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I have been working with Yellow Cat since 2006 and they have always proved to be highly professional. They understand my needs and send me candidates that are relevant for the role. I am impressed with their approach in a market that is very competitive. They care about building long term relationships. 

Tribe Marketing: ML, Director

Yellow Cat do the ground work and always send us someone that fits with our company culture. 

Arnold KLP: AM, PA to Senior Directors

I have worked with Yellow Cat over the last two and half years and I highly recommend them. They are an effective and efficient organisation who are extremely reliable, honest and resourceful. They have always worked to and met our deadlines and have always been able to provide high quality candidates for interview. 

ITV: AB, Operational Support Manager

We have used Yellow Cat a few times for our recruitment requirements and have always found them to be
highly responsive. 

20th Century Fox: JS, Resourcing Manager

We have worked successfully with Yellow Cat for several years now for both temporary and permanent placements. They are a professional personable outfit who are able to provide strong industry relevant candidates. 

MRM London: CH, Human Resources Manager

I have worked with Yellow Cat Recruitment many times in the past and have always found them to be extremely approachable, professional and determined to find me the best person for the job, no matter how short the booking. They always gives complete confidence and are a pleasure to work with. 

Pathe: KL, PA to Senior Director.

I have worked with Yellow Cat for a number of years and would recommend Yellow Cat without hesitation. Jonny has built a fantastic team and everyone at Yellow Cat is professional, knowledgeable and helpful. I appreciate their openness and honesty which has helped to build a strong and long lasting working relationship. 

Publicis: BA, Group HR Manager

We have worked with Yellow Cat for a number of years and have employed some great staff through them. They are such a nice bunch of people that you forget its work; they get the brief quickly and work really hard to produce the right results. Yellow Cat form good relationships with their clients which is key to why we use them! 

Clinic: JM, HR Manager

I have nothing but praise for the Yellow Cat team. They have efficiently provided an excellent stream of potential candidates for various positions and we have recruited several first class people. I highly recommend Yellow Cat. 

Probability: RR, Director

Working with Yellow Cat was a pleasure. All the candidates put forward matched our brief and the whole process was very simple from start to finish. We would not hesitate to recommend Yellow Cat as a resource for anyone looking to recruit in the media industry. 

PR4: CW, Managing Director

My requirements/requests are always with a tight deadline. Yellow Cat always comes up on top. Not only do they find me someone but they are always the right type of person needed for Evos. I know I can count on Yellow Cats at all times no matter what I need or the deadline I have. Thanks guys! 

Evolutions Post Production: KL, Client Services Manager

Yellow Cat really cares about getting it right and understands our industry. To their credit we've simply kept many of their excellent freelancers for permanent positions. The relationship works and makes our life easier. Thanks for all your excellent help, as ever. 

Smoke & Mirrors: EI, Facilities Director

Reliable, professional and friendly are three words I would use to describe Yellow Cat Recruitment. Whether it is last minute temp bookings or permanent roles, Yellow Cat provides top class individuals for our needs. YCR is my first choice of recruitment agency and definitely gets my recommendation. 

Virgin Media: JF, Office Services

We're always very happy with the quick and professional service given by Yellow Cats. We often put them under a lot of pressure by needing temporary staffing solutions ASAP, but they never fail to deliver! 

Monsoon Accessorize: LB, Resourcing Coordinator

Client Testimonials

Client Tips

Working with the 'Right' Recruitment Agency

We’ve all seen what a bad recruitment decision looks like. At worst it’s like deliberately introducing a computer virus into your company’s systems with a similar ability to destroy and corrupt it from the inside.

In small companies the damage can be swift and devastating. One company, who doesn’t wish to be named, found that the bookkeeper who came highly recommended by the agency failed to pay important suppliers, paid others twice and managed to put the bookkeeping system of the entire company back by nearly 6 months. This one recruit nearly destroyed what had been a thriving and successful business, fortunately the errors were spotted in time but still took weeks to rectify.

But it’s not just skills that are important to get right. The right attitude and fit with a small company’s culture are just as important. A big part of the problem, too often overlooked, is that we all unconsciously use around two dozen behaviour and thinking programmes that affect the way we work. Different companies will build a culture, without even knowing it, that favour some programmes more than others – think about the difference between the approach needed by someone in the insurance industry compared to someone in the music industry. If you recruit someone who uses programmes that do not fit with the company culture the chances are you won’t suit each other.

Most agencies try and achieve volume of candidates in order to try and overcome the problem. However, putting just one wrong person into a company that has different dynamics to those of the recruit, is one too many. Small companies cannot afford to get it wrong, even once, not just in terms of recruitment agency fees, but also in terms of time spent on the recruitment process, evaluating CVs and interviewing shortlists as well as the resources invested in new starter procedures.

Claire, 27, complained of being sent for jobs that bore no resemblance to her skills or interests. “The agency just sent me along for every job that they had on their books. To make it worse they usually told me that I had to decide there and then if I was interested, so they expected me to decide before I’d even seen any information about the job.”

That sort of attitude from employment agencies wastes time for both the employer and the employee.

Recruiters, and the agencies they use, therefore need to pay as much attention to the cultural fit as they do to the skills and experience of the candidates. How can you you do this effectively? There are widely-used tools such as psychometric tests and other personality testing tools, but many of these have now become derided and are too easy to manipulate. A new approach that I find really works is Metaprogramming which is highly effective in identifying the work “programmes” someone uses and therefore whether they would fit the culture of the company. All my clients are enthusiasts of the results it achieves.

What does a perfect partnership between employer and recruitment agency look like? Neale Hunt from London based advertising Agency, Media Therapy, thinks it is devoting time to understanding the business and the job seekers. “You need to find an agency that takes the trouble to get to know your business.

“I think you know you have a good recruitment agency when a vacancy doesn’t make your heart plummet to the floor with worry over whether you’ll get the right person to fill the position. I recently had a key member of the team go on maternity leave but we coped fine because we already had the right person in place.”

So if you’re groaning at the prospect of interviewing large numbers of unsuitable candidates sent to you by your employment agency then change agency. Find one that takes the time to get to know you and the people they send you.
 

My Top Tips

  • Choose an agency that specialises in your area of business.
  • Make sure the agency really understands your business; do they “speak your language”?
  • Once happy invite the agency into your company so that they have a chance to understand the culture. Without that visit the agency will be recruiting blind.
  • Check the terms and conditions of the agency carefully. Do they suit your business (particularly the rebate period)?
  • Take time to create a good brief for the agency each time you need to recruit. Without this you will be wasting your time and that of the agency.


by Jonny Breeze of Yellow Cat Recruitment
(Featured on freshbusinessthinking.com)


Some of our Clients

Some of our clients