Industry News
March 2010
Here’s to the next 10 years of Executive Recruitment!
In the worst recession this country has experienced for 50 years, Pam Anthony Recruitment are delighted to be celebrating 10 years in business this year. Take a look at how it all started…
At the tender age of 21, Pam Anthony was working as a management trainee at Marks and Spencer, living in a bedsit flat in Stockport and struggling to save enough money to buy a car, when a friend’s mum talked her into covering an Avon round for her. She really couldn’t believe how easy it was to earn that extra money – and enjoy it!
A familiar story admittedly, but from that day on she was totally hooked on direct sales and the idea of being able to win incentives, bonuses and holidays abroad – just by doing her job!
Aged 23, Pam went on to join Avon as an Area Manager, which at the time was against their ‘in-house’ rule to only employ women of ‘a certain age’ (between 28-45) – how times change! She then spent over 13 years with the company working across the UK and Ireland, and also at their Head Office in Northampton for four years, before leaving to work with a couple of party plan businesses.
It was whilst working with Body Shop at Home that Pam had her ‘lightbulb moment’, deciding that she would love the opportunity to start up and run her own business.
The idea of setting up a recruitment company evolved through talking with friends in the industry who had had dealings with a few high street recruitment agencies in the past. They told tales of agencies who a) didn’t have a clue what ‘direct selling’ was and b) cared even less as they needed to be able to fit the candidate into one of their predetermined boxes!
The seed was sown, and Pam felt that maybe there was an opportunity within the industry to work with candidates, talking to them to really understand their hopes and aspirations, and then try to find the direct selling company that would fulfil their criteria and match their requirements.
So, in January 2000, she boldly handed in her notice, hired a car, bought a laptop and converted her back bedroom into an ‘executive’ office and Pam Anthony Recruitment was born!
Pam started her business by travelling extensively around the UK meeting with candidates and then searching for jobs for them.
Thankfully, some MD’s were very accommodating and spent time meeting with her and gave her a chance to work on different assignments for them. The early years certainly involved a lot of cold calling on companies and getting a proverbial foot in their door, before the company began to establish itself as a credible recruitment provider.
Whilst developing her business, Pam was also simultaneously attending all business training seminars available to learn how to run a business, develop a website, handle PR, marketing, accounts – not to mention fleet service management!
In 2003, Sue Smith joined the company, firstly as a candidate but very soon becoming an integral part of the team with her experience and expertise in marketing and HR management. As the database of candidates and clients outgrew the back bedroom, they moved into managed office premises in 2004 and then went on to purchase their own office in the up and coming Salford Quays area.
For Pam, an uplifting thought that she can glance over at the Theatre of Dreams for her inspiration (this will only be understood by football fans!).
Pam’s strong belief in this industry led her to becoming a founder member of the UK DSA Suppliers’ Committee, and as a company, to organising the first three DSA Suppliers’ events where senior executives were invited to take time out of their business to meet with the Supplier Group andgain more of an understanding on how these companies could support and benefit their businesses.
In line with the company’s continued commitment to excellence within their field, in 2007 Pam studied for and was awarded a Diploma in Recruitment Practice. The knowledge gained from working towards this achievement, inspired her to start offering enhanced services associated with the recruitment process. A successful allegiance with an associate who is highly experienced in coaching and mentoring senior management, has resulted in a menu of additional services being offered to clients which includes Assessment Centres, in-depth psychometric profiling of candidates and ongoing mentoring support for new placements. The company also now has the infrastructure in place to be able to offer one-stop customised recruitment processes to clients who choose to outsource their HR requirements, particularly for big recruitment drives that they are unable to handle in-house.
Their proudest moment as a company to date was firstly to win the DSA Suppliers Award in 2008, having been runners-up in 2007 (not acceptable!!), and more recently to have become a founder member of the DSA Sales Academy which offers employed and self-employed people within the industry the opportunity to gain a qualification based on their knowledge of running a direct sales business. This is targeted at supporting the self-development of direct sellers but also to gain more credibility for the industry as a whole, raising awareness within the business community as to the skills required for people to be successful in this field, and also the potential it offers to tap into a new route to the customer.
Pam continues to work on a voluntary basis mentoring start-up companies in the Lancashire area, encouraging people with an entrepreneurial spirit to realise their dreams.
She also presents at the recently launched Direct Sales Seminars for businesses looking to enter the UK direct selling market.
The company’s most recent recruit, Jane McGill, joined the team in 2009. Jane brings with her a wealth of experience within the direct selling industry and in addition to her recruitment and training responsibilities she will be leading a team focusing on conducting market research groups and home party trials for start-up companies.
The company has certainly evolved since its launch in 2000, to keep pace with the times and their clients’ requirements.
Pam Anthony Recruitment’s core business is still and always will be senior and middle management recruitment for UK and Europe, but with the ever-changing recruitment legislation and an unpredictable economy, their aim continues to be to deliver a premium and seamless service and to be ‘all recruitment things to all people’.
Plans for the future? To keep doing more of what they do – and better!!
