The Hub

Cotswold Way Plod III

2011-08-05T07:33:00.000-07:00

Again this has been written bit by bit and I have had a few problems with editing and it has been sat in drafts for months now but after a gentle reminder to finish the story....(thanks Dad)...........

The terrain after the 4th checkpoint was really mixed with some tough climbs and incredibly steep descents. We were all feeling good, Chesney was pleased to get his trainers on and with the benefit of some food inside us and the sun on our backs we were marching northwards.

This stage was shorter than the previous and we knew that we were probably 26 miles in or so in by this point. The fact that we hadnt seen the 3rd placed team at the checkpoint despite a slightly longer stop also meant that our position was reasonably safe and so we knew that barring injury we should finish 2nd which we were incredibly proud of.

We were starting to try and organise family to meet us at the finish and my parents (Andy & Maggie) and Aunt and Uncle (Mary & Barry) wanted to try and meet us at the penultimate checkpoint. Jojo and Theodore were going to try and get to the finish to see us there. We were calling to provide timing updates as it was becoming clear that we would be finishing significantly earlier than we had anticipated so calling families to get them to Cleeve Hill Golf Club from 12.30 ish onwards. Ollie again was a great help to cordinate with the families to try and get them to where they needed to be.

There was a particularly nasty descent in this stage that had to be taken carefully and was painful for sore knees after the 28ish miles that we had done to this point.
We later learned that this descent had been too much for our colleague Paul Bennett (Benno) in the other RSG team whose knees refused to take him further and so was forced to drop out following this descent. Benno had been great company for us on one of the training walks and we were all very disappointed to learn that he was unable to finish.

Because of the trails and the peaks, we kept getting glimpses of the team ahead of us and began jeering them, shouting to tell them that we were gaining and that they looked tired! They responded by asking walkers that they were passing to relay messages to us which was a great fun and demonstrable of the camaraderie during the Plod. It was noticeable that there were actually other walkers out at this time of day (c10am) as we had only seen one other person walking with their dog near Coney Hill throughout the entire plod so far. Several asked us what RSG emblazoned on our tops was. We were unable to take time to really explain.

On top of one of the hills, we saw Dean Ryan who used to coach Bristol Rugby and Gloucester Rugby out jogging. From the top of this hill we could begin to see our final destination, Cleeve Hill which is the highest point on the Cotswolds. It was now not looking too far away, but there was a deep valley in between us and it so knew that there was another descent followed by a major climb to come.

We began our descent towards the final checkpoint which this time was in a layby and very small as most of the other teams still had not reached the previous checkpoint. There were only a couple of cars to greet us and aside from Ollie and Dave doing their invaluable stuff was Mum and Dad, Mary and Barry.

We learned that the team in front were again 6/7 minutes ahead of us and had only stopped very briefly. We too were keen to get moving again and so had a fairly brief stop but this time for sun cream, fresh tops and for Stu and Charlie to put their trainers on.
I felt fine in my boots so decided to stay as I was in my Salomon Cosmics. We enquired about the other RSG team that were by this stage some way behind us, but told that they were all still going (we found out about Paul at the finish). I grabbed some water and apples and set off, spirits high after seeing Mum and Dad, Mary and Barry, and knowing that we were leaving the final checkpoint for the 8 or 9 miles up hill to the finish!

After the layby came a climb through some fields and then a descent towards a path next to a damn of some sort near a small lake or perhaps reservoir. We were entering woodland and steep paths were ahead of us. The steep paths were feeling much harder now mostly because of the heat and so our water consumption had greatly increased.
After climbing for perhaps 6 minutes, we were unable to see any signs for the Cotswold Way at a junction that we came too. A quick check of the map didn't help as there were no other reference points available in the trees and so we continued cautiously and reluctant to have to turn back after the climb we had just done.
We bumped into a couple of very helpful dog walkers that were unsure of where the Cotswold way was, but were able to direct us out of the woods in the right direction, much to our relief. Stu was brilliant charging on ahead path finding for us and at times creating a path as we climbed through this woodland to the top of the hill. Stu was clearly determined that we shouldn't have to turn back and throughout the walk had directed us brilliantly over some difficult terrain. This detour had just come from all 4 of us missing a sign at the bottom of the hill and had certainly cost us time, but we were all to blame. I suspect that as we were feeling tired, our eyes were focusing on the floor and next step rather than the surroundings that they had focused on when we had more energy. In all the detour probably cost us 10 minutes so we knew that the lead was out of sight but there was 7 or so miles still to go.

As we came out of the woods at the top of the hill, there was a very curious noise that seemed to be coming from the trees around us but we were unable to identify the source. The buzzing sounded like the trees were thick with flies which was not a pleasant thought, but until we emerged from the tree line, it was our best guess of the source. Upon leaving the trees suddenly a huge overhead electricity pylon loomed into view as the source of the noise. It felt thoroughly unhealthy to hang around so we moved on down the path as quickly as we could through the gradually climbing fields with Cheltenham off to our left. The view was spectacular and on a warm day would be a really beautiful walk with family and friends over Cleeve Hill. As ever, the Cotswold way doesn't level out for long and before we could enjoy it we would be descending and climbing our way along to the golf course which we could occasionally see a glimpse of.

We were all running out of water and shared the few supplies we had. We should have picked up more at the last checkpoint, but hadnt really realised how much water we would consume during the climb up Cleeve Hill over the final miles. I had a couple of apples in my rucksack that were welcomely received.

This part of the walk, we all found tough. After 35 miles and no sleep, the end was tantalisingly close and we could see the end of Cleeve Hill, but the Cotswold Way is constantly up and down so saps your energy raplidly, especially in the heat.
We knew that the end was in sight and were impatient for the finishing line to come into view. Each time we though that we were nearly there, another climb presents itself and so the final miles were probably mentally challenging as much as physically.

Desperate for a drink and navigating the thin dusty paths that make up the final 3 miles or so, we were slowing as the heat and terrain were taking its toll. Cleeve Hill is the highest point in the Cotswolds with a summit of over 1083 feet and was a tough place to finish a walk of this length, but the views are astounding. Eventually climbing up onto the golf course, we knew that we were nearly there but that there was a golf courses walk to go to the finish. We had to climb to the summit toposcope to answer a quiz question and as we approached the crest, the blue flags and the Cleeve Hill Golf Club clubhouse came into view about half a mile away and downhill!

There was a path that would take us in a direct line to the finish, but Stu and Charlie were particularly keen for us to take the Cotswold Way path which of course isnt direct! I was starting to develop a nasty blister on the sole of my foot but reluctantly we dipped out of view for a few minutes before coming around the corner for the final third of a mile to the clubhouse.

The greeting as we approached was brilliant. Jojo and Theodore, Mum and Dad, Mary and Barry were all there with lots of other family, friends, supporters and Action charity staff to cheer us in. Dave and Ollie walked out to meet us and it was really emotional to see everyone welcoming us in. Stu, Charlie, Chesney and I had made the 40 miles in 13 hours crossing the line at 13.00 hrs exactly, finishing in 2nd place.

We were tired but overjoyed with the welcome and the sense of achievement. As a team, we had all trained hard and pushed each other to get through but had got on brilliantly and achieved more than we set out too.

After greeting family, we were awarded medals and T-Shirts and offered drinks. From earlier walks we had always looked forward to and enjoyed a cold coke when finishing so cokes quickly ordered.

Socks and Boots removed, my feet looked horrendous, wrinkly, deathly white and big blisters starting to come through. In reality, they werent that bad, I just should have changed my socks at the penultimate checkpoint which would have stopped any problems developing.

We then sat down for the BBQ and to welcome other teams in.

Benno arrived after dropping out and hitch hiking to the Cleeve Hill Golf Club and then a few of the other teams started arriving home. The Golf Club is worn but friendly and the food was eagerly consumed. The 2nd RSG team finished an hour and a half behind us in 6th place which was satisfying but emotional to welcome them in. Between our finish in the blazing heat, the weather had turned to torrential rain and a cold front and so they were freezing and soaking wet after ditching their wet weather kit to save weight. It was a lesson of how quickly the weather can change on the hills.

Once the other team arrived, no one stayed around for too long, keen to get home, have a bath, food and get some shut eye.

The event was hugely rewarding and one that I would definitely like to repeat some day. It was the hardest physical challenge that I have completed, but the exhileration at finishing was immense. The training had been brilliant fun and ensured that we were still relatively fresh at the end and I am sure that I could have done another 20 miles. Not sure about 2012 as shortly after the PLOD, we discovered that Jo is pregnant with twins, due in January 2012.

I hope to be back walking soon and can thoroughly recommend the PLOD as a challenge and walking some of the Cotswold Way for mind body and soul.

If you are planning to take part, get some training in, particularly for the hills and buy some decent boots / kit. We found some key bits really made a difference.

Finally, you need an understanding family to support you through the training and recovery after the event.

Hope you enjoyed reading this and good luck if you are intending to take part in the future!

Jonny

The Cotswold Plod Part II

2011-07-15T08:02:00.001-07:00

Again sorry for the delay. All is well with me, just difficult to find time but it has now been quite a while since the 2011 Cotswold Way plod..............

This has been written bit by bit as I find time but unless I post this part soon, it will never be complete so here you go. Looks like there will be a part 3!

As the day approached, it became clear that we would not escape the rain which of course was not what we had hoped for. We were hoping for mild dry weather, not too hot, but dry. What we got was far from ideal walking conditions.

After a relaxing day, we met at 9.30 pm at our office in Clifton, Bristol to load up and get in Ollie's Range Rover to take us to the start in Dursley, where we had to register before 10.45pm.

The weather was horrendous, bucketing rain and far colder than weather should be in June, therefore when we met up I was already dressed in my Salomon Cosmics, Compression Tights, T Shirt and Fleece and wet weather gear over the top.

It was great however to finally get going and the nerves that had been building for months were turning to adrenaline and excitement to get started. I was really looking forward to it although was of course aprehensive and I am sure that everyone felt the same way.

Charlie Ten Broeke had been in charge of bringing our considerable water supplies with him. The water, which had been donated to us by another colleague keen to clear some space in his garage, turned out to be several years out of date and Charlie only noticed shortly before leaving to meet us, thereofore a dash around the supermarket buying up loads of bottled water drew some very odd looks from staff and shoppers, not to mention the revellers on Whiteladies on a Friday night! The same water had also been supplied to the other RSG team, who hadnt noticed and were drinking out of their water bottles as we arrived at the start venue at c10.30 pm. As competitors, we were tempted not to tell them, but as friends and colleagues, of course we did and let them share our fresh supplies!

The start venue was a sports hall and registration only took a few minutes, but we must have been one the last teams to register. The scene was slightly chaotic at first glance, the teams spread out randomly across the floor of the sports hall, making last minute preparations and studying the route maps. One of the bits of info that we were provided with was the checkpoints and the quiz questions. The quiz questions were to be answered throughout the route and could affect the overall score, although to be honest, we were not really interested in bthe quiz and focused on a competitive placing in the finishing order.

Everyone looked nervous and after a quick briefing, it was time to go outside and line up for the start. The weather was till bucketing rain so I kept the same kit on as earlier, although removed my fleece as I knew there were two of the biggest and steepest hills between the start and first checkpoint and didnt want to overheat.

We felt good and though we were likely to be competitive and near the front of the field of 28 teams starting. Our goal simple.-
a) finish
b)beat the other RSG team
c)beat the other RSG team

We had been debating whether to start slowly and save energy for the second half and start reeling the others in, or whether to start fast and risk running out if steam. As we felt good and had done lots of training in the dark, we went for the latter and were determined to get to the front of the pack.

The atmosphere was excited and as midnight approached, everyone lined up to start offering each other luck. As midnight struck 28 teams all went off together.

It was a bit of a scramble to be honest as 112 walkers set out down the streets and narrow footpaths to the start of the Cotswold Way and the first hill northbound from Dursley in the pouring rain. Headtorches on, it must have been quite a sight for the few that were out in Dursley at that time in the rain! It was difficult to push to the front with so many people walking the paths and pavements.

We arrived at the bottom of the first hill compressed together trying to get through the gates to start climbing. There was a bit of banter between us and the other RSG team at the gate before we were all blowing up the first climb. Our team were determined to push on and we overtook several teams going up the first hill. The head torches made it very easy to see the teams behind you but not the teams infront as they are forward facing, but we already knew that we would be somewhere near the lead.

A treacherous descent follows, especially in the rain and so we were relieved not to be in the pack that we could see as a big pool of light behind us. It was suprising to see even at this early stage, how elongated the field had become however even after the first hill.

Another steep climb follows and again we decided to push on and successfully overtook another team on the steep ascent. We remarked that it must be demoralising to be overtaken and not something that we wanted to experience!

At this point we couldnt see any other lights ahead of us and the next lights we saw were for the first checkpoint which looked amazing as we approached.

The orgainisers had banners and flags with a kind of gate to go through and register your team number for time recording. It was a huge pool of light as 28 support vehicles and drivers and all of the Action support staff were there to greet us with words of encouragement and to tell us that we were in 3rd place! Dave Nock, the other RSG support driver was looking out for us at the gate and walked us towards Ollie who had the kettle on, chairs out and lots of stuff ready for us. The atmosphere was brilliant and it felt like a party!

The news that we were third spurred us to have a very brief stop, to grab some water and an apple and set off again without being overtaken at the checkpoint. Ollie looked a bit dissapointed that we were not going to enjoy the freshly brewed tea etc that he had made for us but knew that we were rushing so checked we were okay ansd sent us on our way. We left in 3rd place.

After the 1st Checkpoint there was a winding wood section that we had been through before so roughly knew our way. We could occasionally see headlights infront of us and knew that we were gaining on the team in 2nd place when we saw them veer off the path and take a different route. After checking our maps, we knew that we were on the correct path and so to be honest, thought that thet other team were cheating taking a short cut. We pushed on and a number of fields followed the woodland section. It had stopped raining around this time and so wet jackets were put in backpacks.

From our previous experience getting lost in the fields outside Wotten Under Edge we were aware how difficult it can be to follow a path through an open field in the dark. As we entered the 2nd field, a pool of headlights came into view from behind which we figured must be the team that had taken the short cut as it was unlikely that the team behind us had caught up because we were really pushing. It was incredibly frustrating for us to see the team following our lights through the open fields to find their way. They were easily able to see when we had taken the right path and when we had got it wrong! We lost a bit of ground to them which we were unhappy about so once out of the fields and back on the roads, we decided to jog and create some distance between us and the team behind.

During this section our training really paid off as we knew there were a couple of tricky paths to find which if you were unaware of could get you lost. A combination of our jogging and these tricky turns meant that we lost the team behind and that was the last time we saw them until the finish 30 ish miles later!

A big climb follows just outside Wycliffe School which we found really tough when doing our training, but spurred on by adrenaline on the Plod, we flew up and through the woods onto the 2nd checkpoint. It was now c 3.30 am and thinking about getting light through the mist in the woods. This checkpoint was a little more subdued than the 1st as some of the support drivers were trying to get some sleep. We were still greeted with enthusiastic Action Staff who confirmed that we were in 2nd place and c 6 minutes behind the team in 1st place.

Ollie and Dave Nock were up and ready for us and worked together to give us a hot drink and help us with filling water bottles / camelbaks and enegybars etc. We were very proud to be in second and Ollie and Dave did a fantastic job of turning us around quickly. We were keen to hear how the other RSG team were getting on and Dave confirmed that they were okay but had been 15 to 20 minutes behind us at the 1st checkpoint.

We checked out left in 2nd place as the team in 3rd place arrived.

The next section took us to Painswick and followed the route that we had been down before. This bit was mostly downhill and seemed like a shorter section as the sun was coming up and the skies were clearing. We were keen to build a buffer between us and the third place team during this stage and so kept up the pace. It was still chilly so had most of the kit on from earlier but there was no need for the wet weather trousers anymore. We were all checking on each other regularly and trying to keep each other motivated if one was lagging a little bit. It was during this stage that I struggled for a few miles as the cereal bar and tea that I wolfed down at the 2nd checkpoint took its toll. I was fine, but just felt a little uncomfortable for a bit and found the going hard. Once that passed, I felt just fine and we were heading into Painswick at c5.30 am.

We had been warned that the breakfast checkpoint wouldnt open until c 5.30 am and that if you arrived earlier, you wouldnt be able to checkin. We were eagerly looking for the checkpoint as we enetered painswick but couldnt find it. We walked up and down the highstreet past the church a couple of times looking for the flags of the checkpoint and in the end resorted to calling Ollie to find out where he was in relation to the church. We found the checkpoint but were disspointed to have lost valuable time. On checking in confirmation that we were in 2nd plave and that the team in 1st place were there and wolfing down supplies.

The 3rd checkpoint was a little different to the others. Firstly there was a big catering van with free bacon butties etc for the walkers if you wanted - we didnt! Secondly, as the plod progressed, the field became elongated so that the slower teams support drivers would be asleep or at an earlier checkpoint. It was also 5.30 am on a Saturday morning and so Painsick was asleep. As things were heating up, we lost our wet weather and warm gear and quickly refuelled, Chesney and I sharing some Tuna steak to Ollies disgust! Dave and Ollie were brilliant again there was a real feeling of camaraderie between the teams support drivers - Ollie and Dave were enjoying their role despite the tiredness and hadnt really expected us to be competing as we were. We checked on the progress of the 2nd RSG team and Dave informed us that they looked tired and were worried about knees but were doing okay. Dave couldnt believe how fresh we looked!

We probably left c 6/7 minutes behind the 1st placed team and just as the third place team were entering the checkpoint to whom we greeted. We knew that from here that it was a long slog to the next checkpoint which was near the Air Balloon pub outside Birdlip and was c 11 miles.

This part of the plod appeared never ending and took us out of Painswick, past the golf club, and towards Coopers Hill where lunatics chase cheese. The Cotswold Way paths runs down the side of the hill to the side of the field where the cheese is rolled.

We had again decided to see if we could close the gap between us and 1st place on this stage and knew that the team in 3rd place would now find it hard to overtake us if we kept up a reasonable pace and avoided injury. We we reached the top of Coopers Hill and I really cannot believe that people run down it! Surely you run more 'off it' than down it and there is just no way that the cheese is worth the potential injury. I am clearly too old now but you would only attempt it if you have a screw loose!

We paused at tghe top of the hill to check the map and get our bearings and then began to follow the path downwards with the cheese rolling field on our right, when we were greeted with the team in 1st place coming back up the hill towards us! After greeting each other we both insisted that we were going in the right direction until I pointed out the direction signpost that was conveniently placed! it seems that the other team had taken a wrong turn and were heading up the hill after descending somewhere else on the hill.
We walked with them for a spell and understood that they were marathon running, ex marines which had recently come back from Kilimanjaro!We wished them luck as they jogged on out of sight.............

They were nice guys.

We were over the halfway mark by this point and began what seemed like an endless trek through this woodland around this big crescent that went on for miles and was pretty muddy in places.
It was getting warm by this point and muscles were starting to ache so out came the paracetemol to keep some of the worst aches at bay and was now down to my RSG T Shirt, Compression Tights and shorts and my wonderful Salomon Cosmics that were coping brilliantly with no blisters. Stu began to suffer a couple of blisters but is like a trojan and just doesnt stop so didnt slow him down. Charlie is fit and it was noticable that whenever he got to the front the pace quickened. Chesney is at least 10 years younger than the rest of us and has longer legs so he was feeling just fine apart from his boots.

Chesney had originally set out to go with just two pairs of trainers. If it had been bone dry, he might have been okay, although I wouldnt recommend it without ankle support and decent grip. As we set off in sheets of rain, he was forced to borrow a pair of Dave's old walking boots to save his feet. There is no way that he could have made it in Trainers to this point. It was half way through this leg with c5 miles to go until the next checkpoint though that Dave's old boots admitted defeat and partially shed their of their soles. Ches had to walk with one of the soles hanging off and flapping each time he took a step. It was hard work for Ches and our pace slowed but there was nothing that we could do and no option to get his trainers dropped off by Ollie as we were a long way away from a road.
Stu saved the day by donating the lace from the waist band on his shorts to lash the sole back onto the boot. It wasnt perfect but the best we could do until we reached the next checkpoint.

Getting nearer to Birdlip, we were getting hungry and thirsty so apples were shared and the occasional energy sweet kept morale high. 2 miles before the checkpoint was a beacon that was also a quiz question answer where the path kind of doubles back on itself and we could easily see the 1st placed team only a few minutes ahead of us. This energised us to pick up the pace again and as we passed the air balloon pub, we knew we were near the checkpoint. We had a minor detour that Stu needlessly kept blaming himself for and then we arrived at the checkpoint 6 minutes behind.

This checkpoint was smaller because the field was elongated and Ollie and Dave provided updates on where everyone was. The other RSG team was a long way back by this point but all 4 teammates were still going. They said that lots of the teams looked exhausted and that we looked really fresh in comparison. Ollie and Dave were able to work in tandem rather than assigning one driver to each time and it was incredibly helpful and motivating having them there turn us around quickly. We were all hungry by this checkpoint and so indulged more than we had loading up with food and drinks. I really really wanted one of the instant porridges that I had bought and the golden syrup flavour porridge was just what I needed. Chesney had a Pot Noodle!
It was another quick pitsop, encouraged by the action team and our colleagues to get moving and get after the 1st placed team as soon as possible who left probably 5 minutes ahead of us. Ches changed into his trainers and off we went towards the penultimate pitstop the words of encouragement ringing in our ears.

The third placed team had not arrived by the time we set out.

Cotswold Way Plod 2011 (Part One)

2011-06-20T06:26:00.001-07:00

Okay, sorry for the delay, just been a very busy week since finishing the PLOD and wanted some time to write properly, as so many people have kindly supported us.

The last time that I wrote about the build up for the walk, was not positive. I had done a walk after work one evening and struggled. Following that walk, I had a few days off walking to work to rest my legs which made a huge difference to my strength, stamina and confidence. Our next training walk was a 20 mile after work walk from Tormaton to Dursley, again following the Cotswold Way.

We stared at 6pm from Tormaton on a windy but dry evening and followed the Cotswold Way on what is perhaps the hilliest and certainly was the hardest part of the Cotswold way that we had walked at that time. We (me, Stu Adams, Charlie Ten-Broeke, & Chesney Windsor) were joined by Paul Bennett from the other RSG team The pace was moderate as we were conscious of injuries with less than 2 weeks to go to the PLOD, but a couple of the ascents were certainly steep enough to get the heart pumping. Throughout the walk, we kept getting glimpses of the Tyndale Tower which was near our detination so we had something to aim for, although it looked a lot more than 20 miles away when we started! The walk was relatively straightforward, but we discovered how difficult paths through grass fields are to navigate at night with multiple gaps in the hedgerows to aim for (we got lost in the dark on the descent to Wotton Under Edge)! After climbing a barbed wire fence and a detour, we were back on track and reached the Tyndale Monument at North Nibley at c11.40pm, which to our suprise was lit up and unlocked. Stu and I went on to climb to the top but the rest were feeling the 18 miles or so that we had done by that point, so didnt really feel like climbing the 120 steps up the 34m tower after the climb up the hill. I was asking myself why I bothered as you couldnt really see anything from the top in the dark, but it was a one off opportuntity for me to climb the tower at night.

The descent from the tower was really steep down some nasty steps, but we were soon on our way up again onto a Golf course and finishing in Dursley at c12.15 am. I felt okay, although my back was a little sore, but I knew that I could carry on so was a massive confidence boost to me ahead of the PLOD.

Between the Tormarton and Dursley Walk and the PLOD on June 10th, I continued to walk to work, but dropped to 3 days per week and then rested for 3 days before the PLOD began.

Our preparation in the build up was really about getting kit ready for the night. Ollie Dawe had volunteered to be our Support Driver after having to drop out from the walking team and the driving was a job that none of us envyed. Essentially, you would have to transport our kit from the start to the various checkpoints throughout the night and greet the walking with hot drinks, food, supplies etc as required. The support driver would get no real sleep and little reward, but it was a hugely important job that we valued immensly. From my sailing experiences, I have learned the importance of food and fluids when you are tired and running low.

We were given a kit list by the organisers whcih included a few essential safety items as well as suggested clothing, food etc. One of the problems was that we were unsure what the weather would be doing and the kit would be very different it was raining heavily or hot and sunny, so we had to prepare for every eventuality (and thank goodness we did).
We divided the kit list up between us and Ollie has a 4x4 so we were okay for space.

As the start approached, the weather forecast looked undecided, although there was a chance that we would get away with mild dry weather which would be perfect.

To be continued..............

2011-06-16T02:04:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of update following the Cotswold Way Plod. I will write a full account soon, however I was keen to provide an update to say that our team (Jonny Hiles, Stuart Adams, Charlie Ten-Broeke and Chesney Windsor) completed the 40 mile plod in 13 hours, finishing 2nd across the line at 1pm on Saturday, June 11th.

We were very tired but incredibly proud of our achievement, finishing 2nd of 28 teams and beating our colleagues in the other team by 1.5 hours.

More to follow soon and a massive thank you to everyone that sponsored us! We will have raised over £4,000 for Action Medical Research.

Plodding

2011-05-23T02:06:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday was not a good day for my feet or legs. I did my daily 4 miles to and from work but then went out for an additional 15 miles walk the evening. I got the distance from http://www.walkjogrun.net/ which has an excellent route tracking tool!

I was perhaps walking quicker than I am likely to do on the Cotswold Plod and averaged 4.5 miles per hour, but my legs and feet should not have been aching in the way they were after that distance - the last mile or so was a real struggle for me.

I hope that this is because I had been doing a lot without any real break for my legs and feet, rather than an indication that there is a weakness, but it did concern me.

My Hamstrings were incredibly tight and very painful towards the end, but also my feet are also causing problems as two of my toes on my left foot are black and my big toe on my right foot looks very peculiar and showing signs of lifting.

I am continuing my 4 miles per day walk to and from work and we have a 20 mile Cotswold Way walk from Tomarton to Dursley planned on Thursday evening after work which will be the final big night walk before the Cotswold Plod on June 10th. I hope that all will go well on Thursday to set me up for the big one, but I am a little concerned. I will take it easy this week in the build up and not walk in on Weds or Thursday this week to give everything a bit of respite.

I have decided to invest in some new and slightly thinner socks to see if I can help my toes a bit by giving them some more space. I had been using the smartwool socks but as the weather has warmed, my feet are swelling therefore giving me the problems. I purhcased some 1000 mile socks at the weekend so will test these on Thursday and feedback. I hope that this will alleviate some of the foot problems.

I also purchased a 2 litre Camelbak at the weekend. This should be useful on the day, but will again test it on Thursday to see how I get on!

If you would like to learn more or indeed sponsor us to do the Cotswold Plod, please follow this link - http://www.action.org.uk/sponsor/rsg1
Starting at midnight on June 11th 2011, I will be walking 40 miles non-stop for Action Aid Medical Research.

A Fundraising Milestone Approaches

2011-05-18T09:09:00.001-07:00

It looks as though we are about to break the £2000 mark of kind and generous sponsors for out Cotswold Plod.
We try and thank everyone that we can individualy and I note that we have a couple of anonymous donations so thank you whoever you are!

I am planning another walk tomorrow evening but a little shorter this time but perhaps just up and down some hills near me several times, so give me a wave if you live in Bristol and see a man in running compression gear and walking boots plodding the hills! I do get some funny looks, especially when it gets darker and I have a head torch on.

I have just taken delivery of my new headtorch so I will try it out for the first time tomorrow night. Its a Petzl Myo XP and so far looks very good. Several reviews that I read promised that it would turn night to day and from brief trials outside, it looks very good!

There has been lots of debate between the teams and team members about kit for the Cotswold Plod. The first and biggest item was of course walking boots. Everyone has been off and purchased boots from different stores and manufacturers with lots of comparisons made. I tried on several pairs of boots and read and watched the reviews online. In the end I went for the Salomon Cosmic GTX's which seemed to fit my feet the best and came highly recommended by a number of sources. So far so good, although the recent bash between Bath and Tormarton at speed damaged my feet quite badly. Up until then I had experienced no problems with the boots, but after that walk I had a blister on my heal and two bruised big toe nails which were pretty grim. It took a week and a half for the nails to stop weeping and I still have a concern that one of them may fall off. I am not sure why I had the problems as I had not experienced the problems before, but I suspect that it was a combination of not cutting my toe nails short enough, not tightening my boots properly and the speed that we did the distance in. There were a couple of nasty climbs and descents with some running as well and a really fast pace over the 18 miles so its not too suprising I guess. On the Cotswold Plod, we will be dropping the speed over the distance.

I am also trying to work out whether I take some walking poles that I purchased. They are great on the hills but a pain to carry on the flat and or collapse into my rucksack whilst still moving. We dont like to stop very much once going so I am still unsure whether I will take them with me.

The other piece of kit that I have discovered through the training is how good compression tights are. I look a wally in them, but they offer lots of support for aching legs and also wick moisture away so great for the night time stuff or when its cooler. All of our team now have them and we get some funny looks but I really am not too bothered about the way I look when hiking. I realise that I am nowadays an embarrasing dad and I am proud of it. T is a bit too young to be embarrased of me yet, but it wont be long and the look of me in those tights might be the first time!

Incase you have no idea what I am talking about, we will be trekking non-stop for forty miles across the Cotswold Way, in the DARK, and all in the name of charity! Its the Cotswold Plod!

We are raising money for 'Action For Medical Research for Children', a charity dedicated to improving the health of children and babies across the UK. We are hoping to raise a grand total of £2500 collectively, to help Action Medical Research continue to address serious childhood conditions, and improve the quality of life for children with disabilities.

If you would like to donate, please follow this link http://www.action.org.uk/sponsor/rsg1 and thank you once again for your generousity and support.

Jonny

Cotswold Plod 2011

2011-05-16T02:44:00.000-07:00

Cotswold Plod 201140 miles non stop starting at midnight on 10th/11th June 2011
As the challenge is fast approaching last week we decided to test the night gear, having never walked at night before we thought it would be a good experience, not only to test the head torches but also to improve our navigation skills (especially for Charlie as he struggles with his directions in the day light). We decided on a tough 18 mile walk from Bath to Tormarton (which is officially the first stage of the Cotswold way) and after hitching a lift from our resident accountant Neil Pollinger with found ourselves on the outskirts of Bath just below Landsdown.

We set off at about 7pm and soon found are way walking up and extremely steep hill to Lansdowne, this climb must have lasted about 20 minutes and had us all blowing apart from Chesney who at 23 was showing his youth as he strolled out in front. Once up on the top the terrain levelled out and as time wore on we passed Bath Race course, Landsdown Golf club and the Infamous Lansdowne battlefields (battle of Lansdowne was part of the British civil fought on 5 July 1643. Lord Hopton led a Royalist force against William Wallers Parliamentarians).

The terrain was very undulating with some tough climbs but nothing to strenuous. As we approached Marshfield we decided to stop to put on our head torches, we got some funny looks from the locals as we passed by the local polling station and crashed through the undergrowth trying to find the next path. As night fell we picked up a good pace and swiftly covered the next 6 miles finally finishing in Tormarton at 10.30.

Highlights of the Walk

• Charlie having trouble with the gates (again)
• Charlie slipping down a hill
• Jonny struggling up a massive Hill, then blaming it on the sandwich he’d just eaten

If you would like to sponsor us, please click on the following link. We have set an ambitious target of £2500 so all help is greatly appreciated.

More info on the Cotswold Plod can be found here - http://www.action.org.uk/plod_cotswold_way

The link to our sponsorship page can be found here - http://www.action.org.uk/sponsor/rsg1

Cotwold Way Plod 2011

2011-05-16T02:36:00.000-07:00

On the weekend of 11th June 2011, a team of 4 including me will be trekking non-stop for forty miles across the Cotswold Way, in the DARK, and all in the name of charity!

We are raising money for 'Action For Medical Research for Children', a charity dedicated to improving the health of children and babies across the UK. We are hoping to raise a grand total of £2500 collectively, to help Action Medical Research continue to address serious childhood conditions, and improve the quality of life for children with disabilities.

We will complete the challenge in two seperate teams; the first headed up by Jonny Hiles and consisting of Stuart Adams, Charlie Ten Broeke, Oliver Dawe along with team driver Chesney Windsor; and the second headed up by Jon Ball, and including Mark Beale, James McNicol, Paul Bennett and David Nock.

Stuart said: "Training is underway and both teams have already done a number of walks in preparation for the challenge. Friendly rivalry is growing between the teams, and all those involved are definitely starting to understand how tough this challenge will be. "

For more details and sponsorship please log on to the link below, your support would be very much appreciated for a very worthy cause. http://www.action.org.uk/sponsor/rsg1 or http://rsg-charity.blogspot.com/

Summer Months

2010-08-17T01:23:00.001-07:00

Mid July and August are traditionally a little quieter for recruiters as everyone is on holiday! (Alas not me this year with a young baby!)
This year, however, we haven't really stopped as fewer requirements provides us with time to concentrate on other activities.

Fusion Investments, the recruitment investment business that I run is in negotiations with a number of existing agencies that are looking for an investment of either, money, infrastructure or expertise to build, grow and exit in the future. There are a couple of likely prospects that I am hopeful of completeing some time during Q4 2010 so watch this space.
The summer is a good time for reflection about business direction and if you are looking for an ivestment or exit, please do give me a call. We regularly receive a number of enquiries, purely making contact for some time in the future or for information and we welcome all contact. We try and offer sage advice to recruitment owners and start ups, which includes encouragement as well as discouragement where necessary. We have been approached by lots of job boards in the past months which is a sign that there is still plenty of ideas of how to improve on the current formats which will be great for the industry. We do own a job board and again continue to welcome fresh ideas.
A success story for us is from a business of ours called SNS. SNS were a new start up business that have been trading for 4 months. The MD, had been an undervalued recruiter working in a niche IT market for a number of years. SNS specialise in EPOS and Networking recruitment.
We set them up with an office, salary, car and IT infrstructure as well as a job board access etc and delivery support from the main group. The MD has unlmited access to us for delivery, business processing, support and advice if he wants to use it!
They now have regular permanent placements and contractors working and an extra sales staff member to push business further. Its a great model and I will ask the MD to write something about his experiences of Fusion Recruitment Investment in the coming weeks.

We are looking for businesses particularly in the North West, Midlands, Scotland and the South East. Call me on 0117 370 3076 for an informal discussion.

The other activity occupying a significant amoungt of my time is recruitment compliance. I have done a number of assignments over the past couple of years reviewing pre-engagement and pre-employment checks for agencies and corporates and it's a complex subject. The recruitment industry is still getting to grips with it as legislative, regulatory and client-led demands are made on the recruiter to gather pre-engagement information. Some are reasonable, others are impractical and some clients are in danger of making it impossible to do business with them! The current project is well underway and was scheduled by the organisation to run over the summer to minimise impact on the business in quieter times.

Outside of work, family life is great - We are still getting to Topsham most weekends, although as Theo is becoming more active, its becoming harder to keep him entertained on the boat. We have had a couple of long weekends and are off for a week in early September.

Call me if you would like to discuss the above on 0117 370 3076 or email jonny.hiles@fusioninvestments.co.uk

www.fusioninvestments.co.uk

Director - Manchester

2010-06-21T03:43:00.000-07:00

The Fusion roadshow moves on.....

Director - IT & Business Change Recruitment
North West

We will be launching a new North West based IT & Business Change Recruitment Business in 2010.

The Opportunity
We are seeking a Managing Director to shape, launch and build a new IT Recruitment Business. You will be involved right at the outset with naming, branding and designing the business strategy together with the assistance of a very successful management team of a Recruitment plc.

The new business will be yours to run and build, using the support and infrastructure of the recruitment plc to make the business a success.
Furthermore, you will need to recruit a team and offices will be provided in a central location. The business will not be restricted by location.
We are keen to attract the best and this is a salaried role, with equity in the new business.

The Person
You will be a proven IT Recruiter, with an established network in the North West market.
You will be ambitious.
You will be entrepreneurial, and have your own ideas about building a successful IT Recruitment Business.
You will lead by example. You will be passionate about IT Recruitment.

You may have already run your own or someone elses business, or be an employee looking for the next step. We are open to ideas!

To apply, send a profile to Jonny Hiles or call for an informal conversation. All communication is treated in strict confidence.

This is a genuine and unique opportunity and we look forward to discussing ideas with you.

Email address is jonny.hiles@fusioninvestments.co.uk or call 0117 3703076

Recruiter in need of investment? Recruitment Start up? Recruitment M&A? - www.fusioninvestments.co.uk

Jonny Hiles

Recruitment Investment Opportunities

2010-06-16T02:43:00.000-07:00

The recruitment market continues to gather momentum and new opportunities are available for ambitious recruiters.

Wanted: Recruitment Businesses. Start up or established recruitment companies wanted. - http://www.fusioninvestments.co.uk/invest/

We are actively looking for recruitment acquisition / recruitment investment opportunities in 2010 so if you are exiting or looking for investment, call me on 0117 370 3076 for an informal and confidential conversation.

Jonny Hiles
www.fusioninvestments.co.uk

Hot Vacancies

2010-05-25T03:49:00.000-07:00

Top couple of urgent live contract roles from the network -

1) Polaris / Product Writer Developer
3 months Contract Vacancy based in the Midlands
The job holder will be responsible for the programming of pricing rate reviews in the Polaris product writer software. They will also be responsible for testing Polaris deliveries using Microfocus's automated testing software 'TestPartner'. This is an urgent requirement starting asap for a leading insurance business. We have interview slots available for tomorrow!

2) Onsite Resourcing Manager
3 months contract based in Swindon
Contract opportunity for a professional onsite recruiter. Specifically, the role is sourcing against multiple perm vacancies from Direct and 3rd part agency suppliers.
Starting ASAP

If you are interested in the above, please drop me a line on 0845 117 0 115 or jonny@recruitment-hub.com

Whilst you are here - why not learn a bit more about me by visiting other pages on the blog - http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com

May

2010-05-24T02:56:00.000-07:00

Well, what do you know, the summer has arrived! (I am aware that I speak to soon but this is the 4th straight day or cloudless skies!)
We have all spent a few days basking in the sun over the weekend and already, the office air conditioning has broken down and our office manager is spending considerable time trying to negotiate the definition of room temperature. Is it 20 degrees or 25? Wikipedia explains more - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_temperature

The second of the may bank holidays is nearly upon us and we again have had a record month. This year has been terrific for IT and Finance recruitment and as our main specialisms, we have made the most of the opportunities. I have been mapping where we place most of our business and watching the map evolve over the past 12 months, some of the biggest customers of last year have now cut back whilst others have come through in even greater numbers. Financial services is the primary industry for us and we have seen an overall increase in contractor numbers over the year, despite some the cutbacks with individual accounts. Contractor rates have increased as well as demand has increased.

Outside of Financial Services, we have recently launched a new brand, specialising in the retail market. We have supplied a number of large retailers over the years and have some well established relationships. We were approached via Fusion Investments for funding and support to launch a specialist brand and we were so impressed with the MD, his energy, passion and business plan, that we were delighted to welcome him onboard. The business is now up and running and has already made contractor placements.

If you are looking to make the most of the upturn, Fusion is a specialist recruitment investment business. We invest in start ups and existing recruitment businesses and again, looking for further opportunities so call if you would like to discuss a new venture / Joint Venture or an exit plan. My number with Fusion in 0117 370 3076.

The Hub
The Hub - The Hub is a network of recruitment specialists utilising a centralised delivery, back office and support function – or hub – hence the name.

Through partnership, The Hub provides the delivery capability, infrastructure & support of a recruitment plc to independent recruiters utilising our significant resources.

The Hub is part of a recruitment plc – one of the largest independent recruitment organisations in the UK with a multi-discipline delivery capability. Browse these pages to learn more about The Hub how we can help you to open up new channels and maximise revenue from your existing business.

Outside of work, we have spent the past few weekends in Topsham now that the boat is back on the water. Topsham is just gorgeous and we really enjoy our days out on the River Exe. Theodore has had his first couple of gentle sailing trips down the river and seems to have taken to it. We are taking it easy as we don't want to scare him - we are working up to a Dartmouth trip soon. I have my first boys weekend away planned with some of my old crew-mates from the round the world race f, although Domino is very different from the 60' Ocean racing yacht that we were on, but I am sure will be equally enjoyable.

If you would like to discuss any of the above, please contact me on 0845 117 0115 or email - jonny@recruitment-hub.com.

Website for The Hub - www.recruitment-hub.com
Website for Fusion - www.fusioninvestments.co.uk

Hope all are well?

Jonny Hiles

500+ UK Recruitment Directors!

2010-04-13T02:04:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce that membership of the UK Recruitment Directors Group has today passed the 500 member mark. The Linkedin Group provides a forum for networking and sharing views / news with fellow recruitment industry leaders.

The Group is free to join and membership is open to recruitment directors and business leaders. Membership includes independent niche agenices as well as board directors of large global agencies. Further details via http://www.linkedin.com/groups?homeNewMember=&gid=1962486&trk=

Information about me can be found at http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com

Recruitment Investment - http://www.fusioninvestments.co.uk
Split Fee Recruitment - http://www.recruitment-hub.com or

Jonny Hiles

International Recruitment

2010-04-12T07:08:00.000-07:00

We have been presented with an opportunity to expand our services internationally by one of our customers - a global corporation. They have numerous offices covering most countries and globally, they recruit a lot of perms and contractors. They would like us to extend our services to fullfill their needs internationally so all in all, a great opportunity! The trouble is, can we service it?

We have long supplied abroad, principally in Europe and in all honesty, we probably could have won more non-uk business if we had asked for it. With global job board access, mature databases and sophisticated relationships and network, we can pretty much find a candidate to work anywhere and so its not necessarily the sourcing that has held us back, its the; how do we process the business? question.

So a project of mine over the past couple of weeks has been to look into how could we supply into a couple of key territories? how does recruitment work in Latin America, APAC, USa etc? What are the rates? What are the legalities or setting up a business in X country? Do they have a contract market etc? etc etc.

Given the size of the recruitment industry, I am amazed that there is not a guide somewhere to how do you recruit in x country? or at least an overview! My first point of call was REC whose only focus is the UK, so were unable to help. I have run numerous google searches and drowned in irrelevent information and search results. I have spoken to consulates - although helpful and polite, most did not have recruitment specific information. I have viewed websites like Monster etc but they really don't appear to have much presence in some of the territories that I am looking for. I have posted questions on forums, but not had much response. AARGH! Where to go now??

This is an appeal for information!

Can anyone recommend information sources or share experiences of recruiting in the following regions -
South / Latin America (Brazil, Chile, Argentina)
Asia - Pacific (Malaysia, Hing Kong, Singapore)
USA
and while we're at it, we may as well bundle the other European countries in as well?

Ideally job boards, how it works, where to go, can we do it etc? Anyone done it? What's good bad, do's and dont's etc etc.

I am happy to post the information and build a repository for use by others, unless there is one already that I don't know of! (Please tell me!)

I am grateful for any advice, information or any experiences that you can share and please forward this post onwards to maximise the exposure. The more contributors, the better the information!

It's a great opportunity for us and even if we decide that we can't service the business, i would hope that its for a good and genuine reason, rather than declining because we're simply unsure.

Hope all is well and I welcome your comments!

Jonny Hiles
The Hub
www.recruitment-hub.com

Investing in Recruitment

2010-03-25T03:48:00.001-07:00

Hello all, just a quick interim message to let you all know what I have been up to and why I haven't blogged in a while.
The market is busy and our ventures have seen huge activity over the past 6 weeks.

The Hub - www.recruitment-hub.com has benefited from the uplift in the market as our partners have been swamped with vacancies. The Hub is a flexible resource and we have been providing a valuable overflow option to our customers with some great results! As always, we are looking for new partners so call if you would like to discuss!

My work with Fusion - www.fusioninvestments.co.uk has generated two new recruitment ventures which we are very excited about. Fusion is a specialist recruitment investment business that I am running as an interim. We invest in start ups and existing recruitment businesses and again, looking for further opportunities so call if you would like to discuss a new venture / Joint Venture or an exit plan.

I will get time to blog in more detail over the next week or so but I was conscious that I hadn't updated in a while. Home life is great by the way!

Hope all is well?

Jonny

www.recruitment-hub.com

Theodore Hiles

2010-02-22T02:14:00.000-08:00

Thank you all for your kind messages and wishes for Jojo, Theodore and I. Theodore Hiles arrived on Saturday 30th January weighing in a 8lbs, 10 ounces, a perfect baby boy.

The experience is just magical and despite my protestations about not looking south before the labour, I saw him being born. The labour was straightforward and fairly swift - only 8 hours from waters breaking to arrival, so Jo wasn't too exhausted but the labour wasn't so fast that it was out of control.
Watching Jo go through the pain and effort to produce our son is just the single greatest thing that I will ever witness.

Since the birth, life has been turned on its head. We were warned constantly that we would be tired, but until they arrive home, you cannot believe how tired you actually are. Jo bears the brunt of the sleep deprivation whilst I try and maintain a diurnal life because of work. I am sure that life will settle down at some point but other things which I now notice are a) our previously tidy, modern and slightly minimalist home, has been wrecked!; b) it takes huge amounts of planning and energy to leave home!; c) because we lack the energy and will to go anywhere and spend any money, our bank balance is unnaturally healthy for late in the month!; d) he doesnt like outfits, his pram, his moses basket or some of the other really expensive things that we bought for him!; e) baby clothes with poppers all the way down the front are the easiest and he likes them, he doesnt like things that have to go over his head!; f) always have a towell or something handy to stem the flow for the times that he decides to 'go' when you are mid way through a nappy change! I could go on but the ultiimate lesson is that I must enjoy every day!

I promise not to bore you with constant updates from now on, but as you had been so kind with your interest, messages and wishes, I thought that I should add an entry.

Today, I start my first full week back in the office from paternity and I feel good, having had a good sleep last night. I know that there are a number of messages and emails to which will respond and I am working my way through over the next day or two but if you need to discuss, please give me a call on 0845 117 0 115. As ever check out The Hub Website - http://www.recruitment-hub.com and see our Twitter feed for the latest from us!

Jonny Hiles
The Hub (Recruitment Hub)
http://www.recruitment-hub.com or http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com

Director - IT Recruitment North West

2010-02-22T02:12:00.000-08:00

The Hub has been retained by a recruitment plc, that will be launching a new North West based IT Recruitment Business in 2010.

The Group is a recruitment plc with ambitious plans to launch a new IT Recruitment brand in the North West.

The Opportunity
The Group are seeking a Managing Director to shape, launch and build a new IT Recruitment Business. You will be involved right at the outset with naming, branding and designing the business strategy with the assistance of the very successful management team of the plc. The new business will be yours to run and build, using the support and infrastructure of the £120m +recruitment group. Furthermore, you will recruit a team and offices will be provided in a central location. The business will not ne restricted by location.
We are keen to attract the best and this is a salaried role, with equity in the new business.

The Person
You will be a proven IT Recruiter, with an established network in the North West IT market.
You will be ambitious.
You will be entrepreneurial, and have your own ideas about building a successful IT Recruitment Business.
You will lead by example. You will be passionate about IT Recruitment.

You may have already run your own or someone elses business, or be an employee looking for the next step. We are open to ideas!

To apply, send a profile to Jonny Hiles at The Hub to arrange an informal conversation. All communication is treated in strict confidence.

This is a genuine and unique opportunity and we look forward to discussing ideas with you.

More about The Hub @ http://www.recruitment-hub.com
Email me at jonny @ recruitment-hub. com

Pushing Social Media

2010-01-28T02:53:00.000-08:00

The necessity for business presence in social media is now commonly accepted and well-documented although a crucial starting point for any business building an online network is still their own website: the shop window to their services. We as a business work hard to demonstrate our grasp of new recruitment technology and practices and having just revamped the website, one of the key additions that has generated comment is the introduction of a Twitter feed.

The Twitter feed serves three purposes - 1) to demonstrate that we are a leading edge recruiter, using cutting edge practices to generate the best available candidates for our partner vacancies and 2) to provide a live news feed for us to advertise vacancies, links, jobs, news etc. 3) To maximise exposure of the brand across multiple channels and increase SEO.

We find this technology hugely successful and Twitter in particular has the potential to become the worlds largest job board. As a business, you either adapt to the new technologies and practices or you fall behind and use the various forms of social media allow you to push the brand and message to an audience at very low cost. Once you have set up the accounts, the feeds and branded them, the ongoing cost should be modest if not free! The key investment is time.

As a regular reader may know, we have been working closely with Sticky Media for some time and they are offering an extremely competitive deal for companies wishing to bring their website up to date and push the brand yet further.

The offer is as follows -

The offer is a Live Twitter or Blog Feed on your web site! (£75 +VAT)*

Leading Edge Recruiter grasping the power of Social Media? Want to prove to your customers that you know what you are doing with Social Media?
Keeping a website fresh and up to date can be a costly process in both time and money; particularly when also juggling Twitter contacts, Blog articles and any other online interaction. We have been busy working with our customers developing a cost effective social media strategy, maximising brand and product exposure across the various media channels.

We have developed a very cost effective product that can be added to an existing website from only £75 +vat, thereby avoiding expensive redevelopment, but still keeping your site bang up to date.

Sticky Media can integrate a live Twitter feed or a Live Blog feed to existing websites for £75. This will update automatically, keeping your website fresh, and using your company web site as the hub of your online network - exactly as it should be. Post all of your vacancies to Twitter - increase traffic – maximise brand awareness.

For an example of a recently completed client project please visit http://www.recruitment-hub.com – each page has a Twitter feed with real time vacancies and update; the 'News' page is automatically populated from the director's blog - keeping news up to date automatically, at minimal effort to the director.

We are only offering this product at this price for a limited number of clients and as a member of the UK Recruitment Directors Group, you qualify for the discount. We will even help you set up a Twitter Account if you haven’t started using one yet!

For further information and to discuss viability, please contact me via mike@stickymediagroup.co.uk or 0845 872 1942.

(£75 +VAT – subject to availability and viability.)

The Sticky Media site is http://www.stickymediagroup.co.uk where you will find further info. I dont often push another companies products, but really feel that this is an excellent offer from a reliable source and they won't be offering the £75 deal for ever!

Jonny Hiles
The Hub - www.recruitment-hub.com

The Hub - The Hub is a network of recruitment specialists utilising a centralised delivery, back office and support function – or hub – hence the name.

Through partnership, The Hub provides the delivery capability, infrastructure & support of a recruitment plc to independent recruiters utilising our significant resources.

The Hub is part of a recruitment plc – one of the largest independent recruitment organisations in the UK with a multi-discipline delivery capability. Browse these pages to learn more about The Hub how we can help you to open up new channels and maximise revenue from your existing business.

400+ Members of the UK Recruitment Directors Group

2010-01-25T03:11:00.001-08:00

UK Recruitment Directors

The UK Recruitment Directors Group on Linkedin has today passed the 400 member milestone.
The UK Recruitment Directors Group provides a forum for Directors of UK based Recruitment Businesses to network and share views and news with fellow industry leaders.

The Group now has over 400 Directors, actively participating in discussions on the forums and has seen huge growth in the past couple of months.

Jonny Hiles, founder of the UK Recruitment Directors Group has been thrilled at the success and growth of the group and has ambitious plans to integrate the group into other Hub project and services such as The Recruitment Wave.

More about The UK Recruitment Directors Group can be found at http://www.linkedin.com/groups?homeNewMember=&gid=1962486&trk=

For further information on The Hub, please visit - www.recruitment-hub.com

The Hub's projects are listed on The Hub's projects page -

If you would like to discuss any aspect of the UK Recruitment Directors Group or The Hub, please contact Jonny Hiles on 0845 117 0115

New Site

2010-01-20T01:20:00.000-08:00

With the upturn in 2010 and a general need to update what we do, we are redesigning our website. - http://www.recruitment-hub.com

The new site should clearly define what we do and include news and latest updates from our solcial media channels. We also have a projects page for ventures such as Fusion or Recruitment Wave.

The release is a test version which will be live for 24 hours to gather feedback and test links / funtionality etc. I therefore would appreciate your comments / feedback on the site - please mail to jonny@recruitment-hub.com

I have used Sticky Media Group as the designers / developers - www.stickymediagroup.com.

Hope you are all well and enjoying a positive start to 2010?

Jonny Hiles
The Hub
www.recruitment-hub.com

PS. you may need to refresh your browser if you had visited the old site recently. On the new site, there is a picture of a chain on the home page!

PPS. Still no baby news!

J

Fusion

2010-01-18T03:26:00.000-08:00

The eagle eyed amongst you and in particular those following a link from Linkedin may have noticed the introduction of Fusion Investments to my profile.

At the outset it is important to state that The Hub is still my focus and the primary business. The Hub is a specialist split fee recruitment brand and for more details please visit www.recruitment-hub.com
The Hub provides a delivery partnership to independent recruitment businesses thereby improving their delivery capability. The Hub is growing as the popularity of split fees grows in the recruitment industry.

Fusion is a specialist investment company, specialising in the recruitment industry and investing in recruiters. Fusion provides funding to start ups and new businesses as well as acquisition of established recruitment agencies.
Fusion is actively looking for new investment / acquisition opportunities.

Fusion is an initiative that I have been involved in for some time but had not accepted a formal role with but I am providing specialist consultancy to them and enjoying it greatly. For more on Fusion, please visit www.fusioninvestments.co.uk

As for everything else - No baby news yet, even though I am asked by everyone I speak with and the market is busy so happy days!

Hope all is well and speak soon!

Jonny

PS. Fusion pays a bounty for successful introductions - for more info please call 01179 370 3077.

J

PPS. I hadnt realised that the silly pic in the last post was so big and visible! Never mind.

New Year = New Job(s)

2010-01-12T02:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!
I am sorry that it has taken me until the 12th to write an update and as you sit with bated breath, No, its not because I have been on paternity leave!

As everyone is constantly asking; Joanne is good, a little tired and very much looking forward to having the baby. She has really enjoyed the pregnancy and I am sure will miss being pregnant, but is very excited about the arrival and finding our whether we have a son or a daughter. We have names picked and the baby will arrive in the next 3 weeks or so - watch this space!

I will obviously take some paternity leave, but I shall check emails and colleagues will be able to answer any queries whilst I am away. The main line number is 0845 117 0 115 and the email address is jonny@recruitment-hub.com

I will hopefully get the opportunity to blog again before the baby arrives!

New Year = New Job is a phrase that has been bandied around the industry for years and used in numerous recruitment campaigns. There is undoubtedly sentiment in the statement and January is a very busy period for recruiters.
The weather in 2010 has certainly had an affect on the whole of the UK and the recruitment industry is as affected as any because decision makers have been absent from work or interviewees being unable to attend interviews. A busy IT recruiter that I know had 7 interviewees cancel in one day with a single client and most businesses will have lost revenues because their candidates failed to attend selection.

Most of our staff made it in last week as the majority live locally but all have been refreshed by the Christmas break so are definitely up for it. Activity levels are good and we are the market feels busy with a good supply of candidates.

We are of course looking for new Recruitment Partners and vacancies so if you have had a busy start to 2010 and are struggling to source for all your vacancies, please get in touch!

That's it for now, keep your fingers crossed for us and watch this space!

Jonny

1) The Hub is a split fee recruitment business.
2) Send vacancies that you are unable or struggling to fill to us.
3) We will source candidates and present a short list to you.
4) You brand the candidates and send the shortlist to the client.
5) When the placement is made, we split the fee.

The Hub is part of a £100m + recruitment group and uses their combined delivery capability and infrastructure to deliver applications for our recruitment partners. Our recruitment partners generate the vacancy, we find the candidates, the partner maintains contact with the client, we speak to the candidate and split the fee when the placement is made. If that could be of use, for any vacancies that you struggle with, then please let me know.
Info about The Hub can be found at http://www.recruitment-hub.com

t'was the week before Christmas............

2009-12-15T03:36:00.000-08:00

.........and the recruitment industry was winding down, except we aren't! It's mid December and we are having a good month taking new vacancies and enquiries from prospective Recruitment Partners.

Infact we have a couple of interesting initiatives running over the Christmas and New year period, which we are looking forward to as a direct result of http://www.recruitment-wave.com, Twitter and the UK Recruitment Directors Group - proof again that professional / social media works. More about these in future posts if all works out in the way that we anticipate.

So what will you and your business be doing over Christmas? We will still have plenty of staff in to help with any vacancies between now and January 4th, therefore if you need extra resources over this period, contact me in the usual way and we have plenty of resources available, especially with contract vacancies which tend to be the urgent requests. We have seen a big rise in perm vacncies and have received fewer contract roles recently and I would love to re-address the balance!

I will be taking a few days out over Christmas, but as I live near the office, can and will be around if needed. I will access email etc regularly and so either I or a colleague will respond to all requests.

I hope that the baby doesn't arrive over Christmas! We wouldn't want him or her to arrive to early, although we can barely contain our excitement as January approaches. The due date is mid / late January so not far now and if he or she arrives over Christmas, they may always feel unrewarded in the way that people with birthdays over the Christmas period often do.
My present is of course a healthy son / daughter and Jojo and I have cut back on present buying this year. We have also entered into a secret Santa deal with family this year as we know that everyone will want to buy lots of gifts for the baby when we find out whether beanie is a little boy or girl. At the moment, everything is neutral in colour and we are looking forward to adding some colour to the nursery and outfits.
I have to say that the recent pinkstinks campaign to disuade parents from dressing little girls in pink seems ridiculous and there is no way that Jojo or our mothers / aunts, sisters etc will not be buying pink outfits if beanie is a little girl! Surely, aaspirations are inspired and encouraged by parents, family and surroundings and we intend to provide the very best we can.

We had a great day in Topsham again at the weekend and will be spending the odd day down there over Christmas as we have some jobs to do on Domino while she is on the hard. I will have finished the nursery over the coming weekend so will have a bit of time to relax and have my last drink somewhere between Christmas and New Years so I intend to make the most of the time I have left!

For further information, please visit www.recruitment-hub.com or http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com/

If you would like to discuss further, please give me a call on 0845 117 0 115 or send your details to info@recruitment-hub.com

1) The Hub is a split fee recruitment business.
2) Send vacancies that you are unable or struggling to fill to us.
3) We will source candidates and present a short list to you.
4) You brand the candidates and send the shortlist to the client.
5) When the placement is made, we split the fee.

The Hub is part of a £100m + recruitment group and uses their combined delivery capability and infrastructure to deliver applications for our recruitment partners. Our recruitment partners generate the vacancy, we find the candidates, the partner maintains contact with the client, we speak to the candidate and split the fee when the placement is madeIf that could be of use, for any vacancies that you struggle with, then please let me know.

I am also the owner of a Linkedin Group, specifically for Directors of UK Recruitment businesses. To join, you must be a Director of a UK based recruitment company - Simple!

It provides a great opportunity to network and share views.

Link can be found here - http://www.linkedin.com/groups?homeNewMember=&gid=1962486&trk=

Info about me can be found at http://www.recruitment-hub.com or http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com

UK Recruitment Directors

2009-11-30T06:57:00.001-08:00

Hello! I hope that you enjoyed the guest blog from Mike Wedge of Sticky Media last week. If anyone else would be interested in guest blogging, please let me know!

The Hub continues and despite the blip a couple of weeks a go, November has been a busy month. A number of new partners have joined the network and we are very active with live roles which we hope will resolve before Christmas. We have this morning, taken another 7+ IT vacancies from a new recruitment partner and December is looking good. Just as well that we are expanding our team! One of our partners has even informed us that from January, he will begin to use The Hub for all candidate delivery to his agency, allowing his employees to concentrate purely on business development!

Recruitment Partners typically find out about The Hub via referral or via our now establised social media channels and I am a big believer in the value to be gained from social / professional media, once you get your head around using them. The vast majority of our business has come from a free source - i.e. we havent paid to advertise! I am by no means an expert in social / professional networking tools and because we didn't want to spend loads on advertising at the outset, we had to find alternatives. There are a host of mediums that a business can use nowadays to advertise their wares and some are industry specific whilst others work for general cross market services.

My preferred network tool is Linkedin which is widely used by the recruitment industry. Linkedin allows you to build a network of colleagues, clients and associates and once established with a decent sized web of 1st degree contacts, search for other users that are linked to your contact (within a couple of degrees).
Once connected you are notified of status updates and able to search for contacts by job title or by company or organisation. - Its easy to see how why this is of use to recruiters!

One of the things that I set up a few months back was the UK Recruitment Directors Group. The UKRDG is a space for Directors of UK based recruitment businesses to network and discuss news, experiences and issues. We have a diverse membership and some interesting debates. Members include IT, Finance, HR etc agencies but also plenty of niche companies including a lift (Elevator) specialist recruitment business and, a helicopter pilot recruiter. We now have over 300 member companies and new membership applications every day. The group has been a success and we are currently considering replicating the group out of linkedin, onto a dedicated forum.
If you are not a member yet and would be interested in joining, please let me know.

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?homeNewMember=&gid=1962486&trk=

Christmas will soon be upon us and things will be slowing down over the festive period. It is always difficult to predict what Christmas will be like for a recruitment business and some years i have sat around twiddling my thumbs whilst I also remember placing 7 SAP contractors between Christmas and New Year! I hope that we will be busy but also get the time to relax with family.

It's going to be a bit of a funny christmas this year for the Hiles household. Jo will be 8 months pregnant and have finished work, whilst I will be reactive to Hub requests and slightly unsure of whether I will be at home or in the office. Jo is of course not drinking and our focus is really January and the arrival of the baby rather than Christmas day. Christmas day, we are going to Browns for lunch so no washing up!

My weekends have gone from sailing Domino in Topsham and a few drinks to buying baby stuff and decorating. The past few weekends have been spent decorating the nursery and hall, whilst the next couple of weekends will be spent decorating our bedroom. We have even replaced the double glazing and spent goodness knows how much on goodness knows what! Thankfully, we have some very generous parents, greatly looking forward to the arrival of the 1st grandchild on both sides.

Yesterday, after fitting the new light in the nursery and attempting to hang a blind, Jo and I unwrapped the new Bugaboo Chameleon. I cannot believe how complex and expensive buggies are! - especially when you spend just under £1000 in John Lewis on the buggy and car seat and then have to assemble the buggy as its flat packed.

Bugaboo do very nicely out of John Lewis. It seems that you cant have something cheap, practical and lightweight when it comes to buggies. The staff at JL in Bristol appear to take every set of new parents through the same circuit when showing the buggies, starting at the cheaper but heavier / less practical ones and eventually arriving at the bugaboo. As a father, you of course do not want your wife / partner to struggle with a heavy buggy and so you end up by buying the expensive bugaboos or icandys.

The really strange thing though is that you dont mind and want your baby to have the best buggy they can and nicely decorated nursery. It must be that something is built into us all about wanting the best for our children, even before we meet them.
Beanie is due January 23rd and I can't wait!

More about me on this blog - http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com or about The Hub at http://www.recruitment-hub.com

1) The Hub is a split fee recruitment business.
2) Send vacancies that you are unable or struggling to fill to us.
3) We will source candidates and present a short list to you.
4) You brand the candidates and send the shortlist to the client.
5) When the placement is made, we split the fee.

The Hub is part of a £100m + recruitment group and uses their combined delivery capability and infrastructure to deliver applications for our recruitment partners. Our recruitment partners generate the vacancy, we find the candidates, the partner maintains contact with the client, we speak to the candidate and split the fee when the placement is madeIf that could be of use, for any vacancies that you struggle with, then please let me know.

Knowing You Knowing Me(dia)

2009-11-23T01:07:00.000-08:00

I have been approached by Jonny to write a guest article for his much revered blog. By way of introduction I am part of Sticky Media Group – the recruitment advertising and media arm of Resource Solutions Group.

Continuing the theme of the UK market from Jonny’s articles, from a media perspective we have been experiencing a flurry of activity, with start-ups wanting to make a name for themselves in a down market, and existing companies wanting to refresh their image through a new website or more modern brand in time for the recovery, making the most of the rise in consumer and business optimism.

We have also seen a rise in the number of business blogs, business twitter accounts and other social media tools requested with all associated branding attached (Jonny himself has made quite an impact using social networking, a model that others emulate albeit with varying degrees of success!).

As we move further into the 21^st Century it is clear to all that those who ignore online media business potential do so at their peril, happily we are in a position to advise, design and implement online solutions to meet the needs of many, so far ranging from residential homes to Government agencies!

On a personal note we have been working on various projects with Jonny and The Hub for some time now, it has been a pleasure throughout, and we wish Jo and he all the best over the next couple of exciting months!

If you would like to find out anymore about Sticky Media Group you can view our website at www.stickymediagroup.co.uk, or contact me directly on mike@stickymediagroup.co.uk.

Recovery

2009-11-05T03:08:00.000-08:00

Further to last week's post about a stunted recovery and maximising business, we received a number of mails from readers of the blog and our mailing list about their experience of the recovery.
One of the mails from the MD of a successful recruitment business based in Scotland stated 'Perms sector decimated in the last 10 months and no real sign of volume increases till March 2010 onwards. Our core temp outsourcing business is increasing as a seasonal trend but at a lower rate than the previous 2 years. I genuinely believe we are in a W shaped recession.'

I have used the W shaped recession term a number of times this week in talks with our recruitment partners and network and it is a term to which most subscribe. Many businesses are experiencing a slump again and pre-christmas there is less new business forecasted.
There are of course exceptions and associates that work in the public sector have suffered less than businesses that work solely in the private sector. A business based in Southern England that we work with, have maintained their position solely because of the value of their public sector contracts. March 2010 feels about right to me, but as an associate pointed out this morning, we have to wait for a potential affect from a change in government that could change everything!

Doom and Gloom I know and I count my blessings as we are still picking up requirements. Every vacancy is valuable and so work with us to maximise the opportunity from the available business.

1) The Hub is a split fee recruitment business.
2) Send vacancies that you are unable or struggling to fill to us.
3) We will source candidates and present a short list to you.
4) You brand the candidates and send the shortlist to the client.
5) When the placement is made, we split the fee.

We use the delivery engine of a £120m recruitment plc to source the candidates through access to massive online and offline resources.
You, the recruitment partner can concentrate on winning new business and maximise existing relationships by asking your clients for a greater range of roles.

More about us at http://www.recruitment-hub.com but the best way to find out more is to call Jonny Hiles on 0845 117 0 115 or email jonny@recruitment-hub.com

I look forward to your comments!
http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com

Vacancies

2009-10-29T02:27:00.000-07:00

Is it me or has the market dipped a little? All the talk of recovery is great and generally, the recruitment industry has kept going despite of the hyped doom and gloom. The way that the British media comment about the economy of course affects the performance of the economy and therefore I hope that we are coming out of the worst of the recession.
In the past week we have been catching up with a couple of regular partners who tell us that November looks like a quiet month at the moment and then of course we are into Christmas so potentially fewer vacancies until 2010. Of course we realise that things are still tough at the moment and that few businesses will be kicking off projects in 2009, which makes it more important that we maximise opportunity from existing vacancies and clients.

(Step by Step) How we can help -

1) The Hub is a split fee recruitment business.
2) Send vacancies that you are unable or struggling to fill to us.
3) We will source candidates and present a short list to you.
4) You brand the candidates and send the shortlist to the client.
5) When the placement is made, we split the fee.

We use the delivery engine of a £120m recruitment plc to source the candidates through access to massive online and offline resources.
You, the recruitment partner can concentrate on winning new business and maximise existing relationships by asking your clients for a greater range of roles.

More about us at http://www.recruitment-hub.com but the best way to find out more is to call Jonny Hiles on 0845 117 0 115 or email jonny@recruitment-hub .com - (I put a space in the address to avoid too much spam)

Collaboration - www.Recruitment-Wave.com

2009-10-27T04:23:00.000-07:00

We have been playing with Google Wave this week, inbetween sourcing candidates for our partners! As you know, we have been thinking about Google Wave based recruitment applications since Wave was announced. Mashable.com suugested a number of potential applications for Google Wave in their article - http://mashable.com/2009/09/05/google-wave-ideas/ and we really do agree that Google Wave could be game changing - http://mashable.com/2009/05/31/google-wave-features/

We are investigating Joint Venture opportunities and are very interested to hear from anyone that would like to collaborate with us on a recruitment based Wave extension. As you know, we own the domain - http://www.recruitment-wave.com and various other wave.com URL's centered around recruitment and we know recruitment!

If you would like to discuss www.recruitment-wave.com or www.recruitment-hub.com in greater detail, please give me a call on 0845 117 0 115

Jonny

Focus

2009-10-19T01:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, Okay, I know that I have not posted in the last couple of weeks. In my experience, blogging is something that you need to get into the habit of doing and once you do it regularly, you will enjoy it. If you don't do it regularly, then you find it hard to start again!

I have experienced a couple of similar scenario's recently.
1) Walking
Last winter, when I started working at a regular office again, within 2 miles from home, I was determined to walk to work whenever possible to get some exercise. As soon as I started walking, I began to enjoy the fresh air, the birds in the park, the clouds and watching people sat in long queues as I walked past them etc etc. Walking is a much nicer way to start the day and far less stressful. Over the summer, I was having to bring the car in to travel to meetings and I soon forgot how much I enjoyed walking, like an idiot driving throughout the summer and autumn months and am now walking in the cold winter. As soon as I started I was hooked once again.
2) Pushing The Hub
The Hub inspires new relationships. New relationships generate new ventures. New ventures are exciting but a distraction away from core activities.
The Hub has created a number of spin offs, some of which, we hope will become successful ventures and we are always looking for more! The Group is a really great size for parterning with, we are big enough to have lots of support, capability and infrastructure, but remaining entrepreuneurial in approach. A victim of The Hub's success, I have probably been distracted from pushing and selling the virtues of The Hub and attracting new partners and vacancies.
This of course ties in with writing the Blog as a medium for promoting us to you, and therefore I am very much now re-focussed on keeping the blog uptodate with my renewed energy gained from walking in!

Incase this is the first post that you have read, The Hub is a fee-splitting recruitment business. We are part of a £120m recruitment plc and use their combined delivery capability and infrastructure to deliver applications for our recruitment partners. Our recruitment partners generate the vacancy, we find the candidates, the partner maintains contact with the client, we speak to the candidate and split the fee when the placement is made.

One of the initatives that I will continue to be involved in however is group expansion.
We have ambitious plans and I am actively looking to open a West Midlands based IT Recruitment Brand in early 2010. We are therefore looking for acquisition or investment opportunities in the West Midlands and I will paste a copy of an advert that I am running to the bottom of this post. If you know of anyone that is selling their existing recruitment business or looking for investment and support, then please get in touch. We will pay a bounty for an introduction.

Another task is to re-write the website - www.recruitment-hub.com
As I said in an earlier post, we hadn't initially realised that the majority of partners would be businesses rather than individuals and therefore the website needs some tweaks. We do still work with individuals though and we signed a new partner last week - welcome aboard Tom!

Speaking of aboard, we have been making the most of the season onboard Domino before she comes out of the water for the winter. Jojo is growing daily and has climbed the ladder from the tender for the last time before beanie arrives. Next time we sail, there will be a new member of the family! She is now 26 weeks pregnant and i will now use weekends to crack on with the nursery and get everything ready.

The Advert -
IT Recruitment - Director

The Hub has been retained by a large recruitment plc, that will be launching a new IT Recruitment Business in Birmingham early in 2010.

The Group is a £100m+ recruitment plc with ambitious plans to launch a new brand in the Midlands.

The Opportunity
The Group are seeking a Managing Director to shape, launch and build a new IT Recruitment Business. You will be involved right at the outset with naming, branding and designing the business strategy with the assistance of the very successful management team of the plc. The new business will be yours to run and build, using the support and infrastructure of the £100m +recruitment group. Furthermore, you will recruit a team and offices will be provided in central Birmingham. The business will not ne restricted by location.
We are keen to attract the best and this is a salaried role, with equity in the new business.

The Person
You will be a proven IT Recruiter, with an established network in the Midlands IT market.
You will be ambitious.
You will be entrepreneurial, and have your own ideas about building a successful IT Recruitment Business.
You will lead by example. You will be passionate about IT Recruitment.

You may have already run your own or someone elses business, or be an employee looking for the next step. We are open to ideas!

To apply, send a profile to Jonny Hiles at The Hub to arrange an informal conversation. All communication is treated in strict confidence.

This is a genuine and unique opportunity and we look forward to discussing ideas with you.

Phew! - Enjoyed that and I wont leave it so long next time!

J

Jonny Hiles
0845 117 0 115
jonny@recruitment-hub.com
http://www.recruitment-hub.com
http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com

Wave!

2009-09-30T05:16:00.001-07:00

The following is an update from the bbc

Google invites users to join Wave

By Jane Wakefield
Technology reporter, BBC News

Rory Cellan-Jones talks to the developers of Google's 'next-generation' messenger service

Google Wave, which combines email, instant messaging and wiki-style editing will go on public trial today.

The search giant hopes the tool, described as "how e-mail would look if it were invented today", will transform how people communicate online.

It will be open to 100,000 invitees from 1600BST, each of whom can nominate five further people to "join the Wave".

The tool is also open source, meaning third party developers can build applications for it.

The developer behind Wave described it as "a communication and collaboration tool".

"It struck us that e-mail is still the main communication tool on the web, which seemed remarkable given that it is 20-year-old technology," said Lars Rasmussen, who, alongside his brother Jens, was the brains behind Google Maps.

In designing Wave, the brothers took as a starting point the idea of "a conversation sitting in a cloud".

"We found we could build a flexible tool with a surprising amount of functionality," Mr Rasmussen told BBC News.

Google Wave combines IM, e-mail and social networking features

Such functions includes real-time typing.

This means people can see a comment being written character by character and can formulate their answer to a question before a fellow 'Waver' has even finished asking it.

Mr Rasmussen acknowledges that this feature could be annoying, but thinks it is also a great time-saver.

For those unsure whether they want all their Wave friends to see exactly what they are writing, when they are writing it, the developers are working on a draft mode which will allow the real-time aspect to be switched off .

Unlike traditional instant messenger (IM) conversations continue even once everyone has logged out. This means that those invited to a Wave conversation but not currently online, can read the message strand in full at a later date.

Sharing photos

More radical is the inclusion of wiki-style editing tools.

All messages can be edited at any point by members of the conversation and a Playback facility allows everyone to see exactly who has edited what and at what time.

I have been accused of being pathologically optimistic about it but I can't see why people wouldn't want it

Lars Rasmussen

Read more about Wave in Rory Cellan-Jone's blog

Google, a famously collaborative firm, now writes all its design documents in Wave.

Wave also makes it very easy to share photos, which can simply be dragged from the desktop onto the Wave platform.

"If you are planning a trip. you can talk about it and plan it in Wave and then share all the photos at the end," said product manager Stephanie Hannon.

Google Wave runs in most browsers, with the notable exception of Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE). Users of IE will have to download a plug-in, known as Chrome Frame to use the application.

Microsoft does not recommend installing this plug-in, claiming it compromises security.

As IE is still the dominant browser, its incompatibility with Wave could affect take-up of the platform.

Google insists the failure of Wave in IE is not an excuse to promote its own browser, Chrome. It said the developers worked "very hard" at trying to make it work in IE.

Much of the code for Wave is written in HTML 5, the next-generation of web language.

Initial users can invite five other people to join Wave

In a nod to social-networking site Facebook, there are already a host of applications for Wave, including Sudoku and Chess.

"We are now trying to persuade someone to build a crossword puzzle," said Mr Rasmussen.

He acknowledges that the success of the platform will depend on how many people are willing to join.

"Without other people adopting Wave it will never take off," he said.

"I have been accused of being pathologically optimistic about it but I can't see why people wouldn't want it," he said.

His enthusiasm seems to be being borne out to a certain degree. Since Wave was announced at a Google developers' conference in May, one million people have registered interested.

Wave will have a full consumer launch early next year.

Link for this page - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8280864.stm

More about our plans for Wave at www.recruitment-wave.com
More about The Hub at www.recruitment-hub.com
More about Jonny Hiles at http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com

Topsham Town Page: Personal & Blogs

2009-09-15T02:52:00.000-07:00

Topsham Town Page: Personal & Blogs

Cyclical Recruitment

2009-09-15T01:42:00.000-07:00

Has it really been two weeks since my last post? Where do the days go?
We have received positive feedback from our www.Recruitment-Wave.com ideas and thank you to all that sent us a message. Also welcome to all of the new members of the UK Recuitment Directors Group on linkedin. We added 50 new recruitment businesses in a week!

Professionally, I am pleased that August is out of the way. It's not that I dont like the sun, its that fact that everyone is on holiday. The week either side of the bank holiday was the quietest couple of weeks we have known all year. Our Recruitment Partners were working, but applicants were hard to find and client decision makers were all away!

We picked up a recruitment consultant role in birmingham from one of our partners which we had a look at as we thought that it would be very straightforward. We placed an advert on Reed on the Friday evening, anticipating a huge response, only to find that we had received one application by Tuesday morning. It really was just a consultants role with £18k basic, but we should have been inundated. We opened the role up to Monster and Total Jobs in the end and still very few responses.

Now that we are back in September, life returns to normality and the cyclical recruitment market starts up again. I think that I may have mentioned in a previous post that the year for a recruitment consultant tends to look like this -

January - 1st two weeks are quiet but then busy busy! +the long wait til payday
February -busy busy but short month so commission may not be great.
March - gets a little quieter as clients have run out of budget!
April - 2nd half is manic
May - manic and a lots of working days so good commission
June - busy and make the most of it as summer will soon be with us!
July - holiday season (need I say more!)
August - holiday season
September - typically a great month, contractors do lots of hours to recoup holiday costs
October - busy busy
November - busy busy
December - 2nd half quieter but activity switches to renewals of contractors

Of course, January and September are normally months where people look for new employment having had some time away from the office to think about life!

So, because of the way that the year works, agencies are able to anticipate what the month is likely to throw at them and allocate resources and budget and maximise the opportunity. This year has seen some spectacular lows and quiet months but the boom times will come again.

The Hub concept supports a recruitment agency business by providing a professional flexible resoucing team that you only use when all of your resources are tied up. We use the resources of the £120m recruitment plc to find the best available candidates for your role, which you then deliver to your client. When we place, we split the fee! It really is a very simple model.

Aside from delivery, we can offer recruitment business support and consultancy and this is an area that it growing for us. Once again, we just use the groups resources but becuase of our size, we know what we are doing and how to maximise revenue and opportunity. Call me if you would like further info.

We have been spending our weekends down in Topsham, enjoying the boat whilst we can. Pilotage on the Exe is interesting, and really not as complicated as you may initially think although we havent tried it after dark yet! We took Domino across the Bar at Exmouth this weekend. My ancestors would have known the run down the Exe, out across the bar into Lyme bay well, as well as the various pubs in Topsham that would have provided hospitality to them upon their return as they do for us now. It is nice to follow in footsteps sometimes. The entrance to Exmouth is notorious and lumpy and poor Jojo was ill, which oddly had the most wonderful side effect as she felt the baby or beanie as it is currently known, began to kick for the first time on Saturday evening and has been kicking ever since. We may have another sailor on our hands!

Watching Jo climb off of the tender, up the ladder onto the stern of the boat is becoming more and more nerve-racking so we know that we will not be able to do it for much longer. I thoroughly enjoy life on a boat and actually had forgotten how much I really do enjoy it. I am grateful that I did loads for a while and gained the experience and the skills I have. I am in a very fortunate place at the moment with a great and healthy family, a job that I enjoy and believe in and of course a baby on the way! I was reminded of how fortunate I am when I watched a disabled couple struggling to cross the road this morning. We are very fortunate not to have that constant struggle and sometimes not as grateful as we perhaps should be. I will make a donation to a local charity today.

If you would like to discuss anything contained in this blog, please call Jonny Hiles at The Hub on 0845 117 0 115 or email info@recruitment-hub.com

More detail on The Hub at www.recruitment-hub.com or via the pages on this blog - http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com

Jonny Hiles

www.recruitment-wave.com is live!

2009-09-02T02:20:00.000-07:00

The new page for Recruitment Wave is now up and running! Sorry for the brief delay. Let me know your thoughts.

Jonny Hiles

The URL is http://www.recruitment-wave.com

Jonny Hiles is a Director at The Hub. For More information, please visit http://www.recruitment-hub.com or http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com for the latest news.

Making Waves

2009-09-01T02:29:00.000-07:00

What happens at this time of year? People are away, decisions are not being made and the whole recruitment process is on a go slow for much of the summer. It seems especially the week either side of the bank holiday. Hits on my websites - http://www.recruitment-hub.com and http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com were down and just look at the volumes of traffic around on the road to tell you that people are on holiday and not in in the office. This morning I was the only car sat at traffic lights where there are normally 10+ cars waiting in the line with me.

Again we still have vacancies and infact a few more arrived over the weekend, so we are keeping our guys and girls busy. We have picked up some more interesting roles over the past week or two including a Pastry Product Developer for a well known company. They want someone to design cakes!

I have been determined to find some time to look at new Hub projects and products. We have opened up our offering further and we are now providing a broader range of Hub services to compliment the delivery. This effectively means that we are now offering everything from incubation services to recruitment business process outsource type services although I am slightly reluctant to really term the additional services under that banner. In my opinion, the term business process outsource is a minefield because of all the offshore companies that use this term. We are a UK based recruitment company first and anything else second!

One of the new projects that we are excited about is the potential of Google Wave. incase you haven't heard or read much about it yet, A "wave" is equal parts conversation and document, where people can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more. There is loads about it on the web and search for Wave on the Google tool bar or have a look at wikipedia.
I first heard of Google Wave one evening whilst checking Twitter and noticed that Wave was a huge trending topic. A quick look on the rest of the web about Wave convinced me that there was a huge buzz about the potential and I realised that this was potentially a game changing product if Google gets it right.

If it really does what it says it will, then Google Wave really could revolutionise the way that people communicate over the web. Of course to succeed it will need to be 1) Relevent 2) User Friendly, both of which really remain to be seen, however Google has invited developers across the globe to develop applications to sit upon it.
I believe that it will have both business and social applications and of course the business applications are what interest me. I have plans for www.recruitment-wave.com and www.recruitment-wave.co.uk and www.cv-wave.com and www.jobwave.co.uk etc and will be launching the holding page for these this afternoon. What is interesting is that a couple of these sites get hits even though I am not promoting them in any way, which potentially is a good sign for the future!

I am of course keen to continue promoting and speaking to new Recruitment Partners and am sure that demand for The Hub will increase as the market picks up. If you are interested, drop me a line on 0845 117 0 115 or to jonny@recruitment-hub.com

Outside of work, Jojo is doing really well and looks great. We started clearing the spare room over the weekend and chose the buggy so all is becoming more and more real. We managed to get to Topsham early on Saturday and took Domino down the Exe to Exmouth. We managed to get down and back in time to enjoy the festivities of the Topsham Carnival on Saturday afternoon and evening which we enjoyed greatly. It had been years since we were out on the Exe near Exmouth and Starcross and brought back happy memories of my childhood, family sailing in a small dinghy.

As ever, if you would like to discuss any aspect of the blog or The Hub, please drop me a line on 0845 117 0 115 or to jonny@recruitment-hub.com

More info is available via the other pages on the blog or The Hub website - http://www.recruitment-hub.com

Jonny Hiles
Director
The Hub
www.recruitment-hub.com

We are looking for Recruitment Partners!

2009-08-18T03:13:00.000-07:00

The Hub is a UK based network of recruitment specialists utilising a centralised delivery, back office and support function – or hub – hence the name.
We are part of a £120m recruitment plc. The Hub provides independent recruiters with the benefits of group infrastructure and support.

We are looking for Recruitment Partners to join the network.

How it works
As a recruitment plc, we can call upon significant resources which we deploy across our brands. Our brands include recruiters across a range of industries but also media companies, job boards, incubators and VC’s. We have a significant delivery capability using our own mature resources but also access to international, national, regional and niche job boards.
The Hub offers this infrastructure to our recruitment partners.

Typically, The Recruitment Partner passes us details of a vacancy that they would like support with and The Hub uses the groups delivery capability to find the best available candidates. The Recruitment Partner maintains contact with the client and we maintain contact with the candidate. When the placement is made, we split the fee.
Our Recruitment Partners benefit from the support of a large recruitment group, providing additional services and taking away some of the pain of life as an independent. Our Recruitment Partners are able to concentrate on winning and delivering business using our range of services and crucially open additional delivery channels by working with The Hub.

We also able to offer additional services including advertising , websites, invoicing, technology, investment etc and work with established recruiters and start ups. For further information, please visit www.recruitment-hub.com or http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com
If you would like to discuss further, please give me a call on 0845 117 0 115 or send your details to info@recruitment-hub.com

I am also the owner of a Linkedin Group, specifically for Directors of UK Recruitment businesses. To join, you must be a Director of a UK based recruitment company - Simple!
It provides a great opportunity to network and share views. Link can be found here - http://www.linkedin.com/groups?homeNewMember=&gid=1962486&trk=

Info about me can be found at http://www.recruitment-hub.com or http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com

Winning & Maintaining Business

2009-08-14T01:41:00.000-07:00

The Hub
It is clear that the current recruitment market is a tough place to be at the moment. Over the last 10 years, the £26bn UK industry has been saturated by small entrepreneurial businesses looking for a slice of the action. The vast majority of the smaller agencies owners, by which I mean a business with less than 15 employees, would have started life with a larger agency where they learnt their trade and made their contacts before finally realising why am I doing this for someone else?

Most of these business owners would have always had the ambition to start a new business, although a few would have been forced into a situation where employment options were taken away and had to start a business.

The Recruitment Industry has always attracted ambitious, energetic sales people with no particular career direction as the employees of choice (I myself was in that category and have hired in that category). There can be no suprise that this group of people by nature have entrepreneurial spirit and one day look for an opportunity to start their own business.

When I used to be a corporate recruiter, I used to tell my suppliers that I wanted two things from them. 1) Consistently Deliver 2) Make my life easier - be easy to deal with.

In my experience, smaller recruiters place more emphasis on relationships and their success comes from the strength of their relationships. A single vacancy matters far more to a small agency when they are keen to win repeat business from you. How often does a large corporate pass a vacancy to a multi-national agency on a PSL and the vacancy just disappears into a black hole? The big multi national may know how to write a tender, but they do not always value your business when procurement has agreed a 7% margin.

I believe that a smaller agency, is far more likely to offer flexibility and genuinely try and make life easier for the hiring manager, simply because they have fewer vacancies and want to prove themselves to win repeat business.

Of course, smaller agencies however, are less likely to be able consistently deliver across a broad range of roles and different disclipines and that is where The Hub can offer support.

Example - We are working with a business owner, who is keen to maximise opportunity from her clients. As a finance specialist recruiter, she had been asked from time to time by some of her clients whether she could also deliver other vacancies such as HR, IT or Sales & Marketing. She had always declined because she did not have the infrastructure to deliver outside of her core market and therefore didn't want to commit and then lose her customers confidence. She has been well aware that she was turning down business, but when times were good, it wasn't as noticeable. We are now working with her business to maximise revenue from her clients. She now has confidence that she can deliver across the wider disciplines and the client is only too happy with her business as they can deliver and have an excellent relationship.

The Hub becomes your delivery engine, using our £120m recruitment plc infrastructure. You maintain the relationship with the client, we work with you in partnership to deliver.

The Hub has a range of services and we are always interested to hear from potential Recruitment Partners. Call Jonny Hiles on 0845 117 0 115 or info@recruitment-hub.com for more information.

The Hub website - http://www.recruitment-hub.com
Latest news - http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com

Hiles family

2009-08-13T07:47:00.000-07:00

Quick Personal Blog! - The Hub Business Blog to follow!

Thank you all for your messages. Jo has actually had a couple of days now with no morning sickness so is loving life!

The Pic this week is of me in my mad hat at Jo's birthday 'Mad Hatters Tea Party' at the weekend.
Why the Roman helmet? - I was after a Bicorn(e),- imagine an Admirals hat, but was unable to find one that wasn't either cheap floppy felt or an expensive antique. As they are Naval hats, I went on to a militaria website to try and find one and thats when I happend upon the Steel Roman Legionaires replica helmet. I guess that it would have been made for someone that is into re-enactments, but I couldn't resist it when I learnt that it was only £14.40!
Granted, I hadnt really thought through wearing it on a hot day and running around playing rounders!

We will be flaking the main on Domino this weekend and heading off down river so keep fingers crossed. Update next week!

Blogging

2009-08-03T03:22:00.000-07:00

The Hub Blog - Monday morning and a big list ahead of me.

Firstly, news! - I am delighted to announce that JoJo and I are expecting our first baby! Jo is three and a half months pregnant and due in January. We are both over the moon and have greatly enjoyed telling family and friends of the news over the past week or so.

Secondly, apologies! I am sorry for not updating the blog last week! Thank you for your various prompts and especially Martin McNerney for his email - It amused me so it got posted. I have lots on at the moment as you will read!

As you can imagine, life is busy at the moment. I am over-joyed at the pregnancy and the prospect at being a father and Jo is doing really well despite constant morning sickness. She has a lovely bump and the scans looked great. The pregnancy really only hit me a couple of weeks ago when we could see the baby moving and its heart beating, seeing this little life really affected me and made me determined to be the best husband and father that I can be.
This really is a life changing event for me and although friends and family tell you that it will be, until it happens, it is impossible to understand the affect that it starts to have upon you.

The baby however, is already giving me sleepless nights as I lay awake concerned with my new sense of responsibility and wondering about all of the things that I now need to do. Practical things include - convert the spare room into a nursery, sell Jo's Mini Cooper and buy a 5 door car, save lots of money to support us whilst Jo is off work, pay a chunk off the mortgage, and move house!

The fact that each item in my list is dependent upon The Hub's success and building some security in an unstable market is not lost on me and therefore ultimately I lay awake think of work at 3am several nights a week!

The Hub is working, we have some great partners supplying us with vacancies, we are sourcing candidates and generating interviews and placements. We are working hard and the volume of business and the interest that we attract is also growing. I still lay awake worrying. My greatest concern is the market - a) the volume of business, b) the margins, c) the slow recruitment process.

a) is obvious and I cant complain. We have business where plenty are struggling.

b) margins are down as everyone tries to be competitive and is squeezed. Again, i can't really complain as we only work above 15% perm and 12% contract and we still have business.

c) the slow recruitment process is a massive frustration at the moment when we are all keen to secure business and as a newish company, I am particularly keen to prove our worth and demonstrate how well the model works. One of our partners, a specialist search company, gave us some finance vacancies in late June. We sourced and had feedback and interview requests during the first week of July, requesting interview dates in mid-August! In reality, a two stage process with this customer will conclude in September with a start date in October and invoices paid in November. (if they stick to 30 days). The major work by us will have taken place in late June and therefore the recruitment cycle for this role is likely to be c5 months!

It would be far worse if the candidate was on 3 months or more notice.
12 months or more ago, this would not have happened. The customer would not have the luxury of waiting 6 weeks before first interview. The candidates would have dissapeared!

In recruitment, the summers are always a little slower as decision makers are on holiday but we are finding that this year, the process has been slower than I can remember.
Last week we were working with a couple of great new partners and a three partners that had been quiet for a few weeks have given us some new roles, so our resources are keeping busy. We are working across some familiar and unfamiliar markets and the variety of roles keeps things interesting for the team. CV's are out on most roles, so just waiting for feedback!

As always, we are looking to work with new recruitment partners even if the market is slow!

Our attraction strategy for Recruitment Partners has always been 'Ninja Marketing' - a phrase that I coined in error with Sticky Media. By 'Ninja Marketing', I meant, use of the online communication tools such as Linkedin, Twitter, etc and this blog. 'Ninja Marketing' is obviously not the correct term and is nonsense but I quite like it anyway. What I guess we use is a 'Gen Y' approach, which is simple, cheap and seems effective. Sticky have helped design lots of pieces of this strategy and thank you Mike once again for the new look blog, I hope you all like it?

Linkedin has probably delivered the most initial interest via things like my profile and the UK Recruitment Directors Group, but The Hub website and the blog are probably the most important forms of communication. I do not believe that I have met with any recruitment partner recently that hasn't read the blog and I regularly receive positive comments about it. It is something that I enjoy but sometimes find it hard to spend the time to keep updated. I know that its an important tool for The Hub and my rule is to try and add one item a week. I try to keep the blog chatty and a mix of personal and professional. I find some very dry business blogs very dull and surely that should not be the objective!

Of course, if you do enjoy the blog, the best way to check for updates is to subscribe, although I understand that it is difficult unless you have the right kind of email account. Therefore, we are creating a subscribers list for updates. The list will not insist that you have the right kind of email account and all we need is your name and email address. We will not spam you! If you would like to receive the updates, please send an email with 'Subscibe' in the title line to info@recruitment-hub.com and we will add you to the list!

The Hub is a UK based network of recruitment specialists utilising a centralised delivery, back office and support function – or hub – hence the name, Details about The Hub can be found either in the blog - http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com or The Hub website - http://www.recruitment-hub.com

Finally a boat update! I have spent the past couple of weekends on Domino, helping with general fixes. Domino is in great condition and has a fantastic pedigree. We are still a couple of weeks away though from our maiden voyage, just because of time, but she is coming together well and I cant wait. My bro has taken lots of pics so will send a link to his photo blog when he has updated.

Thank you for your patience in waiting for the update, if you would like to discuss any aspect of The Hub, please contact me at jonny@recruitment-hub.com or 0845 117 0 115.

Jonny Hiles
Director
The Hub
www.recruitment-hub.com

P.S. Congratulations to Che and Maria. We enjoyed the wedding!

Recently received this message...

2009-07-31T01:47:00.001-07:00

Its all about me!

2009-07-23T09:44:00.001-07:00

This new blog post is coming...............
24/07/2009
In the mean time, let me know what you think of the site - http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com

jonny@recruitment-hub.com

Jonny Hiles
The Hub

The Hit List!

2009-07-23T03:28:00.000-07:00

The Hub - Quick Vacancy Update - The Hit List!
These are active roles that we are sourcing today using a variety of online and offline resources, national and local job boards and networking!

If you are one of the following, please get in touch via the contact details on http://www.recruitment-hub.com

1) Associate Director - Sustainability to £70k basic London.
(International Construction and Property Consultancy)
2) Partner - Corporate Commercial Legal Practice - c£100k, South West
3) Key Account Manager - Corporate Accounts, c £60,000 London
4) Senior Mechanical Engineer - £40k Leeds
5) Insurance Account handler - £25k Bristol

As you can see, we work across a broad range on industries!

Jonny Hiles

The Hub - http://www.recruitment-hub.com
Blog - http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com
0845 117 0 115

PS. WE ARE LOOKING FOR RECRUITMENT PARTNERS! - CLICK HERE!

PPS. The Pic is of a yacht called Chernikeeff 2, a Farr 52 that I sailed onboard for the Round The Island Race a few years ago. (I think we were 3rd home of 1700 or so boats!)

Professional ramblings of a wannabe adventurer! (from my office!)

2009-07-16T01:20:00.000-07:00

Hola! I have been meaning to update the blog all week and just been nagged into it by Mike Wedge from Sticky Media Group who has promised to update the look of The Hub Blog for the princely sum of a beer or two! I really like what he has done with his blog and recommend that you have a look here.

The Hub continues to attract new vacancies, this week, we have had a real push into some new markets, namely Architects and Lawyers. The construction market has obviously been suffering for a while and we have been inundated with applications for the roles. It would seem that the construction boom in Dubai is finally over as perhaps 60% of the applications are from architects that have been working over there and are now available to start immediately. Of the rest, 10% are perhaps from USA / Canada, 10% from Asia and 15% are from UK citizens that have been working abroad, that are now keen to return to the UK. The remaining 5% are UK workers whose latest role has been in the UK. Does this mean that construction in other countries has suffered much more than our has? I am not an expert in this field but it would seem so based on the applications that we have received.

I am suprised to have vacancies in this sector at all, given the press about the industry, but we do have a meeting set up with a potential partner, a construction specialist next week.

The legal roles are certainly keeping us busy and the market does work differently from others. We have subscribed to a couple of legal specialist job boards and now have database access so are sourcing, although placing adverts seems a complete waste of time as we get very little domestic response from either the national, regional or niche job boards. Lawyers dont seem to be moving on and the only end of the market that is suffering is the newly qualified.

Outside of work, I am greatly looking forward to the arrival of the new yacht next week to Topsham in Devon. The belated arrival of my parents new boat has been caused by the maintenance of the crane at Trouts Boatyard. We hope that it will be finished for Tuesday as the yacht is being delivered on a lorry and the alternative use of other boatyards cranes in Topsham in expensive and complex. Keep your fingers crossed! You could follow the progress via the webcam at Trouts next Tuesday afternoon if you have the time and interest. Details here!

Sailing is something that I had got out of my system really after completing the Round The World Yacht Race and the Yachtmaster. I had a change in personal and professional opportunities at that time which meant that I didn't have the time or interest to go to sea, although upon relection, it may have been a perfect time. I guess that I am and was too ambitious. Everytime I see clips of the Volvo Ocean Race though, it makes me want to go back to sea and have another adventure! Those VOR 70's are amazing and I want one!
Sailing is like riding a bike though and i dont believe that you will lose the feel of it. I made some great friends sailing, sharing life experiences and I look forward to sailing with them again, albeit in a slightly more sedate kind of way accompanied by WAGS!
I am lucky that JoJo is happy for me to indulge and sees the opportunity for family holidays in the future. She is even considering signing up for the RYA Dayskipper course, no doubt so she will then challenge me at sea as well as on land!

Other great friends in my life came from Rugby, which I will always dream of playing again, although the body definitely could not take it any more. Sailing is something that I can hopefully do for many years.

On rugby, I too was sickened by Schalk Burger's eye gouging in 2nd Test of the British Lions tour of South Africa the other week, I had forgotten to post a note about it at the time. I was very disappointed by the Springbok's response.

Before I get back to The Hub, my brother reminded me of this the other day. It continues to make me chuckle!

We continue to look for new Recruitment Partners!

The Hub is a UK based network of recruitment specialists utilising a centralised delivery, back office and support function – or hub – hence the name.
We are looking for Recruitment Partners to join the network.
We set up The Hub as part of a UK based £120m Recruitment plc to specifically cater for the UK market.
The Hub is a simple mechanism for the independent recruiter to open up additional revenue streams and develop business, utilising the delivery engine of a recruitment plc.
The Recruitment Partners generate the vacancies that they are unable to deliver competitively against and The Hub uses the delivery capability of a major recruitment plc to find the best available candidates. When the placement is made, we split the fee.
The Recruitment Partner maintains contact and the relationship with the client, but crucially opens additional delivery channels by working with The Hub, especially on roles where you are unable to deliver.
For further information, please visit http://www.recruitment-hub.com or http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com/
If you would like to have a conversation with me, please give me a call on 0845 117 0 115 or send your details to info@recruitment-hub.com

Hope you are all well?

We are looking!!!

2009-07-06T03:53:00.001-07:00

Short and slightly repetitive I know, but another busy Monday and I need to get on..................!

Briefly, had a great weekend, with the focus of sailing, rugby and family - so near perfect. I am greatly looking forward to next weekend and playing with the 2 new family yachts!! One of them is even a real one - details about the class here!

After stressing last week about having too many vacancies, we now have applications out and interview requests so now my focus is generating more vacancies and generally spreading the word about The Hub to find new Recruitment Partners.

Any suggestions about other ways to communicate are gratefully received!

We have successfully been recruiting in new markets and really are expert recruiters. Because we have the resources, we can source in most industries, so give me a call!

This is the advert we are running. It is probably about time we re-wrote something. I may try this week! -

The Hub is a UK based network of recruitment specialists utilising a centralised delivery, back office and support function – or hub – hence the name.

We are looking for Recruitment Partners to join the network.

We set up The Hub as part of a UK based £120m Recruitment plc to specifically cater for the UK market.

The Hub is a simple mechanism for a recruitment business to open up additional revenue streams and develop business, utilising the delivery engine of a recruitment plc.

The Recruitment Partners generate the vacancies that they are unable to deliver competitively against and The Hub uses the delivery capability of a major recruitment plc to find the best available candidates. When the placement is made, we split the fee.

The Recruitment Partner maintains contact and the relationship with the client, but crucially opens additional delivery channels by working with The Hub, especially on roles where you are unable to deliver.

For further information, please visit http://www.recruitment-hub.com or http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com/

If you would like to discuss further, please give me a call on 0845 117 0 115 or send your details to info@recruitment-hub.com

Trust The Hub with your recruitment vacancies!

2009-06-29T08:07:00.000-07:00

Successful relationships are built on trust and we have to trust our partners as well as build their trust in us.

The Hub is part of a £120m recruitment plc. The Hub re-sells the groups delivery capability to our recruitment partners. We are sharing our resources with the recruitment partners and they are sharing their vacancies with us.

I regularly get asked about my background and where the concept of The Hub was developed. This I believe is an important question, and one of the first steps in building a relationship and testing credibility.

Like many others, I fell into Recruitment. When I returned from Uni in Southampton I had no idea what i wanted to do apart from be successful. Throughout school and university I would always answer 'entrepreneur' to the question of what i wanted to be. A friend who was working for a sales recruiter suggested that I should try recruitment, and pay off my debts before going travelling and deciding what I wanted to do.
So I fell into IT recruitment with the intention of staying in the industry for 6 months, paying off debts and doing something different. It was pre-Y2K and the IT market was booming. The company that I was working for tripled in size in a couple of years and I got stuck in the money trap.
6 months turned into 5 years and I needed to pursue an adventure or change of direction. I was offered a place on a Round the World Yacht Race at the same time as being offered a place at the University of Bristol to study Law. I requested a delay in the law course so that I could do the race. The Round the World Yacht Race was a fantastic experience and I met some amazing friends along the way. Whilst you are at sea for long periods of time, you have a huge amount of time to think about life and your direction. Lots of my fellow crew members changed direction, started businesses and careers after the race. Whilst I was somewhere in the Atlantic, I decided that I liked recruitment and I did not want to be a lawyer!
I arrived back in the UK and received a call from my old boss to catch up and see what my plans were.
The company had continued to grow and set up and acquire other recruitment businesses.
One of the successful businesses withing group was an Recruitment Process Outsource (RPO) offering which had some large bluechip customers but did not offer an interim solution. I was offered the task of setting up the interim and contract RPO business.

RPO's have been very successful and continue to grow. We were able to save our customers tens, if not hundreds of thousands of pounds in some circumstances and built a very successful £multi million model and business.

*RPO's are not suitable in every industry or organisation and I have views which I may or may not share at some point in the future or will share now for a fee!* - http://www.sumptus.com

As we grew, we were approached by a number of organisations about providing someone like me on a day rate, which we were happy to oblige. I got to a point where although happy and enjoying the business, I wanted more autonomy. Throughout 2007 / 2008, I set out as a day rate consultant, advising businesses on recruitment, & resourcing.

Throughout my time as a self employed consultant, I was able to pick up vacancies and typically a client would approach me and ask whether I could source a .........? or a did I know anyone? etc.
It always occured to me that this was wasted opportunity and revenue as I did not have the time or resources to deliver a solution. - The Hub concept was born!

The Hub was set up by me as part of the recruitment plc that I had worked as part of for so many years. I trust them to deliver!

Nowadays the recruitment industry is happier to partner, as long we are able to work effectively and trust each other not to steal each others resources. Businesses are having to diversify and compete with specialists in markets that they are not experienced in to generate revenue. This is where The Hub works.

We cannot promise to deliver everything, but we will use all of the resources available to us to give us both the best possible delivery capability. Our recruitment partners build trust with their customers because they can deliver.

The Hub - About Us
The Hub is a UK based network of recruitment specialists utilising a centralised delivery, back office and support function – or hub – hence the name.

We are looking for Recruitment Partners to join the network.

We set up The Hub as part of a UK based £120m Recruitment plc to specifically cater for the UK market.
The Hub is a simple mechanism for the independent recruiter to open up additional revenue streams and develop business, utilising the delivery engine of a recruitment plc.
The Recruitment Partners generate the vacancies that they are unable to deliver competitively against and The Hub uses the delivery capability of a major recruitment plc to find the best available candidates. When the placement is made, we split the fee.
The Recruitment Partner maintains contact and the relationship with the client, but crucially opens additional delivery channels by working with The Hub, especially on roles where you are unable to deliver.
For further information, please visit www.recruitment-hub.com or http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com/
If you would like to have a conversation with us, please give me a call on 0845 117 0 115 or send your details to info@recruitment-hub.com

Final pieces - I was of course sorry to hear about Michael Jackson and dissapointed that I didnt get to see him in concert!

The Hub - Top 5 Live Vacancies

2009-06-22T03:15:00.000-07:00

The Hub update.

Keen to provide a quick update, although will keep the post brief as I am busy!

We have some live 'Hot' vacancies that we are urgently looking for. I will list the top 5 at the end of the post.

I have a number of meetings this week with new and prospective Recruitment Partners. This week includes both individuals looking to set up a new recruitment business as well as established recruitment businesses looking to work with The Hub. I will be out of the office for some of the week so if you needed to reach me, please call The Hub main office number 0845 117 0 115 where one of my colleagues will answer your call and ensure that new roles are actioned immediately.

As The Hub continues to grow, we are growing the recruitment team and prioritising The Hub with group staff. If you haven't already, give me a call to visit our delivery center and see the way that we operate as a recruitment business.

I am looking into new ways of communicating The Hub and any suggestions welcome!

The Hub About Us -

The Hub is a network of indpendent recruitment specialists, utilising a centralised delivery, back office and support function or hub - hence the name! We are part of a UK Recruitment plc, one of the UK's largest independent recruitment companies.

We are looking for Recruitment Partners to join the network!

Our recruitment partners include established recruitment businesses and professional recruiters, keen to set up and grow a new recruitment business.

For further information, please visit - http://www.recruitment-hub.com/ or this blog for the latest news and updates.

If you would like to mail us, use - info@recruitment-hub.com or you can call on 0845 117 0 115.

The Hub is run by Jonny Hiles, Founder and Managing Director. More on Jonny Hiles can be found in the profile page.

Top 5 Current Vacancies

1) Corporate Finance Executives - Birmingham & London

2) C# Developer - West Midlands

3) Marketing Executive - Salisbury

4) Solicitor (insolvency / Corporate Recovery)- Bristol

5) Insurance Account Handlers - South West

Call Jonny Hiles if you would like to discuss!

http://www.recuitment-hub.com/

PS - I really dislike the new version of Internet Explorer. I will start using something else!!!

PPS - I went to the Banksy exhibition at Bristol Musuem and Art Galleries. I can highly recommend and it is worth the travel and the queues! You have until the end of August 2009. More info here!

New Vacancy!

2009-06-17T03:11:00.000-07:00

I have just been asked by a contact whether I can recommend anyone in my network for a new RPO Account Director role. More at the bottom of the post -

So what have I been up to? Its actually not an easy question at the moment. We are really busy with candidates sourcing, meeting new Recruitment Partners and looking at other ways to communicate what we do as a business. (Via low cost or free resources!)

Despite me having a bad back and having to work from home on Monday, the week is shaping up well and a couple of long standing client contacts called to catch up and tell me that they are begining to look at new requirements within their businesses. Watch this space!

We are all still a lot quieter than we would like to be but at least there is plenty of activity. The recruitment process is slow however and there is concern whether some of the vacancies actually exist or whether the candidates that we are talking to actually have any intention of making a move. Time will tell but at least The Hub is demonstrating that the model works and can add value in a tough market. We keep our recruiters busy with candidate sourcing, an activity that they are experts in.

Our model of course relies on our ability to deliver. Our consultants concentrate on candidate sourcing rather than new business and do not tend to be end to end consultants. They are experts in multi-discipline sourcing and we provide them with the channels they need. My main activity is to communicate The Hub to the market and generate the business for the team to deliver.

Of course there are fewer vacancies around at the moment and I met with an old friend for lunch on Friday who had just made some redundancies.

There are some good recruiters that are struggling at the moment because their traditional client base is not hiring and there is no new business around. Every agency is cold calling like mad at the moment with little return so a lot of agencies are losing staff. Its a sad situation for all concerned but I hope that some will turn their current situation into a positive outcome.

There was an item on BBC Breakfast about redundancies 'under the radar' where businesses with less than 20 staff were losing 10-20% of their workforce. Whilst these numbers were small and not newsworthy, the national affect was huge. I am sure that this will be the case in lots of independent recruitment businesses.

On the subject of cold calls, I still get cold called now and again from when I was an onsite corporate recruiter. There is one multi national agency in particular that seems completely unable to update their records and call me every month or so. I presume that its all about call stats!

When we set up The Hub, we felt that we would attract both, established recruitment businesses and individuals that were looking at self employment for a variety of reasons. This model still stands and if you are a recruitment professional that is facing a change, talk to us. We dont offer salaries, but do offer a reveune stream if you are able to generate business.

The Hub is a UK based network of independent recruitment specialists utilising a centralised delivery, back office and support function – or hub – hence the name.

We are looking for Recruitment Partners to join the network.

We set up The Hub as part of a UK based £120m Recruitment plc to specifically cater for the UK market.
The Hub provides the independent recruiter with the delivery capability of a large recruitment plc. The Hub is a simple mechanism for the independent recruiter to open up additional revenue streams and develop business, utilising the delivery engine of a £120m recruitment plc.

You are likely to be a Recruitment professional, perhaps with your own established business or an ambitious entrepreneur keen to capitalise on your experience. If you do not have your own existing business, we can help you with branding, technology etc at no cost by joining The Hub.

For further information, please visit http://www.recruitment-hub.com/ or http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com/

If you would like to have a conversation with us, please give me a call on 0845 117 0 115 or send your details to info@recruitment-hub.com

This post turned out longer than I thought it would!

The role that I have been asked about is an RPO Account Director based in Essex. You will need to have specific local government expertise. If you want to discuss, give me a call!

The Hub latest..........

2009-06-10T02:45:00.000-07:00

I know its a bit of a cop-out but I have been adding the below to the various Linkedin Groups this morning to generate some more Hub conversations. I do find Linkedin very useful for posting to a large network qucikly although I always receive a mixed response.

Yesterday, I also had my first meeting based on a lead from Twitter! I still need convincing about Twitter but as its quick to use then why not.

On the topic of social and professional networking tools, I look forward with great interest to Google Wave when it is launched and can see a wealth of opportunities for recruitment businesses. Especially to communicate and share information with a large network swiftly. There are of course plans for The Hub to make use of this technology!

In preparation, I have been purchasing some URL's which we have plans for such as -

http://www.jobwave.co.uk/ and http://www.recruitment-wave.com/

These have received hits already despite them being pointed to adverts on Sedo. I get 4p if you click on one of the adverts!

I really think that if it does what it says it will, the Google Wave could transform the way that we communicate as a business. - Watch this space!

Finally, I have got around to adding Google Analytics to this site so can see how many are reading. Fairly modest numbers but double figures each day so don't be shy and leave a comment!

Anyway, here is what i was posting earlier -

A recent poll, published in a recuitment industry magazine, indicated that 78% of polled recruiters were considering or were actively working in collaboration with other UK recruitment businesses. Is this an area that you are considering as a business?
I am interested to hear from any UK Recruitment Business Leaders interested in collaboration.
The Hub's unique offering and innovative concept is generating interest and revenue for our partners.
We provide our partners with an improved delivery capability and placing where they otherwise would not have been able to. Our partners concentrare on winning new business and maximising existing business relationships, knowing that we will take care of delivery.
A positive message in the struggling UK Recruitment Market!
We are part of a £120m Recruitment plc and still have capacity. We are always looking to build relationships with professional recruitment businesses and individuals.

For further information call The Hub on 0845 117 0 115 or visit our website - http://www.recruitment-hub.com/
We also have a blog for the latest news - http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com/

Jonny Hiles

Quick Update

2009-06-09T03:34:00.000-07:00

The Hub has just been passed another 24 vacancies this morning by a new Recruitment Partner.

A positive message in the struggling UK Recruitment Market, The Hub's unique offering and innovative concept is generating interest and business. Our Partners benefit from an improved delivery capability and placing where they otherwise would not have been able too, therefore concentrating on winning new business and maximising existing business relationships.

We are part of a £120m Recruitment plc and still have capacity. We are always looking to build relationships with professional recruitment businesses and individuals.

For further information call The Hub on 0845 117 0 115 or visit our website - http://www.recruitment-hub.com/

The Hub - Current Activity

2009-06-08T03:54:00.000-07:00

The Hub is experiencing a busy period and hopefully signs that the recruitment market is strengthening. Over the last 3 business days, we are in receipt of c30 new vacancies from our recruitment partners, vacancies including IT, Finance, Legal, Sales & Marketing. All of which we are actively working and should provide applications over the next few days.

We have also been approached by a contact to provide an interim onsite recruiter based in Watford. If you are interested or know anyone that would be, please contact Jonny on The Hub's main number.

The Hub
The Hub is a UK based network of independent recruitment specialists utilising a centralised delivery, back office and support function – or hub – hence the name.

We are looking for Recruitment Partners to join the network.

For further information, please visit http://www.recruitment-hub.com/

78% of recruiters would consider fee splitting partnerships

2009-06-01T01:38:00.000-07:00

In the 27th May Copy of Recruiter Magazine, 78% of the polled recruitment agencies, stated that they would consider a fee-splitting partnership or are currently involved in a fee splitting agreement.

The Hub is a specialist recruitment company that is leading the way in the fee-splitting UK market and was launched to provide the independent recruiter with access to a recruitment plc delivery engine. We set up The Hub as part of a UK based £120m Recruitment plc to specifically cater for the UK market.

This latest poll highlights the growth in this market and 45 % of the polled recruiters were not currently in a fee splitting agreement but would consider The Hub service.

The Results are as follows -

Q. Is your company involved in any fee splitting partnerships?

Yes - 33%

Would Consider it - 45%

Absolutely not - 22%

Source http://www.recruiter.co.uk/

We are looking for Recruitment Partners to join the network.

For further information, please visit http://www.recruitment-hub.com/ or http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com/

If you would like to have a conversation with us, please give me a call on 0845 117 0 115 or send your details to info@recruitment-hub.com

2009-05-20T01:40:00.000-07:00

I have added another Group to Linkedin for UK Recruitment Directors

Drop me a line or submit a request to join and I shall add your details.

We also have a Group for The Hub.

Finally also started a Poll which can be found here!

Jonny Hiles

The Hub

New Advert

2009-05-19T03:26:00.001-07:00

As The Hub is constantly evolving, we are always trying to communicate the business and refining the message. This is the latest advert - does this relay the message effectively? Your comments are welcome!

The Hub is a UK based network of independent recruitment specialists utilising a centralised delivery, back office and support function – or hub – hence the name.

We are looking for Recruitment Partners to join the network.

We set up The Hub as part of a UK based £120m Recruitment plc to specifically cater for the UK market.
The Hub provides the independent recruiter with the delivery capability of a large recruitment plc. The Hub is a simple mechanism for the independent recruiter to open up additional revenue streams and develop business, utilising the delivery engine of a £120m recruitment plc.

The Recruitment Partners generate the vacancies that they are unable to deliver competitively against and The Hub uses the significant delivery capability to find the best available candidates. When the placement is made, we split the fee.

The Recruitment Partner maintains contact and the relationship with the client.

You are likely to be a Recruitment professional, perhaps with your own established business or an ambitious entrepreneur keen to capitalise on your experience. If you do not have your own existing business, we can help you with branding, technology etc at no cost by joining The Hub.

For further information, please visit http://www.recruitment-hub.com/ or http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com/

If you would like to have a conversation with us, please give me a call on 0845 117 0 115 or send your details to info@recruitment-hub.com

I look forward to your comments!

2009-05-18T03:23:00.001-07:00

The Splits model is growing in popularity in the UK recruitment market but we are behind other countries. From our feedback and comms so far, it seems that the slower growth of this market in the UK is due to a lack of awareness rather than a reluctance to work with the model. Some recruiters will always be reticent and of course the model does not suit everyone but what has had the greatest affect on growth of this model? (Good and Bad!)

We set up The Hub as part of a UK based £120m recruitment plc to specifically cater for the UK market.The Hub provides the small independent recruiter with the delivery capability of a large recruitment plc rather than a network of similar independents as in other models. Being a larger recruitment organisation, we therefore have our own large mature databases together with greater access to online resources and work across a range of industries. For further information, please visit http://www.recruitment-hub.com/ or http://jonnyhub.blogspot.com/

If you would like to have a conversation with us, please give me a call on 0845 117 0 115 or send your details to info@recruitment-hub.com
I look forward to your comments!

Looking for Recruitment Business Partners

2009-04-15T06:26:00.000-07:00

The Hub is a network of independent recruitment specialists utilising a centralised delivery, back office and support function – or hub – hence the name.

We are looking for Recruitment Partners to join the network.

Our Recruitment Partners come from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances including ambitious entrepreneurs, home carers and established recruitment businesses. All are looking to capitalise on their experience and business relationships to create an additional revenue stream. The Hub is a simple mechanism for the independent recruiter to open up additional revenue streams and develop business, utilising the delivery engine of a £120m recruitment plc.
The Recruitment Partners generate the vacancies that they are unable to deliver competitively against and The Hub uses the significant delivery capability of a recruitment plc to find the best available candidates. When the placement is made, we split the fee.

The Recruitment Partner maintains contact and the relationship with the client.

Background Information

The Hub is part of a £120m group of companies – one of the largest independent recruitment organisations in the UK, with over 25 years experience and a track record of success. They work across IT, Finance, HR, Sales & Marketing and use both their mature database plus specialist online sources to deliver the best available candidates.

You are likely to be a Recruitment professional, perhaps with your own established business or an ambitious entrepreneur keen to capitalise on your experience and if you do not have your own existing business, we can help you with branding, technology etc at no cost by joining The Hub.

For further information, please visit www.recruitment-hub.com

So what is The Hub?

2009-04-09T01:24:00.000-07:00

'Starting up a new venture is a difficult decision, but one that is incredibly rewarding. Although successful, I constantly thought there must be a better way to do this and wanted a solution that would capitalise upon my experiences. Being an independent recruiter obviously means that you don’t have the support and infrastructure that you would within a large company and that business relationships become more important. I researched franchises, business angels and recruitment Venture Capitalists but found that I would have to either pay out large sums of money, or that I would be restricted in the type of person that I would be able to recruit and ultimately would have to meet someone else’s targets. It would also mean that I would be responsible for the entire recruitment process with no real improvement in my ability to deliver candidates.

The Hub is the result of an idea I had that would bridge the gap between complete independence and the delivery capability of a large organisation .It’s for people like me, who want to work for themselves, setting their own targets and working patterns but would like to utilise the significant delivery capability of a £120m recruitment plc.'

‘The Hub exploits the strengths of both models to deliver an exceptional service to our clients.’

The Hub is part of the highly successful RSG, a Bristol based £120m recruitment plc. The Hub capitalises on the strengths of both the independent recruiter and the large recruitment group and we genuinely feel that it is a unique offering and is positive news in the current climate. We use a network of highly experienced independent recruiters to generate the vacancies from their contacts. They have strong relationships and typically will have been working in the industry for a number of years and therefore are experts in their field and highly trusted by their contacts. The Hub provides the partners with all of the tools that they need but crucially also provides the vast delivery capability of a recruitment plc for them to deliver a first class service.Our Recruitment partners are free to choose how, when and where they work.Our current partners include both established agencies and ambitious entrepreneurs but also people looking to secure a better work life balance for a variety of reasons. Because we do not set the hours or targets, our Recruitment Partners are free to work when and from where they choose. Strong relationships are key and The Hub provides all of the other infrastructure to get them billing including branding, agreements, technology and invoicing where needed. The Hub does not charge set up costs.
For further information on The Hub, please see http://www.recruitment-hub.com/

Information on RSG plc can be found on http://www.rsg-plc.com/

More about my experiences and the background to The Hub can be found at www.recruitment-hub.com/background.htm

Recruiting Diversity

2009-04-08T09:14:00.000-07:00

In the current UK market competition is high, vacancies are chased by many and over-resourced by the suppliers. Clients are only working with the suppliers that can deliver best available and qualified candidates.

An option available to the majority of established agencies is diversification from the core market. We have all had vacancies that have been sent through to us by clients, sales teams and PSL agreements that have been happily ignored in a busy market. These roles may be on the periphery of the core discipline or simply something that you have no knowledge or database of.

I suspect that these roles are now being worked harder than they ever have but as a small agency, you may not have the time, energy, money or resources to effectively source best available candidates and compete in a new market. We are part of a £120m recruitment plc with over 25 years expertise in professional disciplines, a mature database and significant advertising presence. The Hub is a network of independent recruitment specialists utilising a centralised delivery, back office and support function – or hub – hence the name.

The Hub enables the Recruitment Partner to diversify and open up new business channels by providing a market leading delivery capability. The Fees are split between The Hub and the Recruitment Partner and there is no minimum commitment to use us. You maintain contact with your client.

If you would be interested in learning more about us and the way that we work, please visit our website at www.recruitment-hub.com or get in touch with me! My mail address is jonny@recruitment-hub.com

The Hub

2009-04-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

Welcome, this is my first ever blog post and still a little unsure about how it will appear so please bear with me! I am Jonny Hiles, based in Bristol in the UK and very happily married to Joanne. I am a professional recruiter and Director of two Recruitment businesses. My interest in a blog was to communicate my experiences of working as a self employed recruiter and talk about The Hub which is currently my main focus.

The Hub is a network of independent recruitment specialists using a centralised delivery, back office and support function or hub - hence the name!

For further details, please have a look at http://www.recruitment-hub.com/