Joining forces to beat the recession

Feb 9 2009 by Karen Dent, The Journal

TWO small independent recruitment business are collaborating in a bid to expand their reach and beat the recession.

Exclusive Human Resources, which was set up in Gateshead in 2007 and employs four people, has entered into a reciprocal agreement with the Morpeth-based recruiter Archibald & Dutch, which has three members of staff.

The two firms started exploring how they could work together after their bosses met at a Bridge Club networking event. They had both noticed that the economic downturn had led to cash-strapped employers turning to one recruitment agency when in the past they may have used a number of companies to source their staff.

The two recruiters aim to take advantage of this trend by joining forces on assignments they would otherwise have turned away because they did not have the necessary specialised knowledge.

Exclusive, which is run by Mark Ions, concentrates on recruiting HR professionals, while Archibald & Dutch are experts in senior level appointments across the manufacturing, engineering and fast moving consumer goods sectors.

Mr Ions was introduced to Archibald & Dutch’s co-founder Nicky Archibald by Bridge Club managing director Caroline Theobald.

He said: “Both of us have seen more and more employers reducing the pool of suppliers they use in favour of a trusted supplier who has gone the extra mile on previous assignments. This conversation led on to how we could work together to offer a service with a wider reach.”

Ms Archibald said: “As often happens in the recruitment field, once you have built up a level of trust with clients they start to ask for help in recruiting staff outside of your specialist field.

“While Mark and I will continue to concentrate on our core strengths, having a trusted business partner in place is the next logical step in expanding both our businesses without any risk.”

The link-up is being hailed as a prime example of how networking can help small businesses find opportunities to tackle the credit crunch.

The Bridge Club’s Ms Theobald said: “It’s not about running round a room handing out business cards, it’s about listening and spotting business opportunities, particularly those where working in partnership can make individual businesses stronger.”