Sam Spoors, founder and managing director of North East talent acquisition consultancy Talentheads, explains why the recruitment sector has the approach to hiring so wrong - and why Talentheads' unique take is working wonders for firms across the region.
When Talentheads was launched, the aim was to do something completely at odds with the rest of the recruitment industry.
You see, the trend across recruitment is to fill roles at any cost. If that’s done, then the perception is you’ve done your job.
I believe that’s nonsense.
So with Talentheads, we’re on a mission to demonstrate that recruitment is much more than simply putting bums on seats.
Instead, our aim is to break the mould. It is a big ambition, but we want to change the way recruitment is done forever.
It is an alternative approach, granted, but the change is needed, our clients love it and we’ve enjoyed solid year-on-year growth.
It has also inspired our new campaign, which we’ve dubbed ‘More than a Number’.
The idea is to show that many recruiters see their job as nothing more than a numbers game.
That’s not the case at Talentheads. The team at our Morpeth office value the individual and put far more emphasis on the things that you may not read about on a CV. Our core focus is finding individuals who will be the right fit for the company, by matching values and culture fit.
We also dive right back to the basics of recruitment, and why we all came into the industry in the first place. This isn’t about putting a faceless person in a role: we’re finding a place in the professional world for someone’s parent, child, friend, neighbour.
We’re helping them put food on the table for their family. We’re building their confidence. We’re boosting their skillset and finding a role that will allow them to expand on that.
We also encourage businesses to be empowered by their opportunity to employ. Together, we’re building communities and playing our part to ensure a thriving and contributing society.
And at the end of the day, that’s the true ‘why’ of recruitment – supporting the people, as well as the profession.
Yes, this approach may mean more work initially, but ultimately, our clients have found that it not only saves them money in the long run but also time and energy, as we find individuals who want to stay with the company longterm and develop into a real asset for the business.
We recently launched the ‘More than a Number’ campaign in Newcastle City Centre, with our staff and clients wearing t-shirts emblazoned with messages like ‘I am not a CV’ and ‘I have meaning’. For those workers passing, the messaging hit home.
And they are all messages that form an integral part of our own philosophy at Talentheads.
What we don’t believe in is hiring someone who, deep down, we fear may not be a good fit the company – even if that means we’ve filled a post.
We believe we have a duty of care to both the employer and the employee to provide both parties with the right fit – and we hope that others in the industry will go back to their roots and do the same.
Follow us on LinkedIn to see regular updates on the campaign and get in touch to become part of the movement: Talentheads.co.uk