Macon Reinvent Recruitment for the CRM Market

The demands on organisations wishing to develop and implement a CRM strategy invariably involve a need for specialist skills which have to be brought in to the organisation one way or another.

Client-side companies may outsource some technical personnel and will probably use CRM consultants to build skills into the organisation, but they often have a need to recruit both contract and "permanent" staff to fill newly created roles in the organisation. Management Consultancy firms all over the world are also experiencing demand which outstrips their supply capabilities in this developing industry.

The search for your organisation’s suitable CRM staff is likely to be one of the significant early obstacles to customer-led strategy, and often leaves even the best HR departments crying out for help.

The reason for this is that CRM is a developing discipline. People with the relevant skills, experience and conceptual understanding are thin on the ground - even in more developed markets such as the US and the UK.

One London-based firm, Macon Consulting Ltd., has launched an innovative and adventurous approach to this skills-drought. Macon Resources will combine the recruitment and training services to offer organisations an integrated service which they claim will address the needs of the wannabe customer centric organisation.

The proposition involves attracting the right calibre of people with extensive experience in relevant positions, but goes on to offer training which is designed to complement their existing skills.

CRM News was told: "Macon Resources will use a relationship-based approach supported by rigorous data-led procedures to assess both the needs of the recruiter and the skills and aptitudes of the candidates. This matching process will lead to a deeper appreciation of clients’ requirements, whilst cutting down the time they waste on unsuitable candidates and the time candidates spend on inappropriate interviews"

Brian Birkhead, Managing Director of Macon commented:

"Database marketing continues to be one of the most rapidly growing disciplines in the UK, and this has led to a severe shortage of people with the requisite skills and aptitude within the industry. We believe that Macon Resources is the natural response to that. We have built on the expertise and skills traditionally associated with Macon to offer clients a more personalised, efficient and effective recruitment service, which will also raise the level of the skills base within the industry."