Behind-The-Scenes: A Guide to Recruitment in Yachting & Households
In the luxury service industry, the market is saturated and it can feel overwhelming to know which recruitment partner to trust. This is why it’s essential to find an agency that will guide you through the process from start to finish.
Someone who understands not just what qualifications you seek, but the attitude, behaviour and work ethic that you demand from each member of your team.
As recruiters for superyacht crew and staff for luxury private households, we must often fight the frustrating perception that we only care about a quick placement or commission. For us, it’s about far more than just ‘bums on seats’, we are dedicated to finding you the perfect, long-term fit for your team.
This article is a behind-the-scenes look at how our teams support you from the first phone call, through to placement and progress monitoring.
The first conversation
Our recruitment process typically starts as an initial email or WhatsApp message with a brief outline of the role and what qualifications are needed.
As a recruiter, our priority is to understand exactly who you’re looking for, beyond just the job description. We find that the most efficient way to understand a client’s needs is by speaking over the phone in more detail about the role.
This is also where our team begins to form a connection. As Suzie, our Bridge Specialist, says, – “I love speaking to clients and candidates everyday, forming relationships and often even friendships.“ By truly getting to know you, we gain a better understanding of exactly who you are looking for.
Our deep-dive vetting process
Once we have built a profile of who we are looking for we can begin our search for top talent. Whether it’s by tapping into our existing talent pool of candidates, applications through our website, or by leveraging our industry connections, we make sure to find the right person.
After we have found a candidate that matches your profile, we will proceed with an in-depth call, often lasting 45 minutes or more, to get to know the candidate and verify if they are right for the role before sending you their CV.
During these calls our team is able to pull from their shared experiences in the industry to gain an unmatchable understanding of the environment, expectations, and demands of the job, making sure every candidate we put forward has our full support.
As Dany, our Residential Specialist, puts it, “Recruitment allows me to build relationships, and to support candidates and clients. I’m a people person and I genuinely love this part of the job.” Behind each placement is a recruiter who cares about making a difference in the lives of each and every client and candidate they encounter.
Going the extra mile
Our commitment to you extends far beyond simply forwarding CVs, we are invested in the smooth integration of our candidates and the success and longevity of every placement, and the overall success of your team. This means we perform extensive due diligence on both sides.
For clients, this involves exhaustive reference checks for each candidate, ensuring we are not submitting someone with prior conduct issues. For candidates, we go the extra mile to confirm the vessel or household is legitimate and that the working conditions are safe for you to join.
We want to make sure that both the candidate and client are upfront about their expectations, and make sure to stay in contact and follow up to make sure everything’s working out.
The follow up
Our partnership does not end the moment a contract is signed, we are deeply invested in the long-term success of each and every placement. This is why, in the months following a placement, we maintain regular contact with both the client and the candidate.
To ensure the best possible outcome, we champion a cooperative approach. The more engagement and cooperation you give us, the better we can do our job. So, timely feedback and clear communication from your side allow us to refine our search, troubleshoot any early issues, and ensure that the candidate we found remains your long-term, perfect fit.
Our goal is to make a permanent match, but if, in the unlikely event a placement doesn’t work out within the agreed-upon timeframe, we are committed to finding you a replacement (without any additional fees).
Why we do what we do
Our team is driven by their genuine desire to help each client and candidate succeed. We love it when we hear back from both the client and the candidate that it’s a perfect fit, which may sound cliché but it is true.
As Jamie says, “I’ve had my best times in yachting, you could be opening doors for someone to not only find their dream job but maybe even the best times of their life.”
Having that kind of impact on someone is what truly drives us to do it again each and every day. We have all been there, we understand how stressful it can be both looking for a job and searching for the right crew member to join your team.
As Charlotte puts it, “I also know how stressful it is finding a job, so I love that we have the power to make this less daunting and stressful and place amazing candidates in amazing, often life changing positions.” This is why we do our best to help you every step of the way until we find you your dream role.
So what are you waiting for? Get in touch today….
Looking for yacht crew? info@yachtcrew.uk
Looking for private staff? info@ehc-ltd.com
