Meet Big Sky Additions, Sam Holt
Sam Holt is the co-founder and Company Director of Big Sky Additions. It’s a role he’s held for 12 years, but he’s been working in recruitment for a total of 24 years.
“I started out in 1998.” He said. “It was a time when we sent CVs via fax and thought the internet would simply prove to be a fad.”
One of the essential parts of Sam’s job is to build rapport with clients.
“Rapport is absolutely essential,” he said. “If you don’t have a good relationship with your clients, you won’t get the call when they have a vacancy. It’s as simple as that. But we need to get to know them too, as well as their company’s values and ethos. That way, I can get the right applicant for the job, knowing he or she will fit in well with the team. Right now, the accountancy job market favours the job seeker, says Sam. That’s down to a lack of quality candidates. According to the latest Labour Market Outlook from the CIPD, although 72 per cent of employers needed to recruit within the next three months, 47 per cent of them had vacancies that were hard to fill.”
The cost of living crisis has forced many companies to increase salaries, desperate to keep their staff, says Sam.
“Where people aren’t being given pay rises, they are moving jobs. One in three people are demanding better pay and, where they aren’t getting it, are taking on a second job to make ends meet.”
This is backed up by a recent study in the magazine Personnel Today, which showed that around one-third of employees have considered, or applied for, a new job. A further 65 per cent said they now felt a salary increase was their main priority when looking for a new role.
In terms of e-Recruitment (using internet-based technology to attract, assess, interview and recruit candidates), Sam can see the merits.
“It’s become more prevalent, particularly for larger agencies who may struggle to deal with the volume of work,” he said. “We use online advertising and social media and welcome integration with new platforms and software where necessary.”
“E-recruitment is generally a cost-effect method of attracting new staff, which can also shorten the hiring process. Reaching a larger audience more quickly is beneficial for some positions, but it’s not always appropriate for the more senior openings where the pool of prospective candidates is lower anyway. As the world becomes more digital, e-recruitment does seem more inevitable, and I can see its value. However, we also value our personal touch, which makes us stand out from others in this competitive market. Call me old fashioned, but there’s a lot to be said for human contact.”
And as for future predictions. Sam believes that inflation and these recessionary times will impact on the number of job vacancies available. But he’s not too worried for the business.
“We have a strong client base here in Norfolk,” he says. “I also recruited during the dot.com bubble, the recession of 2008-2009 and got through three lockdowns. Actually, we’ve just had our two best years since starting in 2010. That puts us in a strong position, which I’m sure will continue well into 2023 and beyond.”