The best of health to you (Daily Mail franchise story)

The best of health to you

Linda Whitney 

RECRUITMENT looks like an ideal business to get into if you have years of good experience and contacts in your industry.

But is getting into recruitment in a recession a crazy idea? 'It depends on the area you are recruiting into,' says Debbie Smith from Network Brand partnerships, the home of healthcare recruiter Network Health & Social Care and executive search company CNA International.

'Healthcare recruitment is still buoyant, as the underlying demand for care is unchanging,' says Ms Smith. 'Executives are still moving around, and CNA has recently trained its franchise partners in providing interim managers, which is a growing area as companies look for temporary executives to handle change management.'

Network Health and Social Care is an office-based franchise, while CNA franchise partners normally work from home, using their previous career experience to recruit into their old sector. Investment in both cases is £30,000.

Getting into recruitment with a franchise beats doing so alone, as regulations surrounding employment can be difficult to understand, especially in the healthcare sector.

Accountant Bill Flavell and his wife Joyce are launching an ERA Healthcare franchise providing temporary care staff. Bill says: 'ERA provides a detailed manual explaining every-thingincluding how to handle the legal issues related to employment. That's one reason we chose to start with a franchise.' Joyce, who has worked in healthcare for ten years, says: 'Demand for staff in this sector is high, and the supply of quality workers in increasing.'

Barry Vaughan of ERA says: 'Competition for our franchises is increasing, and we are very selective. It's a management franchise, but you must be willing to step in yourself if a carer cannot turn up.' The total investment is £20,000 to £25,000.

Recruitment franchisors expect franchisees to have a combination of business and people skills, especially in the caring sectors.

Jonathan Bruce of the Prestige nursing recruitment franchise says: 'We have been franchising for more than ten years, but we have had more interest in 2009 than ever before, not just because of the recession, but because healthcare and domiciliary care are seen as safe areas of business with long-term potential.'

Mr Bruce is looking for entrepreneurs who are keen to deliver high levels of care to some of the most vulnerable members of society, and investment is from £30,000 plus working capital.

Network Brand partnerships 0330 123 0907

ERA Healthcare 01903 216 868,

Prestige nursing 0208 254 7500,

Driver Hire 0844 846 0000

GEORGE GRIFFITHS invested in the Driver Hire recruitment franchise in Bury St Edmonds, Suffolk, in March 2008. 'Success in recruitment takes many skills, including building customer relationships. You must be proactive in the current market to ensure you are outlining your proposition to as many potential clients as possible, while supporting existing clients and ensuring staff stay motivated,' says Mr Griffiths. 'We grew our turnover by 75 per cent in our first year, and it is 25 per cent up in the first six weeks of this financial year,' he says.

'Most of our business comes from supplying temporary drivers, so it's vital to get the message across to clients that a temp, trained to the same level as permanent staff, can deliver the same service at a lower cost.'

Mr Griffiths, 58, is a certified accountant who took redundancy from a healthcare company two years ago. He chose to get into business with a franchise partly because of the training and back-up from the franchisor.

'The Driver Hire training covered sales and marketing, and head office does two marketing campaigns a year and provides all our marketing material as well as telemarketing,' he says.

Driver Hire also provides IT systems and ensures franchisees are kept up to date with the legal and compliance requirements. Initial investment starts at £35,000.