News, Blog, Employment, Awards, Careers | Thursday 21st January 2021
Resourcing multiple field service contractors for a major name
The pandemic has made it difficult to predict demand from one month to the next when it comes to field service engineering. This makes the flexibility of employing contractors even more attractive.
In Autumn 2020 STANLEY Security Solutions approached our contracts team with a considerable challenge: resource a group of 8 – 10 contractors to support the company’s operations in various UK regions.
The requirement was for immediate start and the specification was strict: multiskilled Fire & Security Engineers who could deliver outstanding first fix rates on sophisticated systems.
Our approach
We were able to resource half of the positions from contractors already registered with us, who had the necessary availability and skills.
For the remainder we went to market, using search techniques to gain referrals and identify promising candidates.
Zitko has an excellent reputation in the contracts world, both for our pay rates and for treating people well, and this made our initial approaches easier.
With offers in place, our fast, efficient vetting systems then came into their own, enabling us to confirm certifications and clearances to the tight timescales required.
As a result, these new contractors deployed typically within 3 days.
Outcomes
We were able to resource the full complement of contractors. Some contracts were for around two months’ duration, while others are ongoing.
Our contracts team is in regular contact with the contractors and their line managers to ensure things are going well and that any issues are promptly addressed.
To provide maximum value for money, we offered the client a volume discount for the assignment, recognising the strong partnership we have with Stanley Security Solutions.
Postscript: one contactor moves to permanent employment
We placed one contractor, Ricky, with the London Regional team. He started work on October 19th, servicing and maintaining fire and security systems at commercial and retail sites across the capital.
Great client feedback and a high work rate persuaded his line manager that he’d make an excellent permanent team member and he was offered a position in early November.
This was ideal for Ricky as he’d been looking for more job security, and good news for the client, who had been searching for the ideal candidate for a while.
Unusually in the contracting world, we also regarded it as a ‘win’. Zitko contractor terms don’t include draconian penalty clauses to ‘protect’ against this kind of situation.
Instead, we just ask the employer to pay our standard permanent placement fee.
We supported the salary negotiation phase to achieve a mutually acceptable outcome. Ricky will start as soon as the paperwork is completed. In the meantime he’s continuing to impress as a contractor.
Here’s what the client had to say about us…
“I’ve been so impressed with Zitko and their recruitment services. Since we partnered with them earlier this year, they’ve been instrumental in helping us recruit for all manner of technical and non-technical roles within the Security Industry.
The entire team have been proactive and thorough in their approach. Despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic, they’ve managed to stay ahead of the curve, and have kept us informed of industry trends and market changes.
We’ve been really impressed with the calibre of candidates they have supplied both for sub-contract and permanent labour. As a result we have made several placements this year, and will continue to make them our recruitment partner of choice for 2021.”
Stephen Hodgkinson-Soto – Service Director – STANLEY Security UK
Here’s what the candidate thought…..
“Since joining Zitko less than 3 months ago, they managed to find me work within a couple of days. In the current situation with COVID19 I was amazed.
Ellie placed me with Stanley Security and I have been working with them 5 days a week ever since and have been offered a full time permanent position which I am over the moon with.
Ellie, Laura and the rest of the Zitko team are brilliant and the communication is second to none. Thank you to all of you!”