Twenty years in the business brings wisdom and experience – what you’d do differently, what advice you’d give to those just starting up and, of course, the satisfaction of knowing that what you set out to do in the first place still holds firm two decades later.
Impact Recruitment Services was founded in 2002 and quickly established itself as one of Northampton’s leading recruitment agencies. The foundation of the business was a list of core values that have not changed over the intervening period, despite changes and challenges from recessions and pandemics on one hand and the ability to harness new technology to streamline and fine tune processes on the other.
Today, with a Wellingborough office and satellite offices in Corby and Peterborough, as well as the original Northampton headquarters, Impact prides itself not only on its efficient and excellent service, but on what it has brought to the recruitment sector as a whole.
Director Paul Hooper, one of the original three founders of the firm, said:
“When we started we set out our five core values, which are integrity, innovation, trust, teamwork and respect. Regardless of what has changed during that time, we’ve never lost sight of those values because they are fundamental to how we want to do business.
“Through them we have become more than just a recruitment service, there’s a consultative element that we can offer based on what we’ve learned ourselves through starting and growing a business. We’ve been through recessions, the effects of Brexit, the coronavirus pandemic and the difficulties of remote working and increased demand on the warehousing sector, and we have a lot of knowledge and advice to offer.
“As we’ve put together our own team, we’ve focussed not just on training them up, but instilling in them our core values. That way, they’re doing things the way we’d like them done, but also, when people move on to new jobs in recruitment, they’re taking key values into their new roles, and that has to be good for the sector as a whole.”
Paul now runs Impact Recruitment with his wife Angela, overseeing a team that is back in the office full time after a period of remote working. Back in lockdown, making sure employees were happy at home and had as much support and interaction with colleagues as they needed was a key element of keeping the business going during trying times.
So impressive was Impact’s approach, Paul, Angela and the management team have been shortlisted for the Lockdown Leader Award at the SME National Business Awards, the finals of which will take place at Wembley in December.
Whether Impact takes the award or not, though, the relief of getting back to normal and having everyone back together is tangible.
“It’s like a breath of fresh air,”
said Angela.
“People are back in the office and talking face to face, supporting each other, celebrating the good times and facing any challenges together. We’ve never tried to make people compete against one another, they work on their roles and champion one another’s successes and pull together as a team, and I think that’s why it’s so great for everyone’s morale and mental health to be back in the office together.”
At Impact Recruitment there are three key strands to the business – the clients, the candidates and the team – and the happiness and satisfaction of each one is paramount.
“We expect our employees to build a real understanding of the clients’ businesses and culture and to understand what candidates are looking for,”
said Paul.
“Both candidate and client are looking for a 10 out of 10 outcome – the candidate wants a job that ticks all the boxes, the client wants an employee that ticks all the boxes. Sometimes, there has to be compromise and that’s our job, to make sure that both get as close to their ideal situation as they possibly can.”
Many of the Impact Recruitment team have undertaken REC training, the industry standard accreditation training, for their own personal development within their careers. In addition they learn how important the five core values are, from being ready to embrace new practices and move with the times to understanding the importance of honesty and integrity, in not making promises on which they can’t deliver, or owning up to any mistakes, and always having respect for everyone in the process, particularly important when dealing with a diverse range of client companies, and a huge number of candidates looking for temporary and permanent positions.
Paul added:
“We are about to enter the second half of what is going to be a very tight year for a lot of people and a lot of businesses. We are fortunate that a good percentage of the posts we fill are temps, which seems to be more attractive to businesses at the moment while they face such uncertainty in the economy.
“The fact is, there are more jobs than there are people to fill them, and employers need to be at their best level to attract and retain staff. As an experienced recruiter, we know what employers need to do in terms of salaries, onboarding and incentives to make sure they get the people that bring them up to the level they need to be.”
Find out more about Impact Recruitment or give them a call on 01604 239555.
