About Liquid Personnel

Liquid’s directors do not have separate offices; they work alongside staff in open plan offices, on the same banks of desks as managers, consultants, trainees and apprentices. They ensure that they are visible throughout the business, and as accessible and approachable as possible. The interview process for any new staff joining Liquid always includes at least one of Liquid’s directors at some stage. All recruitment consultants who join the business will face a final interview with their managing directors. The board works hard to speak to potential new employees, to communicate their vision for the future of the business and to really promote the opportunities that are available. The directors hold whole company briefings in the office each month, bringing all staff together in one open space to hear about individual, team and companywide successes, competition winners and major developments. They also personally introduce any new starters who have joined the business and discuss targets and plans for the coming month. The directors developed the internal training programme and occasionally run their own training sessions.

Every single manager and team leader at Liquid (excluding directors) began their career with the company as a trainee or junior, and progressed through the Academy to their current role. Within their recruitment teams, all current regional managers and team managers were brought into the business with no previous recruitment experience. They were trained, mentored and supported by the directors, with extensive input from external trainers and industry experts, and have progressed through. This progression has been due to the exceptional ability and potential of each individual, but was also made possible through the structure and support of the training programme. The same is also true in support teams. The current Marketing Manager, who now coordinates a team of six staff, began his career at Liquid six years ago as a marketing assistant. The current Team Leaders of Payroll, and Compliance & Auditing teams started as trainees or juniors at Liquid, and have progressed to their current position. A senior member of compliance team expressed a strong interest in learning about the HR functions of the business and progressing in this area. They have funded a CIPD Intermediate Diploma in HR Management. She now manages the HR function of the whole business.

Liquid's mission remains unchanged, and forms an integral part of all business review presentations, all managers' business plans and other key documents throughout the business. Their old company values ("The 5 Ps") had been in place for several years and they felt they needed a radical overhaul. Rather than relying on jargon and creating values that didn't resonate with their staff, they tried to "discover" the true values of the business by asking all staff to characterise Liquid and what they stand for. After a thorough project involving experienced staff, managers and directors, they decided upon a new set of 6 values which accurately reflect not only what they do, but how they do it. These values were unveiled to all staff at the end-of-year business review. Since then, they have been regularly reinforced through wall vinyls in the office, values handbooks for all staff, and a "value of the month" session, where they celebrate and reward individuals who have embodied a given value each month.