A Manchester-based recruitment agency is challenging the more established London companies
The recruitment industry in the UK has borne witness to exceptional growth in recent years. In the last decade the industry has grown from a value of less than £10billion to just under £25billion. With the rapid growth in the industry have come many new methods and systems of recruitment; methods such as "talent mapping" allow blue chip companies to proactively solve their recruitment crises before they happen.
The vast majority of the recruitment business is located in London. However, Warren Partners is an independent executive search consultancy that has broken the mould, being based in the North West. In the seven years since its inception, Warren Partners has grown to be one of the most successful executive search companies in the North West with a turnover of over £3million.
Warren Partners recently commissioned specialist business-to-business research agency B2B International to undertake research to see how they were positioned against the London-based executive search companies.
Findings indicate that competition is rife. B2B International found that 90% of companies looking to fill an executive vacancy use more than one executive search company and the majority use more than three. London executive search companies are definitely more front-of-mind for the higher valued job positions of £100k+.
However, with the ever-changing business environment and the heightened use of e-mail and telephone, location is not an important driver when choosing an executive search company. This is evident in how the market views Warren Partners competing on an equal footing with the likes of Heidrick & Struggles, Whitehead Mann, Spencer Stuart and Odgers Ray & Berndtson.
When looking to fill executive vacancies, there are three key factors that companies look to fulfil:
- ease of doing business with the company
- specialisation in an industry sector
- company values and what the company stands for
Warren Partners excel in every one of these categories with 4 out of 10 customers stating that they are better than the competition. Words that customers use to depict Warren Partners’ key strengths include expertise, values/culture, communication, relationships, honesty, reputation and network of contacts.
The research concluded that no one company has taken the high ground in people’s minds as the executive search company to use. Over and above that, HR Managers and Directors are looking for something different from what is currently being provided; a fifth of companies felt that there were product or service gaps that are not being offered by the market.
B2B director Nick Hague, in charge of the research, says:
Warren Partners are now working on a wider service portfolio as well as a focused communication strategy to build brand presence and more closely meet the needs of companies in the marketplace.
