‘We’re a manufacturing company employing around 250 to 300 people,’ Nick explains. ‘We’ve been established for over 50 years, and I moved down to Peterborough 15 years ago when we transferred our manufacturing plant from Birmingham, and continued to oversee all manufacturing that we did. During peak periods we’d enhance our existing workforce by using agencies, and when we moved to Peterborough we worked with a variety of agencies that ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous! Honestly, some were awful: people weren’t turning up, there was no commitment from the agency to find out where they were or to get them to come in – it was a bit of a mess. Then I met Mark Burton, who was working in recruitment in Peterborough, and he started to supply temporary employees and immediately made a lot of effort with the background checks he did for us on potential workers.’

It seems as though the Recruit Mint approach provided dividends from the very start. ‘He had a real commitment to getting people on-site,’ agrees Nick. ‘It really changed things for us, and Mark became one of two agency representatives we used, and about 90% went through him. I built up a really good relationship with Mark because he’s such an affable fellow, and he’s also really committed – I can pick up the phone to talk to him any time of day, with any problems I have, and he’ll be there at 7.30 the next morning to sort it out.’

As my chat with Nick continues, it becomes apparent that one of the main features that draws clients back to Recruit Mint again and again is a thorough and perceptive understanding of how businesses work – and how the people running them need to operate in order to stay ahead of the game. ‘Once Mark and Aaron became independent and started their own business together, the service they offer became even better – the difference between them and other agencies is that they actually listen to what you say,’ says Nick. ‘Other agencies would, for example, send you a brickie for a role that specifically needed experience with sheet metal working, and we wouldn’t have the time to train them up, especially on a short-term contract. Other agencies would make it clear they weren’t interested in short-term contracts at all, but Mark will always say: whether it’s a day, or three weeks, we’ll do it. That kind of attitude makes them stand put in terms of supplying temporary labour.’

For Nick, the presentation of suitable, enthusiastic staff is only part of the picture. ‘It’s about all the hard work they do in the background,’ he says. ‘Recruit Mint do pre-checks and pre-tests, and you know that unless the person has changed since they were interviewed – which does sometimes happen, you can never guess that – they will come out of Recruit Mint fully prepared for work. I think Mark is also very careful about who he employs – he makes sure he surrounds himself with people who share his ethos of customer service. Therefore all the people we’ve dealt with seem to have the same enthusiasm, the same commitment. He doesn’t just want to put anyone in place and go for the quick buck. It’s all about supplying quality people who can walk into a given business and join in almost seamlessly.’

Nick concludes with perhaps the best compliment anyone can give: ‘Mark is very honest,’ he says. ‘If he finds he can’t supply what you’ve asked for, he’ll tell you, he’ll say: “I haven’t got ten good people, but I have got six good people and four who are fine,” whereas I know for a fact other agencies will say: “Yes, I have ten people and they’re all good!” when they’re not. Mark saves me so much management time, because temps from Mark come in and know what to do and where to go, and that benefits us financially.’