Leeds businessman launches online temporary recruitment platform

A Leeds-based businessman has created a new online platform to bridge the gap between recruiters and employers when appointing temporary workers.

During his time working as an engineer, Tom Rowbottom spotted a gap in the market for the need of this type of platform. Now he has developed a site which is expected to turnover £100k in its first year, with a growth strategy to reach £900k before the end of its third year in business.

Having begun his career as a Graduate Civil Engineer prior to the financial crises in 2006, Tom’s junior position saw him retained with senior members made redundant when the recession hit the industry hard.

As the construction sector began to pick up once again, Tom was tasked with sourcing temporary workers on a project-by-project basis, retaining the flexibility to reduce staff numbers again if necessary.

Realising the time wasted in speaking to several different recruiters each time the need for temporary workers arose, Tom decided a better way was needed.

Known as TempAuction, the online tool which launched 4 April 2016, provides benefits to both employers and recruiters, and pays the agency worker fees, even if the employer doesn’t pay TempAuction.

The site allows employers to widen their net when sourcing temporary staff, while providing transparency and competitiveness within the temporary recruitment market. Employers only deal with recruiters they want, at a time that suits them and all timesheets, invoices and payments are managed by TempAuction.

Furthermore, TempAuction is a free to use service for employers; it is free to sign up, create auctions and engage with candidates and recruiters.

Tom Rowbottom commented: “The TempAuction marketplace provides recruiters with real leads at the point of hire, increasing their turnover and allowing them to concentrate on building a great reputation from valuable employer feedback.

“TempAuction’s ‘you get paid, even if we don’t’ model for agency worker fees will provide improved cash flow and reduced risk for SME recruiters, allowing them to compete with the most established recruitment businesses.”

Recruiters pay a nominal ‘bid fee’ to bid on jobs in a ‘pay as you go’ fashion (charged on a monthly basis) and auctions are separated into short term roles for agency workers employed by the recruiter and temporary positions for directly employed staff, with set bid fees for each.

Tom believes there is a need for TempAuction to increase efficiencies particularly within this sector but it will be useful for a number of other industries too.