Home Based Recruitment Consultancy - Questions and Answers

1. What is this venture all about?

   The AES scheme has been set up to allow professionals (from the comfort of their own home) to take their first step into operating as an independent recruitment consultant under the umbrella of a recognised and well-established UK recruitment business.

   Although the home-based recruitment licence holder will use AES's good name, credibility and systems, it is essentially their enterprise and the success of the venture will be down to their determination and their ability to effectively communicate with customers. How far it goes and how successful it becomes really does depend on how much time the Partner wants to commit and how much they would like to earn. This is not a get rich quick scheme but it can be quite lucrative if you work smartly.

2. What do I get for my investment?

   An AES licence holder gets everything an in-house Recruitment Consultant would expect from day one.

   AES will provide you with all the training, software systems, techniques and support to operate your recruitment business from your home / office including:

   • 3 Day initial training at Head Office - Worcester.
   • 1 day monthly ongoing support training - AES will come to your home if necessary
   • Access to AES's database of companies and candidates.
   • Use of integrated project management software.
   • Technical support on database software.
   • Support and advice at each stage of your projects.
   • Software database user licence.
   • AES e-mail account
   • Daily contact with head office by phone / e-mail
   • Web site job advertising on a recognised UK job board.
   • Web site CV search facility on a recognised UK site.
   • Daily administration support to put CV applicants onto the central system.
   • Invoice generation
   • Invoice / debt collection support.
     
      
3. What do I need to do this?

   Ideally you should have a proven ability to communicate effectively with Customers. Your background might be:

   • Recruitment
   • Business to business Sales.
   • Customer or Account Management.
   • Human Resources
   • Management Consultancy.

   You will also need:

   • Home / office facility with suitable PC, internet link, printer, telephone, etc.
   • The desire and commitment to meet self imposed targets (it is difficult to work from home without this ability).
     
      
4. Will I be employed by AES?

   No. In the eyes of the Customer you will be representing AES and be using our name - if you make a sale or an agreement with the customer it is as an AES representative.

   Once you are making sales (or even earlier) you will need to set up a Limited company so that you can invoice AES and process any other costs you are incurring. This can be done quite quickly but it is advisable to consult with your Accountant on the best way forward.

   Once you have successfully made an introduction to a customer you will instruct AES to invoice the Customer and chase the money. You will then send AES an invoice from your own limited company and this will be paid when any obligations to the customer have been met.

5. What are the total costs I would expect when working with AES?

   Like every business there are overheads to be paid and this is no different. In normal circumstances you could expect to incur costs in printing, advertising and the purchase of equipment/tools/software licences and this is before you start generating business. You might even have premises costs to consider.

   With AES and assuming you have a computer, access to the internet/telephone and a printer, the only costs you should incur are;

   • Postage if you decide to write to customers.
   • AES licence fee of £10,000 per annum.
   • £50 per invoice that is generated and chased on your behalf.

   The AES licence fee covers all the software licences, internet web site access AES purchases on behalf of a licence holder and the additional services mentioned in Answer 2 above.

6. Will the costs go up once I have signed on?

   Since 2003 the cost of this venture has changed twice, once down and once up. Both times the adjustments were made because of the cost of the software licences and internet web site access AES purchase for the Licence Holder had changed.

   The agreement AES has with a licence holder means there can be no change to the charges within the 12-month licence period.

   AES has no plans to change the charging structure of this home-based business venture.

7. Do I have to pay the full Licence Fee up front on day one?

   Ideally yes, but in exceptional circumstances AES will accept 50% up front and 50% by the 6-month point within the agreement.

   In the second and subsequent years of the agreement payment terms can be negotiated.

8. Is recruitment a good business to go into?

   There are 3.5 million UK Ltd companies and every one of them require key permanent employees to maintain their business plans. Even when things are relatively static and a company has no growth plans they could lose people through retirement, pregnancy, health, relocation, ambition and redundancy. Replacing people is difficult and expensive, especially skilled people the area that AES specialises in.

   For economic reasons (the world-wide recession) the latter part of 2008 and the whole of 2009 was not the right time to start in recruitment; this might be about to change.

   Following the recessions/downturns in 1992 and 2002 the UK experienced skill shortages and the recruitment industry enjoyed a boom period. When the economy grows, and this is what we are expecting in 2010 AES, like every other recruitment business, should benefit.

9. What could I earn and what is the success rate of AES home-based recruitment consultants?

   This is the difficult one. Prior to September 2008 (the start of the recent recession) AES use to work on a simple marketing principal:

   Find 10 to 12 good companies, employing between 30 and 150 people (there are 88,000 of these in the UK and AES has access to all of their details) and speak to the Senior Decision-maker. Once the relationship is developed and credibility established, fill 2 to 3 jobs with them per annum. This would mean you were managing just a few companies and could be filling over 24 jobs per annum. If you make £4000 per sale (not an untypical figure) you would be on a reasonable income (nearly £100,000) working sensible hours and at home! A home-based recruitment consultant keeps all of this less the annual licence charge and the invoice administration charge.

   During the recession our office and home based recruitment consultants have been lucky to make 30% of the above. Everyone is hoping for better things in 2010 and beyond.

   Success is difficult to assess because every individual measures it differently. What we can say is that up to 90% of new businesses fail in the first year of operation: at AES it is nothing like that.

   More than 40% of AES's home-based recruitment consultants sign on for a second and subsequent year. Even those who leave after just one year with AES have not necessarily failed because in some instances they have:

   • Gone on to open their own recruitment enterprise.
   • Got themselves a lucrative job through their AES contacts.
   • Have decided working from home is not for them.
   • Left because of the economic circumstances but will probably come back when things pick-up.
     
      
10. Most of AES's vacancies seem to be technical, can I diversity into a sector where I already have experience?

    You will have complete freedom to operate in any sectors that you want. At AES we believe in managing customers and not managing industries. If you have a developed relationship with a Managing Director (many home-based recruiters join AES with several established leads already) and they trust you to help in other sectors, areas or disciplines that is to be encouraged. Recruitment is common sense and you encounter the same issues/problems whether you are recruiting a Director for a bank or a Salesman for a medical company and they are:

    • Where would the person be now?
    • How do we get them to apply to the role?
    • What can we offer them to take the job?
      
       
11. Is this a Franchise?

    This is not a Franchise but it is like a Franchise.

    AES will grant a licence holder permission to use AES's system and to operate as an AES representative. As such a licence holder will be trained and supported to use the processes and techniques in exactly the same way as all of the other users on the AES system that has been perfected over 20 years of successfully trading in the UK.

    Unlike a Franchise there are no Geographical or business sector restrictions on where a Home-based recruitment consultant can do business - just go out and develop business. The only restraint that is imposed (and this is common sense) is AES recruitment consultants do not approach customers where other AES Recruitment Consultants are currently (in the last 3 months) doing business.

12. What is the duration of the contract?

    Ongoing 12 months contract with a notice period to leave.

Apply Now