By Business & Finance 
Caroline Jackson is CEO of the HR and recruitment firm Jacksonstone Recruitment, which this year celebrates 25 years in business.
What are your main priorities and goals in your role?
Leading and supporting my team. Keeping the company on track regarding strategy and communication. Making sure I am surrounded by people who have strengths for my weaknesses. To be the fixer and problem solver. I have to make sure everyone always feels supported. It’s “contact me about anything you need help with, nothing is too big or too small, run anything by me”. That’s the message.
While at the same time, giving autonomy for people to manage themselves where possible. Being a recruitment consultant is like having your own business. So, decision making, dealing with challenges and working through problems are constants. My goal is to build confidence in the less experienced/new recruiters and be a sounding board for those more experienced.
I get a real kick out of a junior getting an outcome by themselves that they couldn’t manage before. That is as satisfying as landing a lucrative deal.
What are your biggest challenges as CEO?
Being a CEO without any formal training for same. I have had to feel my way. Hugely satisfying, but hugely challenging.
It can also be hard to stay focused. No one is managing me, I have to be a complete self starter, every day. That is tough going. And if there’s a day where you just don’t feel like doing something, no one is going to make me do it except me, and I’m hard on myself, so I’ll be tetchy until it’s done. That can be more of a challenge for my family than for me!
What have been your highlights in business over the last year?
Managing change and a very sticky market.
I am an innately positive person so even when things are difficult, I will find an upside. Something that started out as a low, I turned into a high by dealing with the problem head on, taking good advice where necessary and working through it systematically. I had to deal with it on my own and achieved the correct outcome for the business. Coming out stronger and with another one of life’s experiences in the arsenal going forward.
Another highlight was witnessing the team not just get through what has been an extremely tough year in recruitment, but excelling. Talk about putting shoulders to the wheel, they were all fantastic. So, same as every year, the highlight is being around the people I work with, our JS Team.
Where do you want your business / brand to be this time next year?
To have given our FlexPeople brand more of its own standing and to develop it in its own right as the temporary and flexible teams solution, and to promote Jacksonstone even further as a consultancy partner of choice for business recruitment projects.
We will also focus on relationship building and promotion, and hopefully we will have regained some of the permanent placement business that seems to have been quieter this past year. This was an industry wide observation so if it improves for us, it will for our competitors also.
We could all do with that. I think businesses in general have been hesitant regarding growth on account of all the uncertainty in the world during the past year. Wars, politics, AI, these have all played a part.
What new trends are emerging in your industry?
Flexible working arrangements, hybrid working, reduced working week. AI – writing job advertisements, screening CVs – this can be used positively so as to free up recruiter time for other tasks. Another noticeable trend we see is that so much communication is by email or text. Our business is all about communication. So now it’s messaging, voice notes, it’s almost rare to call someone and that they answer. But this is not industry specific, it’s just the way of the world now.
What are the challenges facing the industry going forward?
Communication. As previously mentioned, it is now that case that an appointment has to be made in order to have a conversation.
In terms of business development, the above makes this extremely difficult. It is taking so much more time to get to speak to, or even make yourself known, to prospective clients.
Reference checking is also becoming increasingly difficult. Everyone wants one, no one wants to give one. We have to be extremely resourceful, and luckily seem to manage very well. Getting more than just confirmed job title and employment dates is our priority. Getting insight into the work history, strengths and weaknesses as observed by previous employers can really help with future management, understanding and nurturing of a new employee. The housing crisis and cost of living crisis are further challenges of course.
The housing crisis directly impacted a project we were working on to bring people from abroad to work in the construction industry. The irony of it. You can’t put the cart before the horse. And obviously the cost of living increasing is driving up salaries, putting employers under pressure.
Are there any major changes that you would like to see in your sector?
Increased regulation. Compared to other service industries, Recruitment is poorly regulated. Less professionally practicing organisations really pull the industry down. At Jacksonstone we put quality and professionalism at the very top of our agenda It was a lack of these qualities I observed in the industry which spurred me to set up my business 25 years ago. If a consultant doesn’t value these, they don’t last with us. I firmly believe that along with a high regard for customer service, both client and candidate, staying true to these principles got us through the various recessions we have encountered. Pay structure regulation could be explored also. I would love to see increased opportunities to formally study Recruitment.
As an employer – are you finding any skill gaps in the market?
Sales/business development ability. Again, perhaps because there is less direct contact possible nowadays. So it’s hard to gain experience. There’s nothing like being handed a phone and a yellow pages to learn the trade! Admittedly, it was sink or swim when I started in Recruitment, but people did answer the phone so it was a speedier process to learn what worked and what didn’t and how to engage with people. The relationship building piece is more challenging nowadays.
How do you keep your team/staff motivated?
It sounds so simplistic, but making sure they are happy in their job. Through supporting, nurturing, recognising strengths and allowing and promoting development where desired, applicable and practical. People tend to feel good and satisfied when they are achieving something and succeeding. But that can be very different for individuals depending on their personalities, circumstances, and also where they’re at in life. So it’s essential to get to know your people, and generate goals together. Only then can you give the support they need. If they grow, so does your business.
What is the best advice you have been given / would give in business?
I have received a vast amount of good advice during the course of my career, because I have asked. My father always believed in ask, ask, ask. There will always be someone who knows more than you and you can benefit from their experience to improve yours, and that of others around you. And never act immediately on emotions. Wait, think, rethink.
I struggled with procrastination in the past, and still do on occasions, but years of making decisions and living with the outcome has taught me to use my gut. It is very rarely wrong. So, don’t rush important decisions. Discuss with someone on the outside where possible, it is great to get another perspective. And if a decision between two things is causing stress, and seems too close to call, remember that either one will be fine.
If you think you can’t learn something, or that you know it all, you’re finished.
A mentor I had in the early years helped me also when I had to make a business decision that was going to be tough for some people and I struggled with it. He said, “there are times when you have to have ice in your veins”. He was right, so make the move and then let yourself thaw out, you’ll get over it and so will everyone else
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