On 18th October, we were absolutely delighted to be announced as winners of the APSCo RPO/MSP of the year 2016 – an unprecedented second year in a row that we have won this prestigious award. It rounded off what has been an interesting year to say the least. Of course, political changes are having a profound effect on the way our clients and supply partners are prioritising business opportunities for the next three years. Nevertheless, our primary objectives have remained very much the same – to continue to source the best talent in the market for our clients whilst simplifying complex recruitment processes to save them time and money. Though this is now the standard all managed service companies are expected to provide, we believe it is the way we deliver this that makes Guidant different.
On introducing last week’s awards, Marilyn Davidson, Director of APSCo, commented, “The APSCo Awards for Excellence are widely considered to be the premier showcase for innovation and best practice in professional recruitment. The process has a reputation for being the most testing, demanding and perhaps most challenging out there, and for good reason. The standard of submissions we receive is incredible, and all of this year’s finalists have demonstrated a real commitment to the ethos of APSCo. I know that the independent judges found it challenging to pick winners from the reams of outstanding entries, which caused much debate amongst the panel. All entrants should feel very proud of their hard work in what can only be described as the most fiercely contested awards to date.”
To have won is an incredible honour not just because the competition was so fierce, but also because these awards focus so heavily on the opinions of recruitment and staffing businesses. It really does mean so much to us to be recognised by our peers in this way. And as if this accolade wasn’t enough, the APSCo ceremony also saw us win the Disability Best Practice award.True partnerships are fundamental to the way that we do business and this is reflected in our relationships with our supply partners. Earlier this year, we were extremely proud to be the first RPO/MSP organisation recognised as a Disability Confident Partner by the UK’s Department of Work and Pensions. But we haven’t rested. We have looked to kick on from our achievements of the last year or so, to continue being the RPO/MSP of choice for many of the UK’s leading recruitment organisations.
We contribute regularly at industry events and use these opportunities to fight for the interests of supply partners within outsourced recruitment programmes. We have also stepped up our educational support for clients, supply partners and candidates via webinars, market research reports and workshops. Melanie Forbes and her senior leadership team work tirelessly on key diversity and inclusion initiatives and we are currently recognised as being unrivalled when it comes to tapping into historically undervalued pools of disabled talent. Furthermore, we’re delighted to be able to extend this initiative to our clients and our supply partners and it has been incredibly rewarding to see how passionate they are about this.
Each and every Guidant person contributed to our award by delivering on their promises. By the same token, none of what we deliver for our clients would be possible without our supply partners. We rely heavily on their desire to maintain a true, mutually beneficial partnership with us and to willingly provide us with honest, candid feedback on how we are performing.
We believe in being judged by the company that we keep. And we’re certainly in good company. To all of our partners – thank you for your ongoing support. This award is also for you.