Local recruitment agency Smart Start Recruitment will soon be celebrating their third anniversary and will be marking it by opening a new office in Yeovil. Smart Start’s Sandra Smart explains...”an increasing number of our clients and candidates come from the Yeovil area and setting up a base there is a natural step for us given that there is a gap in the market for our type of agency and unique approach”.

“Our special brand of service was exemplified at the recent Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show where members of the Team were building awareness of the Smart Start brand by handing out free balloons and serving Pimms. I received a call from a harassed client who was desperate for more staff to help out at his pasty stall and within minutes two members of my team had swapped their gas cannisters and tea towels for catering hats and aprons!”

SMART START RECRUITMENT THROUGH TO THE FINALS!

Smart Start Recruitment is celebrating being shortlisted for Best Newcomer Agency in the prestigious Recruiter Awards for Excellence.  This is an UK award which is granted to a recruitment agency that started trading no earlier than 1 January 2007. The winning firm must demonstrate financial stability, business innovation, a clearly defined business plan and significant insight into the sector(s) in which it operates. The winning firm must also demonstrate outstanding service to client and candidate.

Sandra Smart, Smart Start’s Recruitment Managing Director says “we’re absolutely thrilled to receive this recognition as it proves that mixing traditional service values with a sophisticated business approach really can work”.

The winner will be announced at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on 14 April 2010.

Smart Start Recruitment’s announces Temp of the Year 2009

Smart Start Recruitment is delighted to announce that their Temp of the Year accolade has been awarded to Val Garlinge.  Sandra Smart, Director explains that “it wasn’t an easy decision as all our 2009 temps were real stars (you can take a look at all monthly winners on our website).” Val has been a loyal member of the team for more than two years and in fact was a previous Temp of the Month winner in May 2008 and December 2009. She has been in her current placement for more than six months, where the client company has commended her for both her work and flexibility. Courtesy of Smart Start Recruitment, Val decided to have a slap up meal with her husband to celebrate.   Congratulations, Val, we really value you and are proud to have you on our books.

We will be selecting our most outstanding temp in the next few days.......our candidates are the core of our business and we are proud of our team.

We are delighted to welcome Damian to the team, he joined us after recently being made redundant - he will be focusing on new business within the Yeovil and surrounding area.  Read more about him on our about us page

Celebrating a Business Success Story

Saturday, 17 October, saw the team of Smart Start Recruitment enjoying a celebration of their second anniversary in business. A three-course meal, wine and champagne rewarded those responsible for another successful year. The Agency has weathered the storm of the difficult economic situation, not least because of their positive, ‘can do’ attitude.

Director, Sandra Smart puts success down to the team’s professional, friendly approach and their ability to think outside the box. During the last year their additional employment offerings included providing staff for agricultural, fresh food and horticultural industries (now possible through the award of their Gangmaster’s Licence), providing staff for catering units at County Shows and offering an employee personal profiling service to maximise clients’ staff potential.

The team anticipates another successful year ahead, with their future looking bright.

GILLINGHAM & SHAFTESBURY SHOW

19TH AUGUST 2009

Just a reminder that you can find us at the show.  We look forward to welcoming visitors and to offering you refreshments in the cool shade of the marquee.  This year, we are offering a free draw for visitors to our stand.  There are two prizes; a free temp for a day and a half price permanent placement fee.

Smart Start Recruitment are expanding their business into the vibrant city of Southampton, opening for business on 1st May 2009.

There may be some surprise at the expansion of Smart Start Recruitment, Gillingham, Dorset, at a time when many companies are downsizing or going out of business altogether.  However, our Gillingham office has shown that even in difficult times our first-class, friendly and professional service is valued highly by client companies and candidates, enabling Smart Start Recruitment to grow.

Smart Start Recruitment teams up with TABS Training

Gillingham’s leading recruitment consultancy Smart Start Recruitment has formed an exciting partnership with Shaftesbury based, TABS Training, which provides job seekers with a one-stop shop for developing their skills, while making potential employers aware of their availability.

An early beneficiary of this alliance is Martin Hull who was found work by Smart Start Recruitment as a forklift driver, only 3 days after receiving his forklift licence following his training from Tabs. Martin says, “I was very impressed with the welcoming and efficient manner of Smart Start Recruitment and Tabs were great; they were so friendly and supportive. I was so excited to receive the call offering me the job after 3 months out of work as it was so unexpected.”

TABS Training have been providing training to individuals and companies since 2001 and is one of the largest Learndirect providers with multiple centres in the South.

TABS’ Pauline Murison comments, “we were delighted to help Martin gain his new skills and are looking forward to working closely with Smart Start Recruitment in the future.”

Sandra Smart of Smart Start Recruitment is equally enthusiastic about the prospects of joining forces with TABS saying, “this is an exciting opportunity to combine our knowledge of the recruitment market with the skills of a renowned training provider, enabling us to find work for even more local people.”

GANGMASTERS LICENCE

We are delighted to have been awarded the Gangmaster Licence this week.  Our Licence can be viewed on the following website:- www.gla.gov.uk our licence number is SMAR0007.  The GLA audit was a huge success and we passed with flying colours.  This is a great achievement and shows our commitment and dedication to the highest levels of recruitment practice.

The licence is designed to protect temporary workers within the food chain from exploitation by unscrupulous gangmasters in the UK and acts as a seal of approval of both best practice and legally compliant labour provider.  The GLA requires all suppliers to use only labour providers who are working in compliance of the Code of Practice and those who have obtained a licence.

Obtaining this licence will allow us to offer an enhanced service to our clients.