Below we have selected some stories about clients with whom we've worked to help them satisfy their talent needs. Whilst the talents we've sourced have been predominantly health and safety, we are also pleased to be able to describe cases where we've pushed the boundaries to track down scarce talent in other disciplines.
The common theme running through every story is the depth of understanding we have been able to develop when clients entrust us to deliver. We are also pleased that these cases all help to support our claim to have the best Health and Safety talent network.
Graduate intake management - A major construction client
Our client is a major player in UK construction and engineering contracting. Over the past 5 years they have used Shirley Parsons Associates to handle their intake of graduate SHE talent. To deliver on this we have developed strong relationships with academic institutions supplying SHE related degree courses. Our service whereby we meet and interview all undergraduates in a 'milkround' style has been of huge benefit to our client in both short term fit to their projects and long term succession planning. Being secure in the knowledge that the best graduate talent with the most appropriate personality fit for their business is being acquired every year has been a huge value add for them.
Diverse Executive talent - A major supermarket chain
We started working with this client in early 2008. They were going through a major restructuring and approached us to work with them on an exclusive basis. We delivered quickly and recruited a Compliance Manager and a Regional Health and Safety Manager. Pleased with our ability to deliver, they then asked us if we could help with an Operations Director role.
This was a sensitive role as there was still somebody in post. We agreed that a Head Hunting approach would be appropriate and began our research on several fronts. In this case Shirley's personal network proved extensive enough for us to track down and shortlist 2 suitable candidates. We reviewed the range of candidates and our shortlist with the client who then went on to conduct its own extensive screening and interviewing and duly selected our preferred candidate.
This assignment was really important for us as well as the client as it proved that at the executive level our networks are strong enough to cross talent boundaries. And having proved that we can deliver, the client has since asked us to source several other executive level roles in a variety of disciplines.
Head of Health and Safety - The House of Commons
When the House of Commons wanted to hire a head of Health and Safety it called in Shirley Parsons to help. Having used its attractiveness as an employer to appeal directly to applicants it used Shirley as a Consultant to help with the rest. Shirley personally filtered all applicants to create a shortlist. She reviewed the shortlist with a panel from the House of Commons. She advised on the process of selection and as a member of the selection and interviewing panel helped to advise on the final appointment.
H&S Director - A large facilities management company
The client was looking for a Director of H&S for two of its businesses. After eight unsuccessful interviews with candidates sent from another agency, Shirley herself became involved via her relationship with other leaders within the company. The HR Manager who had been handling the role quickly saw the value we could deliver using the strength of our personal networks. We put forward 3 candidates, all of whom were interviewed. 2 of them were hired.
An ongoing relationship - Fire Services Authority
Shona first started trading with this client in 2004 when working with Shirley at her previous company. She placed the Head of Safety in 2004 and went on to place her deputy in early 2006. Both candidates have since been promoted and at the time of writing, both are still with the client. We also placed a tried & tested contractor in early 2009 who has since been taken on as a permanent member of staff.
A Flexible Talent Solution - A Property and Facilities Management PLC
Our client provides accommodation and property services to a wide range of commercial and government clients. Part of their service offering involves client employee training in health and safety practices. When they were asked by a large government department to manage their offices housing several thousand staff throughout the UK, they needed a flexible talent solution, so they called in Shirley to advise personally.
The challenge
It turned out that they needed almost every aspect of the services that Shirley Parsons Associates provides. This encompassed the initial briefing & recommendations (consultancy) through to selecting and managing the logistics of the delivery team (the flexible talent solution). Additionally the timescales for delivery were very short indeed.
What happened?
Following the initial consultation, Shirley recommended building a team of part-time associate trainers, able to cover the whole country and deliver courses on a Just-In-Time basis. In addition she appointed one of her own consultants to manage all of the logistics involved in ensuring that the right trainer was in the right place at the right time delivering the correct course material. Furthermore all of the timesheet, billing and accommodation processes were handled in-house.
The result
Within 6 weeks we built a team of over 20 training specialists. At any time between 6 and 12 of these specialists would be engaged in course planning or delivery. We kept on top of the client's delivery plans, providing contingency in case of sickness. We delivered full management information to accompany this project. Over 2000 separate courses have since been delivered successfully.
How could we deliver a solution like this?
Many companies offering temporary staff have a database of independent people. The quality of the people on that database and the ability of the people using the database is generally what differentiates these companies.
In order to offer a flexible talent solution a company needs to be able to obtain a much better understanding of what its client's issues are. The company must also possess the range of internal talent to be able to make recommendations and deliver on them.
Because we are specialists in the health and safety arena and because we are specialists in attracting, approving and deploying talent we can confidently offer these solutions.
Interim solutions - A scientific Research Establishment
In late 2007 we were tasked with recruiting a Health and Safety Advisor, so we went to visit the hiring manager to gain a better understanding of his needs. Armed with this extra essential information we were able to find the right person who started with the establishment soon after.
A few months later, we were asked to find a Head of Health, Safety and Environment. Once again we met the client and discussed his recruitment needs. We also explained how we could cover the position on an interim basis. We soon placed an interim Health and Safety person and this gave all parties much more time to scour the market place to find someone who would be a good long term match. 4 months later there was a smooth handover between the interim and the newly appointed employee.
Interim Solutions - An Emergency Services Training Centre
We approached this client in late 2008 as part of our everyday marketing activities. Soon after they came back to us, asking us to help appoint an Interim Health and Safety Adviser for their site in Gloucestershire. We went to meet the client the same day to discuss their needs and find the best solution. The meeting explored the cultural and technical attributes needed enabling us to find good candidates much more easily. Our preferred candidate started a week later for an initial 3 month period, which was eventually extended. Such was the strength of the match made, the candidate was offered (and accepted) the role on a permanent basis.
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A headhunt campaign - Food Manufacturing Group
We came in behind a senior executive headhunter who had failed to find credible applicants for the role of Health, Safety and Environment Director. Having spoken with us, the client quickly realised that the generalist headhunter did not have either specialist knowledge of Health and Safety or the networks in the field to source first class candidates at a senior level.
Having won the client's confidence we set about mounting the campaign. As with most senior appointments in Health and Safety we did not feel it was necessary to advertise as our networks are very strong. We listened to the client's needs and developed a good understanding of the unique culture of the business which enabled us to network rapidly.
Within 6 weeks 3 credible candidates emerged from the selection process, all of whom could have been appointed. In the event the first candidate who was offered the job accepted and duly started.
Since then we have continued to work with the client on a number of other health and safety recruitment assignments.
Contract solutions - Construction Group
We've included this story to illustrate 2 principles. The first is that low price often means low quality. The second is that if you need to be sure of quality, go to a specialist.
This client contacted us for a contract worker to start quickly on a large underground electrical cabling project. We found a good person who was interviewed the next day, alongside someone else who had been put forward by a construction agency. The client felt both candidates could do the job and selected the construction agency's candidate because he was cheaper.
However, after 1 day the chosen candidate was dismissed and the client came back to us. Our candidate started the next day and at the time of writing has just been extended for a further 3 months.