Soundbites 15th October 2008

15-Oct-2008

Stephen Hagues
Managing director, Foundation Resourcing

“We won’t be spending on job sites, as unemployment rises will mean candidates desperate for work, with plenty of time on their hands, will call up constantly, wasting time. We won’t be diversifying into new markets — there’s nothing more effective than a recession at sinking new ventures without established client relationships. We won’t be investing in new software packages as the real cost of these packages to a firm is the months of downtime and turmoil involved in their integration, which in a recession is suicide. We will be investing heavily in incentives based around ratios, together with investing further in our ongoing consultant skill improvement.”



Mark Gardiner
Regional director, Stark Brooks Associates

“Although we recognise that the current economic climate is putting greater emphasis on all spending decisions, this doesn’t mean that companies should stop investing altogether. A well-run organisation knows what generates new business and should allocate its budget accordingly. We will be continuing to invest in two main areas over the next 12 months: our staff and our marketing. Our staff will remain incentivised and we will continue to recruit consultants who will add value to our business. Similarly, marketing expenditure will be essential to maintain our position in the market. We’ll invest less in non-critical business matters, such as upgrading our recruitment software when the current version works perfectly.”



John West
Director, YOU Recruitment

“Being a small boutique company, we can ‘cut our cloth’ to suit the conditions. Spending at YOU Recruitment will be focused in two areas. Firstly, finding top-quality candidates through, among other ways, the best job boards available. Promoting our high levels of tailored recruitment service and values into the marketplace through a combination of email, postal mail, cold calling and regular contact with existing and past clients, as well as business networking, will be the other priority. I am in no doubt that flexibility and first-class, focused service, combined with activity in developing lasting relationships, will pay long-term dividends.”