About Cobalt Recruitment

A key action point at the previous director’s conference at Cobalt Recruitment was to address the balance of managers to team member ratio across the business as it grows. A organisation chart was produced to map out where the ideal balance of 1:4 was not happening in order for the company to readdress the balance and highlight potential managers of the future, in order to give them the support and training required and shape them into solid managers. Aside from offering training to managers, Cobalt recruitment is run in a collaborative fashion, any good ideas suggested by the managers are considered and quickly implemented across the entire business. Some ideas that came up during the UK monthly managers meeting include, the introduction of motivational speeches, core calling hours on a Tuesday morning and consultant of the month award. Whilst the managers at Cobalt Recruitment are empowered to manage their teams and given autonomy to do so they are also well supported by effective central functions, be it on the marketing, internal recruitment or training fronts. The whole of Cobalt Recruitment and the management team in particular, are kept abreast of what is happening across the entire global business and involved in a meaningful way to ensure that they have a perspective that is broader than just their specialist area in order for them to manage effectively and keep their teams informed.

The training programme at Cobalt Recruitment comprises various elements which support employee development throughout their career including: Introduction to recruitment training. The company prepare their teams through systematic training from sector specialists and they have a dedicated in-house trainer who takes all new consultants through a 3-month induction programme. This covers the whole recruitment process, topics include skills Based Candidate Interviews, Employment Legislation, Search Methodology). Performance reviews are held every 6 months and a probation review after 3 months. Each consultant at Cobalt Recruitment creates a personal development plan to assist them reach their goals. This plan typically occurs when they have been with the business at 12 months. The company also has multiple external trainers who work with directors, managers and consultants to improve any areas highlighted for development on a one-to-one basis. Cobalt Recruitment also has an Introduction to management course in place - this training is also provided by an external trainer, topics include the manager’s role, managing the task/team/individual, managing relationships with the team and Integrating new people into the team. Cobalt Recruitment provide topic based training surrounding a number of topics including written skills, fee negotiation, candidate management, headhunting, offer management and database training. There is also an Enhanced billing course available, this course is designed to reinvigorate any struggling consultants. Cobalt Recruitment also support the development of our employees who want to gain international recruitment experience. Aside from Germany, the company’s overseas offices were all launched by employees who relocated from our London head office.

Dunbar's number is a suggested cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships. These are relationships in which an individual knows who each person is and how each person relates to every other person. The theory suggests that humans can only comfortably maintain 150 stable relationships. That is the approximate size of the Cobalt Recruitment team globally and they operate their team management and engagement methodology based on that knowledge. A significant element of Cobalt Recruitment culture is team working. Throughout the year, there are formal and informal opportunities for all teams to interact. Every quarter, Cobalt Recruitment have company presentations which are held off-site, these presentations are followed by an opportunity to socialise with colleagues. The Fun Club at Cobalt Recruitment also organise regular events throughout the year where teams can interact with fellow colleagues, recent events have included fundraising days, boot camp exercise classes, ping pong tournaments and an in-house yoga instructor. Employees have also participated in workshops surrounding embedding the company’s values into their business practices with colleagues, clients and candidates, this generated over 1200 ideas from around the globe! Cobalt Recruitment strive to consistently foster positive communication throughout the year with the right balance of structured, formal cross team training with the opportunity to have fun together outside of work. As Cobalt Recruitment has grown, they have acknowledged the importance of sustaining the united and intimate corporate feel that has always been part of the company's priorities.