Recruitment Matters International July 2023 Newsletter
Hello from the team at Recruitment Matters International!
Hopefully you're all going to find time to take a bit of a break at some stage during the summer holiday season to spend some time with friends and family, as well as refreshing your batteries. Whether on a staycation or further afield, enjoy!
Articles in this edition of our newsletter include:-
Our CEO, Warren suggests that it's not always about the money for candidates.
Networking guru, Will Kintish highlights the importance of the quality of our questions..
JMW's Simon Bloch reviews the Trade Unions' successful challenge to the Conduct Of Employment Agencies And Employment Businesses Regulations.
And I emphasise the benefits of having multiple contact points in your client companies.
Lastly, for news of our full range of recruitment services, including upcoming training courses, check out "What's new?"
It can't always be about the money for candidates
Contributor: Warren Kemp, CEO and Trainer, Recruitment Matters International. Warren is also a qualified Mental Health First Aid Instructor
It would be easy in the middle of a cost of living crisis to think that getting a candidate more money will be a no brainer deal done on the table. And that can, of course, be the case.
And yet - ignore the other push me pull you factors, and you risk missing out on a placement. Always, always explore with your candidate all of the reasons for potentially moving.
I’ve made two placements in the last four weeks where both candidates accepted jobs for less money. One for 21% less and the other for 12% less.
The younger, less experienced me would probably have not continued the initial conversation with both candidates when they told me what they were earning. The older, more experienced me always takes a more *holistic approach to recruiting.
Money won’t take the long journey to work away. Money won’t bring more time at home with the kids/loved ones. Money won’t take the pressures of a particular type of work away. Money won’t take a bad boss away. Money won’t take the Sunday night anxiety attack away.
But taking the money away did.
*Holistic: addressing the whole person. This includes a person's physical, emotional, mental, social, spiritual, and financial health.
Warren Kemp is CEO and trainer with Recruitment Matters International. For more tips, advice and information on RMI, visit https://recruitmentmatters.com/ telephone 0800 0749 289/ +44 (0)1529 410375 or email info@recruitmentmatters.com.
When you and I were at school, we got judged...
Contributor: Will Kintish, Networking guru
When you and I were at school, we got judged on the quality of our answers. Now we’re grown up (well some of us have!) we are often judged on the quality of our questions.
If you want to be an effective networker and spot potential business or career opportunities, it is asking the pertinent question that is likely to get you there. Asking good questions means:
- you are interested in the other person
- you are building rapport by giving your attention ( as long as you listen for the answer)
- you are flattering the other person by suggesting they know more about the topic than you do
- you may just learn something new
Start with ‘ice-breaker’ question which revolves around the event itself. “Why have you come?” “Where have you travelled from?” “Who do you know here from XCo?”
Ask questions about their business and career. What they do now? What have they done before? Where do they see their career / business going in the next two years?
And, if you do spot an opportunity, ask the KEY question “A few minutes ago you said you had an issue with xx. How do feel about me giving you a call in the next few days to continue this conversation for me to find out more about it? And, if you think it relevant, we can then arrange a meeting?”
Quality questions often lead to quality answers.
For more information on Will’s networking services, visit https://www.kintish.co.uk , call +44 (0)7939 205719 or email will@kintish.co.uk.
Decision makers, influencers and processors
Contributor: Ken Kemp, RMI’s MD
How many contacts do you have within your best client companies? One or two, six, even sixteen?
It is far from unusual for a recruiter to have only one or two strong contacts in a client company. That’s fraught with potential danger. Imagine only having one contact in a company worth one placement per month or six temps out at any one time and then your contact leaves. Aaargh!!
Let’s imagine there are three companies A, B & C. Each has a staff attrition rate of 20%. A has 300 staff, B 100 & C 10. That’s 60 vacancies a year with A, 20 with B, and 2 with C. You have one contact in each and they like a call from you every 6 weeks.
Now let’s also say you have a competitor who has 6 contacts in client A, 4 in B and 2 in C who also like a call every 6 weeks.
You are phoning in every 6 weeks to a company with the potential for you to work 60 vacancies a year and your competitor is phoning in every week and spreading his/her name around with a variety of people. We know who bags more placements and who will end up with exclusivity on certain roles - and who won’t panic if one contact leaves.
So, one of your objectives with clients on an ongoing basis is to be introduced to and build a relationship with the key people in that organisation - as many of them as is appropriate.
There are three types of people on your radar. Decision makers, influencers & processors - contacts at different levels within the company and with differing knowledge and awareness.
For example, you might call a processor to ask about how many CV’s they have received for a particular role, an influencer to ask about getting on the pipeline of vacancies coming up and a decision maker to introduce a speculative candidate.
So you know what you have to do from here… go and attack your market!
Ken Kemp is MD of Recruitment Matters International. For more information on RMI, visit https://recruitmentmatters.com/ telephone 0800 0749 289 / +44 (0)1529 410375 or email ken@recruitmentmatters.com .
Trade Unions' successful challenge to Conduct Of Employment Agencies And Employment Businesses Regulations
Contributor: Simon Bloch, who is a Partner at JMW Solicitors.
On 21 July 2022, the Government announced and implemented a change to the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations by revoking Regulation 7, and replacing it with the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses (Amendment) Regulations 2022 (‘2022 Regulations’).
At the time, the Government explained that they were taking measures to protect businesses during periods of increased industrial action and such measures would permit employment businesses and agencies to engage with businesses and provide cover for striking workers. Previously, under Regulation 7, there was a strict prohibition on employment businesses and agencies supplying work seekers to businesses in this manner, as it was thought to impact the meaningfulness and impact of striking action.
The 2022 Regulations, once announced, were publicly criticised by trade unions and recruitment bodies since they argued that no consultation had taken place. Accordingly, 13 trade unions came together to bring a challenge in the High Court in respect of the legality of the 2022 Regulations. The High Court Judgement was released on 13 July 2023.
On what basis did the trade unions bring the challenge?
The trade unions relied on two main grounds for their legal challenge, which focused on the Secretary of State’s failings in that:
- He failed to comply with his statutory duty under the Employment Agencies Act 1973 to consult with the necessary bodies before making the 2022 Regulations; and
- He breached his duty under Article 11 of the European Convention of Human Rights (‘ECHR’) to prevent unlawful interference with the rights of trade unions and their members.
Therefore, the trade unions relied on arguments surrounding the lack of consultation, and the fundamental breach of human rights principles. The Secretary of State’s defence centred on a consultation which took place in 2015, which the Government argued had satisfied the requirements of consultation with sector-specific bodies including trade unions. They denied that there was any breach of the ECHR by implementing the 2022 Regulations, and if there was a breach, then it was proportionate in any event.
What did the High Court decide?
The High Court accepted the challenge brought by the trade unions, and ruled that the Secretary of State had failed in their statutory duty to consult the relevant bodies prior to making the 2022 regulations. They did not consider the arguments put forward in relation to human rights rationale, as the first ground was satisfied on its own. The High Court found that relying on a consultation which took place seven years prior, where the trade unions had not even documented their views at the time, was unacceptable and fundamentally unlawful.
They found that the Secretary of State’s decision ““was not informed by, or tested against, the views and the evidence of bodies which were representative of the interests concerned, not even the views of such bodies which were expressed in 2015”.
On this basis, the 2022 Regulations were quashed. Therefore, the position contained within Regulation 7 of Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations will be reinstated, as well as the remedies for breaches contained within.
What does this mean for businesses and employment agencies?
Following the High Court judgement, it is important to understand what a breach of Regulation 7 could practically mean. Employment business and agencies who supplied temporary work seekers under the 2022 Regulations may have lost touch with the serious implications of breaching Regulation 7, and why it is important to adhere to them.
Under s.3A of the Employment Agencies Act 1973, an employment tribunal may, on an application by the Secretary of State, make an order prohibiting a company from being connected with an employment business or agency for up to 10 years, which could seriously damage long-term business relationships. Breaches of Regulation 7 could also lead to unlimited fines and/or imprisonment, including fines and/or imprisonment for an officer of a corporate entity. It is also important to note that it is a legitimate defence for an employment business or agency to claim that they did not have knowledge that official action was taking place, and that was why the supply of work seekers was occurring.
Considering the knockback to the Government’s plans to give businesses more options during periods of strike action, we may see an appeal come through in respect of the High Court’s decision. Alternatively, the Secretary of State could commence a lawful consultation with the trade unions with the aim to implementing new regulations later down the line.
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