Get in touch: 0116 216 6355
Our Story
Written by Gavin Dilkes, the Founder of Synergy
Where it all Started
Back in 2011, I was working for the biggest recruitment company in the world and had spotted areas of operational development with a potentially huge impact on the service provided to clients. By implementing a quality over quantity culture, I could envisage how I would rationalise a client’s recruitment process, whilst providing a workforce with meaningful targets that would drive the behaviours I believed would help form a successful and dynamic company.
I had a clear vision around my service proposition, company ethos, the type of staff I wanted to recruit and the sectors I would specialise in. It was time to act; to stop shaking my head at my desk, take the plunge and set up my own business.
The hard work begins…
Then came the next bit, what to call the company. I liked the idea of a name that captured the essence of my business idea. Recruitment is an incredibly expensive and time-consuming activity, but if two organisations engage efficiently then the old economics theory of 2+2=5 should come in to play. I concluded that Synergy framed this nicely.
I didn’t want to include the word recruitment in the business name, as this was a sure way of us getting our calls rejected by every receptionist in the land, so I settled on Personnel to capture my commitment to establishing close working relationships with our candidates and clients. My vision was, and always has been, for Synergy to be more than just a recruiter.
The company started with me resting an old laptop on the arm of our two-seater sofa, which later developed to a home office and then, with the company beginning to flourish, a move into our first, albeit rather cold and pokey, commercial office space.
Present Day
Fast forward to the present day. There are now 12 of us in the company, working across six different sectors: Construction, Office Support, Social Care, IT, Law and Warehouse & Industrial. We have placed over 400 people into permanent roles, recruited in excess of 1000 temporary workers and have raised over £10,000 for charity.
I reflect with pride on the lives we have changed. Internally, I have observed the development of our staff through my commitment to sound leadership, open communication and dedication to their professional development. We have had four ‘Synergy Babies’, a couple of dogs, two house moves, two cars written off and one marriage proposal.
Externally, we have changed so many of our workers lives too. People have upskilled, engineers are now managers, companies have grown, and I believe we have helped to facilitate this.
What’s to come?
As I sit here writing this summary, I honestly could not be prouder of what we have achieved, and I would like to thank you for your support throughout the years. I always say that our job is very simple, it is about two things: candidates and clients. I try not to complicate it beyond that.
I expect in the next 10 years the company will continue its growth, but I guarantee that we’ll not waver from our philosophy of putting clients and candidates first, because that’s our underlying value and one that we’ve become known for.
