- Jo Faragher
Tempo chair Keith Faulkner CBE plans for the recruitment alliance to boost its membership to 100 by the end of this year.
Speaking exclusively to Recruitment Agency Now, he outlined how the stringent audit process required to gain the Tempo ‘stamp of approval’ could mean that, ultimately, the number of agencies that signs up is more modest than some recruitment industry bodies, but that they will all meet a high minimum standard.
Tempo was launched in January this year, and aims to encompass both temporary recruitment agencies and hirers. Agencies pay for membership, while hirers engage with them through events and a steering group. It is funded by temporary staffing group de Poel and currently has around 70 members.
“We’re trying to bridge the tension between the hirer and the provider; a neutral environment where HR or procurement can meet with agencies and discuss things that can sometimes be contentious,” explains Faulkner. Member agencies can also access services such as legal advice, training and a buying hub.
One of the core elements of Tempo’s mission is to improve the image of temporary recruitment, says Faulkner, given that it is often viewed as a ‘distress purchase’. “There is still a great deal of misunderstanding around the temporary help industry, and the recent zero-hours debate has not been helpful.”
“We want to help agencies sit down with hirers and help them to plan their temporary help provision and build a longer-term strategy – it’s not just about the total cost in pounds, it’s about the cost to them in terms of productivity, customer service and quality.”
He added: “We appreciate that employers often need temporary staff in emergencies, and feel there should be a way of judging their suppliers, even if they’re not using them on a regular basis.”
Faulkner is also keen to collaborate with recruitment industry representative bodies such as the REC. He acknowledges that most Tempo members will be members of another body, and that many of their aims – especially around standards – will converge.
“The Heseltine report [‘No Stone Unturned’, published in March this year] advocated there be one single industry body, but I’m not sure that’s right,” he says. “The industry is so diverse, operating across so many different sectors with different statutory requirements, could one body really cater for all of those needs? What I think we should see, though, is more collaboration.”
The recruitment alliance had its first annual general meeting in May, where it elected eight figures to its steering group, including three end-user client representatives.