ESA Group launches Sales Division

Birmingham-based specialist recruitment consultancy ESA Group has unveiled a brand new sales division to complement its existing four core market offerings. ESA Sales will help local businesses source the best candidates for a range of permanent, interim and contract sales roles across all levels, from junior account manager to executive sales director. It will join ESA Marketing, HR, Technology and Procurement and Supply Chain divisions at the company’s headquarters in Victoria Square.

The launch of ESA Sales comes at an exciting time for the company, which has seen impressive growth rates since launching in November 2010 with a single Marketing division and two employees.

Now a team of twenty permanent staff and recruiting across five specialist areas of the market, they have progressed to a leading commercial recruiter for the Midlands – a success they attribute to offering employers a bespoke recruitment experience centred around delivering exceptional customer service.

Daniel Heathcote, Managing Director and Founder of ESA Group, said:

“ESA Group are on an upward trajectory and this year has seen our biggest successes yet, with headcount doubling and sales up sixty per cent, and profits projected to double. Our new sales division is part of our five-year strategy which will see us develop our business further. Our objective is to double turnover in 2017 which will be challenging but I am confident we can achieve given our continued investment in staff, systems and marketing.”

“It is extremely exciting to be able to launch this new venture and we are confident that ESA Sales will further strengthen the portfolio of services that ESA Group offers its Midlands-based clients and candidates.”

“We pride ourselves on the high levels of personal service that we deliver to each and every customer and on our open and transparent approach which underpins everything we do. ESA Sales works towards our vision, and ensures we continue to deliver the specialist service that our customers expect.”

The company has appointed senior sales specialist Jamie Dawson to head up the new Sales division. Jamie brings more than 5 ½ years sales experience having worked for national and regional firms in a number of sales roles including Business Development Manager and Digital Account Manager. He will oversee a team of consultants who are all experts in their respective sectors of the industry, including B2B, FMCG, Financial Services, IT Software Sales, Technology and Public Sector.

For more information, visit the ESA Sales homepage.

83% of UK HR executives are open to re-hiring former employees

Research carried out by Robert Half shows that 83% of those asked would be open to hiring former employees otherwise known as boomerang employees, showing an increase from those asked three years ago. Only 7% of those participating said they would not consider hiring a boomerang employee, which shows that for those wanting to return to previous employers it is still very much a possibility. Positively the research also showed that 36% of HR Directors have successfully rehired former employees, while only 25% of HR Executives said they had hired a boomerang employee but wouldn’t do it again.

Almost half of those asked (49%), from larger companies said that they have successfully hired former employees. Interestingly there was a contrast in response between those from smaller and larger organisations, with only 4% of HR Directors in larger companies said they wouldn’t hire a former employee compared to 12% of HR Directors in smaller companies.

The research also looked at the most influential factors organisations looked at when rehiring former employees. These were;

• A successful track record – 60%
• Their fit into the corporate culture – 40%

Another factor that played an influential role for HR Directors was the reduced on-boarding costs of hiring a former employee, with 36% saying this was another point to consider.

As a result of ongoing skills shortages hiring managers are now looking to engage with former employees who have moved, built upon their skillset and are now returning to the business in a more senior level position.

However when considering hiring a former employee it is important to consider the following points;

• Is the returning employee the best candidate for the role?

Although you and your team may already have a great working relationship with your former employee it is important that you look at their skill set alongside the other candidates in the process. It is important that the boomerang employee brings with them the new skills and experiences they have gained since leaving and adds value to the organisation.

• Why did they originally leave the company?

It is important to understand why your former employee decided to leave the business as it can help you understand their expectations moving forward.

A day in the life of marketing recruitment - Ben

Here at ESA Group we have a great team of people all dedicated to offering the best service possible to all our clients and candidates. Our latest blog post looks at a typical day at ESA Group for our Senior Marketing Consultant Ben.

Ben Williams – Senior Consultant for ESA Marketing 

• Why did you join ESA Group?

I joined ESA Group as I had already worked for another agency and had a taste of recruitment, but was attracted to working in an interesting sector, where I could manage my own day and my own desk. The business was in the early stages of a growth period, so I could see the potential in the business, and it hasn’t disappointed.

• What is a typical day like for you at ESA Group?

I work as a 360 consultant, so generally get in bright and early, catch up on the admin from the night before, hit the job boards to find some new CVs and start calling through all potential candidates for my roles. The rest of the time up until lunch is the time for me to drive sales, attract new business and build relationships with existing and potential clients. The afternoons are generally then spent meeting clients and candidates about potential opportunities and then managing the whole recruitment process. If I have the energy, I then try and go for a light ale before heading home.

• What do you enjoy most about your job?

I enjoy the relationship building side of the role and generally getting to know people and socialise with them. Running your own recruitment desk is almost like running your own small business; the more I put into it, the more I get out of it, and everything on my desk is all on me. Our office is a young and vibrant place, where sometimes I forget that I’m at work, rather than in the pub with my friends.

• What made you want to work in recruitment?

I came back from over two years of travelling, which was an experience that took me out of my comfort zone, was very sociable and where every day was different. I arrived back in the West Midlands and needed a job which offered the same, so off the recommendation of a couple of mates who had forged successful careers in recruitment, I took the plunge and haven’t looked back since.

• What do you like to do after work?

These days my evenings have been spent renovating my new home, but once that project is completed it’ll be back to watching the football, meeting friends and trying to exercise.

• Where is your favourite place to go for a drink after work?

I can often be found around the pubs of Moseley or the Jewellery Quarter, but also like working my way through the menu in Pure Bar.

You can find Ben’s LinkedIn page here.

If you’re interested in finding out more about ESA Marketing and what we can do for you as an organisation or candidate, then you can read more here.

Should You Join CIPS?

Why join CIPs?

The Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply Chain (CIPS), are the largest institute in the world for procurement and supply chain professionals.

CIPS offers professional qualifications to aid the development of those within the industry depending on your experience. These qualifications combined with three years industry experience, allow procurement and supply chain professionals to apply for full membership of CIPS which subsequently allows members to use the letters MCIPS after their name. MCIPS is recognised worldwide as the global standard for procurement and supply chain professionals.

Another way of joining CIPS is by completing a CIPS accredited degree. Midlands’s universities offering CIPS accredited degrees include Aston University and Coventry University – you can view the full list of accredited courses here.

You can find out more about the other pathways to MCIPS by heading over to the CIPS website here.

Pricing

Prices may vary based upon your chosen method of learning and the qualification studied. However many organisations actually sponsor employees to undertake CIPS qualifications as they know the skills and knowledge learnt will be beneficial to the organisation.

Does CIPS give me an edge over other candidates?

Organisations will often state if they require a candidate to have a CIPS qualification or MCIPS. However many see CIPS and MCIPS as a natural route for those professionals wanting to progress within the procurement and supply chain industry.

Although having an internationally recognised qualification like CIPS can increase your employability, organisations will be looking for confirmation that candidates can put their theoretical knowledge into practice in the workplace.

ESA Procurement & Supply Chain

ESA Procurement and Supply Chain have a wide range of job opportunities available throughout the Midlands region. If you are interested in finding out more about Procurement and Supply chain roles then you can register with ESA Group here or email us at info@esa-group.co.uk or alternatively you can call us on 0121 210 5100.

New research shows HR managers are struggling to recruit quality international candidates

46% of international HR managers say they are struggling to recruit quality global candidates according to new research by CEMS – the Global Alliance in Business Education. The survey interviewed 80 international HR managers (half of which were based in Europe), regarding the challenges of global recruitment and managing an international workforce.

Unsurprisingly 87% of the international HR managers surveyed said that foreign language skills are important for employability.

When asked about the major challenges for those relocating to work abroad the top three issues were;

1. Understanding a new culture – 48%
2. Cultural shock – 24%
3. Language/communication – 16%

Other potential issues included visa issues and the high costs of relocation for the company.

When discussing the advantages of hiring employees globally there was a difference in response depending on whether the interviewee was based within Europe or not.

• 74% of European HR managers believe that an advantage of hiring employees from a different countries leads to a diverse working atmosphere.
• HR managers based outside of Europe (US & Asia), placed more of a focus on closing gaps that are hard to fill and meeting the expectations of graduate employees when working with international colleagues.

One in seven HR managers interviewed from larger organisations said that 30% of managers within their business work internationally. For those in smaller organisations 41% of interviewees said that less than 5% of the managers within their company work internationally.

IT CIOs believe their businesses will face more cyber security threats within the next 5 years

77% of Chief Information Officers believe their businesses will be up against more threats to cyber security within the next five years due to a lack of available talent within IT Security. According to a recent report by Robert Half Technology the top three IT security risks for businesses within the next five years are;

1. Data abuse/Data integrity (60%)

2. Cybercrime (54%)

3. Spying/Spyware/Ransomware (39%)

In order to help deal with these potential threats CIO’s are unsurprisingly looking to increase their number of IT Security professionals within the next year with 27% saying they will be doing so.

The positions most in demand are;

1. IT Security Analyst (junior level)

2. Information Security Officer (mid-level)

3. Security Operations Manager (mid-level)

Last year the average number of global security incidents increased by 38% and over two thirds of UK businesses have been the victim of a cyber reach or attack within the past year.

*Source PwC

With this increase in incidents cyber security professionals are high in demand but also proving difficult to find, which you can see from Robert Half’s research below.

Most in demand	Most challenging to find
Cloud security (51%)	1.  Cloud security (32%)
IT security technologies (47%)	2.  IT security technologies (29%)
Big data/data analytics (37%)	3.  Security architecture (26%)
Applications security (30%)	4.  Hacking/penetration testing (26%)
Hacking/penetration testing (30%)	5.  Applications security (22%)

The company also recommended that CIOs and IT leaders need to take 6 core steps when building their cyber security programme.

1. Be proactive
2. Treat IT security as a continuous enterprise-wide process
3. Have necessary skills
4. Support training
5. Use big data and analytics
6. Get everyone involved

To find out more about the Robert Half Cybersecurity – protecting your future report click here.