One of the North East's most experienced recruitment experts talks about his experience in the business and gives an insight into how to find the right person to work for you.
This year will see Howie White recruitment agency celebrate its twentieth birthday.
At the helm will be Fred Howie, steering his company into their third decade. Assuming things continue at their current rate, this year will see Howie White complete their 1000th assignment. Quite an achievement for a small company that prides itself on doing things properly.
Howie White are not a ‘Pile ’em high, sell ’em cheap’ sort of company. They don’t have hundreds of clients. They believe in building relationships with their clients
getting to know how they operate
what sort of people they are and, crucially, what sort of potential employee will not only do the right job, but that they will also fit in. It’s not about speed; it’s about quality.
As the Howie White website headlines
.’No more square pegs in round holes.’
But a career in recruitment which has now spanned over thirty years, wasn’t what Fred planned. He’s worked in industry and done other jobs, all of which means he can view the recruitment process from the other side of the fence, because he’s been there.
And that’s why Fred’s presentation at the Teesside Business Lunch Club on May 1st at Hardwick Hall, should be fascinating.
Fred is originally from Glasgow. He went to Glasgow University to study economics.
“I was the first member of my family to go to university and it was expected that I’d go into one of the professions,” said Fred. “That was in 1986 and times were difficult in Scotland due to the recession. I ended up having to move to Birmingham where I joined Tube Investment as an accountant. I’d seen the job advertised in my local newspaper in Glasgow so I sent off my application and, after a few weeks, got the job.”
Which of course, back in 1986, was the way it happened. Tim Berners Lee was still scribbling the idea of the World Wide Web onto some scrap paper. There were no web sites to trawl through and mobile phones were still a rarity. It was all done by letter, a landline phone call and face-to-face interviews.
“It wasn’t too long before I realised that spending my life as an accountant was not the career path I fancied so I went back to the firm where I’d found my job at Tube Investments.”
They were a small firm called Michael Page who, at the time, specialised in sourcing accountants. Fred called into their office and, during the conversation, was asked whether he’d considered a career in recruitment. He hadn’t but decided that it sounded interesting. Consequently, Fred joined Michael Page.
“When I started at Michael Page it was all very different to the enormous company was see nowadays,” added Fred. “It gave me terrific grounding in the recruitment business but I knew that doing something on a mass scale wasn’t what a lot of clients wanted. Many of them wanted a personal touch where the person doing the recruiting knew exactly what sort of candidate would be suitable.
And that has been the principle behind my company. I’d like to think that Howie White does the leg work and that when we finally recommend 3-4 candidates to a company, all of them would actually be suitable. It’s then down to what sort of chemistry the client has with the candidates in a face-to-face interview.”
It’s also interesting to hear Fred talk about the way recruitment has changed, and he’s not convinced that doing it in a 21st Century fashion is always the best route to the best employee.
“The danger is that we turn recruitment into a technical process
..it isn’t. Technology is a wonderful thing, but at the end of the day, recruitment is still about people. We’ve all seen CVs and thought wow; that is the right person for this vacancy, let’s get them in for an interview. And within a nanosecond of them sitting down in front of you, your first thought is
.nope, they’re not for us. I’d like to think that never happens when we put a candidate forward for interview.”
In other words, Fred’s presentation on May 1st should be compulsive listening. However, perhaps the key element will be at the end when Fred will be more than happy to take questions. You may already have a scenario where you need some advice or perhaps you do have a vacancy and just need a few pointers as to what should be your next move. Put it this way; Fred’s been there
done it. The fact that Howie White is moving into its third decade isn’t totally down to luck
.although Fred will probably admit that it does help along the way.
Go and talk recruitment with Fred. If you’d like to do some homework and find out more about Fred and his company give them a call of send him an email . which is something else they didn’t have when he first started in recruitment. 01642 535 000 or info@howiewhite.co.uk
