Diary of… John Robinson, a director at national recruitment firm, Thorn Baker
Monday
An early start as I roll my sleeves up to prepare for our move to newly refurbished head office space in Nottingham. We move in tonight and I busy myself making the final preparations with our contractors, including the telecoms guys and Dave our IT Manager to make sure the move is seamless. The whole team muck in and mercifully it goes really well – tomorrow we trade in our new space!
Tuesday
Time to organise the big clean up of our temporary office space. I rush through organising the labour for this as I know the emails are piling up and I need to prepare for meetings with the bank this afternoon as well as carrying out interviews for our sister payroll bureau company, Paypacket. I also meet with our permanent department branch manager for a much needed catch up - business remains buoyant but we need to plan for Q4. Catch a quick bike ride with my wife Karen after work then join friends for the local pub quiz.
Wednesday
At last it isn’t raining and I take the opportunity to cycle to work – it’s only 10 miles and as quick on two wheels as four and I always feel much better for having done it, a few of the team are now threatening to join me. Our temp figures are released this morning and the payroll team deliver them to me as promptly as ever - we have another record week. Another round of interviews in the afternoon, this time to fill a new position on the permanent desk in Nottingham.
Thursday
Today is spent delivering an Employment Law course to eight new recruits to the business. It’s a great opportunity to meet each new recruit and ensure they get a proper feel for the culture of the business as well as learn what they need to know to carry out their roles in full compliance with the law. Though the content is the same, no two courses are alike as delegates always have differing experiences, so their questions often challenge me too!
Friday
On the train early to Birmingham where the morning is spent going through issues with our systems manager. After lunch I catch up with the permanent team manager – again putting the final touches to the Q4 plans. I hop on the train around 4pm – invaluable time for me to get fully caught up on emails as well as valuable thinking time. I’m home for 6pm so dial in quickly to finish the week off then it is down the local for a few well earned beers with some friends.
Friday 15th August 2008
