The Burford Recruitment Company are delighted to announce that Andy Hudson-Shaw has joined the team as a Recruitment Partner to further expand the Technical division, focussing on recruitment in the IT and Engineering sectors.
Andy brings with him over 20 years experience in IT and Engineering recruitment.
Andy says “After a couple of years out of recruitment I was keen to join a company that has the same values and approach to business as I do, honest, transparent and commitment to quality and customer satisfaction. Knowing Chris and Jodie well was also a great incentive as I know that the culture on the inside is exactly as it is projected on the outside”.
Jodie Hannah, The Burford Recruitment Company founder says, “I have known Andy for 17 years having previously worked together, and I am really excited that he has chosen to join us. Not only does Andy add a wealth of knowledge regarding IT & Engineering recruitment, but we also know he is going to be a massive part of the continued growth and success of The Burford Recruitment Company as a whole”.
If you would like to talk to Andy about how he can help you with your IT and Engineering recruitment needs, you can contact him on [email protected] or call 01993 225055.
In 2020 our Directors, Jodie and Chris became Enterprise Advisors in order to help schools and colleges engage with local businesses to develop their careers program.
Over the last year we have had to adjust to a new situation, and work with OxLEP and the local schools and colleges in a different way than anticipated. We have participated in both face to face and virtual mock interviews with students from various schools, provided on line presentations on soft skills to students and course representatives, provided free CV advice and writing to students approaching graduation, and recently provided free CV and interview guidance to students through the 'Find your Future' virtual careers platform which will stay in place throughout 2021.
Enabling Jodie and Chris to work with the schools, and to take the time to create and provide the content has been a real team effort, and everyone at The Burford Recruitment Company were delighted to find out last week that we had been nominated for the ‘School Engagement Employer Award’ at this years Oxfordshire Apprentice Awards. The School Engagement Employer Award being a new award to recognise organisations that have exceeded normal standards and expectations in engaging with local schools and colleges to inspire the next generation.
We just found out that following the judging decisions from the sponsors and the Awards Committee last week, that Burford Recruitment Company has been selected as one of the three School Engagement Employer Award finalists in the Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards 2021 and we cant wait for the finals on May 6th 2021.
We are expanding our temporary and contract offering...
Welcome to the team!
The Burford Recruitment Company have expanded our team, and welcome Maxine in the role of Senior Recruitment Consultant to manage temporary and contract recruitment across the Professional and Technical sectors.
Maxine's focus will be on developing our offering, ensuring clients receive the same 'Award-Winning' service which saw The Burford Recruitment Company receive a prestigious West Oxfordshire Business Award in 2020 for our permanent recruitment service.
We have been watching the employment market closely during the last 12 months, and having noted an increase in demand for temporary and contract professional and technical staff, we believe our clients will immediately benefit from Maxine's arrival and her expertise. Having already spent 5 years working within local recruitment businesses, Maxine is keen to use her experience to continue helping Oxfordshire businesses.
Maxine says “I am thrilled to join The Burford Recruitment Company. They are a modern, friendly, professional company and extremely passionate about what they do. I am excited to be part of that and look forward to building strong relationships with both our pre-existing and future clients”.
Chris Hannah, Managing Director says, “We have been aware of Maxine, and have been keen to bring her on board for a number of years now. Over the last 12 months, we have noticed a big increase in demand for temporary and contract roles... Maxine’s level of experience, professionalism and friendly style make her the ideal person to further grow this aspect of our business and meet our client’s needs”.
If you would like to talk to Maxine about how she can help you with your recruitment needs, you can contact her on [email protected] or call 01993 225055
We are excited to announce that The Burford Recruitment Company have been confirmed as an 'Approved Employer' by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (DWP) allowing us to take part in the Kickstart Scheme!
Background
The Kickstart Scheme supports employers who provide six month work placements for young people. Importantly, these placements must provide regular paid work which is of value, and which will help young people to develop transferrable skills for their future career. The purpose of the scheme is to improve employability, and the chances of sustained employment for those particularly at risk of long term unemployment (16-24-year-old age group).
This improvement is achieved through the creation of new jobs that would not otherwise exist, providing work which incentivises positive behaviours to make young people more attractive to future employers and improve their readiness to transition into long term employment, giving them the confidence and competence to succeed.
We have created two new positions within our team... a Sales & Marketing Assistant and a Recruitment Team Administrator due to join us in Fulbrook, West Oxfordshire early 2021!
What can Kickstarters expect?
Successful candidates will receive on-the-job training in a busy office environment, developing transferrable skills, as well as receiving mentoring, careers advice and support with CV and interview preparation. As a Recruitment Agency, if it is not possible to make these placements permanent at the end of six months, we will also be best placed to ensure they receive support finding their next role.
Community Values
Helping people of all ages improve their career aspirations is something we are very familiar with in the day to day CV and Careers advice we provide. Working on this particular initiative and supporting young people at the greatest risk of being left behind by the coronavirus fall-out goes hand in hand with the work we already do as Careers Mentors to students in local Schools, and as Enterprise Advisorsbringing Oxfordshire Businesses together with schools to improve their careers guidance.
2020 has been a year we will remember for a long time…
As we approach the end of the year, we have asked our clients to tell us how their businesses have been affected, about employee wellbeing and productivity, and how they feel about the support they have received to date. Our clients are predominantly from West Oxfordshire and the surrounding areas, and while we are in an area that thankfully has not felt the worst effects of COVID-19, local businesses have had to endure the same economic difficulties as the rest of the country during the national lockdowns.
What did we learn?
Working from Home
The survey found that local businesses have adapted where they can, with 88% telling us that their employees have been working from home at some point. While most businesses found that they achieved the same output from their workforce during this time, nearly 1 in 5 businesses (19%) said that productivity was negatively affected. The survey also shows that home working is not necessarily better for employee’s mental health. 50% of employers noticed no difference in the mental health of their employees, however more than twice as many employers reported the mental health had declined in comparison to those that reported it had improved. One employer commented that having had 15 employees return to work after Lockdown 1.0, only two took up the option to return to home working again in Lockdown 2.0.
Business Performance
Before giving the results here, it is important to clarify that we do not specialise in either retail or hospitality and so this particular survey does not include these sectors. In terms of revenue and personal income, responses to the survey showed that just as many businesses had improved fortunes compared to those whose results were negatively affected, although we do not know by how much (a 5% increase for Company A does not offset a 50% reduction for Company B). Over 2/3 of businesses surveyed made use of the furlough scheme and 1/3 had planned or made redundancies. Conversely 2/3 of businesses reported that they recruited new employees and over 3/4 of businesses said that they had not put off recruiting a planned role, something which is a surprise given the reduction in advertised vacancies during that period.
Support Received
The Government will be pleased to hear, that 5 times as many businesses said that they were positive regarding the overall financial support they had received to date compared to those who gave a negative response. Interestingly however, more businesses reported being unhappy with the introduction of Lockdown 2.0 indicating that further restrictions and pain for business would not be received well in the region.
Conclusions
Beware falling into the “new normal” trap, and assuming that your employees are happier at home. Many will be lonely and will miss the camaraderie and friendships that come with working in a busy office or workplace.
Working from home does not suit everyone (or even most people). Spending less time commuting, and reducing expenses is great, but reducing social interaction and exercise can have negative consequences for many, not to mention working with young children and pets in the house can be very stressful and distracting.
Instead focus on a more fluid approach to flexible working. Give your employees the option to work at home when they want / need to in order to make their lives easier e.g. Home working during school holidays, flexible start and finish times around core hours to help with the school run, or a day at home if your Field Sales Rep has just done a 200-mile round trip. And if you do have people working from home, make sure you check in with them regularly (not just on their productivity but also their wellbeing).
The West Oxfordshire business community is strong and adaptable, and many companies (35%) have managed to improve their results during this very difficult time. That said, 40% have suffered financially during this period and would benefit from the local business community coming together to support them and rebuild our local economy.
While much of what the Government has done has been applauded, overwhelmingly the biggest complaint / criticism has been the “lasting uncertainty”, and “confused communication” that has resulted in unnecessary damage being done. It seems both anecdotally and through the results of the survey that additional lockdowns will not be supported to the same extent by our business community.
For businesses that are struggling with the effects of recent months, local support, guidance and advice on whether or not your business is eligible for additional support can be gained at OxLEP and GOV.UK
The Burford Recruitment Company are very proud to share with you that our two Directors, Chris and Jodie have completed their DBA checks and safeguarding training and are now officially Enterprise Advisors. They will both be working with the careers teams at Abingdon & Witney College (and other secondary schools), as well as OxLEP Skills and The Careers & Enterprise Company to link schools and colleges to employers and help them to deliver world class careers support for all young people by:
1. Building Networks 2. Supporting Careers Leaders 3. Backing the Gatsby Benchmarks
The Enterprise Adviser Network matches schools and colleges with senior business volunteers to help create powerful, lasting partnerships between schools, colleges, employers and careers programme providers and we are excited to be part of it!
How can you or your business help to support local schools and colleges?
Join the Enterprise Adviser Network!
What is the Enterprise Adviser Network?
The Careers & Enterprise Company’s Enterprise Adviser Network matches schools and colleges with senior business volunteers to help create powerful, lasting partnerships between schools, colleges, employers and careers programme providers. As an Enterprise Adviser, you will take your passion for raising aspirations of young people and combine it with your skills and strategic thinking.
An Enterprise Adviser is a volunteer from business who works closely with the headteacher or Senior Leadership Team of a school or college to provide strategic support. An Enterprise Adviser uses their business experience and professional networks to help develop and implement an effective careers strategy that puts opportunities with local employers at the heart of a young person’s education. Over 2,500 individual senior business volunteers now support the new workforce of Careers Leaders in schools and colleges. A recent survey of Enterprise Advisers indicated that 82% of Enterprise Advisers intend to continue next year with their role, and 92% believe they have built a new skill through the work with schools and colleges.
How can you help?
Research shows that performance against the Gatsby Benchmarks, a framework of eight guidelines that define the best careers provision, is stronger in schools and colleges who are in the Enterprise Adviser Network and working with an Enterprise Adviser, than whose who receive no support.
An Enterprise Adviser adds value by:
Providing an employer’s perspective on what businesses are likely to be willing to do and what opportunities businesses would value;
Supporting the school or college’s senior leadership team to develop a school or college strategic plan to ensure every young person receives meaningful employer encounters and workplace experiences - you are not expected to be an expert in the Careers landscape to do this!
Engaging with local businesses and employers in your network to encourage their involvement in activities at the school or college;
Helping schools and colleges to focus efforts on programmes and activities that are most effective in motivating young people, supporting independent choice and enabling positive outcomes for young people.
What will I need to do?
Our Enterprise Advisers come from different industry sectors and professional backgrounds, be that employed, self-employed or recently retired. As an Enterprise Adviser you can use your unique business experience to inspire young people and prepare them for when they leave education. Careers education is improving everywhere – research from The Careers & Enterprise Company’s State of the Nation 2019 report shows that 2 million secondary aged children are now engaging with employers regularly in 3,800 participating schools and colleges. Ofsted has reported improvements: “The current picture is much more encouraging than has been the case in the past...We saw evidence of integrated, coherent and effective careers strategies in more schools.” Your input could help shape the careers education strategy in your local school or college, better preparing young people for the world of work.
You’ll gain new skills working with the senior leadership in a school and use your network to bring the right people together. The typical time commitment is circa 8 hours per month, over the academic year.
I have never done anything like this – who can I speak to?
You will be supported throughout the journey by a local Enterprise Coordinator, who will help to build the relationships with local schools and colleges.
How do I get involved?
If you would like to help support your local school or college in delivering world class careers guidance to students, getting involved is simple – to register your interest, click here.
Four years ago, when we were preparing to launch the business, we had a conversation about what we wanted to achieve in the first 5 years. Many of the things we spoke about have now been achieved. We have steadily grown, moved into our own office, employed our first member of staff, and importantly remained profitable. However, the very first thing on our founder Jodie’s list was to win a West Oxfordshire Business Award (WOBA)…
A number of our clients, and many of the best and well regarded businesses in West Oxfordshire are either previous winners or have been involved in the awards in some other way during the 10 years they have been running, whether that is through sponsoring an award or being part of the WOBA judging team.
We were therefore really excited to be finalists this year in not one, but two categories (New Business Award and Micro Business Award). The virtual awards ceremony took place on Friday afternoon, and I have to admit we were disappointed not to take either of those awards home.
That disappointment was short lived however and we were delighted (and stunned as you will see if you watch the video clip below!) to be presented with the prestigious Cally Robson Award! This award in particular is incredibly special for a number of reasons…
The Cally Robson Award commemorates an inspirational former member of the WOBA Team. It is not an award that you can enter, this award is presented by the WOBA judges to the finalist that best represents the WOBA values of entrepreneurship, innovation, and a sense of community. With so many great businesses in the finals to be recognised in this way was just amazing.
I would recommend that any business in the West Oxfordshire area should get involved in the WOBAs when they return in 2022 (after 10 years they are having a year off). I certainly hope that there will be an opportunity for us to contribute going forwards in some capacity. To get involved or find out more about the awards visit http://woba.org.uk/ or to watch the award presentation you can visit
Flexible Recruitment Solutions in a Changing Market
Whatever your need, we have the recruitment model to suit your business...
I am sure that we have all heard the expression "we are all in the same boat" when it comes to Covid-19 but that just isn't the case! We may all be bobbing about in the same storm, but each boat is a different shape and size, with a different cargo and crew...
Whatever the size and shape of your business, it is likely that the economic consequences of the lockdown have impacted in some way, and with the economy likely to take some time to recover, businesses are going to need to to be agile in order to maximise their opportunities and not only survive but thrive!
With this in mind, we have developed a number of flexible recruitment models designed to make it easy for our clients to increase their headcount when they need to, whilst minimising any risk...
PERMANENT & CONTRACT RECRUITMENT
Like any business, we too want to reduce our risk in the current times, so in addition to our standard terms for contingent recruitment services (competition with other agencies), we are introducing 2 new models that provide outstanding value for money and a win win for ourselves and our clients...
The Partnership Model - Our partnership terms provide a significantly reduced fee %, as well as monthly payment options (at 0% interest), helping minimise cost and cash flow concerns). They also include an extended rebate scheme, in exchange for exclusivity on vacancies for an agreed period.
The Retained Model - For companies needing more support in the overall recruitment process, clients can choose the retained model, and have access to their own internal recruitment team from as little as £250 a month. Your dedicated Recruitment Partner can assist you or your Hiring Managers with job description creation and salary bench marking as well as creating and managing recruitment campaigns, and supporting the interview and offer process, making recruiting the perfect addition to your team easy.
TEMPORARY RECRUITMENT
To assist those clients who require additional cover, but do not know how long that might be for, or perhaps just want to try before they buy, we are now able to support our clients with a full temporary recruitment service on a weekly or monthly time-sheet/invoice basis. Our Office & Professional, Marketing & Creative, and Accountancy & Finance specialists will ensure that they find you the right fit for your team, even if you only require them for a week.
For more information on any of the products and to see if we can help you visit our client services page or contact us on[email protected]
When partnering with a recruitment agency, it is important to remember that to your candidates, the recruitment agency is an extension of your business.
Our offices, located in a converted stable on the outskirts of Burford, will provide a great first impression to candidates that come to register with us. Our aim is to provide a friendly and professional space where candidates can come to receive a consultative service, and one that differentiates us from the quick turnaround, revolving door that many see as the mark of the ‘high street’ recruitment agency.
We are delighted to announce that Carla Humi has been promoted to Recruitment Partner – Accountancy & Finance!
Carla spent a number of years recruiting A&F teams within the creative sectors in London and across East Asia before relocating to the Cotswolds and joining The Burford Recruitment Company. Since then, Carla has been a fantastic addition to the team and we are delighted that going forward she will be managing all things Accountancy and Finance.
It is Carla’s friendly and professional style and her focus on client and candidate engagement that makes her the perfect fit for our team and our clients.
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We are delighted to announce that Carla Humi has been promoted to Recruitment Partner – Accountancy & Finance!