A former consultant with HR specialist recruiter Resource Innovations has launched a resourcing consultancy, Meriton Advisers in Ashford, Kent, aimed at supporting SMEs.

Charlotte Fraser believes that small businesses tend to have less recruitment awareness compared with larger firms, and little budget to carry it out. “I want to help SMEs by providing them with affordable and innovative solutions,” Fraser told Recruiter.

“SMEs tend to just use direct resourcing rather than agencies but then they don’t have the skills that agency-trained consultants have.”

Meriton will work just like an agency, Fraser said, but will “hold their clients’ hands and walk them through the recruitment processes, but at a more affordable cost”.

“I will be offering a contractual RPO solution. There’s all the benefits of outsourced recruitment but with no commitment from the client - no tie-in. The client will be given options the whole time,” she said.

The offering can be as flexible as the client wishes. “I can also act as an interim or contract worker for slightly larger companies by joining them temporarily while they experience larger than usual recruitment volumes.”

Fraser is looking to expand by late spring. “It’s an underdeveloped solution,” she explained. “An agency-standard service at a fraction of the price.”