Dear All

For everyone who doesnt know me, my name is Mark and i head up the site staffing team at PMR(Property Management Recruitment). PMR specialise and promote the best quality staff to high end luxury residential schemes across London and the U.K.

I have decided to write a monthly update to discuss current market issues and to also give clients and candidates a chance to give feedback on myself and my team to ensure we are always progressing and continuing to improve.

One big issue I feel that needs to be addressed at present is candidates being unaware of their details and their CV being sent to various companies without permission from them.

I understand there is a current high demand for staff across our sector especially for senior staff such as block and estate managers. But this is no excuse for agencies to be searching job boards and just sending out CVs to all their clients without prior permission.

At PMR we have a policy to meet all candidates that we put forward for jobs. We feel this gives us the edge as we build a relationship with the candidate and they are aware we are spending our time on them and they are not just another number. Long term you retain this relationship and you have an industry colleague who I would hope promote us as a brand which is all down to taking a little care from the beginning.

An issue that also seems to commonly come up is ownership of the candidate. If agencies are sending CVs without approval I do not feel this should warrant an introduction. On many occasions recently clients inform me they have received the details prior to me sending them, even though the candidate is completely unaware of this. I do understand that candidates can apply for mass jobs and therefore show an initial interest, however without making contact directly and clarifying this you could be wasting your own and your clients time by sending the CV.

There are so many other reasons why this is wrong:

• The candidate may not want to work for that company
• The candidate might not want that company to know they are on the market
• You are doing NOTHING for your fee
• You are possibly stopping reputable recruiters from earning a fee
• but the main one …. IT’S ILLEGAL

It’s in contravention of the Data Protection Act AND The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations

I am sure everyone would agree the candidate should have the choice of who represents them as an agency, and would much rather have a company that has taken their time to get to know them rather than an agency who have just sent details found from a job board trying their luck.

I can imagine this problem occurs across all sectors not just property/block management but it is something that I feel needs to be addressed as clients do not like and should not be put in a situation where agencies are at loggerheads with who is entitled to a fee.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I will be looking to continue with a new topic each month. Any questions or feedback would be appreciated.

Mark Allen

Associate

PMR