Bristol recruiter reaps the rewards of thinking differently

A specialist in insurance, finance and legal recruitment has developed a new income source by not sticking purely to the standard recruitment model, but analysing candidates’ needs and aspirations and assessing if a self-employed career path would suit them better.

Bristol-based Jericho Recruitment Solutions Ltd has utilised its managing director’s 20 years’ experience as an insurance broker, to place some insurance professionals as Appointed Representatives within highly respected Gauntlet Group’s Appointed Representative (AR) network, Gauntlet Enterprise.

With recently acquired CII Chartered Broker status and a reputation for excellent insurer connections and impressive access to the whole of the insurance market, Gauntlet Enterprise is now being seen as the Appointed Representative network of choice.

Whilst ARs liaise with clients and generate sales, Gauntlet provides a comprehensive administrative, compliance and client money handling service. It also boasts a bespoke and sophisticated cloud-based IT system, which enables ARs to access client files round the clock.

Its package encompasses mentoring support and marketing and it can handle broking as well, if the individual AR wants this.

To facilitate the move into an AR role, Jericho Recruitment Solutions Ltd has adapted its usual approach. Matthew Shearing has helped candidates, who he felt wanted higher earnings and the freedom of self-employment, work on their business plan and assess whether insurance entrepreneurship is right for them.

“We have made sure all prospects have been totally realistic about their first 12–18 months of trading,” he says. “We have highlighted that this period will not be easy and made candidates assess their ability to attract clients. We have then looked at the longer-term earnings potential as a self-employed broker, as well as other benefits such as work-life balance and job satisfaction. We have already found six individuals who are relishing the thought of starting their own business, with Gauntlet’s support.”

The insurance professionals in question range in age from 30-somethings to insurance experts in their 60s. Some want to give their families a better lifestyle; others are seeking to earn more before retirement. Some are focused on insurance niches; others on having a generic book of business. Many have considered becoming an AR for some time and have gleaned many positive messages about Gauntlet from the media.

Matthew said: “When Gauntlet Enterprise approached us with this self-employed recruitment proposition, we thought we would give it a go, as a sideline. It has proved a great decision to date and we have found individuals from around the country who are very interested in this option.

“Gauntlet Enterprise has a lot of tools that really flesh out the opportunity for anyone who has the ambition to start their own brokerage. We can brief candidates on the AR role and then let them read and digest all the other information available, before they come to a decision.”

Whilst Jericho is very happy to be one of relatively few recruiters so far sourcing candidates for self-employment, Matthew believes there is certainly also scope for other recruiters to look at this option, particularly given that it’s an opportunity available on a nationwide basis.