Since joining the company in 2014, Rob has brought energy, ideas and years of recruitment experience to the company…

…as well as successfully petitioning for a new football and pool table for the office!

Hello Rob. Can you tell us about your day-to-day role at Hireserve?

My role is really varied which I love! My main focus is managing customer implementation projects, but I’m also heavily involved in business development and customer support too.

This means I get to work with customers throughout their whole journey with Hireserve, from initial contact to providing demonstrations, defining their requirements, designing and implementing the right solution, delivering training workshops, supporting customer testing, and dealing with any issues post go-live.

If that doesn’t keep me busy enough, I have recently been nominated Hireserve Social Secretary, so I also try and arrange as much regular fun for all of our employees as possible. I’ve just been sorting out a leak under the kitchen sink too, but that’s more my nature than my day-to-day role!

We’re approaching your year anniversary with us. What has been your greatest ‘high’ so far?

The past year has absolutely flown by, and I’ve learnt so much about our business and our product offering.

It might sound a bit clichéd, but my greatest high is definitely having the privilege of working with such a great bunch of people, and with an organisation that care so much about the success of our customers. It’s sincerely refreshing!

Can you tell us about any notable projects you’ve worked on over this year?

I’ve built two football tables and a pool table in the office!

I’ve worked with some fantastic organisations this year, helping to redefine the way they attract and source talent. A couple of the more challenging ones that spring to mind are the Harris Federation, a group of 38 academies, who I supported in centralising their recruitment process and establishing a recruitment shared service. I also supported BuroHappold Engineering in rolling out our system globally.

Where do you see the future of recruitment software going – what are in-house recruiters going to expect from an ATS in the future?

An ATS is genuinely fast becoming a ‘must have’ for in-house recruiters. The shift we saw back in 2008, where the market became very client driven, has been completely turned on its head and it’s a real fight for talent out there these days. It’s all about the candidate experience, bringing the right jobs in front of the right candidates as quickly as possible, and without attracting a hefty fee for the privilege!

Everything is shifting to mobile, more people are using mobile devices than ever before, and the recruitment software market is definitely starting to take note of this. We’ve done some really clever stuff with video interviews and video testimonials, which have also brought a whole new element to the application process. We’ve also added some really cool social elements to our product too. Useful ones, not just quirky sales tools!

Can you define what you think makes a successful ATS supplier-client relationship?

I thought I knew the answer to this before I came to Hireserve, but my eyes have been widely opened here.

I have honestly never worked with a business who have such a happy client base. I think a successful supplier-client relationship comes from the ability to listen and understand your clients’ needs by identifying what’s driving each requirement, offering a consultative, value-add service, and ultimately, implementing the right solution.

Implementing ‘quick-wins’ or ‘workarounds’ will never address a customer’s long term needs. It will lead to customer frustration, and unnecessary support calls, which don’t add up to a good customer experience. In summary, putting a real emphasis on getting things right first time is the best way to showcase the power of a correctly implemented ATS.

What is life outside of work like for you?

It’s pretty hectic, but I like to have as much fun as possible. I’ve recently bought a house with my partner, and we bravely conducted a full renovation before we moved in. It was hard work! We’re in now, but the work never seems to end. I have a 10 year old son who has been very accommodating and understanding whilst we’ve grafted away, so it’s good to finally ditch the paint brushes and get some quality, family time back.

I also started learning the guitar a few months ago, which is something I’ve wanted to do for years, so widening my repertoire of songs is a current aim!

I also founded a local football team a few years ago, where I play various roles – on and off the pitch! We won the league last year and have been promoted, so I think we’re in for a tough season!

Quick fire round:

Sweet or Savoury? Savoury                         

Fishing or Diving? Tough one – Diving

Pool or table football? As current pool champ, I’d be a fool to say table football!

Summer sunshine or Winter snow? Sunshine summer – I do love a good snowball fight though!

Find out more:

Meet another member of our team – Dan

Learn about our ATS.

Read about how we helped the Harris Federation