Spider’s Fixed Fee Formula For Successful Recruitment

Over her career as a business owner and recruiter, Suffolk-born Michelle Pollard repeatedly saw the same problem. Small and medium-sized businesses didn’t want to pay agency fees but often found it costly and ineffective to recruit directly. This is because they lacked the right strategy and expertise to make the most of the top online job boards. It’s a frustrating problem for many businesses, and one she knew how to solve.

So, four years ago, Michelle set up Spider. Fixed Fee Web Recruitment, a business which has gone from strength to strength over the last few years. Spider helps SMEs get onto big job boards, with the right adverts targeting the right people, for an affordable fixed fee. Michelle and her team are forging the way for Suffolk’s employment market, and looking to create a national brand.

Spinning recruitment success

Spider started with a bucketful of passion, a lot of hard graft, and Michelle’s rock-solid belief that she had exactly what local SMEs needed. Her belief has paid off, and Spider’s web has grown year on year.

“I’ve worked in recruitment since agencies were quite new. There were only six in Ipswich when I started,” says Michelle. “I saw it time and time again, small companies wanted to recruit direct but didn’t know where to start, or how to phrase the advert to attract the right candidates.”

Spider’s solution

Spider gives employers the ability to recruit online without the cost of an agency, which can be off-putting and unrealistic to small businesses. It offers a range of packages that let SMEs use all the big job boards for a fraction of the cost of going direct. For example, Spider will help write a job advert designed to perform well, post it on six or more job boards, and screen the applicants, for a fixed fee of £595.

“It’s great to be able to give control to a company, and be there to provide good advice and support throughout the process,” Michelle says.

She understands the needs of SMEs from both sides of the fence, as a business owner, trying to find good employees at the right cost and through her years of experience working in recruitment. “A fixed fee gives a client confidence they aren’t just handing a blank cheque to some distant agency. We’re local, we’ve got knowledge of the market and the skills to write the job advert to gain the best traction.”

The future

Michelle sees Spider becoming the region’s main fixed fee web recruiter, and establishing a brand with national visibility. “It’s such an untapped market, and we’re well equipped to do this. And once we’ve got East Anglia covered, we’d like to be national.”

“There’s a strong team culture at Spider. We’re such a close-knit unit, it almost feels like a family business. We work really hard, we have great fun and we love our clients. It’s a great environment – one I’m very proud of and keen to preserve as we grow.”

Celebrating Suffolk

Michelle recognises the value of the supportive business community in Suffolk. “It’s great that you can make so many long term, loyal relationships with lots of businesses. It’s a wonderful community to be involved in. And, although there are great links to London, Suffolk is perfect for fostering a strong work-life balance with all the forests, heaths and coastal areas to explore.”

If anything, she thinks Suffolk should be more passionate about celebrating its greatness. She believes in inspiring and retaining young talent in the county. Next year she’s chairing the Suffolk Skills Show, and is extremely passionate about generating opportunities for Suffolk businesses and business personalities to encourage, inspire and hopefully attract a new generation to become part of Suffolk’s thriving business community.

In the meantime, the team at Spider is busy helping SMEs find the best staff for their needs. Find out more at www.spiderrecruit.co.uk.