BLOG: There are big benefits of TEAM membership for all concerned

TEAM member Anthony McCormack

Macstaff MD Anthony McCormack explains why membership of recruiters’ network TEAM has numerous benefits for both his company and the clients and candidates he deals with.

I am sure that anyone who has set up their own company has, at some stage, felt that life can get pretty isolated.

Being your own boss can be great because of the freedom which comes with it but being on your own can also make you feel detached from others and miss that team environment.

That’s why I was so happy to be referred to, and then become a member of TEAM, and I am still reaping the benefits of being a part of the network two years later.

TEAM is the largest network of the UK’s independent recruiters. It offers its members the opportunity to being involved with over £2m in split fees, it gives guidance, discounts on services and products and hosts networking events all over the UK.

(So, did you spot my 15 seconds <almost exactly> of fame during the video at 1:53mins?)

There’s a really good bunch of people involved in it too, not only behind the organisation making it run smoothly but also those people like me who run their own recruitment business and are grateful for the support of such a framework of like-minded people.

TEAM

It’s like unofficial peer-to-peer coaching I guess and there’s a real community feel behind the events. Getting together can be useful. For example, it can help to speak to an owner of a business that is bigger than mine if I am looking to upscale and find out the pros and cons of any move. Other tips and bits of advice are always available.

The split-fee network is a great idea too and works really well. If one of us has a post that they are struggling to fill, we can call on the help of other TEAM members who may have just the solution and, when it gets filled, the fee is split between the two of us.

I have probably been involved in over 50 split fees on both sides of the coin, sometimes our job, sometimes our candidate, and that is beneficial to everyone involved.

Industry conference

I met TEAM at an industry conference at the NEC and came into the group via a referral from a guy I used to work with at my previous employer.

Most members join via referral and that makes us all kind of self-managing because we all want to make sure the right kind of people keep driving the TEAM culture.

That way, we can keep offering the sort of image and service to clients who we are keen to build relationships with.

Clients which use TEAM members know they are getting pre-qualified, independent recruiters who operate to high standards and will go the extra mile to get posts filled. Especially with the way that we use the split-fee network.

Long-term relationships

We don’t have shareholders to answer to and we are all interested in building long-term relationships.

If a customer has staffing requirements outside of Macstaff’s core business of construction, property and engineering, then we can still meet these needs by engaging TEAM partners on their behalf. Therefore, clients get the best of both worlds with companies like Macstaff offering local service knowledge, the support of a national network of independent recruiters and international coverage too.

TEAM’s partnership with NPA Worldwide gives my clients and candidates access to international TEAM members, clients and candidates too. That’s of particular interest to me having spent almost a decade living in Toronto, Canada with dual UK and Canadian citizenship.

There are plenty of doors that can be opened and that’s very exciting.