Crossing over

7-Mar-2007

Recruitment technology has become the new buzz business for many, and none are better placed to exploit its commercial benefits than former recruiters themselves.

As recruitment becomes more and more reliant on electronic forms of media, the race is on to make technology more bespoke to the needs of recruiters and tie up lucrative long-term contracts.

Former recruiters, who often have no specific technical knowledge, are heading up these companies as entrepreneurs look for hardened salesmen to drive turnover.

Dan McGuire, of Broadbean Technology, joined the company in October 2002 and bought a 25% stake in the business a month after coming onboard when he became managing director. He still holds that position.

"On the whole, I loved my time in recruitment but I needed a change," admits McGuire, who worked for Computer Futures, among others. "It annoyed me that you were selling a commodity that could change its mind — you'd do a text-book deal but still wind up not getting paid if the candidate didn't turn up on day one."

When three of his main clients went bust in 2002, he decided it was time for a change. Then, McGuire was asked to join Broadbean, initially as a sales director, but quickly saw the potential of the business.

Starting as a small concern with three people and a £25,000 overdraft, he slowly built the business up and it is on course to turn over £2.5m-£3m next year. It now employs 25 staff.

"We used the type of product we were selling in a commercial environment and that set us apart from the competition," says McGuire, whose firm develops candidate-tracking software and software for multiple job-posting.

"It comes down to the level of service. So many times clients told us that what was out there was okay, but the service they were getting was poor. There will always be times when technology goes wrong; people get that, but it's how quickly we fix it and how quickly we respond to it that makes the difference."

For Piran Littleton, general manager of Luton-based Absolute Resourcing Control Technologies, the chance to move into new technology was an immediate attraction.

"Recruitment as an industry relies on a method of selling which has worked over many years," he told Recruiter. "With this, it was a chance to introduce new ideas to people."

Littleton ran marketing and HR at specialist Ninedots Resourcing for four years before being approached to head up ARC late last year. He has seen his new venture start well — he claims it generated £4.45m of pipeline business in the first month.

Understanding of the market is crucial when making the switch from recruitment to recruitment technology, says one man who made the move in the US.

"It's hard to sell something to a recruiter if you haven't done a day's recruiting in your life," says Jason Gorham, who worked in IT recruitment for 10 years before changing career.

Gorham is managing director of CareerMetaSearch.com, which sources candidates using keywords typed into search engines.

He claims, however, that it is harder to make money in technology than actual recruitment. "We have more than 40,000 job boards over here, all using different technology, so people tend to be very sceptical about what you can offer them," he says.