Recruitment Unplugged: Inside Responsive Personnel

# Responsive Personnel Episode 3 PODCAST - Understanding is key

00:00 Speaker: Welcome back to Recruitment Unplugged, Inside Responsive Personnel, episode three this time. My name is Chris Dawes and I'm going to be picking the brains of our two, it's not right to say guests, they're co-hosts because it's your podcast really. about understanding. Understanding is key is the title today. Delighted to introduce, making her debut, it's Kimberly Bird. Hi, Kimberly. Hello, how are you? I'm good, thanks. Are you still nervous? Yes, I am a little bit. Good, that's right. So was he the first time, and Lucky's fine, so he's fine. I know, you're like chilled. Yeah, third time Lucky. Obviously, Dominic, welcome back. Thanks, always good to be back. It was your idea that we brought...
00:42 Speaker: I don't know if I've just thrown you under the bus. Probably, yeah. Fresh faces, meet the team. And what is your role there, Kimberly? Yeah, so as recruitment consultant, I deal more besides the hospitality side of things. Okay. Yes. What's your background then? So I actually worked for the company. I thought so. Yeah, so I've come back. I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. Yeah, I worked for the company, I think it was three years ago.
01:09 Speaker: And I worked for the company for four years, for four years. Oh, wow. Yes. So come back to try it. Three years ago. So it's probably evolved a fair bit as well. Yes. Yeah. Things have changed, but some of the main things are still there. No, that's true. Yeah. And what was your role back then? So I started as a part-time admin.
01:30 Speaker: And then I worked up to do accounts and I did a bit of recruitment as well. Okay. Yeah. So it changed within the four years. Nice. Well, welcome back then. Thank you very much. I like it. That's really, really cool. So your focus is on the hospitality side. Yeah. So that includes? So hotels, events, restaurants, bars.
01:50 Speaker: Does that mean you've got to go to them as well? Well, yes, there are some very nice places around here. I like it, finish out. But it's the same as we've been chatting about that whole that you might suddenly have like an urgent requirement that needs to be filled and I'd imagine in hospitality that's rife, isn't it? Yes, yeah. So it just depends what people want but they're also more specific as well if they're looking for chefs and things like that.
02:15 Speaker: Oh, that's a good point. I've seen your adverts for chefs and things like that. That's a good point because that's not, that's quite a specialist. Yeah, and it depends on the place as well because obviously everywhere is different and what level they want someone to be at. Oh, fair shout. I'll come back to all of that in a minute. In terms of a personal side, what do you like to do outside of work? I've got two children, so life does revolve around them. They're 13 and 11 now. So yeah, so busy with that and then just chilling out really.
02:44 Speaker: Oh, fair do's. Because as we said, we did that with you three on the first episode, didn't we? Yeah, we do outside of work, if we have a life. If you have a life, yeah. Oh, we found the deal. Yeah. Who knew? Who knew? Do you go along to the Wildcats as well? No, I've been once when the children were younger, but no, we were sat down in the front. Oh, OK. Yeah.
03:04 Speaker: You'll love it. You'll love it if you get to come along. Maybe sometime in the future. Next season, get the bug. Yeah, no, exactly right. It is. It is. Obviously, we're both fellow sponsors of the Swindon Wildcats. Yep. And we're loving the atmosphere. Off the Coventry this weekend. Yep. Just quickly time stamps this episode now. Get that in, yeah. Okay, now I'll open it to both of you. Mm-hmm.
03:28 Speaker: Understanding is key. Now, Don, we did actually touch on this previously, didn't we, to some extent, is that it's a very sort of multi-directional understanding is key, isn't it? Because you need to understand not just what the client wants, but the client in terms of personalities almost, I guess. The candidates, exactly the same thing, and the role to be able to match it all together. That's quite a lot of things to understand.
03:58 Speaker: Yeah, absolutely. And the client side is probably where it all starts, finding the right person for them and understanding what they want. From that, we then go to market for candidates if we haven't already got them in our bank of people. And then it's finding the right person for the right role. So candidate journey. Kimberley knows all about from last time and being a consultant and back again so the candidate side of things is is Kimberley's bag probably more so than mine um along with the clients now that we're doing as well together um but yeah it's all about going to someone really understanding what they want because with our work as we've said before that the warehouse side is is the unskilled labor if you like is what it's known as um but there's still a skill to find the right person with the right personality yes
04:47 Speaker: in that warehouse because not everyone gets on with everyone. We'd be lying if we said they did. So it's finding out what fits that client's need, what team they're going to be working with, how big the team is, what age range the team is, and who's going to fit in with that mix. Which is what I really like about you guys at Responsive Personnel is that you kind of take the...
05:09 Speaker: the cliche i mean like you said that that unskilled labor that's the title that has been given it externally but it's like well no there's a whole lot more to that in terms of the people in terms of the role i mean we touched on things like um knowing you know how things are strapped down with we were talking about drivers and stuff like that you know can do they know how to strap loads down properly it's not just are they any good at driving this size vehicle it's absolutely there's a lot more to it yeah vehicle checks making sure the vehicle is safe to go onto the road so every driver before they goes out go out will carry out a vehicle check on the van you know being big enough to say actually it's not ready i've
05:52 Speaker: I was in a warehouse at 6am one morning and the tyre had gone flat on one of the vans. So obviously not ideal, but because they checked it, no one just hopped in it and tried driving it. It was spotted, it was early. It was amazing to see how many people it took to change the tyre, I will be honest. But yeah, it was quite entertaining at times. They didn't need to be on their CV, so that's fine. Yeah, that was fine. They can drive, they've got a licence, they can go. But yes, they're back on the road again and nothing was affected, which is quite nice to know. Every morning that's checked. They go out, new spare tyres were ordered down that day.
06:29 Speaker: and ready to go again should the same thing happen so it's more important than yes i can drive and yes i've got a driving license there's a lot more even the way you unload and load the van to make it most economical and time efficient for your day yeah there's a lot more to it than people realize absolutely and i mean you've got to know when it's right for the the candidate i mean
06:52 Speaker: We were touching on chefs, for example. Well, as we know, it's not just a chef. No, it depends who you're speaking to. Yes, and that, yeah. And it also depends on the location, obviously what the client wants. The tension in the kitchen. Yes. I've seen the stories about things like that. So you've got to understand all of that stuff. Yeah, so it's definitely, like Dom said, it's listening to the client and what they specifically want, and then you're hunting down and finding the right candidate for the role.
07:19 Speaker: And I would assume that that evolves over time as well, because without even making it obvious that you're learning, you're just aware if candidates are in there, you'll get to know what the venue, the people... Yeah, and like I said, you should be surprised, every place is absolutely different. You can talk to one hotel that's next to each other, but they both want totally different things, or even in the same hotel and different, the bar or the restaurant.
07:47 Speaker: And I can imagine it changes when certain members of staff or management... Yes, maybe, yeah. ..and that can change the dynamic very much. I mean, I did... When I was young... Yeah. I get upset when I realise how long... I wanted to be a hotel manager. Oh, did you? No idea why. I don't know where it came from, but that was what I wanted to do. And I went and did two or three work experience or placement things. Yeah.
08:17 Speaker: Helen decided I didn't. No? Wasn't for you? No. I think it was, I went to work way too hard, was point one. Point two was that I was leaving, all right, I probably did it the wrong time of year, I was leaving in the dark and getting home in the dark. Yeah. And I got to, it was really decent, I got to try all of the jobs in the hotels. And there was times, certain roles, where I didn't even see daylight during the day. Really? No, because you're just absolutely flat out.
08:42 Speaker: And I just kind of went, no, no, I don't think I'm fancy. No. On the flip side, there's people that love it. Exactly right. They love the long days, get the money in. And some chefs are like four on, four off. So they prefer that way of life. That's true. And the creativity. You know, we talk about chefs. There's definitely a creativity to it. But there is, it's a very, people have a very strong mentality of that serving people. Yeah, definitely. Whereas I'd get frustrated with too many of them, I think.
09:11 Speaker: Can't deal with the heat in the kitchen. Yes, exactly right. And the stress where everything is like here and now, but they just love the achievements of all of that. And the events, that is going to always be different, surely. I mean, I guess a company that is providing the services for an event, they will kind of go in with a ready retina.
09:33 Speaker: These things are fluid. Yes, yeah. So it just depends, again, on location, obviously what they're looking for, whether it's basic events or they want something a bit more high standard. I love that. The summer's coming up. Yeah, our event season's starting. The marquees have been dusted down. Absolutely. Washed and cleaned and made to look white again. So, yeah, it's coming up to the busy season for us, for the event staff. There's lots going on, lots of weekend work and people love it. People even have got a full-time role Monday to Friday.
10:05 Speaker: They'll be saying, look, I can go and work on a bar at an event, because if it's a music festival, they quite enjoy the music. They earn some money. And it's free into the event as well. It is. My sister.
10:16 Speaker: Went and did Glastonbury. Yeah. Oh, did she? Yeah. I know a few people that did them as well. She loved it. I mean, it sounded way too exhausting for me and rough in it. Yeah. There was no nice beds or anything. Sleeping in the bar. Well, I think that they had tents in an area that was fenced off. Yeah, just full. Yeah. Yeah. Would that make sense? Yeah. Yeah. But she said, A, that they just had fun serving everyone and you just embrace it and be as mad as the people. Well, everyone's in a good mood. Yes, exactly. It's the best thing. And then they got to disappear off.
10:46 Speaker: Enjoy some of it. Yeah. So I get that. And sporting events. I mean, you like the British Grand Prix with the F1. You know, you get to go and work at events there. People are sort of enjoying the atmosphere. Yeah, exactly. People are in a good mood. They're there because they want to be there. So you're serving people that are happy being there. And I guess you've hit on something there is that this isn't, you guys aren't just about people that are looking for their...
11:15 Speaker: I'm going to call it permanent job. I don't necessarily mean it. Forever job. Career. Yeah. It's not just that. They could have a job. Yeah. Slash career, slash whatever. But then kind of go, I want to do some events. Yeah. So it gives you opportunity to do both. Especially on that extra money to come in as well. Yeah, absolutely. Do you ever do it out of interest then where you've maybe got some people that you put in events, but also you've got them in...
11:41 Speaker: Should I call them normal job? Oh, they're full-time job. Yes, we've got people. Positioning, placing both. Yes, we've got people that work full-time. And then obviously if those extra hours do come the weekend, we do offer out to them as well because they want to take the extra money home. But then that's different roles to what you've put them here to over here. So it might be events here, but it might be something else. Again, I think it circles back to the understanding, the candidate. So even this week or last week, just gone, we've had the same lad.
12:07 Speaker: worked three different roles for us. Wow. One of them was an all-day on a Saturday in a kiosk, an event. One of them was in a warehouse out in Highworth, just working a day shift. So there really is the opportunity for everyone to say, like, some people don't know what they want to do. So they can try a bit of this, a bit of that. If they're the right fit and the right person, they can adapt to a role. And then they might say, actually, I really enjoyed that one, but I'm not so keen on that one.
12:33 Speaker: Variety's the spice of life. There you go. Got to try a bit. Absolutely. But yeah, they love it. Some of them really, they really take it on and they say, that's what I want to do. Can I have a go at that? I can try that. People will just say, call me when a work comes up. I'll do it. So if it's six in the morning, they're straight in. If someone's sick or something, we know we can call on them. We understand, yeah, they can do the job. They're willing to work. They've got the right attitude and they'll go in. Well, I think I was also having a conversation with...
13:02 Speaker: with someone else, what sounds like a complete tangent, so bear with me. I do this. Where buying a first house is so hard. Big deposits needed, all of that sort of stuff. And so when you set your heart, that's what you're going to do. You go and roll your sleeves up and go, I need to find multiple places. And that's where the beauty could be with you guys, because you're in these different areas.
13:31 Speaker: not just that they can get more work, but they could actually open up the scope. Yeah. I like that. That makes sense. But again, it is vital that you know those candidates. What's their work ethic like? What's their personalities like? You know, are they going to rub other people up the wrong way or be wound up by people in the candidates that you're putting in? And you kind of got, because happy life and all of that. Absolutely. The event side especially is...
13:55 Speaker: There's no sort of fixed break, because if there's a big queue and it's busy, you're working. When it gets quiet, yes, you'll take a break, but we can't guarantee when that'll be. The pace of it, if there's a queue... Just because Stormzy's on stage doesn't mean you get a break. Exactly that, exactly. Run off and see him. But yeah, if there's a long queue, you've got to pick up the pace and roll your sleeves up, like you said, and get crack into it. So if someone is quite slow and methodical and everything they do, they'll see it as chaos. So again, it's that understanding of what the candidate's going to...
14:24 Speaker: do in that situation and that's a really interesting one that because someone being methodical and good is there's a time you just got to throw that out and just rattle through it And you kind of go, that doesn't make them bad at the job, it just means they're not suited to that... That particular role, yeah. Yeah, or that role in that environment, maybe, even. They just probably need a slower-paced bar at an event. Because they're good with the punters, they're good socialising with them and keeping everybody connected. But not bang, bang, bang, bang. Slower-paced, people will probably still have one serving champagne.
14:58 Speaker: because they can have a chat talk about it whereas on a on a beer bar i'm sure you've been waiting for your pints obviously you don't drink yeah non-alcoholic or water you just you know you're there to get a drink and off you go you don't want to have a chat or talk about it so you know you've got the the beer tents and then the champagne bars different environment yeah and and the workers need to be different i like that that makes absolute sense um
15:24 Speaker: There is a phrase I've got written down here, being the local expert in your field. And that's, I guess, where you've got the specialising in the different areas because you do need a responsive personnel, not only, say, are the local experts in the particular field, but are constantly watching, constantly listening, constantly evolving to make sure that you sit there as the experts in the fields.
15:50 Speaker: I think it means a lot to clients. Most of what we've talked about in the previous episodes comes down to trust. I think a lot of it, like we've said, people will go to people, people they trust and they know. We won't always tell them what they want to hear, as difficult as that can be, but they'll trust it and they'll know it's coming from a good place. Clients will come to us and say, minimum wage has just changed. What's everyone else paying for a forklift driver? Are we going to get?
16:17 Speaker: not worse staff but how are we going to attract better staff do we need to pay a bit more what are they paying what are other clients on your books paying it all comes full circle to say well what's happening out there in the market because they're in their bubble and every warehouse is in their own bubble and we sort of join them all together. And we're in them, see what's happening and talking to the people running them and running the rates. Because there's regional differences, isn't there? Huge, absolutely. And different rates for day shift, night shift, workers pre-parity, post-parity, which is before 12 weeks or after 12 weeks that we touched on last time. So there's really a lot going on just to say we're going to pay them this amount. It's not just minimum wages, 12, 21, so that's what we're going to pay.
17:02 Speaker: we talk a lot about consulting with them and you know we'll have that conversation if you pay this people may go elsewhere because they're paying 13 pound yeah yeah you know if you want to do that that's your business it's fine but we're advising you from what we've seen do they always listen Eventually. They might have to start with and then they'll probably get... That was a bit of a grenade question. We can send candidates based on what they want, but if they then come back to us and the feedback is they're not what we want, something has to change. So even if you took a permanent role, so an account manager role in a business, they might say, well, the salary is £26,000. We'll take them on permanent. They'll get all the benefits straight away. Job done.
17:46 Speaker: We'll go back to them probably after speaking to the market and saying, well, actually, account manager looking for 30,000. So you're not going to attract one for 26 unless you do your training plan and take a trainee. And then it's up to them. We put the ball back in their court to say, do you want to spend a bit more or do you want to put a training plan in for a trainee and take someone less qualified? So if they then say, actually, show us what we can have for 30 and show us what we can have for 26, we'll send them both.
18:12 Speaker: they interview them and make a decision. And that's where knowing the candidates and what they want, you know, you can have those conversations. And I can almost envisage as well is that you're actually, it's not just about knowing the candidates, oh, that is the way they work, that is their personalities, is that by equally looking at others, there could be things that you could end up going, we have seen this over here as well.
18:37 Speaker: that might be stepping them out, and you can kind of pass that knowledge on as well. Might not even be for here and now, but there is knowledge and expertise that you're always... There's always conversations, and from candidates we can learn a lot as well. So candidates will work through other recruitment agencies, but they will...
18:54 Speaker: tell us about I worked here and I didn't like it because of X, Y, and Z. Okay, so you've left and you want to work somewhere else. You didn't like it because of that. What makes you think you're going to like this new role? Because we don't want to do the same thing to them and they're moving on again in three weeks because they go, I don't like it. Maybe the role just isn't for them, but no one's actually said, maybe try something different. They're just going to try every single warehouse until they think they fit in. But if they don't fit into the work...
19:20 Speaker: there's other opportunities out there and i guess you're constantly building up your own trends you're looking at seeing the trends because you're hearing it come in more often you go okay this is interesting this is a new trend that you can advise when did you start back here uh yeah middle march okay yes yeah that part is still a bit early i guess for you you're still sort of evolving that side but you're gonna be hearing more and more and even understanding a client
19:50 Speaker: I can speak from experience now about understanding what they're really looking for. I've got situations where I've got a couple of roles that I want to fill within my company. And I have had people talk to me about, what's the trainee roles?
20:12 Speaker: apprenticeship apprenticeship yeah i had a complete mental block yeah i'm here i'm here yeah thank you uh apprentices apprenticeships um and even placements for for people that are in you know college and things like that work programs yeah yeah and and i really am keen to go that route but because my organization is young enough at the moment that it's like
20:36 Speaker: That would end up needing me doing an awful lot at the moment, whereas I need some people with experience to slot in there. And I will then add to those departments with apprentices. And so you've got to know where the makeup of their business is, haven't you? Presumably. Absolutely. Some people, the bigger companies know they've got a better idea because they see the trends themselves. They've been around longer and they've got the personnel in place to.
21:02 Speaker: to probably look at their trends. It's the smaller companies that we help probably more so on a consultancy basis. So we've got a warehouse that one of our colleagues is at every morning nearly at 6am, making sure everything is running smoothly just because the warehouse needs that from us. Someone's sick, someone's not turned up, someone's overslept, someone's alarm hasn't gone off. There's all those things that can happen, but...
21:27 Speaker: We know that. So we're already ahead of that. And we've got two or three people that have probably got out of bed at half five on the proviso that we're going to call them. And nine times out of 10, we need them somewhere. They might not be there. It may be someone else has called and said, someone's sick over here. And we think, right, OK, they were lined up for here, but out of the three, yeah, that one could go over to that client and do a day's work there. And then normally we'd drive around, pick them up, deliver them, get them in as soon as possible. Because if someone's sick,
21:56 Speaker: And a van needs to go on the road, so the longer it takes for them to get the bus or faff around or get a lift or get a taxi, that van's still sat in a depot waiting to go. So all it's doing is extending that run time to come back. You're like an extended... part of the team aren't you to whoever all of the clients we always say or i always say to clients yeah we don't want to be your recruitment agency we want to be an extension of the business yeah um and that's the bit that we really want to feel you know they can ring us they can text us whatsapp voice notice whatever they need to get hold of us we're there and they can just think oh don't worry
22:30 Speaker: they've got someone that can just step in. Yeah, because then it comes back to trust as well. So it puts the whole package together. It has to be earned and you're earning it by doing all of those things. And I really do see that in both directions. As an employer, you want that trust with, you know, hey, if an unexpected situation arises, we're going to be covered. The people that are going to be put forward, I can trust that they're the right people.
22:55 Speaker: The way that it's done, I know in the last episode we were talking with Hazel about how it's like I could have multiple people, but it's one invoice from you guys. I'm like going, well, that's utopia. That's so easy to get that taken care of. Granted, it's not easy for Hazel, but it's to know that. But from a candidate, and I, especially when I was going through university and probably before that A-levels as well, is...
23:24 Speaker: I would go through agencies to get whatever work was really available for beer money. I mean, book money. And I needed to know that that company weren't going to put me in a, I don't know, vulnerable situation. I think that's probably the most obvious word to say. Well, a lot of the time you don't know where you're going at times. They'll ring you and say, just go to this location. This is the job you're going to be doing. Just trust us.
23:53 Speaker: and based on what they've told us that's where that trust has come from you know like we said they come in they sit down they meet with us properly we sit like this and have a chat with them and say these are the roles we could put you into which ones you like the sound of which ones don't you like the sound of yeah you know if we call you this is the work we're going to give you and then they get that phone call at 6am quick get we're going to pick you up in five minutes you're going to you know warehouse today
24:18 Speaker: They're like, OK, no problem. And they're very wanting to go. Is that their... And this is out of curiosity now. Is that their preference to be that sort of almost on-call member of staff to some extent? Or are they sort of maybe early stages with you? Yeah, it's more... Bit of both. Yeah. Some will always do that. Some will always be like, I'm just happy to be on call as and when you need me because they don't need the Monday to Friday.
24:47 Speaker: 40 hours a week. They're just happy to be, yeah, if there's some work today, I'll do it. If not, no problem. There's some that in the early stages almost see it as like a trial shift. Can we trust them? If they say they're going to be up at 6am, are they going to be? Because if they're not, if we had to put them to work, they wouldn't be there. So making sure that, because I think this is a really good point to be able to make for people to be aware of, is that if I turn to you and say, yeah, I'm coming to you for work, however,
25:16 Speaker: I really don't want every single day. Now, in my head, I'd be there going, maybe I shouldn't say that out loud because does that call my commitment into question? But it's just what suits my lifestyle. Yeah, absolutely. They would not be deemed as saying anything negative if that was their... No. Because you need those people. Yeah, absolutely. We need all sorts of people. Yeah, we have...
25:37 Speaker: roles that are four hours a day yeah probably 5 p.m to 9 p.m that they normally book probably about midday so then we can call on people and say do you want your four hours today sometimes they say yes sometimes they say no and you just move to the next one in the list so it's very much there's no you know you're not getting a black cross next to your name because you're not available seven days a week and i think that is an important point to make in here because i would probably have been nervous
26:03 Speaker: to have suggested that we'd rather you tell us the truth if you said I've got football on a Tuesday so I'm never going to work a Tuesday actually I remember saying something like that example before yeah I or the kids or whatever have got these commitments so I categorically cannot work Wednesday afternoons or whatever and as soon as we know that we'll mark that down and Yeah, we can't get as much detail when someone comes to the office, like if you've got any commitments that are stopping you, because we can sort of work around them. Yeah, we can work. I can almost take that a step further that it would be all too easy to go, right, I've got to really prove myself to this recruitment company and what have you now, so I'm going to say yes all the time and I'll get... But it's always proven because when we do put them up to work or off on something, they let us down because they haven't told the whole truth. So they're better being... It's better to be honest. What can work?
26:50 Speaker: longer term don't go out of your way to because actually that is counterproductive yeah that's an interesting don't try and be the star student that can do everything when you can't just be yourself and be you that's a that's a key point i would say what's um going off on a slight tangent be careful what you're saying i'm going to start with this one what's some of the most unusual jobs that
27:16 Speaker: and probably a guess for you is that you've heard being filled because yours is a bit more recent uh that you filled and i'm going to say some of the ones i used to do when i was at university some crazy ones i think the one i least liked although i actually did it multiple vacs university vacations was in an abattoir yeah because i grew up bristol direction yeah not far and it was uh thankfully it was at the sort of cold packing stage so ignorance is bliss and everything
27:45 Speaker: um but it wasn't good smelt of it when i was gonna say that's a smelt after a day's work absolutely um and we used to get really cheap meat at the end of the week and it's amazing how if you see too much you go off of it yeah exactly it was a real struggle but that paid me really well and it's great university work um you know knowing that you're doing it for a period of time uh and an unusual one was that there was these
28:15 Speaker: container lorries being loaded with boxes of wagon wheels yeah other chocolate bars are available that were all going off to some country as a sort of providing food and it was these boxes of wagon wheels and we were having to sort of like load them in a box at a time yeah to absolutely fill the you know like the shipping container yeah and it was
28:44 Speaker: multiple lorries of those. It took forever to do this. And we were able to eat the wagon wheels as well. What, as you were working? Yeah. Did you go off? Yeah, I was going to say, have you gone off of them as well? I did. They're back again. They're fine again now. I've recovered. I've got over it. But that was really odd. Even to the point where when I'm regaling the story, I'm going, did that really happen? Yeah. But it did. It was really unusual. And I would imagine you guys do get those unusual things that come up and say, we need to get this done.
29:13 Speaker: There's not too much unusual stuff in Swindon, probably. That's a sentence that doesn't get said often. Yeah, probably maybe I shouldn't say that. Next week I'll get a call and I'll be like, oh no, why did I say that? We're Swindon proudly here, so we're joking. There's a client that unloads containers of Disney soft toys and just loads of cuddly toys in a container and you think it's not heavy, it's just probably have a laugh. The most fun we did, we provided scratch for our good friends at the Swindon Wildcats.
29:43 Speaker: so we did have to find someone to uh that's a mascot for those that is a mascot So that was quite good fun. I think I ended up escorting them around all night as well. So you said you were going to be in it then. No, well, at one point, at one point, if we didn't have someone, I think my name was in the hat to stick up with it. My name kept getting put in that hat as well. Yeah, well, I kept taking mine out and putting yours in. Yeah, I know. But yeah, that was good fun. And I say it's just something to, it's just local community in it and making sure we're doing what we can. And it ended up being quite fun and we had a laugh of it. And yeah, the lad that did it left.
30:19 Speaker: and he did brilliantly. No, absolutely. So that was good fun. And I'd imagine yours is, I don't know if you're able to refer to the hospitality side, but some cool events. Yes, yes. We've got loads coming over the summer at the moment and they're all different. So yeah, I don't want to give too much away at the moment, but yeah, fair enough. But yeah, like we said, we touched on earlier, there's certain events as well if people want to go to them. And obviously it's just the atmosphere as well because a lot of people want to be around people that are in a good mood. Yeah. Yeah, just good days out in the summer.
30:48 Speaker: I'd just be envious that I'm not out there getting drunk with everyone. Yeah, but I think there's a bonus to each side because if you like talking to people and just interacting, it's good to be up behind the bar, busy. I think it probably says more about me than the right thing. Yeah. You stick to the other side. One for you, one for me. Yeah, exactly right, yeah.
31:07 Speaker: I did enjoy talking to hospitality. I used to work behind a bar at a golf club. Oh, did you? I used to really enjoy that. And you were talking about the quicker pace, slower pace. Yes. That was nice, steady, slow pace. And the conversations I used to have, and that would include some famous people over the years as well. You're going to name Trump? The funniest was probably Eddie the Eagle Edwards. Was it? He was mad, mad as a box of frogs. I really enjoyed that.
31:34 Speaker: Do you remember, I think you're into your football as well, aren't you? Dean Holdsworth. He's probably before my time, Chris. All right. When was he around? He possibly was, but yeah, he was there and he was an interesting guy. But I just love that because everybody's going and just getting away from life while going and playing golf. Probably a good conversation as well because they've all been on the course and like I say, that escapism from it all. I did. I used to enjoy that one. But I used to do things as well like...
32:01 Speaker: tele-sales roles yeah did you enjoy that no no no not as not that often i can tell you but even like weird things like um piping plastic piping tele-sales for a plastic oh really yeah um but literally at uni you'd do anything just to get the money yeah exactly because there's a lot of books that we have to buy exactly all those fees yeah library costs um
32:28 Speaker: I think the biggest one that has stood out for me in this episode is don't pre, and I'm going to take this from the candidate side more than anything. I think we can say from the client side, what is great is that you interact and get to know the client, the people, the roles. You make sure that you know it and that you are able to then find the suitable fits for them in multiple ways.
32:55 Speaker: personality, skill sets, times available, all those sorts of things. But I think what I take from this most is the candidate's side is don't prejudge what is the right answer. Come to you with what it is you are prepared to do, available to do, and there's no prejudgment.
33:19 Speaker: And it will because there is, you know, whether you want to work every God-given hour or whether you just need to be able to work some as and when they're available, everything is just as important. Yeah, you look at the candidate, I like the client as well. Great to know all the information about them, like Dom said earlier, like where they've worked, what they didn't like about that and what they're looking for in the future as well. So we can accommodate for them. And then you can put two and two together and hopefully they'll make a perfect pair. It's just a matchmaker. Yeah.
33:47 Speaker: And I mean, do you learn from... I'll ask this. You're going to leave me down a rabbit hole, yeah. I'm just taking a run up there. Yeah. You mentioned, for example, is that you will have people go, yeah, I was here, I didn't like it because of this. And that helps you to understand what is suitable for them and what is not. Yeah. Do you sort of learn about employers?
34:17 Speaker: and kind of go, either, I think I know how we can help the situation there. Actually, I will just leave it at that one as a thing. Because I guess even that sort of information can be useful for you guys. From our side, yeah. If a candidate comes in and they've got a CV, this agency work, like you say, a university student may come in and they've worked for the past three years, different.
34:44 Speaker: assignments like yourself in abattoir telesales plastic piping things like that it's all whatever else you've done wagon wheels wagon wheels yeah so if they've done all that you can sort of say okay which was your favorite which was your least favorite why if their least favorite they may not have hated it just wasn't for them but yeah absolutely we'll we'll reference them as well so we'll get you know a clear understanding of you know
35:09 Speaker: is what they're saying, you know, why they didn't like it or were they late every day and they didn't like being told not to be late. And it can be interesting things. I mean, I'm still remembering the various jobs. I'm getting like flashbacks. If you see me go vacant, it's because some of the flashbacks might not be as much fun. But I worked for, I'll leave the company name unsaid, but a wholesale distribution warehouse. And I did a mixture of Truckers Mate.
35:36 Speaker: and i was amazed how hard those truckers work uh delivering to like the various little mini markets yeah absolutely um and i remember that it was flat out and how they maneuver in some of those places is amazing and it's flat out and you could be stuck in traffic but the beauty is is that they were actually not paid by the hour per se if they got back earlier that was it they're done
36:04 Speaker: They could be finished by lunchtime and that's the end of their day, but they're paid for a day. And it was like, wow, that was quite interesting. But the packing, sorry, the picking and packing bit, I hated that because I think from memory I'd gone through something in my personal life and I had too much time to think. Oh, OK. And that was one of the things that then fed back of going, I don't want something where there's too much.
36:31 Speaker: not on my own yeah nothing to think about it not testing me you know going there's something else there's something and i was in my own thoughts too much and they found that as really helpful feedback to go right we know where not to put you there yeah Some people love it. Again, the flip side of that is some people will just want to be on their own, working in their own space with their own thoughts. I've previously done work in a warehouse before and probably similar to you found it. Okay, scan that, put that in the tray. But I think I could do it now because I've got the stresses of the world running this company. Yeah, nothing. But I'd have times where I'd go, do you know what? I just want to go. Switch off. Yes. Just do the work. Yeah. Go home.
37:08 Speaker: not think about it and so it is horses for courses isn't it yeah and that's why i mean at different stages in life different people they want different things they want to try different things you know if just because they're not good at it at one place maybe they didn't get on with their team leader, but they were brilliant at the job, but they just didn't like it. So you put them somewhere else in the same job, but they get on really well because they both like football, and they just chat all day about football while they're doing their job, so they'll love it. I get the impression that you guys would pay a lot of attention to them if you kind of go, they weren't fully happy there, but they're going to give it a go, but I'm going to keep an eye on them, make sure they're okay. Yeah, and that's what we talked previously about, making sure on day one we're there, they know who they're meeting, because that can be quite daunting, meeting new people, not knowing where you're going.
37:49 Speaker: like we said walking them into school on their first day really and saying this is who you're going to be working with this is the team here's the canteen you know some canteens are a bit more salubrious than others so some of you are going to go this is the canteen and they look around they're like okay where does my lunch so but it's very much looking after the people because they're going to go to work for us and if they
38:10 Speaker: hate it they're not going to go back the next day no so and again while they're on their first day give them a call on their break how you getting on do you like it that's so important how's the team yep really good on your side on the um and i'll wrap this up in a minute but again my mind just suddenly thinks about this we're talking about jobs going and doing jobs i want to do work and get paid i've got things to pay for but we did touch on careers yeah and i know we touched on
38:38 Speaker: in the kitchen. Yes. You know, a cook, a chef, various chefing roles. They potentially are actually career minded. Yes. Yeah. So we've got certain clients at the moment where they're looking for the lower end of the chefs, but they have actually said there's the opportunity where they can work up. Yeah. The chef, the main chef is going to put the time into them if they're a good worker. And I think that's... Which is good for someone, especially if you want to excel. And I do think that that's important because if I...
39:08 Speaker: And I'm going to be unfair now, but I'm going to say what maybe other people might think is that if you think recruitment company I am, you're going to get me work. But actually, it isn't at the expense of a career that this is actually you are able to assist in careers. Yeah, definitely. Because instead of me sat there going, I'm waiting for an advert to come up for a sous chef or something like that so I can start working my way up. Come through you guys and it can start. Yeah, definitely. It just depends on what you want to do and if you get the right teacher as well.
39:38 Speaker: that's going to allow you to obviously excel it's a good thing absolutely just got put in that hard work sometimes hard work but be given that chance yes right place right time all of that sort of thing and that can be the hardest isn't it and i think it's a world hospitality is a world where there are different opportunities so like you said if you didn't want like one certain role on the bar you could then look to go into the kitchen and why is it because in it's really it seems
40:05 Speaker: contradictory is that we've got the world wide web and you kind of go well everything's you know i can find anything now but i find there's so much noise that it is actually really difficult to go and go this is what i want to go and try and find whereas you guys because you're on the button you're the place to go to and go yep we've got lots of contacts we've got lots of roles or we will have more roles that will come up don't you find it odd that the world wide web's supposed to help us with this but there is an overwhelm
40:34 Speaker: I think there's so much. Like you said, there's so much noise around it. So we'll have roles come in sometimes that we know who we're going to put forward. So we sometimes don't even need to advertise them. So if you're looking on the web, you will never see it because we've already got four or five, six people that we can put forward and say, actually, we've got what you need.
40:56 Speaker: Don't worry. They can come down tomorrow, you can meet them, see what you think and interview them. And you're saying that from a client perspective, aren't you? Which is just as valid, isn't it, actually? Yeah, because you could be going, right, I need to... I could make the argument, I could just advertise on LinkedIn. I did it. it was awful was it it was awful why was it awful well because i said made it very very clear saying look some remote working can be done yeah but needs to be predominantly in the office um paraphrasing, but that's kind of the essence of it. And you've got people from Manchester, Scotland, India, America, you know, and I'm like going, have they not read this article? And they go, yeah, but I thought I'd try it just in case. It's like, no, this doesn't help me with people trying it just in case. And then you waste time talking to them and letting them know. Absolutely. And I got nothing from it. The interesting conversations I had weren't helpful because they weren't looking for a job.
41:57 Speaker: they were outsourcing people as in freelance people so yeah yeah and I'm like no that doesn't help me this is an internal role so and so it didn't help me whereas I would cut through all of that by working with a company like yourself end up a short list of probably two or three people meet them three and choose who you want
42:18 Speaker: And I know we said we weren't going to say it, but that try before you buy potential. Yeah, you have to get in every time. Try before you buy. It still makes me chuckle, but we can say that. But it is, it's true. You start on that sort of temp basis. People don't realise you put a job advert out there. Anyone in the world can click apply and you're going to get their details, have it as an application, see their CV. And it does take time. Even if it takes two minutes, you could easily get 20, 30 applications overnight.
42:44 Speaker: and you have to to find the one that you want you have to go through all of them which is then unfair because you become word blind and you could actually be wrongly dismissing one that can be really good yeah and i guess there's that noise and overwhelm again isn't it yeah there's a lot out there that can muffle what you actually want which comes back as a wrap-up is that understanding is key that is what
43:07 Speaker: happens here is that we get the understanding of the clients, the candidates, the roles, the marketplace, the local uniques, whatever that happens to be. And I think that's really important. Yeah. I think that wraps it up nicely then. You've done well there. We did. Yeah, brought it all the way back again. Kimberly, I hope it wasn't as hard as you thought it was going to be. No, it wasn't. Thank you very much. No problem. And Dominic, thank you, mate. Good to see you again. See you next time. So we'll see you. What was that? That was episode...
43:37 Speaker: Three, we'll see you for episode four. We haven't discussed it yet. We'll let you know. Keep your eyes peeled. Cheers, all.