Case Study: Macildowie

Midlands-based Macildowie is an award-winning recruitment consultancy, whose clients range from leading consumer brands and universities to manufacturers and financial institutions.

As well as working with global companies, the consultancy also has hundreds of local SMEs on its books. For around four years, it has been using Experian’s business credit checking service, Experian Business Express to access company credit reports.

Peace of mind

As with most well-run businesses, keeping a close eye on cash flow is an important job for Macildowie’s finance team – we all know that cash is king as it allows you to make management decisions and react quicker to investment opportunities. Consequently, it needs to know that all business relationships will be robust, so it uses Experian Business Express to run checks on a company’s credit records.

Whether working for a long-standing client, or one that has only just joined, recruitment involves a great deal of work and time to be invested upfront. Many hours are spent speaking with potential candidates, targeting and searching a database and accessing passive job seekers through advanced search techniques on LinkedIn and other social platforms, before setting up interviews and handling the recruitment process.

Along with the strength of the brand, the biggest asset in any recruitment agency is the experience and expertise of its consultants. Before investing valuable time in a new client, Macildowie like any diligent business, will credit check to ensure that the work it does (if completed successfully) will result in a commercial gain. Finding out as much about the company as possible to avoid the possibility of losing out financially at the end is an important part of taking any new client acquisition strategy.

While a poor credit rating might ring alarm bells, it does not necessarily mean missing out on business altogether. Instead, it enables the team to make an informed decision about how to manage the relationship, including its approach to payment.

Flagging up problems

All businesses want assurances that a client can pay for the services it receives, however recruiters often find that companies put their invoices to the bottom of the pile once they have filled the vacancy. This is why the consultancy not only runs checks on new clients, but also monitors existing ones through the Experian Business Express Alerts feature, as Managing Director James Taylor explains:

“Like almost any company, we have experienced late payments and disputed invoices in the past. But Experian Business Express has helped us to reduce the risk because we can see straightaway whether there are likely to be any concerns about payment. The service is also excellent value for money – recruitment invoices can be substantial, especially when a company is appointing someone at a senior level.

“We are extremely lucky to have a credit controller who works very closely with our finance team and recruitment consultants. Our consultants are in communication with clients every day, meaning that they are often in a good position to highlight any issues, which can be used alongside our checks.”