Welcome back to our blog series where we have a chat with our team members to get the inside info on their role and time at Scantec. Here, we caught up with Principal Resourcing Specialist Joanne Smith, who has worked at Scantec for an incredible 22 years.
Hi Joanne! Please tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came to work at Scantec.
I’ve been at Scantec for 22 years now which is incredible, especially in recruitment. I have been working in our engineering division for almost a year having transferred from our Infrastructure team.
I first joined Scantec as a trainee recruitment consultant, but prior to that I worked at Barbour ABI in sales. Originally I went to Scantec for temporary work as a candidate and ended up getting a job! I was talking to the consultant in reception when John Robinson, our now Chairman overheard that I worked with architects. So, he asked me if I wanted to interview for a role with Scantec, and then I started in the architecture division. The rest is history!
Tell us about how things have changed over the years.
Things have changed so much. When I started out we still used fax machines! I also remember that the CVs were kept in a vault in lever arch files - we would pop down and find the relevant CV and fax or sometimes drive it over to the client! It’s hilarious when you think about it compared to how recruitment is now.
The business has changed a lot, too - when I first started I would send a postcard in the post if I couldn’t get hold of someone! Things were very different back then - now, it's much more corporate, modern and process driven, which is why we’ve been able to develop and grow so much as a business.
The main positives back then were there was much less competition, because everything wasn’t online and readily available to you, plus you normally had exclusivity on a role. There was much more face to face contact with clients and candidates which I enjoyed.
Tell us about the team you work with.
The team is great, it’s really strong and established - they’re a great bunch. We all pull together and get the job done, and it’s great when a team works together like that - it makes coming to work so much more enjoyable!
We all work really well together and support each other, which is great. I like to use my experience to troubleshoot, because I’ve got the experience to take over troublesome accounts - I think I’m seen as the team’s safe pair of hands, which is a compliment!
I really love my job - the highs certainly outweigh the lows. I was here during the recession which was a really difficult period for me personally, as well as the business - but I’ve been here for massive highs as well.
How would you say the culture at Scantec has changed?
There has always been a family culture, which I know is an overused term but it genuinely does feel like everyone has each other’s backs. A long time ago it used to be quite strict and there wasn’t a lot of trust in employees - now trust is really important in the business. You can tell the business leaders trust us all and this shows in the flexibility they offer.
John, our chairman, and Pete, our MD, are great and their door is always open. I feel extremely loyal to the business after being here for so long, and I’m a big advocate of the business and what it stands for. Scantec genuinely has a really great group of people working here, it’s a lovely, friendly place to work - hence why I’ve been here for more than two decades!
What are the benefits and incentives like?
I like the additional holidays and the flexibility - for working mums it’s an incredible benefit to have! I enjoy the time off because I push myself and work really hard, so I appreciate time away where I can hit the pause button. I also love the work-life balance at Scantec - the flexibility and hybrid working options are great, and the additional work from home day that Andrea introduced. The business really does value its employees’ wellbeing.
As for incentives, it’s simple - if you work hard and smash your targets, you’ll be rewarded. There are summer BBQs, nights out, Pizza for lunch, the end of year party - it’s not all ‘take’ from the business, they always want to give back to their employees in a variety of ways. As a reward for hitting target last year I enjoyed the Company incentive trip to Marbella! - we had an amazing time!
What would you say to someone thinking of joining Scantec?
If I ever meet anyone with a sales background and they are looking for a new challenge, I always recommend them to contact Scantec - that’s how much I can vouch for this place.
You don’t need recruitment experience to work here - in fact I believe sometimes it’s better if you haven’t worked in recruitment before. That way there are no preconceived ideas and we are able to train you and guide you on how things are done here at Scantec, and teach you exactly how to communicate with clients and candidates, as well as reach your goals and targets.
A few key things you need to be a recruiter are confidence, resilience and a friendly disposition. Resilience really is key, as recruitment can be a bit of a rollercoaster - it can be hard during those months when you haven’t hit your target. Sometimes you can see that people let it get them down and it impacts their performance, but this is why resilience is so vital because if you let it get to you, tomorrow could be a bad day as well. Simply think about what you can do to make next month better and move on.
What is on the horizon for Scantec?
More growth! The business has been going from strength to strength over the past few years, and we are always looking for new talent to help the business grow. But it's all careful growth - the business owners would never over-promise and under-deliver.
Kick-start your dream career at Scantec
Here at Scantec, we are passionate about finding and developing the best talent for our business.
If you’re new to recruitment or an experienced recruiter and want to learn about building a career with us, we want to hear from you. Find out more or contact Andrea Davison at andread@scantec.co.uk today.
