Meet Diana Anderson, CEO & Founder of Anderson Hoare
Anderson Hoare Recruitment Consultants was founded in 1992 and specialises in the introduction of high quality temporary and permanent support staff at all levels, with clients from some of the world’s best known companies to small businesses, entrepreneurs, high profile individuals and private households.
To be frank, I had no particular career plan after I graduated but I’ve always been interested in people and in HR (or “personnel” as we used to call it). So when one day I saw a sign for Brook Street recruitment – from a bus window, actually – it was a natural and easy decision to approach them. And I did very well there and worked my way up. I’d always wanted to run my own business though, so eventually I took the plunge and set up on my own. It grew very organically, from there, those early clients spreading the word for me.
Right from the very beginning, I have been quite clear in my emphasis – client and candidate care. I believe in that very firmly. A number of recruitment companies are very target-driven but a good recruiter listens and has intuition. We’re good at the match-making process at Anderson Hoare, and overtime we build good relationships. That holds to this day and we’ll tell a client if we don’t have anyone suitable, rather than sending them candidates who are not relevant.
Our candidates range from school leavers to EAs and Office Managers, typically based in central London, although we do from time to time place people in international roles. But our core is good, reliable support staff.
Our clients are entrepreneurs and creatives through to the big corporates. We meet all our clients face to face because no two people are ever the same and sometimes it’s just a gut feeling that makes you pair a particular candidates with a particular client. It may be something to do with the culture of the business, for example, that makes personality over-ride the CV.
This is particularly so on the private PA side, which has always been an important part of what we do. These roles tend to be the most interesting because they are so bespoke – on both sides – and we do a lot of hand-holding.
The VA is definitely a growth area which we are beginning to explore. It can be risky though. If you’re coming from a big corporate for example and suddenly you’re on our own, it can be very isolating. We would always give very considered advice to any of our candidates thinking of striking out as a VA.
We have a huge temp team and we’re very good at matching to bookings. Temping is not for everybody: it can be quite stressful and you’re expected to know everything from the moment you begin. It’s a bit of a leap of faith, arriving at another new company and setting to work. But it offers great opportunities for those who are not working and as an agency we guide and give as much information as possible. Temps are picked for their ability: we wouldn’t throw anyone in at the deep end and expect them to get on with it. And if they’re successful and good at it, they get invited back. We’ve had a lot of success in temp to perm.
These days there are all sorts of other channels for recruitment, such as Linked In – which we do use ourselves; it’s a very good tool, particularly when we’re searching for candidates. Certain clients will look on Linked In first, but they don’t get the same personal attention, and they can’t guarantee the quality. There are some bad agencies out there, who’ll just send in 20 or so CVs that they haven’t properly vetted and frankly, in that situation, you might as well use Linked In. At Anderson Hoare, we don’t use the volume approach.
We’re delighted to be working with The PA Club and I think we share a similar approach to our PA/EA community. It’s a great organisation and the personal and professional benefits of networking with peers, exchanging information and knowledge, are huge. I would always be interested in a candidate who has Member of The PA Club on her CV.
Anderson Hoare Limited
Blandel Bridge House, 56 Sloane Square, London SW1W 8AX
PA Club Member, Miriam, on her experience of Anderson Hoare:
I found Di to be incredibly forthright and genuine. Rather than offering platitudes and suggesting whatever role needed to be filled (as I had found elsewhere), Di listened to me about my journey, and made suggestions appropriate not just to my past career, but to my personality and where I wanted to go personally. She put me forward for one role only, in an industry I had never before considered, because she thought the fit with the Executive would be right. I got the job and I love it. I would recommend Di and the team at Anderson Hoare wholeheartedly.
