Ten Years of Supporting Humber Businesses

We’re celebrating ten years in business this week! Our Managing Director David Kitney has been here from the start so we talked to him about how it feels to reach this milestone and what it is about Emmerson Kitney that has given it this longevity.

Convincing a company to hire a recruiter can be a tough sell. After all, anyone can read a CV and spot potential, can’t they? Recruiters are just an unnecessary cost, right?

David Kitney established Emmerson Kitney in 2009 with the belief that he could actually save clients money and indeed help them grow by helping them to attract and appoint the best candidates in the market.

“There’s the cost of recruiting, onboarding, training and salary for several months,” he said. “If they don’t work out after all that investment, that’s a high cost.

“Our fees are small compared to that cost and investment, should a business hire the wrong person. It’s all about appointing the best possible person and making sure they stick.”

But how does the company do this? One way is that our consultants meet each and every candidate before they are even mentioned to a client for a specific role.

“I still think there’s a need to meet people; to look into the whites of their eyes and understand them,” said David. “The cost of doing it wrong is too high.”

“We also use Thomas International’s suite of assessment tools to better understand the candidates in terms of personality, culture fit, speed of learning and leadership potential.”

Formed ten years ago, in 2009, the company has grown consistently year on year to the point that it now employs 12 people, with further growth planned for the next 12 months.

Originally a partnership, Mr Kitney took full ownership in 2011 and the year after moved to its current premises in Cowgate, Welton.

Initially, much of the focus was on Information Technology but, as the client base grew, their demands saw expansion into other specialist areas.

The specialisms have now extended to also include sales and marketing, engineering, accountancy and finance.

In 2013, Mr Kitney set up the joint venture SG Financial Recruitment with Smailes Goldie Chartered Accountants – one of the region’s leading independent chartered accountancy firms – which is thought to be the only partnership of its kind in the country.

“To be recognised as a good recruiter you need to be specialised,” said David. “We call it ‘inch wide, mile deep’.

“We also believe the best approach is working exclusively in partnership with a company because you take time understand their business and its needs better.”

He added: “It’s a more value-added, consultative approach as opposed to firing in CVs and filling jobs. Helping businesses understand how to attract the best talent; what salary they should be paying; what’s happening in the jobs market.

“A lot of our work is also around promoting these employers’ brands. We have recognised that we need to promote their brands to make them an attractive proposition to the best candidates, who are often already well paid in their current role.”

Now that Emmerson Kitney has completed its first ten years, David is now looking forward to continued growth.

He said: “It’s a great feeling to reach the ten-year milestone and to do it as a company that’s on the up.

“I’d like to say thank you to all of the clients and candidates we’ve worked with and our employees over the years for helping us to get where we are today.

“We are now looking forward to another decade of success and to helping more businesses find the best talent to support their growth.”

He said: “We are looking to expand our work on the south bank, develop some more added value services and look at other joint ventures or partnerships to complement the small group of businesses.

”My ambition is that people – when they ask themselves how they should recruit good talent and promote their brand –  think straight away of Emmerson Kitney and SG Financial Recruitment.”