The quality way to creating new windows of opportunity

0 Comments | Sunday Herald, The, Jun 2, 2002 | by Darran Gardner

Recruitment Zone is also able to hire workers itself for six months and second them on to the client. This "try before you buy" system, offers the company the chance to assess the match and hopefully save them spending money on expensive contract staff.

With Barton's business able to source potential candidates, carry out telephone and videophone interviews, test and check the technical abilities of applicants online with its Techchek IT system, the aim is to manage expectations and ease any worries about language skills or administrative issues.

"Managing expectations is vital. There are a lot of people out there who want to work in the UK and settle here. The import service provides a win-win situation if the person is capable of everything they say they are. So it's up to us to be thorough.

Although the demand for skilled people from eastern Europe has dropped during the technology downturn, Barton is convinced that the expansion of the European Union will still provide further opportunities.

In the meantime, Recruitment Zone is looking at other European markets and is already supplying to Holland and Belgium. It is also considering opportunities in Prague, Brussels and Amsterdam. With 22 staff currently in place, this number is expected to rise to 30 by the end of 2002. Turnover, up to (pounds) 7.5m in 2001, is expected to rise to (pounds) 10m in 2002, and it has also invested in an Edinburgh-based recruitment start-up, Synergi Global Solutions.

The company is the preferred supplier to the likes of insurer Prudential, IT management consultancy Logica and Scottish technology companies such as IndigoVision and Spektra Systems. Although IT initially formed the core of the recruitment business, it has expanded into accountancy, secretarial, sales and marketing, engineering, and commercial banking.

"More and more we are being retained by companies in Scotland and across the UK. Our growth will come from diversification and ensuring that the good culture we have within the company is maintained.

"I'm not very scientific about growth. We started off in a tiny office sharing a PC and wanted to start with a clean sheet and do things differently."

In a bid to maintain its own high standards, says Barton, the company works hard selecting and training its own personnel. Acknowledging that some people are better on the client sales side than recruitment searches, Recruitment Zone tends to separate the two functions.

But Barton adds: "It should never really be just about sales. We want to get the right people and pay them to get the people clients want. It's about practising what we preach.

"Any agency can supply CVs, but it's the quality of the people behind that process which is vital."

www.192.com: Research pays. Use this powerful online tool to get information on any company or individual in the UK.

www.avantgo.com: You want news on the move? The answer to your dreams is here.

www.digiguide.co.uk: The slickest television and radio listings source on the net. Configure the site to notify you of relevant programming, download the schedules to your PDA and more.