Article posted by on Oct 01, 2021
It’s not like us to brag. We think actions speak louder than words, which is why we don’t feel the need to shout about our success - we let the quality of our work speak for itself.
But this is different; we’re celebrating our 20th anniversary on October 1st. So, what better excuse to look back over the last two decades - it’s a chance for us to celebrate our successes and to reflect on how we’ve grown to become the Cobalt we are today. After all, we’re extremely proud of our history – it’s the foundation of who we are.
Cobalt by numbers
With 20 years of business behind us, we’ve hit some exciting milestones in our journey. So here’s a quick look at some of the numbers behind the Cobalt brand:
In the time our consultants have spent in meetings you could travel from one end of the Northern Line to the other 44,153 times.
The number of interim and permanent placements we’ve made would equate to filling the Royal Albert Hall 5 times over.
We have worked with over 15 Manchester trams of clients (at full standing capacity!).
In the past year the amount of time our consultants have spent talking to clients and candidates on the phone the moon has orbited earth over 6 times.
We truly care about our clients and candidates
Behind the numbers, people have always been at the forefront of everything we do – whether that’s our colleagues, clients or candidates. We genuinely want the best for them and take the time to build authentic relationships. Our brand is built on a culture of caring – our passion and commitment mean we take responsibility for delivering results and making a positive difference to the world around us. And we mean it! We also treat people how we wish to be treated ourselves and pride ourselves on being authentically different. There is always a focus on quality, not quotas.
We never cut corners and stand by some key cornerstones of our service:
We qualify all candidates before we partner with them – we focus on quality, but we also happen to have the quantity too!
When we register candidates, we take the time to get to know them and their aspirations, so we can find them their ideal role. To us it’s more than just filling a job – it’s someone’s career and life.
We take the time to get to know all of our clients too – so we know their culture, and fully understand their brief. That way, we know if a candidate is a right fit for their organisation, beyond just the skill set required.
We never send out a candidate’s CV without their permission.
We are fully committed to the onboarding process and supporting both our candidates and clients after they’ve been placed in a new role, to ensure they settle in well and any teething issues are ironed out early on.
Fundamentally, the quality of our service speaks volumes about who we are and our success over the years – just ask anyone who has worked with us. We love our job and are genuinely passionate and care about our industry and the people within it.
It’s about going above and beyond…
Sometimes, the job requires more than usual in order to get the deal done. We’re not afraid to go the extra mile to help our clients and candidates secure their ideal role or hire!
A few years ago, a candidate we had placed in a role was relocating to another country with their family, including their pet dog. Unfortunately, it was realised at the last minute that the accommodation provided by the new firm didn’t allow pet dogs! The family were distraught and the deal nearly fell through, until one of our Cobalt colleagues in the country volunteered to house the dog for them until more suitable accommodation could be found. The family were overjoyed and successfully made the move, including their dog!
Keep calm and carry on…
Of course, it’s not recruitment without many a funny tale (some of which are not suitable to talk about here). But here are a few anecdotes that made us laugh and think about how, even in business, funny things in life just happen. We’re all human after all. The trick is to always keep calm and carry on:
The time when two of our consultants were walking to meet a client at their office, only to pass said client as they were heading to our office to meet us! Our consultants had to run back to the office the long way round to try and beat them, without being seen!
When a client fell off his chair mid-meeting and pretended like it hadn't happened.
When one of our consultants turned up to a client’s new office and tried to use the fancy coffee machine, only to cover himself and the whole side of a brand-new office in coffee, whilst the client watched on slightly aghast!
The time a client passed wind (ahem) very loudly mid-meeting and carried on as if nothing had happened.
It’s been an amazing 20 years for Cobalt. We’ve enjoyed reflecting on our journey and all the fun we’ve had, and the relationships we’ve built in that time. And if you want to know about any of the other funny stories we couldn’t write about here…well, you’ll have to ask us about those the next time you see us!
Here’s to the next 20 years doing what we love!
We’re always on the lookout for talented people to join our team, just send us your CV or search our vacancies.
Article written by Marcus Davies Bateman, Managing Director.