After many years working in the recruitment industry, specialising in moving and relocation, Ray Inskip has branched out on his own.
His new company, Flame Recruit, so called because he started it during the Olympic year, is his own creation and he is determined to do things differently.
Although Ray is very complimentary about some of the recruitment companies he has worked with, especially in recent years, he is determined to take the best practice from all his experience and put it together to provide, what he sees, as a better service both for clients and candidates. He said that some agencies don’t work at building relationships with people and take short cuts that are unprofessional.
One of the key factors he sees as important is the relationship between the recruitment company, its customers and its candidates. “As I see it, the relationship between me, my clients and my candidates should be a consultative one,” said Ray. “Just as there is no point in me providing a client with the wrong candidate, there’s no point in me getting a candidate the wrong job. I would rather advise a candidate to take a job that was not with one of my clients if I really felt that was the right thing to do.”
Ray’s principle is sound, of course. Provide people with the right service now and they will come back in the future. “It’s important to take a long-term view of these relationships,” said Ray.
Another anomaly that Ray has identified is the conflict that can be created between payment terms and early-leaving rebates. He points out that most agencies only give a 100% rebate if the candidate leaves in the first week or so. “I don’t think that’s enough time for either client or candidate to make sure that they are right for the job. For this reason I think it wiser to extend both the trial period and the payment terms so that they give everyone long enough to make a proper judgement. That way, if an appointment doesn’t work no funds change hands and it's much easier for accounting.”
Ray has been contractually obliged to stay out of the moving industry for the last year but now that he is free of the restriction he is really looking forward to getting back into the business. “I like the people,” explained Ray. He has spent a lot of time in recent years getting to know people in the moving business and he has enjoyed their company. “It’s a small, niche industry. The people are very friendly and that makes my job both easier and more enjoyable. I have worked in many industries and there’s nothing quite like the moving business.”
And so say all of us.