York Training Centre Ushers In Change

Published: January 2008

Relay has opened its group Centre of Excellence at its Micklegate offices, overseen by Talent & Recruitment Director, Alex Golding.

Intended for both new starters and established consultants alike, it will create a tranche of commercially minded entrepreneurs who can create their own businesses under the Relay brand.  Signalling a change to our corporate architecture, the centre is the start of a franchise operation without the investment normally required of franchisees.

Graduating consultants will be able to go as far as their ambitions and energies allow.  Typically, the process might see them firstly running their own desk or a small team, before recruiting consultants to work to them, then establishing their own branch, onsite client operation or even a new Division.

Alex Golding said:  "At York, consultants will acquire the business skills and acuity needed to run their own concern.  While we have excellent HR professionals, not everybody has the commercial knowledge to operate outside the security, framework and infrastructure provided by an employer  -although they would always be able to tap into the support of Relay's Admin and Finance departments. 

"Basically, we're looking to re-programme very capable recruiters into autonomous businesspeople who are in charge of their own career paths, development and rewards."

Golding claims that additional benefits of commercial awareness include sensitivity to the concerns, pressures and cycles clients work to. 

This chimes with Relay's emphasis on recruiting consultants as much for their experience in client-type organisations as for the number of 'agency years' they have under their belts.

According to her, the firm offers staff a vehicle to develop themselves in a way that even much larger recruiters are simply not doing.  Last year, the first graduate of Relay's combined staff development and stake-holding programme was awarded equity worth over quarter of a million pounds.