Recruitment Partner Needed

[Ibroakin]

I am looking to start recruitment agency,I have not got any experience in staff recruitment, however I do have experience in recruiting overseas student to come to the UK to study. I am looking for an ambitious person that wants to take a leap of faith and start their own business, I am looking for someone ideally with recruitment background, or if you have any advice on how to go about starting recruitment business, please get in touch.

 

[Ian J]

I think that you might struggle to find anyone suitable as recruitment is all about finding candidates and placing them and anyone who can do that will be starting their own company without your involvement

 

[Ibroakin]

Thanks Ian, I won't struggle with finding candidates due to having access to hundreds of candidates already (students or their spouse), my targets are low paid jobs rather than professional jobs, what I will struggle on is getting contract from employers, still trying to network and establish who to speak to.

 

[NickGrogan]

A friend is starting a recruitment company at the moment; I don't understand what you're bringing to the business.

Foreign students can only work 20 hours per week during term time, so they are not attractive candidates. They are also very easy to find.

 

[fisicx]

If you want a partner how much are you going to pay them?

 

[Ibroakin]

A friend is starting a recruitment company at the moment; I don't understand what you're bringing to the business.

Foreign students can only work 20 hours per week during term time, so they are not attractive candidates. They are also very easy to find.

Hello Nick, I understand foreign students can only work 20 hours per week, but their spouses are allowed to work full time, what I am bringing to the business is massive pool of candidates (part time and full time).

 

[Ibroakin]

If you want a partner how much are you going to pay them?

Hello Fisicx, I meant business partner to split risk and rewards.

 

[fisicx]

Hello Fisicx, I meant business partner to split risk and rewards.

That’s never going to work. Especially as you have no skills or expertise in recruitment.

 

[NickGrogan]

massive pool of candidates

How massive is massive?

250,000 people? 500,000 people?

If you can get that many people to subscribe to a recruitment site and provide CVs, then I'll introduce you.

 

[Ibroakin]

How massive is massive?

250,000 people? 500,000 people?

If you can get that many people to subscribe to a recruitment site and provide CVs, then I'll introduce you.

Not 250,000 to 500,000 people, but can still source up to 5000 people.

 

[Mark T Jones]

It would be far easier to look for ways to monetise that resource, perhaps as a consultant to an existing agency.

 

[NickGrogan]

Not 250,000 to 500,000 people, but can still source up to 5000 people.

50,000 is the bare minimum, and that's subscribed with CVs. Anything less than that does not work.

 

[IanSuth]

Do you know the UK law re recruitment ?

If not read it - https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...employment-agencies-and-employment-businesses

You may also want to look at the REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) who have guides for recruitment start ups. What sectors are you planning to cover, are any regulated industries, will you come under the gangmaster licencing rules as well. Are you doing temp or perm, how about Umbrella ? Have you sorted insurance ?

Having done 27 years in mainly perm mainly IT recruitment, I will tell you now that cashflow is the big killer if you go down the temp route,

Imagine this

You put a temp out to work at a company starting yesterday, they will give you a timesheet this Friday and you will run a payroll next Mon/Tue with the money leaving your account on Tuesday to appear with them on Friday (this is normal, deviate from it other than quicker and you will lose business immediately).

You will invoice the client on the Tuesday as well, they will take at least 30 days to pay. If they don't you have still paid the temp (that is law). A standard rate would be £10 to temp / £15 charge, that will actually cost you a bit over £13 once you have accrued for holiday pay, pension and employers NI so you will be making abut £1.75ph. 4 weeks of 37.5 hr week will make you £262.50 (if the temp works every day and doesnt have any days off) but during that time you will have paid out 4 weeks of pay (at £375pw gross so over a grand Net)

Now, imagine you get a contract to put in 20 temps somewhere - even ignoring any bulk discount or longer payment terms, do you have the capital to finance the cashflow needs of that ?

 

[IanSuth]

I forgot to say, we shared a building with an industrial / warehouse agency so here are a few more if you are going down that route with the spouses of students

Unskilled bums on seat warehouse industrial work regularly has a 3 shift system 6-14, 14-20 and 20-6, public transport will be poor for the 10pm and 6asm shift changes and your temps will be new to the country so unlikely to have own transport. So either you will need to pay a few tempos to give other temps lifts (there goes a bit more of your profits) or you need to get a minibus with all the regs around that (like a psv licenced driver). You will also have to ring and check in with the client at all those shift starts or at least be available for the call as if you have 21 temps out on a contract (7 per shift) you can almost guarantee at least once per day one won't arrive either on time or at all and you will need to have a standby ready.

If you can not keep the contract staffed at a really high % you will quickly lose it to one of the big suppliers who can (by sheer bulk of numbers on their candidate list)

 

[Mark T Jones]

Do you know the UK law re recruitment ?

If not read it - https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...employment-agencies-and-employment-businesses

You may also want to look at the REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) who have guides for recruitment start ups. What sectors are you planning to cover, are any regulated industries, will you come under the gangmaster licencing rules as well. Are you doing temp or perm, how about Umbrella ? Have you sorted insurance ?

Having done 27 years in mainly perm mainly IT recruitment, I will tell you now that cashflow is the big killer if you go down the temp route,

Imagine this

You put a temp out to work at a company starting yesterday, they will give you a timesheet this Friday and you will run a payroll next Mon/Tue with the money leaving your account on Tuesday to appear with them on Friday (this is normal, deviate from it other than quicker and you will lose business immediately).

You will invoice the client on the Tuesday as well, they will take at least 30 days to pay. If they don't you have still paid the temp (that is law). A standard rate would be £10 to temp / £15 charge, that will actually cost you a bit over £13 once you have accrued for holiday pay, pension and employers NI so you will be making abut £1.75ph. 4 weeks of 37.5 hr week will make you £262.50 (if the temp works every day and doesnt have any days off) but during that time you will have paid out 4 weeks of pay (at £375pw gross so over a grand Net)

Now, imagine you get a contract to put in 20 temps somewhere - even ignoring any bulk discount or longer payment terms, do you have the capital to finance the cashflow needs of that ?

That's where @Ian J steps in

 

[Ibroakin]

Hel

That’s never going to work. Especially as you have no skills or expertise in recruitment.

Thanks anyway.

 

[Ibroakin]

It would be far easier to look for ways to monetise that resource, perhaps as a consultant to an existing agency.

I will look into that (if it's on self employed basis)

 

[Ibroakin]

50,000 is the bare minimum, and that's subscribed with CVs. Anything less than that does not work.

I can't meet the minimum, but thanks Nick.

 

[Ibroakin]

Do you know the UK law re recruitment ?

If not read it - https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...employment-agencies-and-employment-businesses

You may also want to look at the REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) who have guides for recruitment start ups. What sectors are you planning to cover, are any regulated industries, will you come under the gangmaster licencing rules as well. Are you doing temp or perm, how about Umbrella ? Have you sorted insurance ?

Having done 27 years in mainly perm mainly IT recruitment, I will tell you now that cashflow is the big killer if you go down the temp route,

Imagine this

You put a temp out to work at a company starting yesterday, they will give you a timesheet this Friday and you will run a payroll next Mon/Tue with the money leaving your account on Tuesday to appear with them on Friday (this is normal, deviate from it other than quicker and you will lose business immediately).

You will invoice the client on the Tuesday as well, they will take at least 30 days to pay. If they don't you have still paid the temp (that is law). A standard rate would be £10 to temp / £15 charge, that will actually cost you a bit over £13 once you have accrued for holiday pay, pension and employers NI so you will be making abut £1.75ph. 4 weeks of 37.5 hr week will make you £262.50 (if the temp works every day and doesnt have any days off) but during that time you will have paid out 4 weeks of pay (at £375pw gross so over a grand Net)

Now, imagine you get a contract to put in 20 temps somewhere - even ignoring any bulk discount or longer payment terms, do you have the capital to finance the cashflow needs of that ?

Hello Ian, Thanks for the demystifying the processes, It's very insightful. I have limitation on how many temps I can finance at the moment. I have sent you a private message.

I forgot to say, we shared a building with an industrial / warehouse agency so here are a few more if you are going down that route with the spouses of students

Unskilled bums on seat warehouse industrial work regularly has a 3 shift system 6-14, 14-20 and 20-6, public transport will be poor for the 10pm and 6asm shift changes and your temps will be new to the country so unlikely to have own transport. So either you will need to pay a few tempos to give other temps lifts (there goes a bit more of your profits) or you need to get a minibus with all the regs around that (like a psv licenced driver). You will also have to ring and check in with the client at all those shift starts or at least be available for the call as if you have 21 temps out on a contract (7 per shift) you can almost guarantee at least once per day one won't arrive either on time or at all and you will need to have a standby ready.

If you can not keep the contract staffed at a really high % you will quickly lose it to one of the big suppliers who can (by sheer bulk of numbers on their candidate list)

Hello Ian, I have familiarised myself with the UK law on recruitment, thanks demystifying the processes, It's very insightful. I have limitation on how many temps I can finance at the moment. I have sent you a private message.

 

[Ian J]

Having done 27 years in mainly perm mainly IT recruitment, I will tell you now that cashflow is the big killer if you go down the temp route,

Imagine this

You put a temp out to work at a company starting yesterday, they will give you a timesheet this Friday and you will run a payroll next Mon/Tue with the money leaving your account on Tuesday to appear with them on Friday (this is normal, deviate from it other than quicker and you will lose business immediately).

You will invoice the client on the Tuesday as well, they will take at least 30 days to pay. If they don't you have still paid the temp (that is law). A standard rate would be £10 to temp / £15 charge, that will actually cost you a bit over £13 once you have accrued for holiday pay, pension and employers NI so you will be making abut £1.75ph. 4 weeks of 37.5 hr week will make you £262.50 (if the temp works every day and doesnt have any days off) but during that time you will have paid out 4 weeks of pay (at £375pw gross so over a grand Net)

Now, imagine you get a contract to put in 20 temps somewhere - even ignoring any bulk discount or longer payment terms, do you have the capital to finance the cashflow needs of that ?

That is why so many new start recruitment agencies use factoring to look after their cash flow requirements as well over half of all the enquiries that I receive are from new start recruiters.

Nowadays all the recruiter has to do is to send the time sheet to the factoring company and they will do the rest including preparation of the payroll and payment to the contractor

 

[IanSuth]

That is why so many new start recruitment agencies use factoring to look after their cash flow requirements as well over half of all the enquiries that I receive are from new start recruiters.

Nowadays all the recruiter has to do is to send the time sheet to the factoring company and they will do the rest including preparation of the payroll and payment to the contractor

They also have to understand the laws to not trip over all the legislative tripwires - the cashflow part is just another operational issue.

AWD, WTD, Conduct regs all have non obvious traps in them for those without knowledge. Put people into the rail industry and you have to keep their medical info (as in any notifiable issues) for 30 years !!

Put people on to a shop floor and you are responsible for ensuring they have all the right PPE, there is a test case regarding a student killed in a ships hold at Shoreham docks with covers who is responsible H&S wise, etc etc.

Those that set up without knowing those kind of things tend to last 18mths to 2 years then go bust owing lots of people a lot of money (particularly the temps who at that point have likely worked a couple of weeks they wont ever get paid for). Seen it happen on multiple occasions - you can usually spot those who it will happen to by the flashy suits and cars despite the low margin business they do