Getting the job done - and done well

Published: March 2003 - www.jobuniverse.co.nz  

Late in the afternoon on December 23 2002, Sally Breed, Director of IT @ Work Recruitment Ltd, got a frantic phone call from one of her clients. The client needed two top IT professionals and needed them fast.

"I was about to go on holiday," says Breed, "but work comes first. As luck would have it, I had recently received two very promising CVs from a couple of talented expats who had just returned from working overseas. They both had what I call the 'right attitude'."

"We met on Boxing Day to discuss the details of the positions and within a few days the client had made formal offers to both. It was the most difficult week of the year to conduct business, but that is the way we work at IT @ Work. We do what it takes to get the job done really well."

Breed has a history of getting results. She holds a degree in human resource management and has more than 18 years experience in recruitment and HR consultancy.

Prior to establishing IT @ Work, she was employed by several major IT corporations, including Sun Microsystems Middle East and Compaq Ltd, where she helped establish their Middle East HR operations. She has also set up and directed two other recruitment consultancies.

"We have a relatively small client list," says Breed, "but a rather large database of candidates. Our focus is finding the right person for our clients. Because we deal with only a few companies, we understand both their requirements and particular cultures. We don't deluge them with CVs and hope that one will appeal - we typically start with a set of people and winnow them down to a short list of highly-qualified candidates who would most likely fit with the role and the team. Only then do we send the CVs on for approval."

But its not just a gut-feel on IT @ Work's part that ascertains who is right and who isn't for a particular opening. "We work with associates who are experts in the field of psychometric testing," says Breed. "Anyone can look at a CV and a few references to see if they know C++ and if they can get along with their colleagues. But we want to go a bit further and find out what their long-term goals and aspirations are. Our clients value their employees highly and invest heavily in upskilling and training. They want to make sure that the person who takes the position is the type who will prosper in their environment. Psychometric testing brings out those deeper attitudes."

IT @ Work is not a mass-production job placement house. "We don't do volume business," says Breed. "We don't want to. Our value-add is in finding the exact person who satisfies the client requirements to a 'T'. While we have a database of some 4000 candidates at any given time, we sometimes have to use word of mouth to find the right person. We have a reputation of attracting top people for our positions and candidates often jump at the opportunity to work in those extremely rewarding roles. As we said, our clients value their employees highly."

While IT @ Work was able to help out its client in record time last Christmas, the process usually doesn't work quite that fast. "We don't rush jobs," says Breed. "We review CVs, conduct interviews, check references extensively and perform psychometric testing as per the client request. We facilitate the interview process between the client and the candidate and in some situations sit in on team interviews. This intensive process not only means that the final person who gets the job is the best possible candidate, but it also helps us understand the needs of the client that much more.

"We follow through and keep our relationship with the people we place. In fact, over time our candidates often become clients. All too often in this industry you find HR recruitment people come and go which results in the loss of knowledge about client needs. At IT @ Work that is never an issue."

Sally Breed is active in HR and professional associations and is a member of the HRINZ. She invests heavily in professional training and keeps abreast with industry advances and new technologies.

"In this business there is always room for improvement," says Breed. "When we can add to the general knowledge, we'll help. And when we can learn from others, we'll sit and listen. HR and recruitment is an exciting field and we love what we do. And this commitment to our jobs helps us stand out in a crowded market."