With their Head Office located in Ancoats, Central Manchester (often referred to as the world's first industrial suburb, birthplace of the Industrial revolution and recently voted the third trendiest district in Europe, per a Hip Neighbourhood Index, compiled by TravelSupermarket) The HR Market recruits in the HR & Development space at all levels and across all industry sectors. It employs an agile workforce offering solutions to customers throughout the UK.
“The HR Market is a real hub and additional resource for HR, Training and Recruitment people serving to bring the broader HR Community closer together.” Ged commented “We believe that our combined value proposition is a first for the industry. Recognizing that the recruitment landscape has changed significantly in recent years our approach is innovative, participatory and collaborative. By building effective business and recruitment relationships and carefully nurturing our company culture we aim to become the UK’s leading HR Recruitment agency and employer of choice by 2022.”.
Ged cut his teeth as a HR Recruiter and Managing Consultant at a Platinum awarded IIP and Sunday Times Top 100 company before recognizing a gap in the market for building a boutique recruitment business with a national reach.
“From a recruitment methodology perspective, every agency will claim to have its own magic source, however, our proactivity and commitment to continuous development and improvement will hopefully keep us ahead of the game, zagging whilst others zig. We wouldn’t have formed if we didn’t believe that we had something truly unique and different to offer the marketplace, especially considering current economic uncertainty” Ged commented.
The HR Market supports all their customers on a sole-agency exclusive basis and Ged spoke passionately about this area for the future health of the recruitment industry generally.
“There exists a misconception amongst some in the industry that working with one recruitment agency only benefits the agency itself and that instructing more than one agency heightens competition and thus the likelihood of finding the best person for the job. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve known of certain organisations instructing two, three, four and sometimes even more agencies for recruiting a role which leaves me utterly flabbergasted. I wrote a LinkedIn article covering this topic recently entitled “It takes two to make a thing go right”.
Our clients on the other hand know that exclusivity of assignment benefits both parties, but most importantly, the outcome of the recruitment drive itself. The sourcing and screening process is more thorough as a direct result of their not existing a first to the buzzer race for candidates between agencies, and thus the calibre of applicants to interview is greatly increased. HR MKT clients know that their vacancy is being given the full commitment and priority that it deserves rather than it being graded in accordance with the level of commitment the agency has been granted vis-à-vis other assignments that they may be working on at any given time. HR Market clients know that by working exclusively with us they are saving themselves a significant amount of time and thus resources by not having to brief more than one agency. Furthermore, HR MKT clients know that by solely instructing us they are protecting their brand as the candidate journey and the information provided to them is consistent.
As someone who graduated in Philosophy many moons ago I still love my analogies. You don’t request quotes from 2 or 3 builders and then ask them all to start building your house for you on the proviso that only one of them will get paid. A builder wouldn’t enter in to such an arrangement so why on earth would an agency recruiter enter in to one. It’s all about careful selection when it comes to choosing which agency to support your business.”
Ged Roberts, Director & Principal HR & Development Recruiter at The HR Market Ltd
Ged added with a smile on his face “I’m yet to lose our industry’s version of a beauty parade although, as you can see yourself, with this face I sure as hell should have. We have had to walk away from assignments kindly presented to us already because of our policy in this regards, however, we are fully committed to the quality of the service we deliver, to and on behalf of the customers we proudly represent so would never wish to put that in jeopardy. My apologies, rant over”.
We were also interested to know more about the bird used in The HR Market logo.
“When designing our logo, we were looking to incorporate something that would represent the primary service that we provide. I’ve always loved Seagulls and especially their sound, colour and shape. Urban seagulls can be seen swooping past our office windows as we are located right next to a canal. I think that that this together with my having previously worked in Liverpool city centre where they can be seen and heard too, triggered me to look in to them more on Wikipedia.
Seagulls are intelligent birds who are known for being extremely resourceful and great hunters. They are also known for their effective communication and for being inquisitive, versatile and loyal. All characteristics which we believe supports great recruitment.
We like to think of them now as our lucky mascot watching over us at our every turn. Well at least I do.”
And what about the journey so far?
“Its’s relatively early days, however, feedback from our valued customers has been extremely encouraging. We appreciate that the world of HR is a small one and that therefore, the recruitment relationships that we forge need to be cyclical and on-going. Our candidates are our Queens and Kings and we aim to provide opportunities for HR, Training and Recruitment Professionals that can truly transform their careers. At The HR Market, we place the best people into the best businesses and appreciate that human capital is the true driving force behind any organisation.
We pride ourselves in offering a tireless true business partnering approach whilst maintaining a focus on return on investment, time to hire, the cultural fit and the sustainability of all placements”.
In closing our meeting, we asked Ged what he feels sets The HR Market apart?
“The fact that we are a resource hub works fantastically for candidate attraction. We are more than just a recruitment agency and our added value services rewards loyal custom and serves to provide an additional resource to the wider HR, Training and Recruitment community. Marketing and technological advances are key cogs determining business growth more so now than ever before. We intend to be at the forefront of such advances from a HR recruitment perspective, in how we operate, whilst maintaining a relationship focus at the heart of all that we do”.
From an ethical standpoint, as part of it’s CSR policy The HR Market donates 5% of all placement profits to charitable organisations as selected by the clients they support on each assignment.
To learn more about how partnering with The HR Market could assist your job search, or how The HR Market can support and benefit your business, visit: www.thehrmarket.com.
You can also find Ged’s recently written LinkedIn article, “It takes two to make a thing go right” at:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/takes-two-make-thing-go-right-ged-roberts?trk=mp-author-card
