Mark Group and Sport2Business

The Mark Group is one of the UK’s leading domestic energy solutions businesses.  Based in Leicestershire, but with a UK wide operation, they are responsible for integrating cost saving solutions to over 3,000 homes per week with products ranging from insulation services, through to solar energy and wind turbine installation.

The company is going through a massive growth phase, in particular within its sales force, and it has teamed up with S2B and Hudson to provide an innovative recruitment solution to fulfil its ambitious growth plans.

Bill Rumble, Commercial Director at Mark Group, gave his thoughts on the recruitment project;

“We have been very pleased with the first phase of new employees that we have sourced through S2B and Hudson. With particular reference to the sports guys that have now started in the business, they have demonstrated just the right sort of attitude and drive that we are looking for and we are glad to report thay they are amongst our high performers already. We have expectations that a number of them will progress into more senior roles over the coming months.
The high standard of applicant that has gone through our assessment process had been particularly pleasing, with the S2B candidates performing particularly well.”

Hiring Winners

Over the last 12 months, Mark Group has already employed 20 high achievers from the world of elite sport, with several others in process. All those hires encapsulate the expected soft skills you often associate with sport – drive, commitment, results orientation, ambition and well developed people, team building and leadership skills. Additionally they have all developed a passion for working in the ‘energy sector’. The company sees them as potential high achievers for the future.

Jo Nicholas – (GB Badminton) Jo has played badminton at the top level for over 10 years winning medals on the European stage and also making the Olympic team in 2004. She has recently retired from top level competition and will started her new career with Mark Group at the end of May 2008 where she has quickly proven herself as a top performer. Indeed Jo has already been promoted into a sales management role where she successfully went through an assessment process to be selected ahead of many more experienced candidates.

Adam Billig – (professional rugby player) Adam has been brought into the sales team to develop the company’s renewable energy product range for the domestic market. Having had previous experience in medical sales, Adam has already been identified as a future leader within the business. Adam manages his time at work whilst also playing semi-professional rugby and spending time with his young family.

Paul Wilson – (professional rugby player) After a top level rugby career with likes of Harlequins RFC, Paul has spent a number of years working and developing his experience within the fitness sector and is qualified personal trainer. Recognising that he needed a change of career he has recently started his new role and has been very successful within the first couple of months.

Ben Patston – (professional rugby player) Whilst only 24 years old Ben clearly understands the benefits of developing his future career pathway.  He still plays semi-professionally for Bedford Blues and is enjoying his new career challenge.

Alistair Galloway – (GB Volleyball) After a successful career with both GB and in Europe playing volleyball Alistair has returned to his native Scotland and starts his new career with Mark Group. He will have responsibility for developing their business in the Glasgow region.

Ben Gerry – (professional rugby player) Ben has played rugby at some of the UK’s top clubs and is a product of the Leicester Tigers Academy. Ben has been working in the family business along side his sporting career over the last 2 years but he has decided to challenge and develop himself in a new environment and is clearly a future business leader.

Other athletes hired into sales and technical support installation roles include:

Professional rugby union and league players - Stuart Walker, Jimmy Richards, Alistair Lyon, Matthew Biggs, Gavin Hart, Mark Eastwood, Matt O’Regan, Paul Banahan, Darren Shaw
Olympic Sports – Liam Carney (Ice Hockey), Alex Murphy (Water-Polo), Garry Bristow (Athletics)
Professional Football – Lee Roche, Steve Melton
Tennis - Nathan Rooney

Raising Employer Brand

There have been a number of events over the last few months that have helped the Mark Group raise their awareness within the sporting community as an employer and indirectly this has raised their business to business branding.

Careers fair and work experience seminars

S2B and Mark Group have jointly run work experience days, presentations, careers fairs and a selection of direct advertisements of career options to raise the awareness of the Mark Group and the energy solutions sector as a career option for retiring sports stars or those thinking ahead about ‘what next’. These have all helped result in a steady flow of good quality individuals from across all sports expressing interest.

Creative staff retention and business development activities

Throughout the partnership, staff and key clients of Mark Group have obtained access to a variety of one-off opportunities to network with elite sports stars including:

• Testimonial events across the country
• One to one meetings with high profile sportspeople for ambassadorial opportunities
• Golf days attended by sporting elite
• Business development meetings with key sporting contacts

ISG plc and Sport2Business

S2B and ISG have been partnering for 18 months and it has been a fascinating case study illustrating the benefits that a plc company can derive from engaging with the sporting elite and building an exciting recruitment channel together with Sport2Business:

Hiring Winners

ISG have over the last 18 months already employed 4 high achievers from the world of elite sport, with several others in process. All those hires encapsulate the expected soft skills you often associate with sport – drive, commitment, results orientation, ambition and well developed people, team building and leadership skills. Additionally they all have developed a passion for the construction services industry. The company sees them as potential high achievers.

Dan Harris – (Professional rugby player) Dan is now working in business development having cut his teeth in an Assistant Construction Management role. He has created a positive impression throughout the business and is seen as a valuable long term employee. In his BD role he will undoubtedly be using his extended and well developed network through professional sport.

Billy Fulton – (Professional NZ rugby player) Although only 3 months in as an assistant construction manager, he is really enjoying himself and creating a very positive impression throughout his division. He regularly uses his rugby contacts for staff and client benefits.

Paul Manning (World champion cyclist) – As a world champion, silver medalist and competitor in Beijing, he is already excited about his next career with ISG which will start full time in January 2009. Everyone in ISG will be following the British Cycling team with added interest and Paul’s application to his Olympic dream will undoubtedly help him achieve within ISG.

Garth Chamberlain – (Professional rugby player) A product of the Wasps partnership (see later in the case study), Garth completes his professional rugby career this season and has already committed to an exciting career with ISG.

ISG look forward to a regular flow of high achievers into the business in 2008/9. Of particular interest is the ongoing development of a ‘Training Academy’ that provides an ideal opportunity for ISG to engage with and train professional athletes whilst they are still competing at the highest level. This will be further developed during the next 12 months.

Ambassadors through sport

ISG have embraced high profile individuals in sport in some creative, high impact ways over the last 12 months. Some of those initiatives include:

Sean Fitzpatrick – ISG have used Sean during a variety of networking and awards evenings with their staff and key business partners. Why? Because Sean has an innate interest in the construction services industry and he is capable of communicating the lessons of being part of ‘the best team in the world’ in a way that inspires staff, clients and partners alike.

Simon Shaw – Again as part of the Wasps partnership, ISG have sponsored Simon Shaw as he embodies many of the values of ISG. Simon is a natural leader on the field with total commitment to his club, his profession and he is constantly looking to seek feedback to improve himself.

Leadership development – ISG have also bought leaders in sport through Sport2Business to support their leadership training initiatives. Their high performance leaders in the business have been inspired by customised presentations from high profile leaders in sport.

Raise Employer Brand

There have been a number of events through the year that have helped ISG raise their awareness within the sporting community as an employer and indirectly this has raised their business to business branding. Examples include (but not limited to):

Networking seminars – S2B and ISG have partnered in networking seminars in London, Manchester and Cardiff attended by elite sports stars and local business contacts alike. Several interviews and business development opportunities have arisen out of these sessions.

Careers fair and work experience seminars – S2B and ISG have jointly run work experience days, presentations at clubs, careers fairs and a selection of direct advertisements of the ISG career options to raise the awareness of ISG and construction services as a career option for retiring sports stars or those thinking ahead about ‘what next’. These have all helped result in a steady flow of good quality individuals from across all sports expressing interest in ISG..

Construction services module – ISG have developed an informative online module available to all Sport2Business candidates to help them better understand the opportunities in the construction services industry. This has been circulated already to several hundred sports stars across the UK.

Wasps Commercial Development Programme
In association with Cranfield Business School and S2B, ISG have sponsored a commercial development programme for the Wasps players. This included a business simulation game keenly contested by all players and one of the winners was Garth Chamberlain….who coincidentally has been hired! In return, ISG have enjoyed a beneficial sponsorship package including corporate hospitality and advertising. In addition, ISG have become a major sponsor of Wasps to help raise their profile in sport and help entertain both clietns and staff.

Creative staff retention and business development activities

Throughout the partnership, staff and key clients of ISG have obtained access to a variety of one-off opportunities to network with elite sports stars including:

• FA Cup Final and Wembley matches
• Wimbledon
• Twickenham games and access to players
• Testimonial events across the country
• One to one meetings with Olympians
• Golf days attended by sporting elite
• Business development meetings with key sporting contacts

Summary

Partnerships should be win-win so what do the two parties feel about it?

‘We embarked on this partnership primarily as a recruitment channel and whilst we are delighted that it has delivered, the benefits of the partnership have gone more further, in particular in the areas of staff and client retention, staff development and the raising of our employer brand. We are realising more and more the power of sport and we look forward to using this S2B partnership to further gain a competitive edge!’
David Entwistle , Director ISGplc

‘ISG have been and and continue to be a delight to work with. They embraced the vision of hiring from a population of high performers and have worked with us to make this happen. Watching people like Dan Harris and Billy Fulton settle in and perform well in their new careers has been key, delivering the ancillary benefits to ISG is the fun part and it has been inspiring to us to see athletes embrace the opportunities that ISG provide to help remove the fear of ‘what next’ that is always in the minds of high performing athletes. We look forward to a long term partnership with ISG’
Russell Yeomans, CEO, MD Sport2Business

Coca-Cola Enterprises partners with Sport2Business to hire out of sport

We have been working with Coca-Cola Enterprises for over 2 years now, raising their employer brand, running regular work experience days and hiring regularly from sport into their entry level 'Territory Sales Representative' roles. We attach below several extracts from our newsletters that help encapsulate some of the successes from the partnership.

Coca-Cola Enterprises Engages with Olympic Fencer

In our last newsletter we mentioned there might be positive news from the last Coca-Cola work experience day. We are delighted to report that Chrystall Nicoll, a funded GB fencer, has joined the Coca-Cola Enterprise sales team operating close to her Essex home. She will train in the mornings then work for CCE in the afternoons. Both parties are delighted with the arrangement so let’s see what they have to say:

‘I was introduced to Careers After Sport by the BAC and I was fortunate to be invited to the CCE work experience day. The day was very well run by CAS and CCE and it was really refreshing to see a business of Coca-Cola’s reputation keen to engage with elite athletes. Since the day things have progressed superbly, CCE are receptive to my aims and with CAS/Russell’s guidance I have been able to make the most of the opportunity to convince CCE to make an offer to me. I am ecstatic – CCE have fitted the sales/IT training I need around my fencing training schedule; the role really helps me financially, it is a highly energetic but fun working environment that fits perfectly with an athlete’s personality. In my first few days CCE have been accommodating, open and the support network has been faultless. It is a fantastic company and I have every intention of producing great results both in my fencing and for CCE.’ Chrystall Nicoll

‘We are delighted to have Chrystall on board and we are excited by the concept of working more proactively over time with elite athletes. We already have Rugby players and Olympic Hockey players working with us and in partnership with Careers After Sport/Sport2Business we see the sporting elite playing a growing role as a recruitment channel providing energetic, driven, competitive and team orientated talent into our business.’ Chris Hayman, HR Manager, Coca-Cola Enterprises.

Coca-Cola Enterprises Work Experience Day

Earlier this year, we held another work experience day with Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE). Attending were four Olympic athletes and two premiership rugby players. The day involved a motivational introduction from CCE Regional Director, Daryl Jelinek, then the sports stars spent a day on the road meeting clients, delivering stock and bombarding CCE with questions.

The day was a huge success from both the athletes and CCE’s perspective, so much so that Coca- Cola Enterprises have been working diligently behind the scenes to create opportunities for three of the attending Olympic athletes. These athletes, although funded, need to supplement their income to achieve their Olympic dream and they have been delighted to have the potential opportunity of working with an ‘employer of choice’ like Coca-Cola. The athletes did create a very positive impression with the CCE staff through their positive attitude, drive for achievement and communication skills – all core competencies sought by Coca-Cola.

To quote Chris Hayman, HR Manager CCE, ‘The sports stars were a credit to themselves and their sports. They were keen to learn, asked very good questions, engaged with the clients and our staff well and pleasantly surprised us with their enthusiasm to gain experience while still chasing their Olympic dream. They all embodied the key competencies of
teamwork, communication and drive for achievement that we always seek. We are keen to find ways of working with these athletes and will be working closely with them and CAS to create a ‘win-win’ arrangement.’

We look forward to reporting the results in our next newsletter.

Coca-Cola Enterprises Work Experience Day

In January, a number of our Rugby Union clients in the London area attended a work experience day with Coca-Cola Enterprises. The day involved a ‘meet and greet’ where Daryl Jelinek, the Director South East Region for Coca-Cola Enterprises, gave a well received speech, not only introducing the company and the opportunities, but also recapping his career and how he wished he had spent more time thinking about his first career move after sport! The players then spent the day in the field with CCB sales executives meeting clients, delivering products and discussing what real life is like working for a company like Coca-Cola.

The whole day was a positive experience from all angles that is best described by quoting the people involved:

Charlie Amesbury, Harlequins – ‘I really enjoyed the day. Hearing about Daryl’s experience heightened my awareness of the need to get work experience to support any studies. Regarding the role of the sales guys in Coca-Cola, I really enjoyed the client contact and being on the road plus the independence that comes with the role. I am still planning to be playing rugby for many years to come, but building a relationship with Coca-Cola and being trained in sales while still competing (hopefully at the top level) really appeals. I can now understand why Coca-Cola is a great company to work with.’

Chris Robshaw, Harlequins – ‘I really warmed both to the company and the sales role.  Previously I had not thought about sales as I thought you needed to be an accomplished presenter/speaker or have the ‘gift of the gab,’ but seeing the guys in action, it is about listening and relationship building. Given that I am currently recuperating from injury, I am interested in seeing other roles and potentially being trained up while I have more spare time.’

Dan Scarbrough, Saracens – ‘I have thought about sales as a career before, but the day further fuelled my interest. I enjoyed watching the salesmen apply the Coca-Cola sales process. I enjoyed seeing them trying to hit their daily, weekly and monthly targets and I thought that we could have made a few more calls to bust our targets for the day!’

Dan Harris, ex Saracens – ‘As I have just finished my rugby career, I am more committed to finding my next career as soon as possible. The day was invaluable to help me better understand the role of a sales executive in a fast-moving, consumer goods environment, and compare with the other career opportunities I am looking at. The company appear to be a great employer and everyone I met seemed happy to be there.’

Daryl Jelinek, Director, Coca-Cola Enterprises – ‘It was a really enjoyable day for our staff. Having professional players in the office helped morale, and the players conducted themselves in a professional and engaging way. We were delighted by the input, the questions and the enthusiasm showed by the players. Our sales people and their clients enjoyed it and, as expected, the players were already looking for ways that we could sell more products! I was pleasantly surprised by the response and will look to engage with more players over time. We will be delighted to start working with people like Charlie and Chris to help train them in sales while they are still playing.’

We will be running similar work experience days in Newcastle, Manchester and again in London so please call your career coach, Jon Sleightholme (07802 800040) or Russell Yeomans (07714 844734) if you are interested.