Roddy Hammond (Managing Director, Hammond Resources)
Interviewed by Colin Cardwell © s1jobs
Originally published: 13.06.2007
Roddy Hammond is clearly a man who relishes a challenge. "This is a tough industry," he says. "And I like the fact that it's having to work harder. That gives me comfort."
He's also a man who isn't inclined to put off dealing with problems. At the beginning of the interview a flickering fluorescent light begins to annoy him and he briefly interrupts proceedings to dash off for a stepladder and a new bulb.
Having worked for several recruitment specialists, from a family owned business to a UK national, Hammond founded his own company in Glasgow in 1997, and as an accountancy graduate, naturally focused on that sector.
His wife Jackie, with a background in Human Resources joined the following year and since then, Hammond says, the company "Has been the largest dedicated HR business in Scotland".
Beginning cautiously, the next employee was brought on board in 1999 and the company now has a staff of 13. Hammond says it operates throughout Scotland, from Wick to the Borders, from its base in Glasgow's West Regent Street and in May this year it made its first acquisition, AIM recruitment in Edinburgh, bringing on another four staff. This, and its central location in the capital's George Street, he says, demonstrates Hammond's visible commitment to the Edinburgh marketplace.
He adds that when the owners wanted to sell the business on, Hammond was their first choice as buyer.
"Yes, we have a localised approach to recruitment – but with technology there's no reason why we can't operate across a wide area."
He's also keen to challenge other areas where he believes others in the recruitment business have been complacent "We turned the sector on its head, he says. "It was a closed paradigm industry and we were in the forefront of putting names, direct dial numbers and photographs on all our advertisements."
It's important, he adds, to recognise the personal aspect of the business. "You want to know who you're dealing with. And with Hammond, that's what you get. Recently, we had zero per cent staff turnover in a 12-month period and I believe that's unique."
As part of Hammond's 10th anniversary it has relaunched and rebranded its website, which offers the unusual facility allowing customers to search for own personal consultant.
"Most companies' websites are very corporate and to me that misses the point completely," says Hammond. "Our image is fresher and more confident. We've taken the opposite tack to the big consultants and proved that we're truly niche specialists.
While he says growth has been steady, not spectacular, at about 30-40% per year it's certainly healthy by industry standards, with profit growth running at about the same level.
Like many of his peers, Hammond concedes that "it's a very tough industry - possibly overly competitive because of the low barriers to entry. While e-commerce has forced the recruitment industry to be smarter he takes a similarly dim view of "bad practice" as he does with the flickering light bulb and says he is keen to "root it out", to promote self regulation in the industry and support the role of the REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) code of practice.
He also claims that there has been "a tendency to treat suppliers badly. Here we've turned that on its head and developed good relationships with suppliers, treating them like internal customers."
He is realistic about that challenges facing recruitment consultants. Let's face it, we can only help a finite number of candidates but we can do as much as possible for the people who we can respond to and maintain as close a relationship as possible with them. At least you can be honest and straightforward.
While consultants, he says, don't always have a good press he is convinced that the recruitment industry plays a significant role in the success of the Scottish and the UK economy.
"If you take Glasgow, we do a good job of finding people willing to move here to take up important jobs – and making sure companies have good people.
"This is not an easy ride and it shouldn't be. We're definitely not sponging and if we're having to work hard, it means we're adding value."
