If you are considering setting up your own recruitment agency – congratulations; you are about to embark on an exciting journey that could change your life!
To help you make the very best start possible, we have put together some useful tips and advice. If you are planning on setting up your own recruitment agency, well done. You have chosen an industry that continues to see significant growth as more and more companies realise the importance of getting the right employees.
Record growth!
The UK recruitment industry has seen record growth in recent years and the trend does not appear to be slowing down. The REC’s annual Recruitment Industry Trends report for 2018 showed that industry turnover from permanent and temporary placements, and other HR services, totalled nearly £36 billion, increasing 11 percent on the previous year. Furthermore, the average value of placement has also been rising, up more than 6% to £4,238 in 2018.
Despite nearly 1,000 people entering new employment every day in the UK, it is estimated that there are currently nearly 900,000 positions available. Such opportunities have not been missed, and a record 8,488 new recruitment agencies were registered in the UK last year.
Setting up your agency today
Whilst we can’t do everything for you, such as choose your name, we can help you significantly reduce the time it will take for you to get up and running.
In fact, so confident are we in the great information we have put together below, that you could be up and running in just one day!
To get started as quickly as possible, simply follow these useful tips.
1. Get the name right
This may seem a little obvious and not all that important. However, studies have shown that a good name goes a long way with winning new clients – something critical for a new business.
Before choosing your name there are a few things you need to keep in mind. First, your name must be legal in terms of what you can and cannot name a business. Second, you need to ensure that no one has already registered the name – this can be done on the Companies House website.
Next, you need to make sure that the name conveys the right message, both in terms of the industry you are working in and also the types of clients you wish to be targeting – for example, younger professional vs senior management. When doing this it is also important to take your future plans into consideration. For example, if you call your company ‘Manufacturing & Wholesale Recruitment’ it may be difficult to expand into other areas further down the line, such as education or management.
Another consideration is whether you will be operating overseas, as you will, of course, need to ensure there are no translation issues – such as the name meaning something else in a different language.
2. Register your business
Once you have decided on your business’ name, the very first thing you need to do is register your business. Whilst this is, of course, an important milestone, it’s not quite as scary as it sounds – and is in fact extremely quick and easy. To help you complete the process as quickly as possible, you will need some information on hand. The information you will need includes:
- Company name and UK office address
- Company director name, their name, address, date of birth
- All details of any share capital
- All details of shares/stocks held
Once you have provided the information required, as well as paid the £12 registration fee, you are done – congratulations! You are now an official business.
3. Get online
Like the majority of modern businesses, you will need a website. There are various ways to do this, and the method you choose will depend on factors such as your budget and long-term plans. Simple ‘drag and drop’ platforms enable you to quickly and affordably set up a great looking website. However, these platforms can often be limiting in what you can do – causing problems later on if you wish to expand. Numerous types of platforms exist, and many will help guide you through the process, enabling you to set up a website without the need for previous experience. When creating your website, it is useful to remember the following:
- Create ‘Calls to Action’ that are clear and obvious to your website visitors
- Provide clear contact details throughout your website
- Ensure your website contains SEO content – this enables prospective clients to find you more easily and helps eliminate the need to spend lots of money on promotion
- Select social media carefully – many new businesses try to be on every social platform. The belief that the more you are on the more people will see you is understandable – but it’s false. It is much more productive and beneficial to be specific in your use of social media. Find what platforms your clients use, such as LinkedIn, and target that one. Quality, targeted content is much more effective than the usual scatter-gun approach.
4. Learn the boring stuff
Unfortunately, there is, of course, a lot of boring, legal stuff you will need to familiarise yourself with. Don’t worry, you won’t have to become an expert in this stuff, but learning about your tax requirements, as well as data protection laws and worker regulations will help you improve how your business operates.
Good luck!
As you can see, there are a number of requirements you need to do to make your business legal.
However, the process is relatively simple, and as long as you have all the required information, can be performed quickly and with the minimum of fuss. We hope the above information and tips have helped you better understand what you need to do to help give your recruitment agency the best possible chance of success. Good luck with your new venture!
