The new chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has said she is focusing on a "back to basics" campaign as she begins her tenure as the trade body's top staff member.

"We will be looking at what we are here for, and are we delivering... to an acceptable standard," Marcia Roberts told Recruiter last week. "We have to ensure we're using members' fees to deliver the products and services members want."

Roberts, who joined the REC staff five-and-a-half years ago, was appointed by the REC board on 15 September to succeed Gareth Osborne, the organisation's managing director. Osborne left in August.

The REC's legal services department is an example of a well-used member benefit that Roberts believes has too few resources - currently five lawyers and two information officers. For members, access to legal advice is a vital membership benefit, and Roberts pointed out: "The recruitment process is so legalistic today, it's too dangerous a process to do without legal advice."

Among her other key priorities are to raise the value of the REC brand with clients and candidates and to continue to enhance members' professionalism. Also, the continuing debate over whether the recruitment industry should be more strongly regulated poses questions the REC may need to ultimately address about the stringency of requirements to join the trade body, Roberts suggested.

One way of looking at the issue is weighing the importance of market share for REC membership versus market differentiation, a question the REC board will be considering, she said.

Roberts went on to say that she believes the REC to be "lucky" because one-third of its 3,000-strong corporate members are actively engaged with the trade body, compared with an average of 12% for other such organisations.

"We're punching above our weight," she said, "but we want to keep that remaining 66% happy and the 33% engaged, so we have to look at everything in our mix, and see if it's offering value."

In a prepared statement, REC chairman Richard Barfield praised Roberts for having "revolutionised" the recruitment industry's reputation with the government and said she was "perfectly equipped" to deliver the organisation's objectives.