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Welcome to issue 347 of the ukrecruiter newsletter. Have you checked out our job board directory lately? We've just completed a major update to the site. Why not check out our list of Management and Executive Job Boards. If you are looking at job boards - don't forget ours: UKRecruiterJobs (great for jobseekers and recruiters) | 
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CONTENTS
Visit http://www.ukrecruiterjobs.co.uk for the latest recruitment industry jobs. |
Article One: My Favourites http://www.metacrawler.com - More than just Google - search half a dozen search engines at the same time. http://www.itworld.com - I think it’s safe to say most IT professionals swear by this. I like to browse the news sections and White Paper category as this deepens my understanding of new technology. It can be hard to digest as a non technical person but it’s the only way to learn. http://www.deliaonline.com
- To help me decide what to buy at the shops on my way home from
work. Carly Simpson is a Consultant at SearchIT Recruitment Why not submit your 3 favourite web sites. See the guidelines at http://www.ukrecruiter.co.uk/articles.htm |
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Article One: Recruitment Society Event Review by Kate Ferguson The Recruitment Society recently hosted an event entitled, “Second Life – An Employer’s curse or blessing”. Was this the same “Second Life” where a woman reportedly made £2million pounds in real estate? This was something I needed to know more about, so for once, I would resist the urge to return home to watch “Masterchef” and follow the recruiters’ mantra of learning, networking and sharing ideas. For the benefit of the uninitiated, “Second Life” is an example of a virtual 3 dimensional world, which is created and owned by its residents; others include “Club Penguin”, “Toon World” and “Entropia Universe”. At the end of the last century, recruiters were typically launching their first website as part of Web 1.0. Then in the early years of the twenty first century, the internet evolved to its next step – Web 2.0 - which saw the rapid growth of social networking sites such as Linked In, Face Book, My Space etc. These are now mainstream for many recruiters. However, innovative recruiters are starting to embrace the possibilities of recruiting using so-called Web 3 D (as in 3-Dimensional). The guest speakers at the event were Dave Coombs, Regional Head of Digital Media at TMP and Isabelle Hung, Head of National Resourcing at Yell. Both gave engaging and at times humorous presentations about their experience of participating in the UK’s first virtual recruitment fair in October 2007 on TMP’s own island in Second Life. According to Dave Coombs, there are over 12 million members of Second Life, of which 40,000 are active users. Incredibly, on a show of hands, almost half the attendees at the event (roughly 150 in total) have logged on to Second Life. There was a palpable sense of surprise when delegates were informed that the average age of a Second Lifer is 31, from a predominantly 25-34 age band. Dave continued with an explanation of the advantages of virtual recruiting. These include the limitless ability to communicate a brand and allow others to experience it through real time interaction. Additionally, there is the possibility of adding buzz, fun and excitement to the recruitment process. He then went on to describe TMP’s experience of hosting the three-day virtual career fair. Only three companies participated in the event: Yell, RBS and KPMG. Just as in a real life fair, all three companies had their own “physical” areas (which were purpose-designed buildings); visitors in the form of computer-generated images, or avatars as they are known, were teleported to these areas where they were greeted by avatar recruiters. The respective avatars could then engage in meaningful dialogue through a kind of instant messaging or VOIP. Isabelle Hung of Yell then explained why she had been keen to participate in the event. She said Yell always aims to get its brand out to a wider audience of potential recruits. In particular, the company feels it needs to “invade” the space of Generation Y – in other words, today’s teenagers who use applications like Facebook, MySpace and YouTube and prefer instant messaging to emailing. Isabelle described some of the humorous elements of attending the fair. These included learning how to walk and sit down in the virtual world. She also explained about the etiquette of life on TMPs island: The island is guarded 24/7, no knives are permitted on the island and the dress code has to be strictly respectable! She was positive about the experience in terms of brand engagement, and the way it enabled candidates to feel relaxed about asking pertinent questions; she also praised the medium’s impartiality in terms of equality of access to those with disabilities or from ethnic minorities. In fact, Yell was able to reach a whole new talent pool: They interviewed 50 candidates in depth of whom approximately 15-20 were employable. Yell is now planning to have a permanent presence in Second Life. And of course the obvious advantage of the virtual over the traditional careers fair is that there is no need to spend time setting up and packing away afterwards! Before attending the event, I must admit to being slightly sceptical, about the value of “Second Life” for recruiters – with the exception of those recruiters looking to hire geeks, or nerds! However, for those employers and recruiters looking to reach a wider talent pool – either globally or in terms of various parameters of diversity – Second Life has its place. In my view, Second Life could never be a replacement for face-to-face contact; yet it can offer the opportunity for a more engaging and fulfilling experience than a simple online application form. Second Life is a relatively new environment; its uses will undoubtedly grow over time. For example, IBM is now organising global conferences in Second Life and some companies are using Second Life for training and induction purposes. As the mother of two “non-geeky” Generation Y teenagers who have grown up creating “worlds” with Sims; experiencing life through an avatar on Club Penguin; sending instant messages on MSN and “commenting” their friends on Face Book, I feel that recruiters will have to devise new strategies to attract and engage with this potential talent pool. Overall the event was well organised, well presented and well attended. Indeed, the event closed on a cautionary note: book early for the next Recruitment Society event that will be held on 19 March in association with the Association of Graduate Recruiters. Kate Ferguson is founder and director of People First Recruitment – a multi-sector recruiter operating within four core business areas: Supply Chain, Multilingual, Japanese and Office Support. Kate has over 20 years’ experience in the industry. The company is part of OG International whose chairman is industry veteran Tony Martin. www.people-first.co.uk |
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Article Two: How much is my company worth? By John Toppin Realising the fullest value of your privately held or owner managed business requires careful forward planning. There are a number of potential exit routes you could take, including merger, trade sale, floatation, MBO/MBI or family succession. Whatever exit route you take, getting the best value depends on many factors, including managing the timing of your exit, ensuring that your business is well run and making the right strategic choices along the way so that your profile attracts a premium rather than a discount price. So what should you be thinking about and planning to improve in your business? Which features will give your business the X Factor that your competitors can’t match and that will increase the saleability and value of your business? Although this article is based on recruitment agencies the points can be applied equally to connected businesses such as assessment specialists and recruitment advertising agencies. Formulae? There are rules of thumb that are used to value recruitment companies and they are usually dependant upon a multiple of either fees or profits. The normal ranges are then flexed up or down based on a number of factors related to the state of the market and the relative strengths or weaknesses of your business. You should not get too hung up on multiples until you have thought through and acted on the areas described below – acting on these will improve the value of your business. It usually takes months and even years to make a real difference to your business so you should be thinking of these issues now even if you are a long way from an exit. Type of recruitment business? The type and mix of your sales will influence the multiple - a potential buyer will be interested in the fit with their business, whether you have executed a focussed strategy as opposed to simply responding to any opportunities arising and the reliability of your future stream of business, for example: How much of your business is permanent versus interim versus temporary work Scale and growth? The size of your business will influence the multiple, for example: What is the scale of the business in terms of fees and profits Risk profile? A potential buyer will need to understand and take account of risks inherent in your business and in the market, including these: Does the business have a dependency on few clients or does it have a spread of clients How well run is the business? If your business is demonstrably well run this will also influence the multiple, for example: Do you have evidence of good client management- client longevity, client contracts in place The sellers? Any buyer will also be interested in the people selling the business and this will also affect the multiple, for example: What are your ages and ambitions and what are the reasons for the sale The form of payment? The form of payment you are prepared to take will also influence the multiple, for example: Payment can be in a variety of forms including cash or the buyer's shares. How does your business rate objectively against all of the questions raised above? Planning for your exit should ideally start when the business starts so that the strategy from the outset imbues the business with the X Factors that will result in achieving the maximum value.
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Online Recruitment Update UKRecruiterJobs:
Traditional, On-line and Corporate HR Recruitment Job Board Hitwise top 10 Recruitment
Sites, week ending 1st March 2008 Louise's UK Recruiter blog Discussion Board Summary Press Release: CV-Library.co.uk to Power Technology Website Press Release: Recruiters turning to CV Profiles to fill senior vacancies |
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Don't Miss This 15% discount on AIRS training, 31st March and 1st April, London Recruitment Society Event, Wake Up Britain – The Recruitment Challenge is Upon Us, 19th March, London Press Release: UK Legal Jobs Market is buoyant |
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Regards
Louise Triance
UK Recruiter http://www.ukrecruiter.co.uk
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