.”

Winner: Syft

Syft is an online temporary staffing platform, set up in 2015 but launched as an easy-to-use app in June 2017. It connects employers and workers, bringing transparency and efficiency to temporary staffing. The platform covers a range of businesses, and thousands of experienced workers who have been interviewed and vetted by the company’s recruitment team and ready for hire. A ratings and feedback system allows the user to see an employee’s past reviews and performance ratings after each completed shift. The company says its system saves employers up to 55% on agency fees while paying workers more, and that it tackles long-term industry problems such as a high no-show rate – while the industry average no-show rate is 12.5%, Syft achieves an average of 1.7% rate by implementing a strict recruitment process and ensuring workers are engaged and motivated. The company offers employee perks and benefits to its workers, including free phone insurance and discounted gym membership.

• The company screens every worker on the app, vets them face-to-face, and checks their skill and experience.

• The Syft app sends reminders before shifts and reminds workers to clock-in digitally with a QR code scanner.

• The company ensures workers are motivated by enabling clients to pay staff on average 22% more than the industry average hourly rate.

• Syft’s algorithm saves time by enabling clients to fill dozens of shifts in a matter of minutes. The app automatically pairs workers who fit the job requirements, so clients can make job offers in batch. Digital timesheets save clients’ time on handling paper timesheets and avoid inaccurate payroll.

• Syft’s latest innovation, Syftforce, allows clients to manage and share their internal staff across multiple sites, achieving operational efficiency as well as reducing agency spend.

Judges’ Comments:

“Syft’s strength lies in its simplicity. It represents a win-win for the client and candidate, and has the potential to scale.”

Winner: Amberjack

Amberjack provides end-to-end outsourced recruitment services including consultancy, candidate attraction, online recruitment systems, candidate management, assessment and selection, onboarding and development. The company has been proactive in promoting innovations, and in using knowledge and industry insights to improve recruitment effectiveness. Its ‘insights’ research continues to grow. Its ‘future talent group’ is the largest group of its kind on LinkedIn, with more than 10,500 members. The firm has also hosted ‘masterclasses’ – free events that share insights on research findings, gamification, candidate experience, diversity, the Apprenticeship Levy and return on investment.

• Clients including Mars, Network Rail and Unilever have all benefited significantly from Amberjack’s research and its recommendations, through the improvements the firm has made to their processes and the results achieved in partnership.

• Achievements during the year in question include: winning two Recruiter Awards; winning more than £2.2m-worth of new business; attracting new clients including BGL Group, UK Power Networks, PwC, Deloitte, EY, Spirax Sarco, RWE Innogy and nPower; publishing of market-leading insights research based on 500,000 candidates; the launch of Amberchat platform and the hosting of more than 100 chat events for clients; the launch of a paperless digital assessment platform called imPACT.

• Outstanding results against industry benchmarks include: 40% happier candidates (based on Inavero UK staffing report, 2017); 23% faster time to offer (based on Institute of Student Employers annual survey); 25% less cost per hire (based on ISE annual survey); 17% greater diversity (based on ISE annual survey); 20% fewer reneged offers (based on ISE annual survey); 17% greater diversity (based on ISE annual survey); and 61% happier clients (Inavero UK staffing report, 2017).

• An example of innovation was a project carried out for Network Rail to attract more candidates from minority groups. Amberjack’s innovative technology underpinned the entire process, providing real-time reporting for complete campaign visibility and enabling accurate pipeline forecasting. It enabled the company to apply positive action through analysis of big data at the item level.

Judges’ Comments:

“This entry stood out owing to its personalised approach to client solutions … A strong blend of technology and people-led features ensures a holistic and effective solution in every case study.”

gap personnel

Sponsored by: The Recruitment & Employment Confederation

gap personnel supplies temporary, contract and permanent staff to companies across the industrial sectors, nationwide. With a turnover approaching £140m in 2017, its business is predominantly focused on temporary labour. It places up to 9,000 temporary workers each day and covers more than 2.5 million shifts per year. Within the organisation, every individual is responsible for upholding compliance principles as part of ethical practice. The central compliance team comprises five specialists across the firm’s national network, supporting all business divisions and departments. Four of the team have been promoted internally from operational positions, so they know the business, appreciate the needs of both candidates and clients, and have faced the challenges the operational teams face day-to-day.

• The company defines compliance as meeting all requirements that govern the business: laws, rules, regulations, contract requirements, and internal policies and procedures. gap personnel conducts its business and other practices in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations of the UK and officiating bodies at all times.

• The compliance team focuses on creating an environment and company culture that not only carries out what it is required to, but also finds ways to achieve more as an ethical partner for its entire people.

• In addition to upholding operational processes that are subject to regulatory oversight, the company has longstanding industry memberships, affiliations and accreditations with among other the Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy; and the Gang masters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA).

• Each compliance manager has their own specialism, and is responsible for ensuring they are up to date with the latest regulatory requirements within their remit.

• To keep its clients up to date, the team carries out client training and professional adviser workshops, holds regular client service reviews, provides legislation-specific documentation, and invites clients to training opportunities at industry events.

Judges’ Comments:

“Our winner is a stand-out, which demonstrated an ambition to go above and beyond the legislative requirements to seek out excellence. It also showed GDPR preparedness that stood out from the crowd.”

Winner: Robert Walters

Sponsored by: QX Recruitment Services

Robert Walters is a specialist professional recruitment consultancy operating across 28 countries and employing more than 3,700 people. It experienced a record-breaking financial year, with high profit growth and an expanded marketshare. In a year-on-year comparison, the firm saw revenue grow by 23%, net fee income by 19%, operating profit by 13% and profit before taxation by 25%. During 2017, it operated an effective social media strategy, being named as one of the top three most socially engaged recruiters on LinkedIn, and increasing its follower numbers by 13% in the UK and 14% globally. It also created a dedicated innovation team to explore technology innovation, as well as being involved in several business partnerships, and in initiatives generated by its corporate social responsibility and sustainability strategy.

• In the firm’s most recent full-year financial results, it reported a 9% increase in terms of productivity, with an average of £133.7k generated by each fee-earner.

• Recent activity by the innovation team includes: an artificial intelligence sourcing project with US-based AI firm Arya; investment in data-led sourcing technologies; and use of technology to support meritocratic recruitment.

• Business partnership activities during the year included sponsorship of the British and Irish Lions rugby union tour of New Zealand, which involved creating branded content and an online contest to win a trip for two to New Zealand to watch the Lions play.

• CSR and sustainability activities during the year included: holding a global charity day which raised more than £32k in the UK alone; and becoming a corporate partner of charity Global Angels, which works with disadvantaged communities around the world.

Judges’ Comments:

“The winner demonstrated a clear advancement of UK business interests for the sector while delivering on its charitable agenda and supporting social campaigns”

Winner: Investigo

Sponsored by: CV-Library

Investigo was established in 2003, initially specialising in recruiting accountancy and finance professionals. The business now employs more than 170 people and recruits across audit, business change and transformation, compliance, business intelligence and data analytics, HR and talent management, pharmaceutical and life sciences, procurement, property, facilities management and construction, risk, SAP, strategy and technology. It reached a turnover of £100m, and its profit rose to £21.7m. It launched offices in Oxford and New York, hosted six diversity & inclusion (D&I) events, and introduced a flexible working policy. Investigo was ranked 20th in the Recruiter HOT 100, and featured in LinkedIn’s Top 25 Most Socially Engaged Recruitment Agencies in the UK.

The firm made more than 1,000 temp placements and more than 1,100 perm placements.
The company’s D&I team meets monthly to discuss how the firm can continually push forward and be at the forefront of the recruitment industry. Its LGBT network is going strong, and inductions include D&I training to ensure new starters are onboard. As a result of a gender inclusion survey, the firm chose one of its female directors to lead a network called Women at Investigo – an open forum to discuss projects, work life and career goals.

• The firm has created an information channel for clients and candidates called Investigo Network (IN), to bring insight on topics that are relevant in today’s business world through publications, events and seminars. It has hosted several INevents over the year, including Securing Your Next Executive Role and a career coaching event.

• The firm has organised many activities for charity, including: collection of donations of food, money and clothes and delivery of these to Calais during the refugee crisis; a charity quiz attended by 180 clients and candidates, and raising more than £23k via a raffle and auction; a recruitment five-a-side football tournament, which involved 16 rival recruitment teams; a London-to-Amsterdam bike ride; and several cake sales and marathons.

Highly Commended:

Green Park

Judges’ Comments:

“This company has shown year-on-year growth in revenues and profitability, and well-executed expansion plans. It has demonstrated accomplishments in all parts and facets of the business.”

Winner: Trust in Soda

Sponsored by: Flexr

Trust in Soda is a digital recruitment agency with international reach. Its consultants work with technology organisations, brands and agencies, offering candidates and clients a range of opportunities and roles on both a contract/interim and permanent basis. The company has seen rapid growth, achieved without compromising its commitment to diversity & inclusion, corporate social responsibility and partnerships with charitable institutions. In 2017, it contributed £32k in donations to charities. The firm is committed to giving back to the digital community. It frequently interviews experts across a variety of new and trending topics, and shares this information with the digital community, via free podcasts, events, videos and specialist blogs.

• The firm’s staff retention rate is 83%. Initiatives include: an enterprise management incentive scheme that gives every consultant the opportunity to gain shares in the company; flexible working to ensure a good work/life balance; a free weekly personal training session at lunchtime; and fruit deliveries to promote health and wellbeing.

• Trust in Soda was one of LinkedIn’s Top 25 Most Socially Engaged Staffing Agencies in Europe, recognising that the firm invests in its professional brand, engages with its followers and industry network, and creates thought-provoking, locally relevant content.

• As regards diversity & inclusion, more than 60% of the firm’s consultants are women.

• The firm has also invested in a tailor-made training academy to ensure both long-term and short-term development programmes are at the forefront of best practice, covering smart sourcing methods and staff competencies.

• The firm’s offline event activity includes sponsorship of the Agile.Delivery conference, which brings together the software community, leading market professionals and influential speakers. It organises a meet-up for ‘Women in DevOps’, to combat diversity problems and celebrate the achievements of women who have overcome these barriers in the technology community. It also runs the Soda Social Meet-up series of events, with guest speakers such as Jonah Jones from Facebook, Brian Flanagan from Expedia and Jose Alves from Sky.

Judges’ Comments:

“The level of investment – in thought, research, care, time and finance – was impressive, and the blend of value-add services, events and innovation was outstanding.”