2017 on reflection

Here at Cast UK, we are celebrating our “best ever” trading year despite the ongoing uncertainty of Brexit. The economy has been strong in 2017 and confidence is high within our customer base. All sectors we work with are optimistic and I think having such a wide spread of customers will stand us in good stead for 2018. Last year alone, Cast UK successfully placed candidates within 150 different businesses ranging from SME’s to large corporates and across all business sectors. For us, its been a busy year that’s seen us launch our own virtual interviewing platform “BroadCast” and a number of products to support this. The impact of BroadCast has been fabulous. Our clients and candidates have really embraced video interviewing and their feedback is that they have saved so much time & costs using this approach. We have also enhanced our in-depth approach to finding talent for our clients. We now issue personality profiling and psychometric testing to every candidate as standard when using our service bundle “Edge” product. This combined with our BroadCast platform, allows our clients to have a deeper and greater insight into candidates and allows them to make the right choices for their business. Another product we have launched this year is our “Reach” bundle. This has been particularly useful for organisations looking to extend their recruitment reach but don’t require all the administration and candidate control that our full service offers. This has been particularly welcomed by our clients that have internal recruitment teams as it allows them to piggy-back on our expansive network at a fraction of the cost – a win-win scenario for everyone. We have also seen a rise in popularity of large single site & project recruitment. Cast UK have been selected as the recruiter of choice for a number of high profile turnkey projects. These projects allowed our skilled recruiters to resource all the talent required for an entire new site or project, allowing our clients to concentrate on operational matters. We already have lined up a number of new projects for 2018 so its clear that many businesses see the many benefits of working in partnership like this. Looking forward into 2018, despite all the warnings, I simply cannot see the economy slowing down and the appetite and demand for skilled managers & leaders will be, in my opinion, even higher. Moreover, the closer we get to Brexit, the more I think this demand will increase. The much talked about “Skills Gap” also means the demand for contractors will equally strong as businesses want a more flexible workforce. However, in the midst of all these new products, software & “best evers”, its important to take a well-earned rest and spend time with family & friends. Its time to recharge the batteries and before going full steam ahead into 2018. Have a wonderful Christmas and peace & love to all.