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A QUESTION OF HONOUR
Page 64
Page 65
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Recruitment agencies must uphold their integrity if they are to flourish in the road transport sector, as
Tim Maughan found when he spoke to Xclusive
Recruitment boss David Doolan.
David Doolan has a long sales and marketing background in the parcels sector. In June 2003 he left Nightspeed Services and, with his wife Jackie, set up Xclusive Recruitment.
The couple recognised that some other agencies have tended to place personnel in the wrong job — a process which initially pleases all parties, until the cracks show and the staff placement disintegrates."We looked at all the things that we did not want to happen in our company," says Doolan."We wanted to go about business with honesty and integrity. "Xclusive Recruitment is not fee-driven; we take a long-term view and focus on developing true partnerships," he adds.
Not for drivers
Doolan does not supply Gass 1 driven. He has clerical and sales staff on his books,as well as road transport depot and operations managers. He is adamant that staff will not be taken on unless they have been interviewed by Xclusive. This sounds like common sense but Doolan reports that some agencies place personnel into jobs after a no more than a quick glance at a CV CM meets Doolan in a pub opposite Redbridge tube station in • icimantraii London's East End. He favours face-to-face contact, and that means a lot of driving.Today, for example, he has driven from Brackley, Northants, to South Minims, then to Waltham Abbey, and then here to Redbridge.
In the course of the day he has conducted comprehensive interviews with a potential business development manager, a general depot manager, and an operations manager for a large logistics outfit.
During talks with potential personnel he tries to weigh up whether the candidate would fit into the "business culture" of a particular firm.
So it is not just a question of having the correct qualifications, or even experience; Doolan must be confident that customer and staff share that common element.
Xclusive has placed specialist staff in the 10 leading parcels companies in Britain. "We are committed to an honest and frank communication style with both candidates and clients," he stresses.
Many agencies make contact with the client, and then concentrate on marshalling the personnel. Doolan seeks to absorb himself within a customer's working environment.
He says:"I will visit a company and sit with the 'stars' of the firm,I will try and find out what they are doing, and how they work."
Doolan takes his notes, and then begins the process of finding the right people to fill a particular vacancy.
There are only a few agencies in the UK which provide administration,sales and managerial staff for road transport companies. Xclusive only deals with permanent job placements.
Doolan's company is just one year old. He has advertised his services in the local, and national transport press. However, he is acutely aware that operators are not taken in by publicity alone — agencies have to come up with the goods if they are to sustain a successful business.
Earning your money
Would he ever consider providing staff to clients on a temporary basis? "No," he says. "It's a different marketplace from driver agencies which often work on a local basis. We are a national company and we want to do things well, not averagely.
"It is important that we substantiate our fee — we need to do a good j ob, otherwise we won't stay in business," Doolan points out.
One year on, he says that Xclusive is still consolidating the ground it has won. Eighteen months from now, the firm may look at the area of driver recruitment.There are no concrete plans to embark on such a programme, however; it depends on a variety of factors: "We want to get entrenched in the marketplace before we move onto the next stage," he adds.
Doolan reiterates the fact that he values clients and candidates equally: they work off each other. Poor staff can damage a firm, and this can have repercussions for the likes of Xclusive:"Reputation can take a lifetime to build and minutes to destroy." •