Strategic alliances and speed dating

The Pig & Paper in Newbury was the location for a meeting with good friend and strategic partner Mia Drennan from Square Mile Connections earlier this evening. It was also the location for a speed dating event which led to a very entertaining conversation with the barmaid who misunderstood my arrival!

We meet up regularly to discuss business opportunities and Morgan PR has provided PR for Square Mile. The current challenge is convincing people who believe the world is doomed in the current economic climate that someone with Mia's expertise can help with their recruitment strategy - whatever it looks like. Her business experience makes her a formidable resource for any company looking at hiring or firing, whether they are affected by the slowdown or not.

Incidentally, the pub was apparently unwittingly named after a colloquial term for Thursdays in the town - dating from when the market was held and the Newbury Weekly News published on that day.

Recruitment advice from the heart of the Square Mile at Le Petit Square in Newbury

Talk about the Law of Attraction, no sooner do I blog about Le Petit Square and its new chef, then I find myself in the centre of Newbury needing somewhere suitable for a lunch meeting with recruitment guru and fellow Newbury Business Group member Mia Drennan.

Morgan PR has written about the company she founded, Square Mile Connections, numerous times in the past and secured publication of press releases about the company too, however, I was keen to follow up a generous invitation that Mia had made at a recent NBG meeting to freely offer the benefit of her considerable wisdom.

With Morgan PR on the brink of appointing two new members to the team it made sense to hear from Mia if we were on the right track... and thankfully it would seem we are, in no small part thanks to the business coaching we have been receiving and of course we must have paid attention during Mia's talks at NBG.

Beyond the simple calculation over whether you can afford a new member of staff it is important to consider how the creation of that post contributes to your vision, and the short, medium and long term goals for the business. The next step is ensuring that the recruitment process is suited to finding the right person - and just as importantly ensuring you don't pick the wrong person.

The terrific bonus of talking about Mia is that while Square Mile is used to finding the right candidates for often senior roles within the banking and legal sector, the wealth of expertise that this has brought can be applied to remarkable effect to most recruitment processes.

When business is good and schedules are busy there can be short-sighted savings in simply focusing on the job in hand and not investing in learning. Now obviously we do invest that time, but how much richer was I for lunch today (and naturally we paid!) ? More importantly, how much poorer would I have been?

Can Do Day!

Travelling around the Thames Valley writing about businesses means I meet a lot of people who tell you what they have to offer, but writing PR means that all too often I recognise this does not necessarily translate to the ‘can do’ attitude that gets things done.

Today I met a guy who I have no doubt gets things done – and if he cannot will do them himself – Billy Little is the branch manager of the Pertempts recruitment agency that specialises in finding drivers, warehouse and industrial staff.

A plain speaking Scot, he knew his stuff, had clear policies on the necessary employment of legal immigrants, especially when it came to combating the shortage of HGV drivers in the wake of the working time directive. Not least because when push comes to shove then man is qualified to drive the HGVs himself and will do so if all else fails. Now that’s can do!

Pictured below: The Pertempts team outside its Reading office.