Case study – Faststream Recruitment Group (no. 185)


Recruitment has been hard hit by the recession because it is all about job placements and many positions have simply disappeared, writes Sue Hughes of The Business Magazine. However, the Faststream Recruitment Group, headquartered at Ocean Village, Southampton, with offices in Singapore and Fort Lauderdale, has enjoyed continued year-on-year growth in niche sectors. Founded in 1999, it is an international recruiter which specialises in the shipping, oil and gas and built environment industries.


Having started with built environment, it diversified and became international in 2006. It has been extremely fortunate in timing and evolved through other factors, as UK managing director, Ben Darnton, explained: “The maritime industry is not good at bringing in younger people, therefore an ageing demographic drives a skill shortage which has benefitted us in the downturn. We have not experienced the same troughs as other generic sectors.


“Whilst the movement of commodities and retail goods has affected trade in what is a worldwide recession, our business hasn’t dropped significantly. Qatar, the world’s largest exporter of natural gas, is investing in ports and


responsible for growing Faststream’s maritime, oil and gas and built environment recruitment sectors across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. World development is energy related, but globally there have been changes in recruitment, with a shift from the speculative stance to something more specific. Faststream continues to place people who are moving, rather than being out of work, but the process has become more cautious on both sides – recruiter and candidate.


Ben Darnton


starting from scratch with infrastructure. It’s an opportunity for us to place staff ranging from architects to shipping and logistics managers, because the need for people on these sorts of projects has not altered.“


Darnton, who joined the business 10 years ago as a trainee consultant and has risen through the ranks as both a recruiter and manager, is


Education roundtable set for May


A Roundtable debate was being held this month in Southampton as the latest initiative in the Solent 250.


The discussion over lunch at the offices of Solent 250 sponsor Paris Smith, the leading law firm, focused on Education & Business.


With university and business representatives taking part, the Roundtable was spotlighting links between campuses and the commercial world, from knowledge transfer to spinouts.


Meanwhile, The Business Magazine will soon begin the process of updating the Solent 250 listings to provide a definitive 2011 listing of the top private independent businesses in the region.


The 2011 listing will be launched at an exclusive event at the Rose Bowl,


Southampton, in October, and will then be published in the November issue of The Business Magazine.


The Solent 250 is an initiative from The Business Magazine sponsored by Paris Smith, Santander, and Grant Thornton, and supported by Business Solent and the Solent Innovation & Growth Team.


• See the June issue for a full report of the Education & Business Roundtable debate.


• If your company was not featured in the 2010 Solent 250 and you believe it should be ranked in the listing, contact:


Linda Morse events manager 0118-9745584 linda@elcot.co.uk


With strong, established client relationships, Faststream has the advantage over smaller recruiters. “When the commodity is people, you have to work in a consultative and specific manner. When we send out just one CV, our client regards that candidate as already having been interviewed. We’re not just CV salespeople,“ Darnton continued.


There are around 50 staff based at Ocean Village, which offers space for expansion, mostly homegrown talent, recruited after university to fit into the company culture. Retention rates are 93% and turnover is on target for £11.5 million this year, both areas in which Darnton takes great pride.


The 2011 listing will be unveiled at the Rose Bowl


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – MAY 2011


www.businessmag.co.uk


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