My name is Chris Stephens, Director of Harbourne Associates which I started in March 2013 set up from a bedroom in my parents’ house. I’m a 28 year old, innovative, passionate individual with a drive to change the perception and methodologies used in the current recruitment marketplace. I felt that not enough was being done to really dig deep and source top talent for corporates in the UK. Many opportunities were being missed by market leading clients due to pushy salespeople looking to earn commission and not provide a value adding service that employers are really looking for.

I had been in recruitment for 8 years and before that in various sales positions but always had a vision of a customer service driven approach built on delivering business growth for my clients. I had to persuade my parents to support me and invest some start-up money but thanks to this I am now running a business of seven people and working out of an office in Tunbridge Wells. The business is currently on track to turnover sales of £1m in 2016.

Recruitment dates back to the early 1900s. There was no Internet, Facebook or Jobsites. It was about learning your clients’ culture, environment and requirements thoroughly and spending time learning about competitors, neighbours and forward thinking businesses then networking intensely to track down top performers. Over time this entire concept has been lost and agencies feel it is OK to charge a huge sum of money for a very straightforward search on an internet job board – Monster or similar.

Today’s world introduces so many more candidate attraction methods and Harbourne Associates utilises them in order to find, contact and manage key professionals. By working hard and being thorough, I am developing a new age service using an up to date, tailored approach in order to provide a “stand out” service.

Harbourne Associates is developing into a well-known specialist Recruitment Consultancy focusing its attention on the Sales, Marketing and Management sectors. We work with a large number of key industries including retail development, premium brands, food service, high-end fashion, hair and beauty, drinks and a developing area in industrial, manufacturing, construction and engineering markets. We have a highly experienced Executive Search Team that work across a wide range of industries within a developing client base. (Senior Appointments into the corporate marketplace).The team based in Tunbridge Wells is quickly developing and the company is growing month by month. Proven testimonials from Blue-chip clients back up the service we provide and how we can truly stand out from many leading agencies.

One of our clients described us as a:

“Unique, contemporary recruitment boutique, with a forward thinking approach to business, they use proven historical methods to source and deliver on key roles and provide a service that has substance.”

My approach with the support of a hardworking team includes a mix of headhunting, networking, attending exhibitions and events whilst spending the time to learn markets, mapping companies and use advanced recruitment databases; many key options that really do give us a competitive edge in today’s marketplace. I sincerely believe that Harbourne Associates’ success will only come from helping our clients to grow their business by sourcing the best candidates and matching them to their ideal job.

To date we have shown extremely high levels of success and conversion ratios that outmatch much of the recruitment market, not to mention staff retention figures once placed, apparent throughout many of our blue chip client base.

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