In the beginning
The year is 1996 when the Spice Girls hit the scene, and Trainspotting was the film everyone raved about (literally). The then Carolyn Briggs heads back into the Stockport office of Kinetic after a two-year break, bringing with her, her stamp on girl power and play hard work hard mentality that caught the eye of a young welsh lad called Neil Davies.
A few years down the line, Neil took his recruitment expertise and 10th September 2001 saw the birth of Employment Solutions. Carolyn, (now Frodsham) joined Neil in August 2003, bringing her passion and no-nonsense approach to recruitment that Neil admired, and so a longstanding and formidable partnership for the future of recruitment began.
Fast forward to 2007 when things changed again as Carolyn, Neil Davies, and Ian Pilkington (Financial Director) undertook a management buyout (MBO) of the business, which incorporated the already established First Logistics and Employment Solutions.
Since then, Neil and Carolyn became a force to be reckoned with. As a partnership, they care about the team and the business which has resulted in longstanding alliances with clients since the beginning while continuing to attract new business - things are looking good indeed.
Both Carolyn and Neil got into recruitment out of love for building relationships and working with people, bringing a breath of fresh air to the recruitment sector. Centred around a shared internal mindset of loving recruitment, but hating how recruitment can often be perceived. It's not a numbers game here, people matter.
Simply put, Employment Solutions is a different breed of recruitment company, with unrivaled expertise and hard earned long-standing relationships, managing some of the largest contracts, some for 20 years, such as WFEL Ltd, Streetcrane Ltd, NIS Ltd and NSG Environmental Ltd - how refreshing is that.
“Employment Solutions, without doubt, has been the most influential recruitment company WFEL has ever dealt with. Their knowledge, engineering expertise and general understanding of our business have been paramount in our success. There is a pride of quality throughout the company.” WFEL Ltd
The Company today
The team together - Wendy Armstrong, Mark Tickle, Carolyn Frodsham, Ian Pilkington & Neil Davies
The team under the guidance of Carolyn and Neil, now affectionately known as the silver fox of the office, (which he may argue is a result of working with Carolyn over the years) goes from strength to strength. They understand that finding someone a new job or career can change a person's life in a heartbeat, and this is what drives the company - this is what makes them stand out from the crowd. How many recruiters do you know get to know their candidates personally? How many understand the roles inside out?. This team does, which results in happy clients too.
Investment
The offices have also taken on a new lease of life. In 2015, a decision was made to buy the building - The Old Courthouse in Bury, which has just gone through a £200,000 refit to make it a more attractive and enjoyable place to work. The office officially opened by Antony Cotton (Sean Tully) from the cobbles of Coronation Street, was thrilled to be back in Bury.
The office refit
“The office wasn't fit for purpose; it wasn't fit for the talent we wanted to bring into the business. We wanted to build an office to engage with the best talent in our market, and it’s important to us to show our clients what we do on a daily basis. The future for Employment Solutions is inspiring.” Carolyn
“Our brand is unique, and our ethics and moral fibre behind our business I feel is imperative and sets us aside from our competitors. We're now looking at expanding into new markets within our core areas of engineering and manufacturing. We have already grown significantly and are looking for exceptional people to join our team.” Neil
The team celebrating 10 years together - John Rose, Carolyn Frodsham, Lisa Kitt, David Burdaky & Neil Davies
Alongside the brand and marketing plans, headed by Marketing Manager - Louise Egan, another route to success has been the substantial investment in a CRM (Bullhorn) and Management Information System (Insight Squared). The team has an understanding that too many recruitment companies fail to deliver on their growth plans as a result of a lack of investment in these areas, and Employment Solutions are determined to avoid this mistake, coupled with the right people to operate them and take them forward.
The appointment of an experienced Non-Executive Director, John Rose with over 30 years in the recruitment sector, including 12 years as a CEO, means they are armed with further expertise and knowledge to assist in successfully managing the journey and to help double turnover over the next three years.
The new Sales Director, Lisa Kitt has also taken control of the day to day responsibility for the revenue, profitability, and growth of the business with a key focus on increasing permanent revenue. Also, the hiring of new team members means things are gathering momentum even faster.
“What a tremendous year this has been for Employment Solutions. The office refurb; Neil and I working together for 21 years. Bringing in a Sales Director and seeing the technical business flourish. Ten years ago we were drinking Dom Perignon in Manchester celebrating the deal. Ten years on and I’m sitting with one of the most talented teams I’ve ever worked with drinking champagne and enjoying the moment. This moment is to share, not one to sit in a plush city hotel. I am looking forward to taking the business to the next level over the following three years. These are exciting times. Employment Solutions is here, and open for business.” Carolyn
Lisa Kitt & John Rose
The future looks bright
So, with all that in mind, Employment Solutions are all set for another successful ten years. However, this journey would not exist without the dedication of the team, the loyalty of the candidates and clients, and for that, they would like to say a big thank you.
If you are looking for a Technical role or need to fill a vacancy, please get in touch. The team loves to talk, or if you're in Bury, pop in for a coffee!
Call 0161 839 5353 today.
Original article was written for The Recruiter Magazine