Ed Harper, Senior Consultant at Penna talks about why he made the move from management consultancy to recruitment.

It may appear to the outsider like a significant career change to move from “management consultancy” to “recruitment” but when delivering organisational change and transforming services, having the right people, the right talent, has always been critical. So, I’ve joined Penna where I believe I can really influence this.

I’ve spent the last 12 years working alongside Council teams and therefore understand from first-hand experience what is required from individuals and teams to deliver the challenges of Local Government, the transformation that needs to take place. My experience has been as diverse as delivering corporate-wide savings programmes, to line managing a Council’s customer service team through a major programme of back office integration and channel shift, to re-procuring Children’s and Adult Services contracts on an OJEU-compliant basis.

Yes, Penna offer a hugely reliable recruitment process that leads to successful senior appointments, but what has struck me from my first few weeks in the job is the breadth and flexibility of their offering and the opportunities a long-term relationship with Penna could bring to a Council along that transformational “journey”. To advise on the required organisational structure, to help with attraction and engagement using the latest technology, to provide the right talent to kick start the transformation, and then to make the change sustainable with the right permanent recruitment and “on-boarding” activity (to you and me that’s getting everyone singing from the same page!).

And I now know Penna can offer even more and in areas new to me. Penna have shared with me their work around creating Employer Value Propositions (EVPs) for Councils – creating a message that represents the Council as an employer; defining why people should join. Invaluable, comprehensive research infuses the EVP with truths and ambitions. It helps attract the right people - who understand a Council’s culture and mission from day one. How powerful this would have been had I known it was an available option!

Add to this Penna’s experience in advertising, psychometric & technical assessments and a network of talent that stretches across the private and public sectors, delivering the right people for a future looking, commercial organisation that all Councils now need to be; it becomes easy to understand why I joined and the transition an easy one to make.