Combination Plan 2008 Showcase, The Bath Chronicle - 10 April 2008
One of the driving forces behind the Bath Combination's representative rugby activities over the last two seasons, Lynch is confident representative rugby played a step below full county level has a bright future.
"We're looking forward to the matches on The Rec later in the month and we're confident both sides will do well in what should be very competitive games," said Lynch.
"The Combination has attracted terrific sponsorship for its representative squads from local food recruitment agency, Hutchinson Consultancy, and it's a side of grass-roots local rugby which we would like to develop.
"There are a lot of talented young players turning out for local clubs week in, week out who get overlooked at county level and, as part of the Combination's commitment to developing the game at local club level, it's great to give these lads a way to go out and express themselves.
Why recruitment agencies are a vital ingredient, Sandwich & Snack News – June issue
By Scott Hutchinson
Good recruitment agencies have two sets of customers, both of whom are treated with equal importance: candidates who are seeking new career opportunities and clients who can use their skills and talents. The role played by recruitment agencies is one of a credible third party who will listen to both sets of needs in order to provide a perfect match.
There are a number of factors that make one recruiter more successful than another. Firstly, it helps if you are a specialist within a certain sector – when this happens you tend to build up strong relationships with your clients and candidates. It means that you know what your clients are looking for when they need to fill a specialist position and, perhaps more importantly, where good candidates are likely to be found.
Database and research management is vital. At Hutchinson Jonas we place great emphasis on our research capability, employing a number of people in research roles to ensure that the 18,000 food industry contacts on our database are constantly kept up to date. The people employed by the agency are also key – a good specialist consultant should be able to provide advice on the position ranging from technical advice to remuneration considerations.
Within the sandwich sector there are a number of considerations to be taken into account. From a manufacturing perspective, it helps if candidates have worked in the chilled food sector before – especially if they are going into Technical or Operations roles. This is because chilled food experiences a particular pace largely unseen in other areas of manufacturing. Sandwiches are becoming increasingly more complex and this complexity can cause a number of unique problems. It is also important to remember that when sandwich manufacturers are looking to recruit, 9 times out of 10 the position will be extremely urgent and business critical.
Frequently, clients will seek to recruit for individual roles themselves and from a personal perspective I genuinely wish them good luck. I believe that if they have a strong network and know someone’s track record and where to find them then they should make contact if they feel comfortable doing this. Clients who take this approach should be mindful that there is a risk involved, especially when targeting competitors – for example, the head of Cadburys is hardly going to pick up the phone to recruit the head of Nestle – the potential for embarrassment is huge.
Clearly, more specialist, critical roles will require a consultancy that knows where to find candidates in the most cost- and time-effective way. This usually means using a recruiter who knows the market and who can handle the assignment correctly, from writing the advert or headhunt brief, to making the initial contact, to pre-screening the candidates and all the way through to handling their offer and employment start date.
When a recession looms, recruitment in the food industry tends to move from candidate focused (the current climate) to client focused. In simple economic terms, this is because there tends to be fewer clients recruiting and more candidates seeking roles. In this type of market true consultancies shine – it no longer becomes important who has the “biggest pile of CVs” but rather which is the most professional organisation ready to listen to the client’s needs. The food industry is robust, if not entirely recession proof. In fact, some companies actually benefit from a recession – I know one chocolate manufacturer whose sales actually increased in the 1991 recession. This was put down to people staying in and comfort eating rather than spending money going out.
Of course, even if you are the best agency in the universe, there are no guarantees that a person recruited will always, 100% of the time, make the grade. This is because one of the default settings for human beings is a predilection for being unpredictable. That said, using the right agency will at least ensure a reduction in the odds of something going wrong. Recruitment is not an exact science, but good agencies will make it as scientific as possible – ensuring every stage in the process is handled professionally and that respect is given to the huge levels of detail involved
