In our second instalment of our focus today on International Women’s Day 2018, we talk to Rachel O’Sullivan, Board Director of our Manchester office.

What attracted you to work for Better Placed Recruitment?

I was a graduate who had no idea that recruitment was an occupation! As soon as the job was described to me I was sold; you learn a market (marketing and retail, really interesting topic), build a network of candidates and clients and support each party in placing really interesting jobs. Clearly there is more to it but I knew I had to give it a go. I haven’t been disappointed and have worked really hard in order to reach the top, all thanks to the Business providing me with the tools and encouragement  to succeed here!.

How has the business changed over the years – support structure, business strategy, type of people employed / environment?

We’ve definitely grown up, we’ve had to! The business is now triple the size it was when I joined 7 years ago. It’s been a process and a learning curve but we are now more structured in terms of hierarchy of consultants which is great because it gives people a clear and varied path to succeed in the business. We have always had strong client relationships that we are proud of and this has only developed as we’ve become more known in the market. For me, these two points are the most important and we are now in the best position we’ve ever been in. We have the best team of consultants we’ve ever had, the strongest management team we’ve ever had and a really strong brand in the market. This is the perfect recipe in order to scale the business.

Describe your teams and leadership style:

I have always respected leading by example as a management style. Put simply, I believe that if your team see you being brilliant at your job, being passionate, caring about the team, caring about their success and always give your time to developing people that naturally creates a positive working culture and happy, successful team – most of the time!

What does it means to now be part of the board and how this enables you to drive and influence/ strengthen the overall business strategy and decisions

I really wanted to become a director before I turned 30, and I worked my socks off to give myself the best opportunity for this to become a reality, so to be promoted into this position as well as becoming a Board Director in the same year was a great personal achievement. As well as the personal hurray, I also felt an internal responsibility to keep showing my colleagues that Better Placed provide an endless platform of opportunities to those who work hard, hit their objectives and build effective relationships. It’s a really rewarding job to know that as a collective board were are shaping the future of our business by developing market leading consultants who share our business values.

Better Placed recently came 4th in the Sunday Times Best 100 Small Companies to work for. What does it mean to be part of a business in the Top 100?

What a proud moment. It’s been an absolute pleasure being part of the Better Placed journey so far. All growing businesses face highs and lows, I joined the business during the recession! But it’s how you respond that sets you apart from your competition. I’m so proud to work for a business who genuinely care about their customers and employees alike. It’s a true achievement to be recognised as one of the few at the top. May it continue!

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