Last month I said I was going to share more of McCarthy’s success stories. But I hadn’t anticipated that a month later the story I would be sharing is the fact we’ve just won the Great Places to Work ® 2018 UK Best Workplaces ™ (Small) category award!
Being notified that we’d been shortlisted was fantastic. But sitting in London’s Tobacco Dock at the awards ceremony having our name read out is one of those moments that’ll bring a huge smile to my face every time I think about it! Possibly for the rest of my life…
I could not be more delighted to receive such a fantastic award which recognises our commitment to engagement and our people-centric values and culture. Made even better by the fact that we are not only judged by our day to day people strategy and practices but by an anonymous engagement survey. We work hard to maintain our values and purpose and ensure that real engagement runs through the core of our business and it’s wonderful to be recognised for this by Great Places to Work
The Best Workplaces awards highlight employers, brands and businesses of all shapes and sizes who, as well as being high performing, are identified as being high-trust, engaging employers of choice. Quite rightly, every company comes under a lot of scrutiny to even make the shortlist in its award category. So actually winning it was an incredible moment for us.
McCarthy Recruitment was up against hundreds of other exceptional businesses, so what was it about us that stood out and led to us getting this amazing award? In a nutshell, Best Workplaces loved our ethos as an employer but also the fact we become a genuine partner to every one of the businesses we’ve recruited for. As the judges observed, by working in partnership like this, we’re an extension of our own brand and our own values. We have a talent management approach which turns recruitment into an opportunity – not a burden.
Recruitment isn’t a sales process
Yes, of course I understand why recruitment can feel like a headache and something a business doesn’t want to have to deal with. That’s why one of the first things we do is spend time dismantling this negative perspective. The need to bring someone into the business is an opportunity to bring in new experience, new skills and new talent. This is a fantastic moment to get insights from a fresh, external perspective and to make sure you’re getting the best people for your business. Recruitment isn’t some slightly underhand sales process where we’re trying to extract a fee for finding someone half decent who’ll fill a vacancy adequately. We couldn’t be further away from that kind of thinking.
What we do is talent management. We make sure clients are making the most of the business opportunity they’ve been presented with. Yes, the jobs market can be a fickle and challenging place to work. But go in with a talent management mindset and you’re ready for anything. Helping our clients get their head around that is one of the most important things we do.
That means understanding the behaviours and cultural fit that our clients’ businesses need then finding people who, even if they have a different business background, match those needs perfectly. It’s all about going way beyond the obvious.
As the award highlighted, we apply that exact same ethos to ourselves. We don’t automatically look for people who’ve worked in the recruitment sector. Instead, we want people who display the key behaviours that mean they’ll make a success of working with us. Everyone’s involved in their recruitment – it’s a collective decision and it’s great that when the person arrives, they’re part of a team that already has a vested interest in how they do!
We always thought we were employer of choice – but it’s brilliant to have that confirmed
Here are a few facts and figures that fill me with pride: Great Places to Work’s research shows 82% of employees want to work at their Best Workplaces employer for a long time compared to a UK average of 57%. 89% of employees who work at a Best Workplace would recommend their organisation to others and 91% are proud to tell others they work there – way ahead of the average UK organisation.
So, as you can imagine, we’re buzzing and we will be for a long time yet (especially when the hangovers ease off). This is one award we’ll be celebrating for a very long time!
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