BROOM TIME: OUR WEALTH IS OUR PEOPLE

Anne Heraty Entrepreneur Of The Year 2006

Entrepreneur of the year for 2006, Anne Heraty talks to Niamh MacSweeney about the next big boom; the huge value employees contribute to business and how Ireland's workforce is our best resource and an underlying mechanism to our economic wealth.

Starting out in the recruitment business in the 80s when unemployment was high and jobs weren't plentiful like they are today, Anne Heraty probably never imagined that 17 years later she would be a hugely successful entrepreneur running her own award winning company. Niamh MacSweeney It's never easy starting your own business. For Anne Heraty setting up CPL Resources was a lifelong ambition, something that she knew would give her huge satisfaction. Helping others to advance in their chosen careers is something that she loves to do, so setting up a recruitment company seemed like the obvious path to take.

Founded in 1989 CPL Resources is a provider of recruitment and human resource services, operating through a network of 12 offices including Ireland, the UK and Poland. The company operates across seven specialist brands including technology, healthcare, pharmaceutical, finance and accounting and office support.

STARTING OUT

When Heraty initially started out she found that the majority of the other recruitment companies were generalists who recruited from every sector. "I wanted to focus on the IT sector because I felt that by developing a decent knowledge and specialising in one particular niche I would be able to give a much better service to both our customers and to our candidates who were looking for jobs," she explains. The era that Heraty started out in was a world apart from the booming economy we are experiencing today and undoubtedly she faced many challenges. "At that time in the late 80s and early 90s unemployment was running at about 16 or 17%. Many people were looking for jobs, but there just weren't that many jobs around. So it was a very challenging time," she recalls.

Undeterred, Heraty felt she had a compelling proposition that could stand on its own merits and clearly her decision to focus on one particular sector and one particular niche has allowed the company to develop and grow.

ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR

Finally she has been commended for her entrepreneurial endeavors by being named the 2006 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. From a competitive pool of 24 company finalists, she is the second businesswomen in Ireland to single handedly receive this prestigious award.

AWARD WINNING COMPANY

Winning entrepreneur of the year obviously means a great deal and is well deserved recognition for her ambition and conviction. And yet Heraty is quick to attribute the company's success to the team at CPL, "who have built this award winning company." Although previously nominated, Heraty maintains that the reason they won this year is because the business is thriving. "We have driven tremendous organic growth in the business, we have a fantastic customer base and the business is doing very well."

DRIVING FORCE

Her refusal to giving up or take no for an answer, combined with her love and passion for the industry, are all attributes that have been instrumental to her entrepreneurial drive and success. "I think recruitment is a fantastic industry. You are helping people to advance their careers, you see them develop their skills and you get to build relationships with people too", she says.

CHALLENGES

Although Heraty willingly admits that she has made plenty of mistakes there is no one particular negative incidence that sticks out in her mind. Rather than focus on setbacks, she insists that you must learn from them and then move on quickly. "I tend not to dwell too much on the things that don't work out. I think that you look at them, you learn from them, you do what you can and then you move on."

SUPPORT

In the early stages of the business Heraty had a partner Keith O'Malley who she eventually bought out in 1994. Although she insists that having a business partner and support from family and friends was very helpful she received practically no other assistance in her business venture. It simply wasn't the "environment" at the time she explains.

ACHIEVEMENT

Lack of support hasn't stopped Heraty achieving her goals and yet her biggest achievement is not her own level of success, but rather the fact that she has been able to recruit a talented and motivated team. "I think that the success of any business is based on the skills of the people on the team. My biggest success has been I've been able to attract, recruit and keep talented and skilled individuals. I feel very privileged to be working with people who also love what they do and who are passionate about the level of service they give to our customers."

STAFF MOTIVATION

Retaining quality staff is always a major challenge for entrepreneurs as it can be difficult to obtain and keep people with the right level of skills and the right attitude. According to Heraty you need to have a really good "culture" to retain staff. She maintains that in order to create a good work culture you have to, "recruit people who are similarly minded and who really believe in the business and believe in what you are trying to achieve and do."

CHANGING SECTOR

One of the biggest changes that Heraty has witnessed in the sector is the level of skills shortages emerging in Ireland. "When I started out in recruitment we were looking at 17% unemployment now we are looking at 4%, which is a big growth in employment so clearly it is something that we have to be cognitive of going forward not just in Ireland but worldwide as well. Although Heraty anticipates that talent shortages and skill shortages will be with us to stay, she is equally concerned with European demographics and the predicted aging population. On a more positive note she argues that the rise of the service sector in developed economise is completely dependent on people. "The value people contribute to business is being recognised more and more, which I think is a very positive thing.