58 GHP / Q1 2021 , Nov20121 Medical recruitment specialist, Menlo Park Recruitment, aims to provide the medical industry with permanent, qualified staff members. Founder, James Truswell, tells us more about the firmand how it succeeded in the face of adversity during the Covid-19 pandemic. Continuity Of Care Based in Leeds, Menlo Park Recruitment is a recruitment agency specialising in four different healthcare divisions: Primary Care; Adult Social Care; Health Tech; and Medical Devices. The agency was set up in 2015 in response to market conditions within Primary Care – the issue being that the sector was saturated with locum agencies and there was a definite lack of dialogue surrounding recruitment solutions, and recruitment succession planning within GP surgeries. Director and Co-Founder, James Truswell, tells us more about the rationale behind the firm’s inception. “Starting a business focusing purely on the recruitment of permanent staff was going against the grain,” he begins. “But it allowed us to develop a USP and we’re immensely proud to have helped the sector by promoting permanent job options, continuity of care within GP practices and making sure there are high-calibre GPs in place to train the next generation of clinicians.” After an initial 12 months, Menlo Park expanded its existing offering to include the recruitment of Nursing and Allied Health staff to GP surgeries. It also expanded its team, adding consultants, administrative staff and a marketing function. The majority of the agency’s work currently is with individual doctors’ surgeries which, although work to NHS contracts to deliver NHS services, are essentially individual private businesses with partners (who are doctors). For the most part, the company’s business model essentially follows this format of working directly with small to medium size businesses, where it has direct access to decision makers. “We’ve a good track record of being early adopters of technology to enhance our recruitment process,” James highlights. “From our marketing and internal systems, to using video as part of the recruitment process; we invest in the right tools to make us the best we can possible be.” The agency has a dedicated team with everyone knowing their roles well and contributing to the company in different, but equally important, ways. The internal culture centres on a happy, supportive and flexible work environment and a solid team bond, with determination and camaraderie, has stood the company in good stead during the current environment. “Our people are Menlo Park. We have a strong brand linked to relatable values, which resonate with our team members. When we established Menlo Park, we were determined to have an environment where people felt happy, supported and able to do their best. This is central to our hiring process; whenever we recruit, we need to maintain the integrity of the environment that we’ve created.” When lockdown struck across the globe, Menlo Park was already one step ahead of the game and was adequately prepared, with everyone being set-up to work from home and carry out their job to the exact same standard as pre-Covid. The full impact of Covid on the markets is as yet unknown, however business very much continued as normal for Menlo Park and it even saw an increase in revenue in the six months from March to September, which James attributes to the solid relationships the agency has with its clients. Whilst the pandemic has been challenging, it’s also productive for the agency in other areas. Rather than making redundancies or furloughing people, it has actually increased its headcount from 17 to 24. Likewise, Menlo Park has also been able to expand its proposition to include a focus on Adult Social Care, Medical Devices, HealthTech and, in 2021, it looks to enter the recruitment market for International Physicians. “Whilst we were always looking to expand into new sectors in 2020, we’ve accelerated the pace at which we’ve done it,” says James. “We hope that working in different markets and geographical locations across the globe, will not only help us grow, but protect us from events like this, in the future.” Speaking of the future, Menlo Park has plans to launch its new multi-sector website very soon and key to 2021 will be emulating the success that it has had on Primary Care with these new divisions. “Going forward, we hope to emulate the success we’ve had in the primary care market with our new divisions. “The aim is to transfer many of the excellent processes and approaches we undertake in Primary Care to these new sectors; giving our Divisional Managers and Consultants all of the necessary tools to excel in their work. Towards the end of 2021, we aim to add further personnel to our new markets, as part of continued expansion plans.” Company: Menlo Park Recruitment Contact: James Truswell Website: www.menloparkrecruitment.com
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