How do we keep ahead of the competition?

This is a question I regularly ask myself; how do we continue to stand out in an over-crowded market place where hundreds of boutique secretarial recruitment companies are set up every year?

14 years ago, Sarah and I set up Attic with one main goal – to build a successful secretarial recruitment company. It’s only 14 years on that I truly understand my definition of ‘success’. New companies come and go all the time – setting up and promising something new and shiney and we were no different 14 years ago.

I can’t deny that I absolutely loved the initial start-up phase and the excitement. Mind you, I still feel that we are a start-up as recruitment constantly changes so you have to be adaptable, creative and able to react quickly – all the qualities needed when you first set up.

However, proof really is in the pudding and we are still in business and doing well with lovely staff, clients and candidates, when a lot of our contemporaries fallen by the wayside.

Over the years I have come to realise that success to me means being true to yourself and your values. That may sound a bit cliché but if you are able to weave that into every decision you make and act accordingly, the company will naturally grow and develop.

People have preconceived ideas about temp agencies and recruitment companies in general and I know we are unusual as we value long term relationships over making a one off placement.

For me it is all about relationships – nothing more and nothing less. Doing what we say we are going to do and treating people how we would like to be treated ourselves.

I don’t think I need to look further than that for the secret of our success.

Kirsty Miall – Director and Founder of Attic Recruitment