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Our 5th Anniversary

Recruitment agency flourishes as it celebrates anniversary

As others in the sector struggle, Altrincham-based recruitment agency Alexander Hancock is celebrating its fifth anniversary and reporting plans for growth.

The latest statistics from The Recruitment & Employment Confederation show that overall turnover in the recruitment sector is down 16.8 per cent while the number of staff employed has dropped dramatically.

Against this bleak backdrop, sisters Natalie and Anneliese Alexander along with partner Liz Hancock are looking positively to the future.

They set up the business from an attic room in 2004 and put their success firmly down to old-fashioned values and a hard-line approach to only dealing with people they like and who share the same values and ethics.

“We turn business away if we don’t think the company offers a good working environment for candidates,” explains Natalie Alexander. 

The three partners believe their determination to be decent and different in a cut throat sector has helped them prosper, especially over the past year when many competitors have struggled.

“Recruiters everywhere will tell you that they are service-focused.  In reality, too many rely on tick box methods and have little real interest in delivering true value to their clients and candidates. The word service is so overused – it isn’t just about making a placement, it’s about being honest with your clients about their business offer, it’s about advising them how they could improve, it’s not forcing candidates into jobs you know they’re not really suited to.

“This sector is well known for putting staff under constant, target-driven pressure. We aren’t like that – all it leads to is burn-out.

“None of our staff have targets.  They’re not needed because we know everyone does their best every single day.  We genuinely love what we do, and everyone we deal with picks up on that immediately. In fact, several people have told us we’ve changed their opinion of recruitment agencies for the better.”

As a generalist agency, Alexander Hancock recruits from junior to director level across most sectors, including manufacturing, finance, creative, textiles and leisure. 

“We’re like a boutique – small, hands on and dedicated to the best quality. 

“Our clients appoint us to take care of all their recruitment needs so it is crucial we really get under their skin and understand their ethic and culture.  How else can you marry candidates and companies if you don’t know what makes them tick?  We place candidates we would happily have working with us.

“This is a people business.  We are firm believers in recruiting for attitude and training for skill.  Most businesses are more interested in having people working with them that fit in culturally.  Of course, technical skills are important but on the whole, these can be acquired.

“We must be doing something right because all the clients we had at the start are still using us five years on.

“This past 18 months has seen many fall by the wayside.  We haven’t needed to make redundancies and are bucking the trend by actively recruiting for ourselves at the moment.

 “Alexander Hancock is a healthy and successful business.  We are very proud of this.  We have never sold our souls and do what we do because we love it and are very, very good at it.”

8th November 2005

OPEN DAY until 8pm

We need professional and experienced customer service people for some of the best known companies in Manchester and Cheshire. Salaries range from £13,000-£17,500 plus bonuses and positions vary from standard call handling customer service positions through to Key Account Management and Business Development roles.

Please come along with your CV and 2 forms of identification and talk to consultants with years of experience who will listen to what YOU want to do.

27th October 2005

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY ALEXANDER HANCOCK

Alexander Hancock Recruitment celebrated it's first year of trading by taking their clients to Belle Vue Stadium for a night's racing! An exceptionally enjoyable and fun evening was had by all, with some clients winning up to £150 on the night. But win or lose, it was a great night's entertainment for everyone.

19th November 2004

ALEXANDER HANCOCK MAKES ITS FIRST PLACEMENT !

The Directors of Alexander Hancock were delighted this morning having made their first permanent placement after only 3 weeks of trading in their new Altrincham offices. Anneliese Alexander said "The response from clients and applicants to our new venture has exceeded all our expectations, we believe that this is due to the high level of service we were able to maintain in the past and our commitment to ensuring that we will only put forward applicants who meet our clients needs exactly. We back this up with our 12 week 100% Guarantee Period which is unique in our industry."

3rd November 2004

Our new website launched

1/11/2004 Alexander Hancock Recruitment opened for business!