We were approached by quintiles some years ago. They had a national provider of labour solutions and had taken the corporate decision not to use local providers. The problem they faced was that their national provider was unable to source the appropriate quality of candidate locally with the result that Quintiles faced:

• High levels of absenteeism
• High levels of staff turnover
• Poor productivity
• Increased training costs
• Increased recruitment costs
• Poorly informed new starts
• Low morale amongst their temporary workforce
• Temporary workers not being paid on time or correctly

We sent in our team of consultants to learn from Quintiles what their needs and expectations were from their temporary workforce. We found out that they needed:

• Reliable workers
• Workers with a good attitude
• Team players
• New starts who were fully informed about the organisation they would be working for and the role they would be performing
• Competitive costs
• Open book accounting

We have been running customised assessment centres for our clients for over a decade, the tailored recruitment process for Quintiles was as follows:

1. Telescreen interview for all candidates
2. Assessment centre (approx. 3 hours)
   • Introduction
   • Icebreaker
   • Presentation
   • Teamwork experience
   • Aptitude test
   • Colour blindness test
   • Behavioural interview
3. Reference checks
4. Veto interview
5. Induction

Representatives from Quintiles HR and Production departments were invited to attend the assessment centres, they commented that they were surprised that the content of our assessment centres was even more in depth than their own.

As part of our service, we meet with all new starts on their first day to ensure a smooth transition and to make sure all appropriate documentation has been completed. We also conduct onsite surgeries at each site to ensure any potential issues are resolved quickly.

We also have an excellent testimonial from our key contact at Quintiles:

Staffplus have excelled themselves in providing bulk quantities of temporary staff to various departments across our sites each with its own diverse culture/environment. I have been particularly impressed at their ability to relay the nature of the business and role to potential recruits, which is ultimately the key driver to retaining temporary staff. Essentially, candidates know what they are coming to, so there are no surprises, which makes them less likely to leave. An additional factor to this, is the rigorous screening programme that each candidate under-goes prior to be placed in a role. I have a strong confidence that Staffplus seek out the right person for the role by communicating with the candidates and the business, and not simply by sending through CVs. Once candidates are placed, Staffplus retain communication with their temp staff, allowing them to ask questions and issues on a weekly, if not daily, basis. Communication is also maintained with the various departments to ensure that everything is satisfactory. In essence, the service that Staffplus have provided has been paramount to helping us achieving our business objectives over the past months and I can thoroughly recommend them as a provider of temporary labour.

Shona Artale HR Advisor, Quintiles, Bathgate

How much does absence cost your business?

According to a recent CIPD survey on Absence Management, the average level of employee absence was 3.7% of working time (8.4 days per employee per year).

The cost of these absences increased to £659 per employee per year for the private sector, in the public sector, the figure was £732.

Reasons for absence included minor illnesses, back pain, family responsibilities and stress. On average, employers believe that about 16% of absence is not genuine, and 31% identified an increase in stress related absence compared to 12 months ago.

ABSENCE:

It affects each and every business. One of our clients had suffered from high levels of absence amongst its Temporary workforce. When Staffplus started to supply labour to this site, we introduced an absence management programme in order to minimise absence. Our programme included:

• Monitoring absence closely, especially to identify patterns
• Return-to-work interviews conducted on-site for each absence
• Utilising disciplinary procedures as necessary
• Communicating effectively to employees

The result was a decrease of absence levels in the temporary workforce from 8.2% to 1.6% within a 3 month period of introducing the programme.

Staffplus has recently instigated a very successful absence management programme whilst providing an excellent personnel service to their employees on site. They ensure compliance with all the recent employment legislation and are always available to give updates and advice on these issues.

Tim Pool, HR Manager, Flextronics International

In a marketplace, more competitive than ever, Staff Turnover is a real issue for all businesses.

There are many innovations businesses can implement in order to retain staff, the most obvious of which is to ensure the correct candidate has been selected in the first place. This is where utilising the services of a professional recruitment company can help to ensure the most appropriate choice is made.

The best candidate is rarely the one with the best qualifications and the best experience. Too often businesses select this person, not realising that the role on offer cannot keep pace with the individual’s career aspirations. The result – costly Staff Turnover, some would suggest it cost from 50% of the salary to 3times the salary when taking into account:

• Training new staff
• Supervisor costs
• Temp cover
• Lost productivity
• Termination / exit costs
• Advertising
• Recruitment costs

We always ensure we know specifically what our clients’ wants and needs are, we are fully aware of our clients’ culture and commit to only recommending high quality RELEVANT candidates. Of course, at all times there is no obligation on the part of our client.

Staffplus provided most of our key members of staff. Positions filled included CAD Engineers, Electrical Engineers, Facilities Manager, Cost Engineers, Customer Service Manager and European Sales Manager. We are now working only in conjunction with Staffplus, they provide us with the best service.

Charles Probert, M.D., Laird Technologies, East Kilbride

A common problem that many of our clients have experienced from labour supplied by previous suppliers is that of very high turnover of temporary staff. No sooner have some ‘temps’ been trained to a reasonable level, then they leave for another position.

This can have a massive negative impact on business, it is absolutely critical that our clients experience a minimal amount of turnover from the candidates we supply. All businesses inevitably some turnover, at Staffplus we go beyond what clients expect to ensure this is minimised at all times.

Staffplus have successfully undertaken high volume recruitment for our call centre. They have provided us with a personal service, and designed a robust Recruitment Programme to specifically meet our requirements. Staffplus have a fast and efficient service, provided by Professional Consultants. They also provide us with a designated recruitment consultant who facilitates weekly, on site, surgeries to discuss any issues.

One of the key differences between Staffplus and other agencies that we have used is that they took time to listen to our needs. They spent time listening to the type of calls that we make and the type of people we needed to deliver our aim of 100% Customer Delight.

This has resulted in a dramatic improvement in the quality of the people as well as staff turnover. The calibre of people we now receive are also more flexible in learning new skills which allows us the flexibility we need in a constantly changing environment.

I would have no hesitation in recommending their services to other organisations.

Stephen Martin, Customer Relationship Manager, Kwik Fit Insurance Services

Over the years, Staffplus has been involved in a number of International projects including in:

• Ireland
• Holland
• Czech Republic
• USA

The international recruitment we have been involved in includes high volume temporary labour, and highly skilled staff.

In Ireland, for example, we were involved in recruiting 150 temporary staff from Scotland and transporting them to Limerick in the south of Ireland. We initiated a detailed recruitment programme, arranged transport and accommodation, and also provided on site management for the Scottish Team.

We have also supplied key technical staff in all of the above countries, working on a range of contracts, some lasting over two years.

Staffplus came highly recommended and did not disappoint as they did an outstanding job for us. Staffplus took care of everything for us including transport and accommodation for their people.

Roger McGrath, Operations Manager, Celestica, Dublin

Staffplus has supplied QCE in Amsterdam with high quality, skilled Electronics staff from the U.K. They work hard to ensure that their workforce are happy with their accommodation and out of work environment which ensures a productive, settled workforce for us. I have always found Staffplus to be an honourable, professional supplier and would recommend their services to any other similar organisation.

Simon Mallitte, Operations Manager, Quanta, Amsterdam

Frazier International was engaged by one of our key corporate clients on a major production support initiative in the Irish Republic. The project demanded proactive flexible management, Staffplus supplied this, displaying the commitment of a true partner through to the successful conclusion of the contract.

Jim McKechnie, Programmes Manager, Frazier International