Comprehensive search: Rachel Eldon, division manager of Novo Quest, in the Novo offices.

Novo Executive Search and Selection
Winner of Best Recruitment Initiative – Small Business

Island trip for target smashers

Novo`Executive Search and Selection - winner of Best Recruitment Initiative – Small Business

HEADHUNTERS at a recruitment consultancy in North Somerset logged off their computers for two days to enjoy the sun and sea in Palma on the Spanish island of Majorca.

It was a free trip given by the directors of Novo Executive Search and Selection to thank the staff for beating exceeding their annual targets.

This is the second year the directors have given free trips awayto their staff – last year workers were treated to a holiday in Barcelona.

The business was set up in 2004 by three friends – Dale Perrett, Peter Tucker and Jon Hollier – who had been working together for another firm.

It operates from a business park on the site of the old Ham Green Hospital near Bristol.

Fiona Wike, Novo’s marketing executive, said: “We’re just finishing the arrangements to take over the building next door. We’ll knock it into one building. The business is expanding so we need bigger premises. It means we shall be taking on more staff.

“It’s been quite a year for us. We’ve been awarded Beacon South West status by the South West Regional Development Agency. This
acknowledges ambitious companies that are spearheading the business drive in the region.

“It gives us a chance to exchange ideas with other firms who’ve also been awarded Beacon status” explained Fiona.

“Then in July the three directors won Jury’s Business of the Month award. Normally this goes to one person but this time they chose all the directors” she said.”

From just the three directors Novo has
expanded to open offices in London and Manchester and now has has grown to more than 30 staff.

Novo provides services include executive recruitment, competitor analysis, remuneration surveys and psychometric profiling for . Its clients include a range of companies in a range of industries, from construction and engineering to legal and financial services.

Clients range in size from start-ups to those listed in the ootsie 100 index.

Fiona said: “They’re involved in industries such as We also have clients working in the renewable energy sector. “Our clients are not just based in the South West but all over England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland” said Fiona.”

Novo says it is constantly looking at ways of developing its service. It was asked by clients to introduce a cost-effective service which enables them to use proactive headhuntingservices for roles at salary levels not normally associated with executive search.

As a result, the firm devised a search method called NovoQuest 18 months ago, which lets them find . It says the major advantage of this is that it offers a full in-depth search of the entire market giving access to suitably qualified candidates who are not on the open job market, and who would not be accessible through advertising.

Novo says that for clients one of the advantages is the cost. It says that compared to standard search fees, prospective staff can be found at a much lower cost than normal.

Rachel Eldon, division manager of NovoQuest, said: “This has been very popular with both existing and new clients.

“We can provide a comprehensive search of the market for them and have a high success rate for all searches we start.”