The Supply Chain Social - Interview with Rupert Gaster - Director at Procurement Heads

Name: Rupert Gaster
Company: Procurement Heads
Position: Director

What did you want to be when you were at school?
I always wanted to be a sportsman. From an early age I got a huge buzz out of pretty much every sport; the camaraderie, working together, meeting new people, but also just being outside and competing. I’ve always been very competitive and have taken that will to succeed into business, but in contrast I also have a very strong sense of fair play and what it means to do the right thing. Working with integrity is one of our key values as a business and it constantly drives my decision making.

When did you first start out in the Recruitment industry?
Following 2 years in Marketing after graduating, I moved to London in 1998 to ‘find myself’. I stayed with friends all over the capital, but one in particular was working in recruitment and I think he ended up being a big influence on me. In the late ‘90s the sector was flying, with deals-a-plenty to be made. I was also really drawn to the social scene. I ended up working for what was then a FSTE 100 global specialist, recruiting part-qualified accountants out of their Ealing office. Even in the early days it was really entrepreneurial and whilst there were lots of KPIs, you still had the autonomy to build your desk. It was real ‘Jerry Maguire’ stuff.

When and how did Procurement Heads come about?
Launched in 2012, Procurement Heads was many years in the planning but timing of course is everything. Our sister company HR Heads successfully launched two years previously and quickly became a recruiter of choice for businesses across the South by putting people first and focusing on long-term relationships rather than profit or personal gain. Procurement and HR are both custodians of recruitment relationships so there was a natural affinity in bringing both specialisms together. I also felt there was a noticeable gap in the procurement recruitment market for a people centric brand and, having experienced how the majority did things, I felt it was time to initiate some positive change.

What kind of jobs do Procurement Heads specialise in, and which regions do you cover?
We specialise in senior Procurement roles from Managers and Category/Sourcing specialists through to Heads of Procurement and Senior leadership roles. We focus on London, the Home Counties and the South Coast in an effort to keep our relationships manageable but to be hands on with the ‘movers and shakers’ in the respective geographies. Anyone can match a job spec to a job seeker, the skill is in matching personalities and behaviours to company cultures, and that’s where Procurement Heads personal approach comes into its own.

What sets Procurement Heads apart from your competitors?
The Procurement Heads culture is all about relationships and collaboration. We tend not to talk about candidates and clients, preferring to treat people as individuals and to engage with them over the life-cycle of their careers. I feel this is a really powerful message – many people talk about relationships being critical but then don’t follow this up with authentic behaviours. This extends into the heart of our business through the relationships we have with our own people. Understanding and creating a positive working culture is really important to us and as a result our Consultants have the freedom to define their own working hours and are encouraged to maintain a genuine work-life balance. We trust the people we work with and we don’t use KPIs to measure their success. We’re also all sports mad, so whether it’s running, cycling, football, the gym or something else, we actively encourage it. This empowers our team to behave in the right way and to develop long-term relationships rather than just chasing fees.

We are also proud to have partnered with Macmillan Cancer Research and have various schemes that raise much needed funds for them every year, including unique initiatives such ‘CV Aid’ and the ‘Heads Up’ which complement our strengths as consultants and add value to our service.

What's been the biggest challenge you and the company have faced since launch?
There are plenty of organisations out there who want to tap into our talent networks and utilise our resources but the biggest challenge is deciphering which ones will make good partners in return. For us a good business partner is an organisation that shares similar values and wants to work collaboratively with us, focusing on quality and consistency of approach. As a consequence we can act as real ambassadors for the brand, marketing career opportunities effectively to attract the best talent in the market. Since our launch in 2012 we have had to make some tough decisions about who to work with and who to turn away but our values have kept us centred and made the choices clearer. As a result we are proud to have developed strong working relationships with some of the best brands in London and the South East. The pressure to continue delivering to such high, value-based standards is great, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. We have adopted a continuous improvement methodology to the way we work and the business mantra is very much ‘we don’t lose, we either win or we learn’ and I’m very proud to be a part of that.

There can be no doubt that the rise of social media has had a significant impact on the recruitment industry. How has social media changed the way you work at Procurement Heads?
As a small business we recognised early on the need to harness the power of social media, not only to deliver our message but to personalise it and help us to stand out from the crowd. When you’re not bound by corporate bureaucracy, the opportunity to tailor your message and show up more distinctly in a somewhat homogenous market is infinitely valuable, you simply have to be creative about how you go about it. With this in mind we made the bold move to recruit a Marketing Executive as one of our first hires and she has been fantastic at building up our social media presence and positioning us as thought leaders within the industry. As a result of her regular, targeted social media output we have vastly improved our visibility to the businesses and talent in the Procurement market which has paid dividends when it comes to the generation of new opportunities and delivery of current recruitment projects. Even now there are very few recruitment businesses investing in social media the way we have and I would say it is one of our most effective marketing tools.

How important are job boards within your marketing strategy?
Specialist job boards are particularly important to us, not only in providing visibility of current roles, but also in helping to further position our brand. We also look to collaborate with everyone we work with and in this respect, Supply Chain Online has been a great fit for us. Not only do they listen to our needs, but they always seem to be striving hard to offer value-add.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?
I remember someone saying very early in my career that anyone can do recruitment, but only a few are genuinely good at it. That resonates with me; I often feel we’re on a mission to change the reputation of the industry and to demonstrate how value-adding a great recruiter can be.

What one piece of advice would you give to other young entrepreneurs starting out?
Develop a great network of People and Organisations to support your set-up and growth. Procurement Heads outsource key services to specialists such as our Accountants who act as our Finance Director, our Marketing firm as virtual Creative Director and Solicitors, as our in-house Legal Advisor. This way you can focus on what you know and are good at. Great advice is worth its weight in gold.

What's the latest news at Procurement Heads?
We’ve got a team triathlon in support of Macmillan coming up in July as well as a number of client events across the summer. We’re also planning a cycle event in September and I’m hoping to have 20 Procurement professionals join as part of this fundraising.

Where would you like Procurement Heads to be in 5 years’ time?
Put simply, we want to be known as the recruiter of choice across London and the South East. We grew 45% last year and are targeting similar numbers this year. For me it’s not just about the end goal but the journey and not losing track of the fact that we want to enjoy ourselves along the way. So in 5 years’ time, we’ll have grown the team with some great people, we’ll be moving into new geographies and the list of organisations that engage Procurement Heads to be the recruiter-of-choice will have grown exponentially. We’ll still be working hard to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Research through various schemes that we operate, and hopefully continuing to challenge and improve the reputation of the industry.

Interview by Richard Marshall - Managing Director of Supply Chain Online

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