Building an Award-Winning Team
04 Dec 2019
Eimear Walsh
Brightwater are the proud winners of the NRF Best Agency (Large) 2019
Recruitment can be a tough business and this year has proved no different. With Brexit’s multiple extensions disrupting the market and casting uncertainty across the majority of sectors, it’s been a difficult year for those of us in the industry. So perhaps that’s why Friday night’s “Agency of the Year (Large)” win at the National Recruitment Federation (NRF) Awards 2019 was even sweeter.
Brightwater has gone through a lot of changes over the last sixteen months, an MBO, a new addition to the Group,(Mentors Ireland), new technologies and software and an exciting partnership with LinkedIn. We’ve managed not only to cope with all of these changes but also to achieve tough targets, assimilate new staff and increase our market share. We’ve worked so hard as individual teams and a company as a whole, that it was a joy to see all our efforts rewarded with this recognition especially in front of our industry peers who truly understand the rollercoaster of a ride that recruitment can be.
How did we get to be an award-winning recruitment company?
There are a lot of things that go into making Brightwater successful. We’ve invested heavily in new technology and new systems in the last 12 months. We recently announced our strategic partnership with LinkedIn, we are delighted to have adopted an elevated LinkedIn Enterprise package for all consultants. We want to ensure that our consultants have the tools at their fingertips to work as efficiently and as effectively as possible on behalf of our clients and candidates. We’re constantly on the lookout for the next advances in technology that will help us develop our skills and ensure we’re at the forefront of providing a quality service to our clients. This has served us well as over 75% of our business is repeat business or referrals
However, we believe that one of the main reasons for our success is our people. Many of the senior management team have been with us upwards of 15 years. This longevity is key to managing and retaining key candidate and client relationships. A large number of our consultants are at the 5-6 year mark and their understanding of their markets makes them invaluable not only to our clients and candidates but also to their colleagues as a source of support. We firmly believe in the “inch deep, mile wide” philosophy of knowledge. Our open plan environment means that all of our new consultants can act like “sponges” in their first few weeks in the group to become experts in their fields.
Being experienced recruiters, we can also use our expertise and systems to ensure we recruit the right people for our own team. Our consultants come from a wide variety of backgrounds but the common traits which make them a great Brightwater consultant are their willingness to learn and to listen, their drive, empathy, integrity and their passion for the role. We also invest heavily in our people by providing internal and external training. As recruiters, we advise our clients on staff retention and understand that culture is a huge factor in retaining staff. That’s applicable to both our clients and ourselves. We work hard to develop a supportive environment where our consultants feel valued and believe that there are real career options for them.
Our support network within the Group is also invaluable. From our admin team to our marketing division and our internal IT support, they all work incredibly hard to contribute to the Group’s success. It shows in our smooth transition of systems, to our rapid turnaround of CV applications and our media campaigns to enhance our brand awareness. Everyone is an integral cog in the Brightwater wheel that serves to get us to where we are now.
Barbara McGrath, Managing Director of the Brightwater Group
“It was a great honour to win this award as we believe it’s one our staff can share and celebrate with pride. I am immensely grateful and proud to lead such a fabulous and energetic group of people on a daily basis and the Best Agency (Large) award more than reflects my pride in our staff and in Brightwater Group as a company"
I’d echo Barbara’s thoughts. I am so proud of everyone in the company who made our win possible and I’m looking forward to an exciting 2020 working for a company that values hard work, creativity, loyalty and professionalism above all else.
Eimear Walsh is an Associate Director with the Brightwater Group.
If you would like to discuss any recruitment needs you and your team may be experiencing or to join our award-winning team, please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Brightwater team on [email protected] or 01 662 1000