Case studies

About Arcus Solutions

With a focus on proactive strategies for providing the right service at the right time and right cost, Arcus Solutions (Holdings) Ltd provides comprehensive customer focused facility management and engineering maintenance solutions.
Working in partnership with their customers, they tailor their approach to individual business requirements, providing an end to end solution.
The aim of Arcus FM is to grow a great FM business – the envy of others. The aim of Arcus Solutions is to lead the way for FM through outstanding service and reliability, delivered by exceptional people.
Arcus prides itself on offering an excellent opportunity to develop a career in FM. They offer a wide range of positions from engineering and technical specialists to administration and management.
They offer continued development to their employees allowing them to grow with their organisation.

How did Arcus come to work with SER?

In 2014, Arcus were using up to 30 recruitment agencies, and had very little control over the process.
Recruitment companies didn't always validate the candidates prior to referral and therefore Arcus were spending lots of time interviewing candidates who were not suited to the role and needed a solution.
Arcus have a large number of job vacancies on their site and they are continually adding to these as their company takes on new contracts in new areas.
They believe that it is their people who make them great. Arcus wants people to work for them who are passionate, great at what they do and know what it takes to deliver exceptional service – the same is applicable for the agencies they deal with.

How did SER find the right candidates for Arcus?

By offering a proactive approach, talent mapping, a strong social media strategy, a candidate screening process including video interviews, holding regular meetings and building a professional relationship through unrivalled key account management, SER Ltd has proved that they know what it takes to deliver exceptional service and achieve the desired results.
They offer the best candidates in the industry.
They needed an agency that could grow with them as they grew their company and SER has delivered.
Like Arcus, we believe in doing it simply, doing it well and doing it with passion.

“At Arcus, your development is our passion and we believe in helping all our colleagues achieve their full potential”

Security Industry specialists
Design – Product – Marketing – Research & Development

Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co., Ltd. (Dahua Technology) is a world-leading video-centric smart IoT solution and service provider. Based on technological innovations, Dahua Technology offers end-to-end security solutions, systems, and services to create values for city operations, corporate management, and consumers.
With more than 16,000 employees and over 50% engaged in R&D, Dahua solutions, products, and services are applied in over 180 countries and regions.

The Challenge
A large corporate organization with a Chinese culture running through its core. Attracting people with the right skill sets and ideally a bi-lingual language set in the right geographically locations would be a challenge for any firm, however throw into the mix the need for engineering knowledge and experience within the cctv, access control and intruder alarms means that the talent pool is extremely small.
Through understanding the recruitment process and the timeframes that Dahua work to it become clear that managing a candidates expectations would be key to successful placements.
The next step was to understand which positions actually really required a bi-lingual and which ones didn't. By meeting each individual hiring manager and truly understanding each requirement SER Ltd were able to widen the targeted talent pool and significantly increase the chances of success.
Rebecca Howcroft and Gary McConville were assigned as dedicated recruiters to Dahau with the aim of firstly proactively market mapping the potential talent pool available.
Once the candidate pool was defined, an extremely confidential but direct approach was taken in contacting these potential candidates and presenting the Dahau career opportunities.

Main Recruitment Issue:
With a number of key positions requiring bi-lingual language skills and a significant understanding of end to end security systems, highlighting and attaching the right skill sets was incredibly difficult.
_________________________
"You have proven over and over again you are happy to go the extra mile for your candidates and your Clients and are always contactable, approachable and professional at all times. I am so impressed with your excellent service"
Charlotte – HR Manager
_________________________
Proactively approaching the very best people in the area, and not just the best available.
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Marketing mapping used to clearly understand the size of the potential candidate pool in each geographical region.

"Are you open minded to discussing a career opportunity with a competitor?"
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Using social media to highlight the passive candidate and increase the target talent pool.
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Structured approach to "sell" opportunities to candidates

Headteacher slams Millennials' 'one-in-a-million job' expectations

The Head of an elite private school has lambasted the 'overly mollycoddled' generation of youngers for their lack of grit and sense of entitlement.

Douglas Robb, the Headmaster of Gresham's, a Victorian red-brick in rural Norfolk that charges fees of up to £34,000, wrote in a blog post on the schools' website that the younger "generation has come of age where many more individuals perceive themselves to be 'one in a million'."

Clearly peeved by a run-in with a candidate, Robb wrote that during a job interview, the jobseeker left him feeling deflated after they enquired, 'why should I come and work for you?'

He described the way that "some youngsters" approach job interviews as they might approach buying a luxury holiday is concerning.

"Some expect to be given a 'one-in-a-million' job, despite being one of millions of applicants, many of whom are not yet fit for the work place!" he wrote. "Perhaps I overreacted and the candidate was more a victim of recruitment-agency pep-talks than anything else, but my lasting impression was of an 'entitled' candidate who was looking for some further guarantee or incentive before committing to getting stuck in to furthering their career."
He said that as well as a clutch of impressive grades or a degree from university, young people need to show they can add value to an employer's organisation through hard work, commitment, passion and determination.
Robb continued that "something has been lost," such as the sense of pride associated with doing 'an honest day's work', whatever the role.

His final word was that schools, parents and Government need to encourage young people that all work experience, is valuable, and ended his rant by stating that young people should be 'grateful' for the opportunities they are given.

Robb's comments coincide with the publication of new research from a thinktank, which calls for changes in the labour market to help young people.

The Resolution Foundation, in its latest research for its Intergenerational Commission, found that Millennial workers are more likely to find themselves in insecure, low-paying jobs and are earning less than previous cohorts did at the same age.

Insecure work, stagnant wages and a lack of moving between jobs were cited as issues hampering younger peoples' careers. More than half of people on zero-hours contracts are aged 16-34 and a quarter of people in their early twenties did not receive a pay rise for five years in a row after the financial crisis.

It also addressed a shift in mindset that is halting productivity. Whereas previous generations found that, 'a job, any job' was the mantra, "for too many younger workers today finding work is not a problem, finding security and advancement is," the report read.

The goal of the paper is to set out a 'Better Jobs Deal' to support younger workers and reinvigorate generational progress.

Stephen Clarke, senior economic analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said that if the approach to the labour market did not change, "we risk leaving a generation of young people struggling to get by and progress."

Permanent Placements up 10% as Employers Shun Short-Term Hiring

According to a new survey from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies, Professional recruitment firms are reporting that the number of candidates securing permanents roles in Jan 18 increased by ten percent

APSCo's data, which focuses on professional recruitment, reveals that vacancies for permanent staff also remained strong, increasing by 0.3% over the same period. This stability is reflected in the most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics which reported in February that UK employment levels now sit at 75.3%, a figure that was higher than a year earlier and the joint highest since comparable records began in 1971.

While overall demand for talent remains resilient, vacancies for finance professionals to work on a permanent basis were particularly strong, jumping by 16% year-on-year.

Contractors out on assignment down

Demand for contractors decreased across many of the trade association's core sector groups. Vacancies within engineering, for example, slipped by just 5%, while demand within IT and marketing fell more significantly (by 8% and 21% respectively). Finance was the only sector where vacancies for non-permanent roles increased, with demand for contractors up by 2%.

The overall number of contractors out on assignment, meanwhile, dipped by 16% during the same period. This can largely be attributed to a significant 38% year-on-year fall in IT professionals working on a contract basis during this time.

Average salaries stable

APSCo's figures also reveal that median salaries across all professional sectors dipped by 1.2% year-on-year. This figure is characterised by notable fluctuations in terms of sector, with financial services and engineering, for example, recording uplifts of 1.8% and 2.4% respectively.

Graduates who left university this summer with degrees in Engineering may well qualify for the largest pay packets when starting work, according to new research by job search engineAdzuna.

The study, conducted in September 2017, analysed CVs belonging to recent graduates using Adzuna's ValueMyCV algorithm, to reveal which degrees are the most valuable immediately after leaving university.

Students bearing Computer Engineering degrees are destined to in the money and can expect to earn as much as £33,555 when starting out, making this subject the most lucrative degree in the UK. This is followed by Electrical Engineering (£32,781), Finance (£32,159) and Chemical Engineering (£31,880) qualifications, which are also top earners for new graduates.

Forming a clear trend, engineering-related courses dominate the top 10 list of highest paying degrees, with Software Engineering (£30,839), General Engineering (£30,557), Civil Engineering (£30,047) and Mechanical Engineering (£29,958) all also featuring on the list.

Computer Science (£31,698) and Information Technology (£31,162) degrees round off the top-10 UK's most valuable degrees.

 Table 1: Top 10 Most Valuable Degrees in UK

Average annual earning potential after graduation
Computer Engineering £33,555
Electrical Engineering £32,781
Finance £32,159
Chemical Engineering £31,880
Computer Science £31,698
Information Technology £31,162
Software Engineering £30,839
General Engineering £30,557
Civil Engineering £30,047
Mechanical Engineering £29,958

As we come to the end of the alphabet of SER, we have chosen the word Zeal.

Zeal is the great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or on objective.

We hope you have seen throughout the past 26 weeks our Zeal for helping find the right job for you.
We are passionate about changing the way recruitment services are perceived. We are passionate about our sectors.

We are passionate about having the right jobs for you.
We are passionate about peoples' futures and progression.
We are passionate about careers.

Submit your CV and let us help you.

Tel: 01254781300

Web: www.serlimited.com

Your Career, Your Future,
Your Choice.

Case Study for Watertrain Ltd
The water industry is rapidly growing and as such good people with the right experience are in high demand.

CASE STUDY

RECRUITMENT SERVICES TO THE WATER SECTOR

BACKGROUND

Watertrain is the predominant provider of high quality technical training and qualification programmes to the water sector. The water specific knowledge and competency qualifications delivered by Watertrain are accredited by CABWI, a nationally recognised awarding body. Watertrain sees its role as helping employers find effective solutions to immediate training needs and longer term staff development.

SER LTD OPERATING SECTORS

Asbestos Building Controls
Building Services Electronics
Environmental Fire & Security
Hydraulics Lighting
Audio Visual Manufacturing
Measurement Telecoms
Refrigeration Renewables
Waste Management Utilities

CHALLENGES

Watertrain was in need of a additional Tutors/Assessors to provide syllabuses on Water Treatment, Wastewater Treatment and Network Distribution. Due to the working environmental of this industry we found finding applicants with the ability and willingness to carry out this role very difficult to find until we approached Becky Goodwin from SER Limited.

THE KEY POINTS

Tutors/Assessor were required
Water/Wastewater, Network Distribution background
The ability to deliver industry recognised qualifications

CURRENT SITUATION

Watertrain Ltd found that they were dealing with numerous recruitment agencies from across the UK and further supported this via local press advertisements and the occasional job board.
This approach was proving to be:
Time consuming
Expensive
Difficult to control
Producing numerous duplicate applications and fee claims
Ineffective in sourcing high quality Tutors/Assessors

ACTIONS

SER Ltd was known to Watertrain Ltd and it was decided to appoint SER Ltd as the preferred recruitment consultancy to Watertrain Ltd with the view of addressing the above issues.

ACTIONS/SOLUTIONS

SER Ltd appointed an Account Manager to Watertrain Ltd and then arranged a further site visit to understand the company's operations, approach and culture. It was important that SER understood what skills the Tutors/Assessors would require and what they would be required to do on a day to day, week to week basis. SER planned to focus on staff retention ensuring that a strong candidate fit was achieved and therefore removing the continual "urgent" need to recruit and replacing it with a more selective approach which would mean a further increase in the skills level.

REASONING

The thought process behind this was based on the following factors:
SER Ltd being specialist recruiters to the engineering market
Level of knowledge and understanding of the Water sector in the UK
In-house candidate database
Recruitment vetting process
Trust and open approach

RESULTS

Hazel Sarath – Quality Assurance Manager
Watertrain have found SER very professional in approach with a high standard of customer service, which is consistent in approach. This is excelled by a front facing approach- where sales executives undertake an initial recruitment needs analyses prior to recruitment taking place. We found this valuable as a 'get to know you' tool, which has led to the most suitable candidates being forwarded. We have successfully secured 3 full-time permanent employee- who not only have the right technical experience, but the right personalities to fit into a small team. I have found working with SER seamless and like the positive energy that they generate over the phone and during face- face meetings.

Watertrain has no hesitations in recommending SER as a recruitment agency and will continue to use them as the preferred choice of recruiters in the future.

Welcome

SER Ltd would like to welcome four new recruiters to the team.

Roger Taj
Kym Barton
Sarah Bailey & Lauren Colman

Roger comes with a wealth of business management experience and will be responsible for the continuing recruitment that we provide within the HVAC Sales sector. Replacing Chris Ragnal who has decided to join one of our Clients JCI as part of their continuing focus on in-house recruitment. Roger will be tasked with continuing to build long term business relationships with our every growing Client base within the HVAC sector while bringing a proactive active to sourcing outstanding talent within the sales environment.

Kym joins us as a junior recruiter and will be focused on the Asbestos sector. Mainly responsible for sourcing Asbestos Surveyors, Analysts and Lab Techs.

Sarah Bailey joins SER Ltd from previous roles within Business Development and is tasked with driving forward our recruitment services within the telecommunications market. Mainly focusing on Sales and Tech roles throughout the UK.

Lauren is our newest member to join the team. Joining as a junior recruiter, she will be working along side Dan Walton in the FMCG Machinery.

Should you wish to contact any of our three new recruits feel free to call SER Ltd on 01254 781 300

Specialists within Engineering Recruitment

31557600 seconds in 1 year.
525960 minutes in 1 year.
8766 hours in 1 year.
365.25 days in 1 year.
52 weeks in 1 year.

1 year is a long time and in 1 year you can achieve so much, learn so much and progress so much, but a lot can also go wrong in 1 year. At the start of a year, you may be happy with your job, it may be challenging you, it may be exactly as you wish it to be, it may be perfect for you.

In the blink of an eye, things can change (refer back to L is for Life), you may need to make a change and through no fault of anyone in particular, you may need to be looking for that next step. You never know when this is going to happen.

In the last year at SER there has been a lot of change from new offices, new website, new employees – it goes to show it's not different for any of us including businesses. The company you wish to work for could grow and take on new staff which they couldn't have don't at the start of the year.

1 year = 365 opportunities
Submit your CV today and we will monitor the situation for you and contact you when vacancies that you seem perfect for you arrive – we will phone you and you never know it may just be the perfect time.

Tel: 01254781300
Web: www.serlimited.com

Your Career, Your Future,
Your Choice.

Xenon is a chemical element that has the symbol Xe. It was discovered in England by the Scottish chemist William Ramsey and English chemist Morris Travers in September 1898, shortly after their discovery of the elements krypton and neon.

Xenon is used in flash lamps and car headlights and both bring light. They are going to help you see things more clearly

How does this link to SER?

Well when you are trying to do something in the dark can be complex, so having light on a situation is going to make things easier. With SER's specialist knowledge, we can be your light. We can help direct you to the right job for you. We know the industry and we know the people you want to work for.

Let SER shed some light on the situation for you.

Tel: 01254781300
Web: www.serlimited.com

Your Career, Your Future,
Your Choice.