We are a highly experienced recruitment agency within the Food, FMCG and Engineering sectors.
Over the years, recruitment agencies have amassed a reputation similar to that of estate agents; the businesses are in it for a quick buck and are putting profit over people.
In all honesty, it is with regret that we admit that, for most agencies in the industry – this has become the norm. Because of this, we see candidates put into roles that are not in line with their career goals or personal values.
The decision to change careers is one that has taken great consideration; it’s a life-changing decision and one that deserves the same consideration from those tasked with finding you a new role that will set you on a path to a new career.
At The Sterling Choice, we have built our business to steer away from the ‘quick win’ mind-set. Longevity is a vital part of the business, and our long-term goal is that one day, candidate’s work their way up to positions that mean they will become clients.
To underpin this value to our staff, we have chosen not to target or incentivise them in the same way as traditional recruitment agencies. Our team are not targeted on how many CV’s they can push out each day.
We aim to develop strong, long-lasting relationships that are built on a foundation of trust with both our clients and our candidates.
So instead, we monitor how much return business is secured; quick wins can of course be made by forcing people into roles that aren’t suited to either party, but if the company don’t return to us when they are looking to recruit again then we have dropped the ball.
We begin our process by having open and honest conversations with our candidates; we want to hear the ‘warts n all’ information and encourage our candidates to switch out of interview mode and communicate to us not only their salary, hours and benefits expectations, but also their core personal values.
We use high-level questioning and endeavour to gather information about candidate’s history and experience, general interests and personal and career goals for the next 12 months, 5 years, 10 years and beyond.
We have found from experience by career planning with individuals, and working backwards from where they would eventually like to be, means that we can match them with businesses that have a suitable career progression strategy
This level of information allows us to proactively approach companies that we feel the candidate would be a great fit for– even if they aren’t actively looking for a new employee at that time.
It also means that the vacancies we are currently aiding companies in recruiting for, can be matched to candidates.
We work the same way with our clients; we spend the necessary amount of time learning about the needs of the business; not only to fulfil the advertised role, but to understand the true culture of the business, their audience, the type of staff that are successful and the actual needs of the business.
Often the wants of the HR department and the requirements of the department with the vacancy are not aligned.
Because we work within niche industries, we have the confidence to consult with our client, helping them to shape and manage their employer brand.
We have the confidence to return to our clients and inform them if there is a barrier that is preventing the recruiting, such as salary offer or poor reputation. If this is the case, we guide them through the process of altering their offering or working on their brand to ensure they are able to hire the right candidate.
The retention rate within our own business is extremely high, and we feel that this reflects our ability to affectively match candidates to jobs that flourish into successful and rewarding careers.
Our aim is to ensure that both candidates and clients come away from the process having had a positive experience with The Sterling Choice.
While we need to be present on job boards alongside other agencies as a branding exercise, we pride ourselves on a people-led approach and our proactive, targeted strategies that puts us in a different league entirely.
I started The Sterling Choice with Gareth Whyatt back in August 2013. We’ve always remained true to ourselves and what it is we’re trying to achieve – A great company with great peo...
