A local recruitment agency with a refreshingly different approach

Neil Jones, and his recruitment partner Hayley Dodd, originally worked together as part of the in-house recruitment for a mental health hospital with CEO Tony Gearty. The sale of the hospital spurred Neil on to set up and run his own business.

By delivering high-quality, cost-effective recruitment services, Treo is helping Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), charities and local businesses to find their ideal candidates with a combination of personal service and low-cost flexible partnerships that enable their clients to recruit the right people as their business needs evolve.

The Treo team have their own unique approach to finding the right candidate for the job, preferring to recruit for attitude over skills. As Neil says, “ You can teach a skill, but you can’t teach will.” In addition to offering recruitment services for sectors such as healthcare, retail and hospitality, they also support the local community. The Treo team is totally committed to investing time and resource into the local area supporting charities and grass roots sports.

"Treo was born from a belief that recruitment doesn’t have to be impersonal or overpriced. We built this agency to offer honest advice, exceptional service and sustainable solutions that benefit everyone: employers, candidates and the communities we serve.” Neil commented. “Above all we would like to have a positive impact on the lives of job seekers, employers and the communities across every region we support. Attracting new business and being able to do more community work go hand in hand and are a benchmark of success.” Neil concluded.

The work they do is not just limited to recruitment. They also carry out many other HR-related tasks for their clients, including reviewing Job descriptions, producing HR documents, developing onboarding processes, creating and updating staff handbooks, and helping with accreditation.

As with all new businesses, there have been some ups and downs. The team has dealt with setbacks with resilience and good humour. The services provided by Business Doncaster and the LAUNCHPAD team have been extremely helpful in the early days of Treo. As Neil explains, “Gary and Sue spent time getting to know us. They were hands-on, visiting the office, listening to our plans, and offering advice. We have found the training courses and networking opportunities particularly useful and plan to continue to use these services.”

Getting the message out there to businesses and candidates about Treo’s completely different approach to recruitment is key to their success. As part of showcasing just how different they are to other recruitment agencies, Treo has entered this year’s Doncaster Chamber awards for the first time and is proud to be a finalist in New Business of the Year and Partnership of the Year categories for its work with local community groups.There is a great team spirit in the Treo office, and they like to have a bit of fun as well. In fact their office darts challenge has become quite a thing! Every Friday the team sit down and look at what has gone well to end the week on a positive note so that the weekend feels good.

Neils top tips to other businesses just setting out in business are: “Don’t dwell on setbacks; learn from them and move on. Keep showing up and make sure your messages are consistent. Don’t let the fear of failure consume you and never become complacent. Stay true to your values, be persistent and keep persevering.”“Family support and self-belief are so important; without this you become your own worst critic. Develop a strong network of people around you – both personally and professionally. Use the support available from organisations such as Business Doncaster, LAUNCHPAD, Doncaster Chamber of Commerce and the FSB. Find like-minded people to go on the journey with you. Find a Hayley!”

Treo’s business plans and goals have been carefully put together with long-term sustainability, values-driven growth and community impact at the core. The first year was all about getting the business established and starting to build a presence as a people-first recruitment agency. Treo is now focusing on becoming an established player in the recruitment marketplace. This involves reinvesting profit into new systems, process and technology to improve candidate and client experience as well as into local community activities. It’s not about short-term gain; the emphasis is on creating long-term value.

The next phase of growth is about, scaling slowly, building the business by growing customers, increasing brand awareness, service offerings and profit, all at a pace that does not compromise the business’s core values.

Treo’s commitment to delivering first-class service is reflected in the 5-star ratings they have received which highlight their responsiveness, integrity and genuine care they show to both clients and candidates. These testimonials serve as proof that their partnership-led approach isn’t just working, it’s making a real difference.

Ambitious future plans will see Treo Recruitment expanding their people-first, community focused style of recruitment in different geographical area, staffed by teams that mirror Treo’s values, culture, community investment and outstanding service.

Summarising Treo’s business journey to date, Hayley commented “Neil is the driving force behind the business. He strives to get the best outcome for everyone. We also have the support and trust of our clients that have been with us since day one, our new clients and of course we couldn’t have got to where we are today without the support of our partners and families".

For further information visit: Treo Recruitment