Corporate Vision Issue 4

CORPORATE VISION / Issue 4 2018 27 , CK Recruitment is a recruitment agency with a difference. They’ve set out to under complicate recruitment and put people first. They’ve thrown pressure tactics and the hard sell out the window, and have trusted in the philosophy that if you treat people well, business will boom. And boom it has, in just a few short years since the firms’ establishment in 2014. The business has grown froma teamof three to 13 full-time employees, 230 weekly causals, two office locations, 50major clients and $9million in annual turnover. Integrity and Tailored Solutions CK Recruitment provides truly tailored recruitment solutions, throughout Metropolitan Sydney, NSW and beyond. They provide labour hire, temporary and permanent recruitment as well as HR consultancy services for both government and private clients, and are preferred supplier on a number of procurement panels. After years of working together in recruitment, business founders and formidable team, Cassie Greenland and Kylie Hayes decided they’d had enough of the traditional world of recruitment. The non-stop pressure to meet unrealistic targets saw them endlessly hassling clients at the bequest of management. They decided there must be a better way of helping businesses with recruitment. So, amongst the very late stages of pregnancy, the usual ruckus of motherhood with young children, dogged determination, and an acute sense of business savviness, they set up CK Recruitment. With people, integrity and tailored solutions being at the very heart of their offering. Kylie says “Within recruitment, many of our competitors have set rigid processes, procedures and structured fee schedules. We work closely with each of our clients and individually tailor our service to meet their needs. We offer a fee arrangement that works within their budget and allow early transition of a CK employee onto their payroll without penalty. We don’t just do this for the client, we work hard to ensure candidate satisfaction and wellbeing. We choose to support the long-term placement of a valued employee over charging an exit fee which could potentially deter the client from hiring them.” Whilst the business has established definitive growth targets, these are not translated to unrealistic KPI’s for staff. Rather, staff are encouraged to partner with clients to understand their needs, budget and industry so that they can tailor recruitment solutions. By meeting only their true needs, there is no on-selling, and no pressure to meet internal sales targets. This environment grants the team the space they need to develop trusted relationships. Cassie says “we aim to establish long lasting partnerships with our clients, where we function as almost a third arm of their business. We get to know our clients well and learn about how they operate and what they need from us. From our clients’ point of view, it’s an incredible efficient and effective way of operating as we intuitively know their needs. Provided we act with integrity at all times, we can be confident that our clients’ will return to us time and again.” Whilst client and candidate satisfaction are a huge motivator behind CK’s philosophy, both Kylie and Cassie know it all starts much closer to home. For them, their team is their biggest asset. Their people centric culture has become one of the drawcards that attracts and retains their talented staff. Pressuring clients to meet sales targets doesn’t sit well with most people. Kylie and Cassie left previous employment for this reason and have worked hard to build a sustainable business without the hard sell. They’ve proven, if you listen to your clients and meet their needs, they’ll come back. And what’s more, they’ll recommend the business to others. Beyond this, they recognised that recruitment is female dominated. So rather than loose a huge proportion of industry talent to the vortex of motherhood, they support mums in the workplace. With five young children between the duo, they both model and support flexible work practices to achieve work life balance. By doing this, they’ve created opportunities for mums to sustainably balance motherhood with the esteem and fulfilment that a meaningful and rewarding career endears. Whilst the multimillion dollar turnover of the business attests to their success, their achievements have also been recognised on a number of levels. In 2017 they won the Campbelltown Local Business Award and were awarded 1802CV16 runner up of the Smart50 Awards showcasing Australia’s fastest growing SME’s. They’ve also just been announced as a finalist in the Australian Small Business Champion Award. Their staff also love their approach. Employee Kathryn Alcroft says “I love that the support I receive from Management and the flexibility to work from home. Also, I love their honest and open recruitment approach, it isn’t about making sure you hit crazy KPI’s if the candidate market isn’t as strong, they value Candidates time and isn’t about the ‘numbers’ you bring but the quality. That we get back to the core of what we do, finding the right candidate for the right company.” Following their early success, and positive feedback from clients, they are more determined than ever to keep “under complicating” recruitment and put people first. By 2020, they aim to increase their annual turnover to $14million and are also implementing a range of strategies to position themselves as a major competitor that is nationally recognised within the recruitment industry. In doing so, they are hoping to make some serious headway into changing the complicated face of the recruitment industry. Contact: Cassie Greenland or Kylie Hayes Phone: 02 4602 0442 – Head Office Visit us www.ckrecruitment.com.au