Making molehills out of mountains

H&C News meets with suppliers regularly to keep up to date with the latest product and service innovations, aiming to get the inside track on what companies offer to the market and how it is delivered.

This week, we met with Richard Mellor, Managing Director of Cummins Mellor Recruitment to gain a better understanding of the business.

How is your Recruitment Business different to others? It is important as a service provider to have excellent values and be dedicated and passionate about providing the best possible solutions for our clients.

My staff and I all have personal experience of working within the hospitality industry.  We understand the needs of our clients and can ask the right questions to ensure we supply the right staff.

We make no fuss when we receive a call at 10 o’clock at night from a distraught hotelier telling us his chef has broken his leg and he needs a replacement by 10am the following morning.  We simply put the client at ease and deal with it.  We make molehills out of mountains and our clients appreciate this.

How did the business begin? In 1990 I was a hotel manager working silly hours and my beautiful new bride was pregnant with our first child, I needed a job doing something I enjoyed where I could work when I wanted to and help with my child.

I loved interviewing and felt I’d made some excellent hires during my career, so I applied for a license and set up Cooke and Mellor Recruitment (later Cummins Mellor – long story!) specialists in Hotel and Catering staff(we changed the name of this specialist division eventually to ChefsjobsUK) in my back bedroom, the rest as they say is history.

Why would candidates choose Cummins Mellor? At Cummins Mellor we value our candidates.  We take time and care in interviewing them to ensure we fully understand their needs, likes and dislikes.Our specialist industry knowledge give candidates confidence that we can help them as an individual.

It is important to build a rapport and keep in touch with candidates.  We regularly phone, text and email to keep in touch and keep them updated with current vacancies.   We have access to many vacancies that are not on the open market due to clients requiring confidentiality.

We placed hundreds of people in temporary and permanent work every year and take great pleasure in doing so.

Why would clients choose Cummins Mellor? We have the ability to  provide speedy, effective recruitment solutions and solve clients problems. As well as industry knowledge our consultants  also have professional accreditation to the REC as we are committed to the highest ethical standards.

We are meticulous in screening, interviewing and reference checking our candidate so clients have peace of mind that we only supply the best Staff. Our prices are competitive and our reaction to emergency situations is second to none.  Not only do we supply experienced, reliable and trustworthy staff, but we do it quickly, professionally and with a genuine desire to provide our clients with the best possible service.

What do candidates and clients like about working with you? Clients enjoy having to make one phone call and we will provide a solution to their recruitment problem as we have taken the time to build a rapport and know exactly what their needs are.Candidates like to receive emails and texts with current job opportunities.

We have many testimonials on our websites here and  here and here

What’s important to you as a businessman? My staff are everything to me, I treat them like family and give them the best I possibly can. We recently spent £150k upgrading our offices, interview rooms and providing a beautiful new staff room, I am so proud that I’ve been able to do this for my lovely team.

We constantly train and re-train people, we help them qualify in their particular disciplines, develop them as people and give them confidence in themselves.

We particularly love taking young school leavers and taking them through all the areas of the company and then eventually giving them real responsibility, the reward is immense and they repay your investment in bucket loads.

My pet hate is big companies who don’t pay their invoices on time to small growing companies, it’s a killer and causes so much stress and anxiety to the little fella. They know who they are and they should take some social responsibility – today!!

H & C News comment

We enjoyed the interview and one thing is clear to us Richard enjoys and is passionate about his business, ‘Making Molehills out of Mountains’ is a phrase hard not to adopt and cash flow is king we have to agree, not just big companies in our experience!

Contact details

Hospitality Temporary & Permanent Recruitment