A Little Push Is All We Need
I am absolutely over the moon because this week I received the great news that I’ve been elected to chair my professional industry trade body association the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC). https://www.rec.uk.com
I came to recruitment in 1990 when husband Richard and I started a recruitment business from our back bedroom.
It wasn’t until three years later I joined the REC. I remember we could not join from the off because cash was tight and we couldn’t afford the membership fee. We knew it was important to run a recruitment business properly but we needed to build a bit of income first.
So, we became members in 1993 and never looked back. The professional standards, the code of practice and ethics about how recruitment organisations should operate and serve the industry and the legal helpline support helped us grow and succeed. We now employ over 50 fantastic employees, with hundreds of temps and contractors out working, a background screening business and an annual turnover close to £10 million.
Back in the 1990s, Richard and I were both naïve startup business owners, completely out of our depth – green as peas you could say. But we were determined to succeed. However, never did I ever in my wildest dreams think that one day I would have the privilege to serve our professional body as Chair of the Board and help give back to the sector which has served me and my family so well.
A Seat at the Table
REC Board 2022
My journey to the Chair started I guess around six years ago when I attended one of the many regular member events in London. The event was all about the recruitment industry embracing digital and the impact on leaders and managers in encouraging change within our sector.
Kevin Green was CEO of the REC at the time and after the session, he thanked me for my contribution to a questions and answers session and asked if I’d ever thought of joining the REC Council.
His inevitable charm and power of persuasion led me to put myself forward for election and in 2017 I was elected by members to sit on the REC council which involved meeting once a quarter with around 25 of my peers who were from all corners of the country. The council is made up of recruitment business owners and leaders who work in many different sectors from all sizes of companies, from Adecco to smaller businesses such as our own Cummins Mellor. My first meeting was terrifying!
But recruiters are nothing if not friendly, outspoken, honest and passionate. I spent the next three years learning a lot about being a smaller fish in a big pond. I had to find my voice, speak up, challenge and share ideas. I also met brilliant people and colleagues who were nothing but honest, outspoken, passionate and completely dedicated to the UK recruitment industry.
Into the Board Room
Three years into the role saw governance changes at the REC which resulted in me elected to sit on the actual Board as a Non-Executive Director. I made my presentation, thinking I wouldn’t stand a chance, but giving it my best shot, I was voted on by my peers to continue.
Again, I learnt so much from the other Non-Execs as well as working really closely with the REC Executive team and the current CEO Neil Carberry.
I knew my time was up: I was due to come off the board in June 2023 because our governance states you can only serve as a Non Exec for six years. Until that is our current chair, Sarah Thewlis, asked if I would consider applying for the role of chair. Again, I put myself forward – and here we are!
I feel privileged and proud to sit as Chair and am looking forward to the role. It means so much to have been elected by my Board peers too. Recruitment, and of course my family, have been my life literally for over 30 years. It’s been quite a journey building both; but building a business in this incredible industry has helped me secure my professional career and provide a stable secure home and life for my family, not to mention the jobs created for our employees over the years and the thousands of people we have helped into work and careers. Recruitment is a fantastic sector to work in, full of opportunity and all about people.
The REC make great work happen by supporting members in three main areas:
Standards and Professionalism: We hold our corporate and individual members accountable, ensuring they meet the highest standards of professionalism. By upholding these standards, we elevate the reputation and value of the industry.
Industry Advocacy: We boldly defend the recruitment industry, advocating at local, national and with government for its importance and the positive impact it brings to businesses and individuals. Our aim is to showcase the value and contributions of our sector.
Supporting Members: We support our members to serve their clients better. Through various initiatives and resources, empowering them to deliver exceptional service and provide the talent that organisations need to operate and grow their business.
As the Chair I will have a member led focus, collaborating and advocating for a more inclusive, equitable and diverse working world, advancing the industry and promoting the highest standards of professionalism. Our role as recruiters extends beyond merely matching and dispatching; it is about transforming lives and making great work happen.
Recruiters – A Force for Good
I want REC members to be recognised for the importance of the recruitment sector as a professional services provider. After all, recruitment surpasses law and accountancy in its reach and impact, working with 3,200 corporate members and 3,000 individual members contributing to millions of jobs, careers and the talent business needs, injecting almost £43 billion pounds in 2020 to the UK economy.
The REC also provides professional development opportunities, including regulated qualifications, to empower individual recruiters and enhance their expertise. But the true value of REC recruiters lies in the advice and guidance they offer to both clients and job seekers on their skills and expertise around employment, recruitment, the ever changing, fast paced world of work.
In my role as Chair, my main aim is to champion and spotlight the impact and value that REC recruiters bring playing a pivotal role in placing over a million people in permanent roles every year, while also providing a million temporary and contract workers across every sector on a daily basis.
Connecting them with each other and to the REC better is crucial. We all share in this fabulous and very important industry and are more crucial in this new world of work than ever before in the context of widespread skills shortages, talent scarcity and new ways of working.
Together, REC recruiters are a positive force for good making great work happen for everyone. We are stronger together, there is room for everyone. It’s about a One REC.
I firmly believe that REC recruiters working in the private employment sector are essential to the work lives of individuals, the growth of businesses, and the overall UK economy. With recruiters operating in every town and city across the country, their contribution is truly widespread.
My ultimate goal and dream is to elevate the business world's awareness of the REC and its accredited recruiters. I aspire to ensure that every organisation and individual seeking the services of a recruiter recognises the value and quality that comes with choosing a REC-accredited professional.
All Anyone needs is that little push.
The main message here though is that all of this wouldn’t have been possible for me to now impact and influence change, if I hadn’t been encouraged and pushed gently to put myself forward by my colleagues and family.
All we need is to just have that little push from friends, from a boss, colleagues, family to plant the idea of what you can do, what you are capable of and should aim for.
I’ll always be forever grateful to the people in my career and life who have done this for me, and I shall strive to keep doing the same for others, especially REC members.
There is a lot of talk about women and business and women in leadership and women on boards. You must be in it to impact the future because it’s at the top of the organisational table where decisions are made, so we need to encourage and, yes, support women, but it’s about encouraging all of our people to sit at that table, to be more than they think they can be, to have a go and try. After all, who knows what can happen?
I can’t wait to get started. The REC has been around close to a 100 years. I am dedicated to secure its safe passage through the next three to ensure it is still here for another hundred.
Thanks to everyone, there are too many people to mention, but I do want to give a shout out to my husband Richard, my brilliant children, Katie & Jack and my peers and colleagues over the years for believing in me. Let’s get to work!
Richard Katie Jack & Michelle at their offices in Lancashire
