Neutral vendor de Poel Consulting revealed the names of the 30 agencies that have been awarded its Gold Standard at a ceremony in Coventry last week (see www.recruiter.co.uk for a full list).

Agencies were eligible if they had been on a minimum of two de Poel panels, traded for six months with de Poel and agreed to accept lower margins — £1.20 for LGV drivers, 65p for warehouse and administrative staff, and 90p for semi-skilled workers.

They also had to agree to treat de Poel as a priority account, agree to service agreements, appoint a de Poel contact and use its e-solutions package.

Each Gold Standard agency will have to go through an audit to ensure it has the correct insurance in place and complies with legislation. The audits will be completed by the end of May, with the agencies receiving feedback, and its customers will receive a copy of the results.

De Poel hopes the initiative will raise service levels and cost effectiveness for its clients, which include Sainsbury’s, TNT and MFI, while giving Gold Standard members access to all de Poel clients.

De Poel would like the Gold Standard agencies to handle at least 33% of its business. Currently they have 7%. It told the Gold Standard agencies that it will help them put together propositions to displace non-Gold Standard firms.

The standard acts as a 12-month renewable contract.