THE PROFESSIONAL RECRUITER’S HANDBOOK

244 DELIVERING EXCELLENCE IN RECRUITMENT

Industry profile – Kate Bleasdale

Profile for Kate Bleasdale, CEO of HCL plc, Healthcare Locums, the second
largest healthcare staffing provider.

Born: In Radcliffe, Greater Manchester
Educated: BSc in nursing from Kings College, London (the second year to
graduate in nursing); began a Master’s in nursing research but started her
own business instead.

Early career: Kate’s first job was as a nurse and she swiftly progressed to
Senior Nurse Manager where she had a great idea for how the NHS could
save money and improve its capacity to employ nurses. Sadly the NHS
would not back her in this so Kate decided to go and do it herself!

In 1986 she founded Match Healthcare with just herself, a telephone and
an office. She grew this business, floated it on AIM, then gained a full listing
(one of the few women to float a public company) and led a manage-
ment buy-out in 1999 taking it private again, and finally leaving in 2001.

Like many driven people Kate just had to start again and in 2003 founded
HCP, which she has grown through acquisition to the largest specialist
staffing company in the UK. She is not buying anything else however (!) and
plans the rest of the growth to come organically – the company currently
handles an average of 4 million vacancies worldwide and has an interna-
tional team as well with a small office at this stage in Dubai.

Key advice for recruiters:

■ If you are not on the phone talking to people then you’re not working!
■ One thing you should always do: Communicate with people on a

personal basis. Technology is there as an administrative function, it will
not build relationships.
■ One thing you should never do: Never be rude or aggressive to clients
or candidates. It’s vital to retain your professionalism and cool – even
though this can be challenging at times!

Still to achieve: ‘My £30 million retirement fund… but it’s well on its way. I’ve
loads still to do in life…’

CANDIDATE ATTRACTION 245

Interests outside work: ‘Property development – I’m building a house in
Colorado as I absolutely love skiing, bringing up my four boys (all
teenagers!), playing tennis, cooking, theatre and opera.’

Kate Bleasdale exudes energy, drive and determination. Just reading her
profile would have most people exhausted yet you simply know that
what Kate says she will do, she will. She’s a fantastic inspiration to every-
one in recruitment.

246

AFTERWORD

The war for talent has both intensified and globalized. Whereas the use of the
internet has facilitated a broadened but simplified the search for talent, the
actual acquisition of that talent is more difficult than ever. High calibre candi-
dates, either permanent or interim, have the choice and can easily be well
informed about potential employers. In order to add real value to both their
client and candidates, recruiters need to be infinitely knowledgeable, superbly
well resourced and very highly skilled.

Whether you are new to the recruitment profession, an experienced consultant
eager to maintain and improve your skills or indeed an internal corporate
resourcer keen to fully understand the process and create more rounded relation-
ships with your suppliers, we, the authors, hope that this book will continue to
be your guide to best practice and success throughout your working life.

Recruitment can be a fantastic career choice for those who are intelligent,
methodical and driven. Highly successful recruiters have the competencies and
transferable skills that would make them effective in numerous roles, but then
why would they choose anything else?

247

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Allen, D (2001) Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity,
Piatkus Books, London

BBC (2008) What Britain Earns, BBC2, 9 January
Buckingham, M and Coffman, C (2001) First, Break All the Rules: What the

world’s greatest managers do differently, Simon & Schuster, London
Ciett (2007) Presentation by Ciett Managing Director Denis Pennel, London, 2 May
Covey, S (1989) The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Fireside, New York
Forster, M (2000) Get Everything Done and Still Have Time to Play, Hodder and

Stoughton, London
Glasser, W (1998) Choice Theory: A new psychology of personal freedom,

HarperCollins, New York
Herzberg, F (1959) The Motivation to Work, John Wiley, New York
Karinthy, F (1929) Chains, in Everything is Different, F Karinthy, Budapest (out

of print)
Kolb, D and Fry, R (1975) Towards an Applied Theory of Experimental Learning,

in Theories of Group Processes, C L Cooper (ed), John Wiley, London
Kotler, P (1980) Marketing Management: Analysis, planning and control,

Prentice/Hall, London
Lindenfield, G and Lindenfield, S (2005) Confident Networking for Career

Success and Satisfaction, Piatkus Books, London
Maslow, A (1943) A theory of human motivation, Psychological Review, 50,

pp 370–96
Timperley, J (2002) Network Your Way to Success: Discover the secrets of the

world’s top connectors, Piatkus Books, London
Travers, J and Milgram, S (1969) An experimental study of the small world

problem, Sociometry, 32 (4), pp 425–43
Warwick Institute for Employment Research (nd) Working Futures from 2004 to

2014, available online at http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/research/
current/wf/ (downloaded 3 September 2008)

248

INDEX

Abl, Valerie 224 candidate briefing document/pitch 196–99
advertising 224–27 candidate categorization 105–07
agency workers 12 candidate evaluation 102–04
AIDA 149, 210 candidate management 38–41, 95–133
Ali, Mohamed 216
Ansoff’s Matrix 70–71 case study 41
approach strategy 142–61 categorizing 105–07
counter-offers 129
AIDA 210–14 evaluating candidates 104
candidate-led 147, 150–53, 154–55 first contact 102
service-led 147, 153–61 interview arrangements 120–22
TRIC method 150, 154 interviewing candidates 108–17
WIGGS approach 155–61 job start 131–32
Asano, Danielle 187 key activities 40–41
assertiveness 180–82 key selling points (KSPs) 120
Ashton, Tracy 89 managing job offers 125–28
Austin, Eddie 67 motivation 199–202
performance measures 83–85
Baglee, Anita 213 placement strategies 117–19
Barber, Jonathan 170 presenting candidates 150–53
Benjamin Franklin close 128–29 process 100
Bleasdale, Kate 244–45 qualifying the candidate 104–05
Bissell, John 202 recruiter’s brand 96–99
brand(ing) 96–99, 118–19, 196 rejections 124–25
resignations 129–30
building a 202–05 candidate-rich market 104
experience 204–05 careers in recruitment 9–10
business strategy 36, 56–80 Clements, Neil 223
Ansoff’s Matrix 70–71 client acquisition 41–43, 133–68
development of 70–75 approach strategy 142–61
diversification 71, 73–74 case studies 43, 138–40, 146
market development 71, 73 client buying process 143–44
market penetration 70, 71–72 cost of 172
measurement/review 79 developing your client 166–68
objectives 57–75 identifying 136–37
place 76, 119 importance of research 138–40
price 75–76, 119 key activities 42
product 76–77, 119 performance measures 82–84
product development 70–71, 72–73 see also e-actions, ITTs, procurement
promotion 77, 119
tactical options 75–76 process
see also gap analysis, PESTLEC, SWOT client management 180–202
Byrne, Tony 36
assertiveness 180–82
candidate attraction 44–46, 207–45 guidelines 187–88
case studies 215–16 meetings 182–83
headhunting 227–45 qualifying the role 189–94
in-house database 207–14 retainer fee 192–93
key activities 45 client strategy 43–44, 169–206
motivation and 201–02 active candidate 172–73
networking 217–27 balancing act 179–80
relationship development 214–16 ‘client-poor’ 172
reward/incentive programmes 217 ‘client-rich’ 172
search process 233 cost of client acquisition 172
strategy 208 implementing 206
in-house 174–75

INDEX 249

management 180–202 Hobson, Matt 171
motivation and 201 Hollobon, Michael 231–32
objective 171 hypothetical questions 115
options 175–80
passive candidate 172–73 ‘interim’ executives 15
whole-company solutions 174–80 internet, the 27, 29, 223–24
closed questions 115 interviews (candidates) 108–17, 120–22
codes of practice 25
communication 133–35 arrangements 120–22
authoritative 135 case study 113
personality-based 135 competency/behavioural 112
power boosters 134 gathering information 110–15
corporate social responsibility (CSR) 203–04 giving information 115
Crabb, Steve 1 managing a rejection 124–25
CRM (customer relationship management post-interview 122–24
preparing for/conducting 109–17, 121–22
strategy) 166 questioning techniques 114–15
candidate profiling and 194–96 selling and closing 115–17
CVs (Curriculum Vitae) 95, 112, 238, 239, STAR candidates 113
structure 110
241 ITTs (invitations to tender) 163–64
screening tool 101 responding to 164–65

Davis, Penny 178, 203 job board mining 227–29
delivery strategy see client strategy job fair 214
demand open questions 114 job offers 125–28
direct questions 114
‘disintermediation’ 27 closing the deal 128–29
magic circle 126–27
e-auctions 165–66 negotiation 125–27
e-mail 27, 148–49, 152 job specification 183, 184, 186
Eames, Matthew 182
employment agencies 11 labour market 19 26
employment legislation 23–25, 27 demographic changes
equality/diversity 204
Etheridge, Colin 113 leading questions 115
Evans, Keith 183 learning cycle 36
Evans, Sue 41 Leveridge, Debbie 33
evidence-based questions 115
executive-level recruitment 15, 17 managed service company (MSC) 20–21
managed service provider (MSP) 2, 170
fees 75–76, 160–61 Mansfield-Osbourne, Christian 116
retainer 192–93, 232 Manulescu, Radu 62
marketing candidates 119–20
Fisher, Richard 173 Martyn, Di 96, 131–32
flexible staffing 17–20 Maslow, A 198–99

gap analysis 60 see also business strategy hierarchy of needs 198–99
Generation Y 65, 197, 203 Mason, David 177–78, 194
Glasser, W 200–01 master vendor (MV) arrangement 21
middle/senior management 16
Choice Theory 200–01 Morris, Denise 195
goal setting 57–59 see also business strategy motivation/values 53–55

Hanikene, Paul 66 theory 199–200
Hay, David 137–38 multiple questions 115
headhunting 229–45
Herring, Richard 88 networking 217–27
Herrmannsen, Chris 33 groups 223–24
Herzberg, F 200
office workers 16–17
Two Factor Theory 200 open questions 114

250 INDEX

part-time workers 19–20 suppliers 17–21
Pearson, Ian 64 technology and 27–29
performance indicators 80–94 turnover 15
recruitment markets 8–9, 10–13, 14
activity levels 80–86 recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) 2,
case study 86
measures 82–86 20–21, 170, 174
rejections-to-offer 98 recruitment training 1–2, 9
relevance 86 reflective questions 114
time management 87–88 REQ candidates 105, 107, 112, 117, 150
permanent staffing 20 retention 8
person specification 183, 185, 186 Richardson, Tracey 176–77
personal power 134 Rogers, Vicki 230–31
PESTLEC analysis 57, 61–69 role checklist 193
culture 67 Rush, Martin 66
economic 63
environmental 66 Sale, Chris 173
legal 66 Scutt, Sally 175
political 62 search consultants 90–91
sociological 63–65 Simons, Lawrence 33–34
technological 65 Simpson, Lucy 219
Peters, Francesca 206 SMARTER objectives 58–59
placement strategies (candidates) 117–19 SPEQ candidates 105–07, 112, 117, 118, 150,
client penetration 117–18
preferred supplier list (PSL) 21, 73, 75 153
probing questions 114 marketing 119–20
procurement process 161–66 staffing services, procurement process for
professional staff 16
project management 99 161–66
promotion/marketing 77–79 Stork, Damien 106
psychometric testing 194–95 strategy 70 see also business strategy
public sector recruiters 8 success criteria 32–35
Pye, Dave 65 SWOT analysis 57, 61, 68–69

questioning techniques 114–15 Tanner, Peter 129 220
technology 27–29
recruiter brand 96–99 temporary staff 9, 13, 14, 21
recruiter skills 32–35 terms/conditions 160–61
recruiter types 48–53, 81 time management 87–88
Recruitment and Employment Confederation
case study 88
(REC) 25 dividing day 87–88
recruitment companies 17–21 key rules 87
trade events/industry conferences
labour market breakdown 19 Triance, Louise 79
procurement 20–21 TRIC approach 150, 154
sector breakdown 18
services 27–28 unique selling points (of role/job) 190–91,
success criteria 32–35 196
recruitment cycle 36–46, 89, 94
performance measures 85–86 unskilled/seasonal labour 17
recruitment industry 7–9, 231
data 15 values 53–55
ethics 25
future trends 26–29 Webb, Dorian 34 155–61
governance 21–29 WIGGS interview structure
legal developments 22 Wilkinson, Brian 167–68
structure 14–17 Wright, Jerry 78

Yell case study 205