Ochre House celebrates its first year with dynamic expansion

Just a year on from its launch Ochre House, the solutions-based recruitment and outsourcing group, can claim impressive results, with over 25,000 new candidates registered 2,000 permanent placements made across the UK. It intends to maintain the momentum with the launch of its new executive search division, further improvements to its online presence and a big boost for its management structure.

The anniversary is being celebrated with the launch of a suite of new websites, each tailored to the recruitment needs of the different niche markets Ochre House serves; accountancy & finance, education, IT, law, leisure, retail and office support. The websites each feature a very powerful search engine, which allows candidates to look for opportunities in a particular role across all of the groupís niche consultancy databases. Candidates are automatically directed to the most appropriate consultant, allowing Ochre House to deliver a personalised but powerful service to all. For their clients, the system assists Ochre House consultants in reaching the most appropriate, qualified candidates from the expanding database of over 100,000, all of whom have been interviewed in person.

As well as recording an excellent first year of results, Ochre House is proving to be the first choice for talent working in the recruitment field. Specialists enjoy freedom to work the way they wish, backed by excellent resources and the strength of the Ochre House brand itself. The group provides staff with a unique toolkit of internal services (marketing, HR, finance and IT) that make them more effective at their jobs. According to group managing director Chris Herrmannsen, ìour growing reputation has attracted exceptional talent, allowing us to grow our staff numbers by 25% in our first year. We hope to continue this trend as we open our doors to talented recruitment professionals and resourcing specialists across the country.î

The next phase of growth is to be fuelled with a new executive search division under the management of newly-recruited director Javier Carrasco, who joins from Hudson. Carrasco is one of six new directors newly appointed to support the expansion. Leading the training and development effort is Amanda Wildman, previously with Michael Page and Crone Corkhill. Russell Beck, formerly of Capital Consulting, has joined as client services director in the recruitment process outsourcing business Profiles Resource Management.

Parkside Accounting and Finance, the brand which handles accounting and office staff, now has Brian Poxon as a director, who joins from Robert Half, and Mike Ryall, formerly of Randstad, joins as director of Parkside Office Professionals. The largest business in the group, ITN Mark Education which provides teachers and teaching assistants throughout the UK and internationally, is strengthened with the addition of Roger Marsh as operations director: Roger has joined the group from Capita.

ìI believe the reason Ochre House has been so successful at attracting top talent is its boutique image and its reputation as a truly innovative recruitment solutions provider. The adrenaline-fuelled pace and entrepreneurial culture together with the freedom given to staff to create their own solutions has proved a winning combination.î says Herrmannsen.