Our philosophy
We believe the best employee engagement strategy is to not need one! We simply hire the right people, treat them as the professionals they are and offer a supportive environment.
Inspiring good people to be the best they can be results in happy clients and candidates - and happy staff, which is why we retain customers and employees so successfully! It’s easy when you’re not ambitious about growth, but only about delighting your stakeholders.
We are emphatically opposed to aggressive selling. Our business is structured to ensure we deliver on customer service above all else. That sounds nice in theory, but how do we do it?
- To ensure we are resolutely focused on service instead of short-term growth, we dispense with any performance metrics that shift our focus from delivering optimal service. That means no unnecessary KPIs, just good coaching in best practice from highly skilled, established peers.
- Our business plan is based on client and candidate retention and satisfaction and our staff’s opinion of the business based on criteria from the Times Top 100 Companies To Work For.
- We are as careful about hiring our own staff as we are our clients’. That means hiring the right people: those who share our vision.
- We do not compete amongst ourselves: we share success, leads, good news and ideas.
- We are all responsible for our culture.
Our culture and benefits
We provide a friendly, mutually supportive, coaching-based environment.
We reject any key performance indicators and activities that distract from the really important business of delivering quality service. Instead we set modest objectives that allow staff to focus on quality of service and acquiring the best possible knowledge and experience.
We believe that time away from work is precious. Our staff work a nine-day fortnight, with no loss of salary. This is staggered so that our offices are always manned on a Friday.
In addition to 25 days’ leave as standard, our staff are given an additional 2 hours per month that they can use as they see fit. Those free Fridays, combined with our annual leave and bank holidays, means our staff enjoy more than 60 days off per year.
We offer a generous salary and uncapped commission structure, with an additional long-term financial scheme over ten years that rewards loyalty and consistently high service delivery.
Health and personal interests
We take our health and wellbeing seriously and offer a comprehensive ‘Vitality Health’ private medical insurance plan for all staff.
As well as providing a cash plan for healthcare essentials we take an energetic step further with our own ‘Annual Sports and Wellbeing’ allowance! Our staff can spend this as they please, provided their choice falls within the general area of health and wellbeing. Some of the team use it for gym or sports club memberships - but the choice is theirs. We also provide Life Assurance.
We subscribe to magazines that reflect our employees’ interests. At our offices we take delivery of Q magazine, National Geographic, Runners’ World, Cyclist and more besides.
And yes, we have a pool table, but staff are under no pressure to use it!
Our office location in Cams Hall, Fareham.
Who do we hire?
We hire two types of people:
- Those new to recruitment who possess the right attributes, whom we coach and develop to be the best kind of recruiter. They must be driven, self-disciplined, hard-working and friendly!
- Proven, outstanding recruiters whose approach aligns with ours, and who haven’t yet found their ideal environment. They may be looking for a less hierarchical culture with fewer KPIs and more trust and freedom to deliver a great service.
In both cases, personality is key. We believe that when work’s a pleasure, life’s a joy. This is our company credo and it’s not just the way we do business – it’s how we live our lives. We look for people who can match our brand.
Who should apply to work for us?
We generally don’t advertise jobs, but you’re welcome to get in touch if you like the look of Gerrell & Hard and think you can contribute to our culture and our business.
We suggest anyone fixated on job titles or climbing the corporate ladder look elsewhere! We have a flat structure designed to allow people to do their jobs well and be rewarded accordingly.
We are interested to hear from people who are passionate and can imagine a future with us, enjoying great job satisfaction from delivering excellent service to clients and candidates. Gerrell & Hard is a team of highly achieving, outstanding recruiters who enjoy doing their job without support teams.
What our team says about our culture
We asked a friend to interview our team to find out what they like about working here. Here’s our team’s response. The words are unedited!