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PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT
Page 64
Page 65
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Optimum Recruitment Services doesn't just place drivers in work, it also offers comprehensive training. Tim Maughan finds out more.
In road transport there is a clear distinction between a training firm and a recruitment firm: one provides tuition and the other provides drivers. But Optimum Recruitment Services both trains its personnel and supplies them to customers ranging from small local hauliers to large national fleets.
Modern truck driving is a multi-faceted operation, point out group director Jane Eggleton and training and development manager Jeremy Richardson.
Operatives in the warehouse sector, for example. pick and pack boxes. But LGV drivers have to take on a wide range of responsibilities. Out on the road, they are the public face of a transport firm.They need to know the rules of the Working Time Directive, understand tachographs, and negotiate trucks through congested roads.
With this in mind, Optimum secures funding to develop its personnel and offer a wide selection of tuition programmes. Richardson is a qualified RoadTransport Industry Training Board driving instructor and assessor: his job is to ensure that the correct tuition is delivered to the drivers.
Courses include LGV instruction and assessments, digital tachograph training,EU and Workinglime Directive training, and health and safety instruction. -Our clients call for innovation," says technical director Andrew Keppel.
When the drivers are supplied to the firm's customers, they wear the Optimum uniform, and are provided with safety footwear and high-visibility clothing.
Keppel explains the thinking behind a new recruitment IT program, called AgencyTrac, which is only in use with a handful of recruitment companies."It monitors the entire booking process, from paying the drivers through to charging the client," he says.
Via computer, the customer specifies what type of driver they require.At their Milton Keynes base, Optimum staff receive an instant snapshot view of all the bookings".
The computer program displays drivers' availability, along with the records of their recent working hours and rest periods. Optimum has 4,000 drivers on its database, and has 400 of these working at any one time.
Optimum rings the relevant drivers, and sets them to work. Agency Trac then works out the drivers' pay and charges the client, all online. The firm insists on interviewing candidates in person before they can go onto the firm's books. Keppel asserts that the company does not seek to attain high numbers just for the sake of it: quality and accuracy are more important 'We focus on sourcing the correct candidates for the correct position," he explains.
"lb fulfil this aim, Keppel is developing computer-based driver profiles so staff can be directed to exactly the right jobs.
• Contact: www.optimumrecruitment.co.uk