A large Call Centre providing warranty and technical help to purchasers of computer and electrical equipment from several of the country’s leading retailers.

The last six months had seen a large surge in warranties sold by this market leading group of electrical retailers, and this had caused an exponential increase in calls to the Contact Centre. There was a need to recruit 350 new agents in the last quarter of the year to meet this demand and a further peak in calls anticipated due to Christmas sales. Two other agencies were enlisted, as well as the client’s internal recruitment team.

A full understanding of the job role was essential to the success of this campaign. Our consultants worked closely with teams of agents doing process re-engineering earlier in the year and so had a strong grasp of the role and the skills and characteristics necessary to perform. This was used to write a comprehensive interview script complete with a scoring matrix covering all the key performance areas for the job.

110 agents were recruited over a 10 week period.  Due to the quality of candidates submitted, 1st for Recruitment had the highest pass rate at the client’s assessment centres. One week there was a 100% pass rate from 18 candidates attending!

The client has responsibility  for the provision of support to the Highways Agency who are responsible for the motorways and trunk roads throughout the UK

The client needed to recruit a team of team of 10 operators for their network control centre, who would be responsible for taking calls from the public, emergency services and local authorities, concerning issues on the trunk road and motorway network. Speed of response was key in this campaign. Training was due to commence within four weeks and the candidates needed to have experience in working under pressure in emergency situations. 1st For Recruitment had already recruited the control centre manager.

Having spent time observing and listening to calls in another one of the company’s control centres, 1st for Recruitment designed the recruitment and selection process.  This included:

• Design and placement of local advertising
• Two rounds of telephone interviews
• An assessment centre including:
• Team working skills
• English and Mathematics tests
• Telephone role play
• Face to face interview

A total of around 70 initial telephone interviews were conducted.  From this around 40 were selected for second round interviews.  24 candidates were invited to  assessment centre, held at the client’s premises, with the required 10 being selected at the end of the day.

" The speed and flexibility of the approach adopted by 1st for Recruitment enabled us to obtain a large number of staff to a very tight deadline. The quality of the candidates and the process used to assess them was excellent".

A leading ticketing agency with a large Sales and Customer Service Call Centre.

The Call Centre for this major organisation had grown to such an extent that the client felt it necessary to divide the management of it into two sections – Customer Service and Sales. They were seeking an experienced Call Centre Manager for the new role of Customer Services Manager. This was a vital role for the company and it was essential that the right calibre person was recruited to the post.

A full brief was taken covering the key skills and experiences necessary for the position and advice given on the salary offered for the role. Adverts were then placed on a number of on-line job boards, targeting those that specialised more in Customer Service, Call Centres and Management positions. The 1st for Recruitment CV database was also a good source as this originated from a call centre background initially. The project was complicated by several delays beyond our’s and the client’s control. Re-advertising was necessary on two occasions before interviews could take place and the right candidate obtained.

Ultimately a first class applicant was identified and accepted by the client after several interviews. She made an immediate impact on the operation. The client commented, not only on the quality of person we had recruited, but also on our persistence in overcoming the delays to deliver the right result.

Our first impression of 1st for Recruitment was a positive one; they provided us with a high quality of candidate – I have engaged them in assisting us with further positions.

A multi-national provider of security software solutions to businesses and individuals.

Due to rapid expansion this client was seeking a Global Marketing Manager to develop their channels in EMEA and other areas of the world. Over 50 agencies were briefed as this was seen as a key position in their organisation.

Advertisements were placed on over ten different job boards, particularly targeting the Marketing industry and IT sectors. Executive job boards were also focused on and several CV databases were scoured for suitable candidates. Our own database of thousands of CV’s was interrogated and referrals sought from industry colleagues.

From the 50 agencies commissioned to work on this project only 5 interviews were carried out by the Client. Of these 1st for Recruitment had two applicants – testimony to the thoroughness of our approach. Both of these candidates went through to the second and final interview, with one candidate securing this senior position in the organisation.

A specialist affinity marketing arm of one of the world’s largest insurance companies.

The client had established a UK subsidiary selling large volume insurance products to the public through affinity partners. These campaigns were entirely undertaken over the telephone, utilising telemarketing outsourced agencies. The performance of these agencies was becoming erratic and taking too much of the Director’s time and so a Telemarketing Specialist was required to monitor, and enhance, the methods adopted and the results achieved. The individual also needed to have a good understanding of direct marketing campaigns and be capable of personally coaching agents in the outsourcing centre.

This campaign was the second undertaken for this client following the successful recruitment of a Telemarketing Project Manager a few months earlier. A similar process was  followed with each project. The project was handled by one of our Call Centre specialist recruiters, who initially held a meeting with the reporting Director to fully understand the role. Adverts were then placed on numerous job boards, some specialising in call centre managerial personnel. Detailed interviews took place with respondents and several individuals were identified for interview by the client. Due to the specialist nature of the role, requirements were honed as the campaign progressed until the ideal candidate was found. 1st for Recruitment then undertook a joint interview with the outsourcing agency on their premises and the recommendation to employ the candidate, following this interview, was accepted by the employer.

An outstanding candidate was employed, who could have been missed had the consultant concerned not been a specialist from the call centre industry.

“It was essential for us to recruit somebody with a unique blend of marketing skills. 1st for Recruitment stuck to the task until we found exactly the right candidate”

Nic Brown (Director, CIGNA)

In order to support an aggressive business development vision, the client was seeking an experienced IT Manager to take the IT & Telephony infrastructure to a new level including re-location to new premises. There was the potential for the successful candidate to advance to the position of IT Director.

An extensive advertising campaign was undertaken employing many of the major IT job boards.  A thorough search of our own database, containing thousands of CVs, was undertaken as well as seeking referrals from industry colleagues.  Following initial evaluation of applications, short listed candidates were interviewed against the key requirements for the role and their past experience and potential. A short list of candidates was forwarded to the client, whereupon a series of interviews took place with HR and Operations, culminating with the Finance Director and Managing Director.

Three candidates were selected from our own shortlist, plus two from other agencies.  Two candidates were selected for final interview, both of which were from 1st For Recruitment. The successful applicant is still there two years later.

The UK's leading specialist b2b telemarketing agency exclusively supporting the IT and telecommunications industries.

To assist with rapid business expansion, the client was keen to recruit top quality sales executives with a proven successful track record in selling outsourced services to leading IT companies.

As one of our Consultants had experience in managing a telemarketing agency this project was handled by him. In finding the right person for this role it was vital to not only understand the role, but also the culture of the company and the IT sector in which they exclusively operated. Meetings took place with the HR Manager and the Managing Director to fully ascertain this. Detailed, targeted adverts were placed on various on-line job boards and extensive CV searches undertaken on our own and other CV databases. Due to the very specific background required and the very high standards set by this client, the vast majority of applicants were unsuitable and only two were passed to the client for consideration. Both were interviewed by HR, but only one made it to final interview with the MD and Sales Manager. He was offered the role, but 1st for Recruitment had to negotiate with him, on behalf of the client, as a counter offer was made by his current employer.

The preferred candidate eventually joined the company and set the standard for others to follow in the future.

“The quality of this candidate has made us re-think the calibre of person we should be looking to recruit”

HR Manager