A specialist recruitment agency is celebrating six months of success in Scunthorpe and making plans to expand its services to help more people into long-term work.
The branch opened last year to help employers find eager and enthusiastic out-of-work people, and get them into regular work and roles with longer term prospects.
Headed by General Manager Ed Trafford, who has eight years in the recruitment business – five working at Staff Finders’ head office in Hull – the branch focuses on providing staff for industries such as manufacturing, logistics, warehousing and general production.
Many are ‘temporary to permanent’ roles, with the business committed to taking the time to get to know and develop the skills of each person, understand what works suits them best and find them a role which will last.
“We’re proud of the way we work with the people who turn to us as we take time to get to know them,” said Mr Trafford.
“We don’t want to just fill vacancies for the sake of it, we want to send the right people to the right clients and roles, and our personal touch means we can do that.”
One of the key parts of that process is offering training specifically devised to meet employers’ requirements, ensuring that those looking for work have the very best opportunity when positions arise.
They undertake training of new starters so that they’re already prepared for many roles, including Health and Safety inductions, Manual handling training, Food safety training and Heavy lifting training.
Assessments are also carried out with employers and individuals after the end of each placement to ‘continue building the profile and skillset’ of the employee, ensuring they are supported in their search for work.
“The people who register with us are invested in,” Mr Trafford said.
“Many recruitment agencies do not do their own training, but we do. It makes it more appealing to the businesses we supply as it means we have a bank of staff that we can call upon, across many industries, when needed. We have tried and tested staff in our bank who we can place in suitable roles.
“We always sit and try to get an understanding of where people are at when they register with us and we always follow-up at the end of every placement to see how they’ve done. We sit down with them and ask what they did or didn’t like about the role, and if they struggled with anything.
“Sometimes we make a note that they’re not suitable for a particular kind of work and we look for other strengths. We ask for feedback from the employers too, to find out if they were punctual and a good worker, and we can also give that feedback to the candidate too. It means we constantly develop the quality when it comes to the workers we provide.”
Another ‘feather in their cap’ is the technology Staff Finders uses to enable employers to manage their agency staff.
The company uses specialist software which employers can also log into, which lists all Staff Finders’ workers that work for them, and their training and qualifications details, ensuring they have assurance over compliance at all times.
The system also keeps a running total of labour costs, so that there are no nasty surprises for the clients’ accounting departments at the end of each month.
The database also crucially enables Staff Finders to quickly identify suitable staff at speed, and who have relevant experience and qualifications, when job opportunities arise, such as when there is a temporary need to meet big orders.
Six months into life in Scunthorpe and Mr Trafford, who presently runs a team of three specialists, is confident of further expansion soon, having established a reputation as a reliable staff provider.
The Scunthorpe office based is based in Laneham Street, in the centre of town close to the Job Centre and near to the bus station.
To discuss employment opportunities, or to enquire about recruiting, call into the branch or ring (01482) 21100 option 2. Circle Lenses Online