Like all recruitment agencies, Venture Contracts Ltd is very much governed by its sector, so it’s testament to the construction specialist’s business strategy that is has managed to remain unaffected by the current economic situation.
Now in its tenth year, Venture Contracts is a construction recruitment agency based in Northampton, and with a newly opened branch in Essex. It continues to go from strength to strength, having seen its 2020 vision ‘Shrink to Grow’ pay dividends.
The idea last year was to consolidate the team and to make sure that the service provided remained at the high standards Venture Contracts had always set for itself. The move has paid off as the company now has an established team of 19 employees across the two branches. The choice to open an office in the south of its region allowed Venture Contracts to attract new talent in new areas as well as keeping down costs.
Sarah-Jane Hurn, HR & Operations Manager, said:
“As we follow our clients around the UK assisting with their projects, we found that we were really racking up the miles. We committed to being more environmentally friendly in 2023 so the decision to open the office in Brentwood and recruit within that area allowed us to minimise our travelling and fuel spend as well as our carbon footprint. This has also meant that we can maintain our ethos of candidate and client communication and interaction by being physically present in that part of the country.
“Our staff are trained to work on relationship building and to grow organically with their companies. We don’t want to be a door-knocking cold caller with no substance. We don’t offer empty promises.
“As a company we don’t want a vanity board of clients and hundreds of terms of business in place, we want solid relationships that we grow and develop over time which benefit all sides.
“People buy from people… this is a fundamental part of our internal recruitment process – having the right approach and attitude to understand the highs and lows of construction is crucial. Winning good clients is a long game, having the personality and tenacity is critical to growing your desk and cementing relationships.
“Our client base is typically SMEs, ranging from house builders to those working on commercial construction, commercial fit outs, ground works. The demand in these sectors is dictated by the economic market. Historically, around this time of year there is a demand for groundworkers with house-builder or residential experience but the recent news about interest rates has meant that this sector has slowed down. Our commercial side, however, is absolutely soaring.”
And, as a company that is typically running a workforce of 300-plus on site, it is just as important to Venture Contracts that it can build and maintain good relationships with that workforce.
Sarah-Jane added:
“Without the workforce we simply would not have a business, we are always out on site checking in with our temps, asking them about the job and how the project is going.
“Again, we want to maintain the long-standing relationships with our workforce. We offer training and development with external companies which allows individuals to move into higher paid, more skilled roles. These courses can be costly, depending on the level/requirement needed and can cost someone a week’s salary. We can arrange a deduction/payment plan for the course which we agree with them and their payroll companies.”
Venture Contracts has no interest in other trying to infiltrate and establish a name in new industries.
“We are continually offered opportunities to open up within logistics, industrial recruiters but our strength and passion is construction, we know the industry very well, and we know the processes required to become a proven agency supplier. Rather than moving into new areas we are investing heavily into our divisions and ensuring that they are ‘best in breed’.
“Up until 2021 our focus was purely trades and labour, fast-paced contracts labour. We are now rapidly growing the permanent side of the business with a healthy team of four consultants.
“Temporary recruitment, however, has always been, and will continue to be, a financially viable option for construction as it allows project teams to hire depending on how the projects are which typically are governed by location, weather and budget.”
Find out more about Venture Contracts on 01604 805646 or visit www.venturecontracts.co.uk