Newsletter Issue 1 January 2007
Welcome to the first edition of our corporate newsletter. networx is now in it’s sixth year of trading and is continuing to grow rapidly year on year.
As part of our philosophy of delivering an open working relationship, we have designed this newsletter to inform all of our clients (and potential clients) of the developments within the online recruitment industry together with news and achievements of the company.
We trust you find the information of interest and look forward to a continued and successful working relationship with you all.
Having seen a substantial rise in sales of apoint+, we believe that an increasing amount of companies are seeing the importance of recruitment software and believe 2007 will be a very good year for the industry. In the first financial quarter, we have exceeded sales targets and signed 10 major contracts for our recruitment management system.
Commenting on this recent sales activity, Director Andy Pierson said:
"We have seen a big increase in the demand for our apoint+ since it’s launch in October 2005, but first quarter results since October 2006 highlight that demand is growing at a faster pace than expected. I believe this success has come from understanding recruitment. We are constantly working with our clients from the managed service side of the business to help identify where technology can benefit their recruitment processes. We are attracting names such as Gamestation, Reebok, Maplin Electronics, L’Occitane, Punch Taverns, Wagamama, United Co-op Services and West Bromwich Building Society due to the effectiveness, adaptability and simplicity of our solutions."
The difficulty and costs associated with attracting quality candidate’s means that employers are keen to improve the experience of applicants. We live in a world where most things can be done online and candidates expect the same when applying for jobs. Offering regularly updated lists of vacancies with an easy to use application method may only be the beginning of the process but getting this right presents a professional and positive image.
The use of technology can offer enormous benefits to candidates and employers throughout the recruitment process. However, we must remember the importance of maintaining a balance between personal contact and technology. Use technology to assist your processes but don’t expect it to do everything for you.
We believe our success is down to customising each apoint+ solution to meet their clients’ individual needs. "Some clients have large HR departments and set-up the apoint+ system to work with their established methods and processes, others with less available resource implement a system to and work alongside our managed service in a way that benefits them."
In the last few months we have seen an increase in clients wanting to access our system to view their CV’S and help manage their recruitment process. You can now benefit by accessing your candidate details quickly and simply regardless of time or location through our unique "client access".
Instead of the traditional method of sending applications via email on a daily or weekly basis, we are giving our clients access to our apoint system; it allows you to view all candidate details, application form answers together with a copy of the CV as soon as they have been sifted and without clogging up your inboxes.
Almost 70% of our clients have adopted this method of receiving candidate details and have commented on how organised their recruitment application has become. We expect the number of clients accessing the system to rise in the next couple of months; if you are interested in benefiting from this please speak to your dedicated Client Relation Manager or your Account Manager.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,32849,00.html
We found an interesting article in the Sunday Times about the benefits of on-line recruitment and using a service like we provide to manage the response:
"It is about better productivity and managing talent. The laggards are making a mistake by not investing".
Competitive advantage is not just about the internet, technology can cut swathes through multiple paper processes by automating them, cutting waste, cost and lead times.
The Internet is a powerful recruitment tool by giving a vacancy exposure to an extremely wide and diverse audience but this benefit can generate substantial problems without the necessary technology in place.
Anyone can post an advert and start receiving details of interested parties but how do you collate the necessary information and manage these candidates in a professional manner? Whether you implement the technology to handle the process internally or you choose to employ the services of an external supplier who manage the entire process on your behalf only then can you start to gain the competitive advantage that all companies strive to achieve."
With the addition of seven new members of staff in the last couple of months, networx are now certainly growing from strength to strength and in this are expanding into new territories in the south of England including Portsmouth.
By adding to the already 20 strong managed service sales team in conjunction with new additions to the apoint+ business development team, networx anticipate even greater success in the 2nd financial quarter with business they hope to attract from these new areas.
Ben Reynish, responsible for Portsmouth and the surrounding area joined networx in November along with Angela Chatfield who covers the Staffordshire area. They have subsequently been joined by Rob Hall who strengthens the apoint+ team covering the South of the England, and Victoria Cater will now be covering the North West after a small restructure.
In order to manage the increase in sales generated from these new territories, three new account managers have also been recruited to add further support and ensure that administration remains to run at optimum efficiency. Carla Greenwood, Rosemary Mills and Jennifer Brown.
At the Yorkshire Awards held in December, networx Chairman David Jones CBE was named Yorkshire Man of the Year for rising to the post of Chief Executive of retail giant Next while coping with Parkinson’s Disease.
Mr Jones, originally from Worcestershire, has made Yorkshire his adopted home for the past 30 years. In 1988 he became chief executive of Next and turned it into one of the retail success stories of the next decade.
The Yorkshire Awards recognise people and organisations who have had an impact on Yorkshire and its people in some way, demonstrating their affection for, and commitment to, the county.
Richard Whiteley Special Award - Winner: Sharon Beshenivsk (posthumously), Yorkshire Business Enterprise Award - Winner: Severfield-Rowen plc. Yorkshire Sporting Achievement Award - Winner: Neil Warnock Yorkshire awards Woman of the year – Winner: Jane Tomlinson Yorkshire Arts and Entertainment Personality Award - Winner: Chris Moyles Yorkshire Lifetime Achievement Award - Winner: Ashley Jackson Yorkshire Unsung Hero Award – Winner: Inderpal Randhawa
Long established client Reebok has recently signed up to our recruitment management system apoint+.
As the technology is currently being developed to meet their existing structures and procedures Rebecca Dunnage commented:
"With the kind of talent we are trying to attract, a comprehensive web-enabled recruitment solution is a necessary requirement.
The networx apoint+ gives full system support to this, and gives our resourcers greater opportunity to focus on the applicants themselves – hiring the best talent for Reebok, and ensuring a consistent, high quality, interactive candidate experience.
Reebok have been working with networx for Managed Service recruitment for some time, and that works well for us. We were already aware of the apoint+ system, and have a good relationship in place with a provider who we trust.
When we looked at the software, and having previously worked with other e-recruitment packages, it clearly offered all the functionality that we needed, and was an obvious choice.
In particular, we were impressed by how easy to use the system is, and it’s flexibility to work with our own established recruitment processes, and we have every confidence in the networx team’s ability to deliver within the timeframe we need. We are now looking forward to getting the system live and enjoying our continuing partnership with networx"