The Supply Chain Social - Interview with Martin Smith - Director at Talent Drive
Name: Martin Smith
Company: Talent Drive
Position: Director
What did you want to be when you were at school?
I’ve always been very sporty and being part of a team is something I really enjoy. From a young age, I wanted to be a professional footballer… I was a youth team player for my local team, AFC Bournemouth, and played county level until the age of 18. To this day I am very passionate about the sport as a coach, referee, player and avid viewer! I have carried this passion into my day-to-day life, too. The sportsmanship and team playing attitude learnt on the pitch, I’ve brought into my working life and throughout my time working in larger teams it has been a real benefit. At Talent Drive, we don’t just work for our clients and candidates, we work with them. I often take my experience as a captain of a team to drive my recruitment strategy in a way that enhances the strengths of everyone involved in order to get the best result possible.
When did you first start out in the Recruitment industry?
I started out in recruitment in 2009 when I graduated from Loughborough University. I left University knowing that I wanted to work with people. I remember researching recruitment as a career path and it was the first time I felt like I’d found something that suited me perfectly, so I applied for my first recruitment role - the rest, as they say, is history! I began working for a specialist Procurement recruitment business in London which had a real start up feel about it, and I had many happy and successful years carving out a good client list, building great career-long relationships, and enjoying the London life. I definitely got thrown in at the deep end initially, but it paid off. My advice to anyone considering a career in recruitment is to take a little leap of faith, and you will soon get the hang of it. All you really need is to be good with people, the rest you will learn along the way. Surround yourself with great leaders you admire, work for companies whose vision and values align with your own, and always keep your long-term goals in mind.
When and how did Talent Drive come about?
It has always been an aspiration of mine to launch my own company at some point in my career, and this year I finally decided to take the leap. I’m lucky to have both agency and in house recruitment experience spanning over 10 years in Procurement and Supply Chain – and the network I have built around myself has become my most valued commodity. I’m confident that the relationships I have nurtured along the way will be the bread and butter on which I operate. I have co-managed the build and successful development of two specialist Procurement recruitment organisations over the last decade, and that experience has been invaluable now that I am faced with doing the same for Talent Drive. During the beginning stages of my business planning, I asked my network which qualities they look for when recruiting people and the words “talent” and “drive” featured heavily, and that’s how the name Talent Drive was created. Talent Drive is about collaborating and understanding, building long-term relationships and delivering the right talent, with impact.
The variety I have in my working life now, and the freedom that comes with operating a business ‘the right way’ creates a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding working environment. We spend most of our lives at work so it’s really important to have fun and enjoy what you’re doing!
What kind of jobs do Talent Drive specialise in, and which regions do you cover?
Talent Drive specialises in Procurement and Supply Chain recruitment across both the permanent and interim markets, focusing on all levels of seniority from Buyer or Demand Planner up to Procurement or Supply Chain Director. Talent Drive operates across all industries, for both SME and larger UK and international organisations. We cover all regions across the UK, but at the moment our main talent pools span London and the South. As we grow internally as part of our long-term business strategy, our remit will expand externally to reflect that.
We live in a digital age that has changed the way we as humans work; everything is so readily and quickly available, it’s important to us that we work in that way, too. If a client or candidate wants to simply upload a job spec or submit their CV to our website and communicate electronically – that’s fine, and we’ll reach out to them as quickly as possible. But, being a relationship focused business, we are also prepared to head out and meet them straight away to grab a coffee and get the wheels in motion.
What sets Talent Drive apart from your competitors?
‘Delivering with Impact’ is our mantra, epitomising our sole focus; sourcing the best talent quickly, and effectively. At Talent Drive, we believe this can only be achieved by collaborating fully with our clients’ organisations to truly understand what it takes to fit both culturally and professionally into their teams, ensuring maximum impact upon arrival. We want to be able to act as an ambassador for our clients brands, and become an extension of their internal HR or recruitment function - there is no ‘us’ and ‘them’. This way, we can talk with passion about our client’s brands as if they were our own to ensure we attract and deliver the talent they need. Put simply we want to focus on what we do best; hiring talent for organisations in a stress free and time efficient manner, for everyone involved.
These are the five Talent Drive values that underpin the way we work. We are driven to succeed and empowered in our experience and within the network we have built around us. We remain loyal to our network, and focus only on our clients and candidates best interests - but that does not compromise our ability to act in a tenacious manner; instead we believe that drawing strength from each of these areas is what sets us apart from our competition and allows us to be truly authentic.
What's been the biggest challenge you and the company have faced since launch?
Working in isolation as a new business owner has been the biggest challenge for me. I know a lot of Recruitment businesses who were set up by more than one person, giving them the opportunity to bounce ideas off each other, provide support and day to day interaction which, at the moment, I don’t have – so I have to make sure I stay really self-motivated. I have always been used to working with great people and that is my biggest motivator to continue building the brand and grow the Talent Drive team. I have been fortunate in the support and advice I’ve received from my network, past colleagues, other business owners, and the Marketing consultancy I work with, so I am very grateful for that. Despite the challenges of often operating alone, I have really enjoyed getting to know exciting businesses that I have never worked with before. Diving into new talent pools has been fun and inspiring, and I’m really looking forward to continuing this journey!
There can be no doubt that the rise of social media has had a significant impact on the recruitment industry. What impact does social media have on the way you work at Talent Drive?
Social media is hugely dominant in both personal and professional life and has changed the landscape of the recruitment industry forever. Social Media allows organisation to have a strong EVP and this is critical to showcase the culture and capabilities of any recruitment organisation. One of the first things I did as Talent Drive, was invest in social media to ensure Talent Drive was visible across all channels. It’s important to me that Talent Drive’s branding and messaging is consistent so that a clear social media personality begins to develop. I have a wonderful marketing team who support me with all of my marketing and social media, and as a start-up business I’d highly recommend investing in a Marketing solution that you trust – it’s so important that you get your profile raised as soon as possible. This has allowed me to attend some brilliant networking events, and Talent Drive has already been recognised as “recruitment start-up of the month” in the Recruiter Magazine’s September 2019 edition!
How important are job boards within your marketing strategy?
Put simply; without job boards we can’t fully promote our jobs. They are imperative when it comes to the continual growth of our candidate base. I have been a customer of Supply Chain Online for almost a decade and in that time, I have attracted some brilliant candidates (and often clients, too) that have become a valued addition to my network. Like social media, a strong presence in the job board market helps to raise the profile of your business and gives you access to a wider reach of talent in the marketplace.
What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?
Be yourself. Often when people start out in recruitment, or any other business, the biggest trap is trying to mould yourself into somebody else, or to think you need to act more like someone you’ve worked with that you admire. It’s great to have role models and I would actively encourage people to aspire to be like them - but be your own person. It’s a bit like a jigsaw – take those aspirations and use them to add value to your own strengths, creating the full picture.
What one piece of advice would you give to other young entrepreneurs starting out?
Surround yourself with good people that you trust. This is both in a business and personal sense. When you start out on your own, you need a solid network of people around you to support you and be ambassadors of your new business venture. There will be some days where you have self-doubts and frustrations, and I will tell any young entrepreneur that it’s okay to feel like that. What’s important is how you react to it, and having people there to build you up and be a positive influence is imperative.
What's the latest news at Talent Drive?
We’re at a really exciting time at Talent Drive! We have just launched our new referral scheme, Talent Share (supporting our charity partner Julia’s House. I believe it’s really important to give back to the local community, so for every successful and happy referral placed in a new role, Talent Drive will donate £200 to Julia’s House once they have passed their probation.
We have a guest blog series that we continue to run, featuring leaders in the Procurement and Supply Chain space. It’s great to understand their perspective in the market; not only does it inspire from a thought leadership point of view, it helps to get insight into how different organisations and industries view Procurement and Supply Chain. Make sure you look out for that each month.
Coming in November is Talent Talk – a podcast series that gives other recruitment specialists and Procurement and Supply Chain experts a platform to voice their opinions on current market trends, hot topics and the future of recruitment. Keep an eye on the Talent Drive website, and make sure you connect with us on LinkedIn for our latest news and updates.
Where would you like Talent Drive to be in 5 years’ time?
I would like Talent Drive to be one of the leading recruiters of choice across Procurement and Supply Chain in the UK – not in terms of size or turnover, but to be recognised for genuine integrity and loyalty. I want Talent Drive to be the recruiter of choice because we do things right. Of course, everyone wants to be ‘number 1’ so it’s important to stay grounded in an increasingly competitive recruitment market. There are well-respected recruiters out there doing Procurement and Supply Chain recruitment really well, so it’s natural to want to move faster than them – but I would never compromise our values as a business in order to secure a quick win.
I see a real gap in the market when it comes to developing a recruitment business that offers a strategic and personal service, and isn’t just transactional between candidate and client. True success for me will come when I sit back and I see happiness in the people we’ve placed - in the right jobs, where they can thrive.
Above all else, if the Talent Drive team grows and we can have fun on the way, never losing sight of who we are, then I will be a very happy person in 5 years’ time.
