Emily Shanks: Congratulations on winning the Client Service Award at the 2024 TIARA Recruitment Awards UK&I! What do you think were the key elements of your client service strategy that impressed the judges?
Xcede Group: Thank you! We pride ourselves in our “customer first” approach, going beyond traditional recruitment to provide tailored talent solutions that are specifically designed to meet the unique needs of our clients. Our strategy combines deep industry expertise, innovative strategies, and a commitment to excellence, ensuring exceptional results.
A key aspect of our client-centric strategy is building strong, long-term partnerships. We understand that success comes from truly understanding the challenges our clients face and aligning ourselves as trusted partners in their growth. This approach has led us to consistently exceed expectations, even in the most challenging projects.
An example of how we collaborate with our clients is through our networking events. Over the last 18 months, we have hosted 17 events, ranging from roundtables and webinars to face-to-face networking events. These events are not just internal opportunities for return on investment—they serve as platforms where thought leaders, industry experts, and clients can come together to debate key topics and share insights.
This dedication to thought leadership, combined with our personalised service and industry expertise, is what sets us apart. It’s not just about filling roles—it’s about delivering real value, fostering meaningful connections, and continuously improving to meet the evolving needs of our clients.
ES: Can you share a specific examples of how you’ve tailored your approach to meet client needs and deliver exceptional results?
XG: We recently demonstrated our ability to deliver rapid and comprehensive support during a large-scale project. Leveraging our team’s combined 60 years of experience, we supplied 121 contractors in just 3 months, with placements made across all levels of our team. This included fast-track mobilisation, tax registration, and governance and compliance for every contractor. Our 24-hour request-to-completion capabilities and support from 3 of our board members who visited the site contributed to the success of this project.
This example highlights our dedication to creating innovative, client-focused solutions, ensuring not just successful placements but also measurable business impact for our partners.
ES: The TIARA judges praised your successful promotion scheme. How does this program contribute to the development of your team and the overall client experience?
XG: Our successful promotion scheme is one of the key aspects of our commitment to team development and delivering excellent client service. This program not only accelerates career growth but also enhances our consultants’ ability to provide industry-leading solutions. We offer our consultants a clear career path and provide them with the support they need to reach their career goals.
Through close collaboration with stakeholders across the different departments of our business, our consultants are equipped with the tools to elevate their career opportunities, optimise their billings, and engage in continuous learning. Under the guidance of our Business Performance Director, we provide tailored support and a range of learning initiatives to foster professional development.
We also encourage our consultants to become true vertical experts, empowering them to run networking events, host podcasts, and lead sessions with clients. This not only enhances their professional standing but also strengthens relationships with clients, delivering a superior experience rooted in deep market expertise.
This holistic approach to development ensures that our team thrives while continuously driving exceptional outcomes for our clients.
ES: Your mentorship program was noted as highly effective. What role does mentorship play in ensuring consistent client service excellence across your teams?
XG: Mentorship is a key element of success for us. Everyone including myself provides mentorship. This is how we take training and develop it into actionable client centric activities
I have recently worked with two consultants directly providing them with weekly mentorship from key areas from how to increase skill sets, providing better client service and fundamentally an end-to-end service.
ES: In a competitive recruitment landscape, how do you differentiate Xcede Group’s approach to client service from others, and how has this helped build long-term relationships with your clients?
XG: We pride ourselves in that 80% of our client spend comes from repeat business, we still develop new client but spend much more time developing existing clients. Our approach drives long term client engagement and repeat projects, the basic differentiators are listening to the clients’ needs, concerns and challenges and then working with them to design a solution that will meet and exceed needs.
Offering one approach to recruitment means that you can never truly support a client, when you offer an agile approach and design it around the real needs of the client you will not only service well but be the provider, they will want to use time and time again.
