People, Culture and Opportunity: 25 Years in Recruitment

This year CMA’s Commercial Director, Richard Dibden, celebrates an impressive 25 years with the business.

He has worked in many aspects of the business, starting as a Trainee Recruitment Consultant and progressing to the Board. He is well-known and loved by CMA’s candidates and clients alike, and even met his wife within the walls of CMA!

To commemorate this milestone anniversary, we thought it was fitting to sit down with Richard and delve into his time with CMA, exploring how the industry and indeed the company has changed in that time, his highlights and importantly, what keeps him here.

Career Journey & Growth

Richard didn’t start his career in recruitment. A keen sportsman, Richard enjoyed a four-year stint as a professional cricketer with Hampshire County Cricket Club in the mid-late nineties. It was naturally disappointing for Richard when this came to an end. He decided against an offer from another county to pursue a different career and looked into opportunities in recruitment.

“I interviewed with a few agencies but was so lucky CMA was recruiting at that time and as soon as I met with Peter Clarke, Founder of CMA, I knew this was my preferred company to join!”

Richard was completely new to recruitment and started off recruiting for roles up to £12,500: “I thought I’d give it six months to see how it went and here we are 25 years later…!”

Peter Clarke reflects: “When I think back to CMA’s Red Room, at the London Road office, in Southampton – as a Trainee Consultant, Richard was the first to prove the clerical desk could deliver serious results, by hitting the highest sales figures consistently over a number of years.”

As his confidence grew, Richard’s recruiting moved through the salary ranges, recruiting at all levels (Part & Newly Qualified, Senior and Executive) and then taking a more managerial role.

Peter explains: “Richard managed to make the transition through to the MDs and FDs effortlessly, which enabled him to build bridges and sign up new clients consistently.”

He became Commercial Director in 2009: “I have since focused on, and enjoyed, working with our superb consultancy team on developing client relationships across the South and Solent region.”

 Company Culture & Values

So, what is it about CMA that has kept Richard engaged and committed all these years?

For Richard, it can be summarised as people, culture and opportunity. He says: “CMA has given me a great opportunity to develop my career and role within the business and this has kept the challenge for me.

“I’ve also worked with some amazing, talented individuals that really care about what they do and the customers they are delivering to.”

The company focus on long-term view and emphasis on building relationships is key to this: “The main value for me that runs through CMA is the desire to ‘do the right thing’. The recruitment industry can get some negative press at times with the focus on making that next sale.

“But at CMA, our people orientation means we do listen to our candidates and clients and always try to deliver against these needs and aspirations.”

Advice & Reflection

With 25 years in the business, is there anything that Richard would tell his younger self? Richard says it would be to focus on the medium to long-term vision: “The adage that your candidates now are the decision-makers of the future is so true.”

The candidates he placed in their first Purchase Ledger or Accounts Assistant role 20-25 years ago are now long-term contacts, holding FD/CFO or even MD/CEO positions.

Overcoming challenges

As Richard’s role has developed within the business, this naturally has come with some personal challenges. Richard’s open and honest leadership style has helped him overcome these.

“At the time of assuming managerial responsibility, the relationships with your peers and colleagues do change to some degree. The adjustment here is often harder, I feel, for the manager than the team itself and the only way to overcome this is continuing to work in a collaborative, open manner and making sure the objectives and end goal are communicated and shared.”

When asked for his advice for aspiring managers and leaders, Richard says: “Trying to lead by example in terms of commitment and output is a sure way to overcome this challenge, as well as not forgetting to have some fun along the way!”

Achievements & highlights

With a quarter of a century of experience under his belt, Richard has many career achievements that he can feel proud of. From a personal perspective, meeting his wife, Sandrine, who worked at the Bournemouth office when it first opened in the early 2000s, naturally is a life-changing highlight from his time with the company!

Professionally, Richard’s biggest achievement is the key part he has played in the development of CMA into the business it is today.

Peter confirms this: “I could not have achieved what we have over the past quarter century, without him. Coming out of the recession in 2009, two members of the team stepped up to the plate to support me on the Board, Richard was one of them.”

Richard says: “Our reputation and market share has grown significantly since the late 90s/early 2000s and as a team I feel we can be very proud (but not complacent) about this.”

The development of the team is another major area of pride for Richard. “I have seen so many team members grow both  in their consultancy careers and as individuals. A high number of our Divisional Managers and Business Managers, as well as our Director team, have progressed through the ranks at CMA and this has been so satisfying to see.”

Richard is responsible for the organisation of many of CMA’s corporate events and often presents at these. Peter says: “Richard showed he was very comfortable on his feet, by delivering some of the best presentations at our corporate events over the years, not to mention some fun sessions at our quarterly sales meetings!

“He took the CMA Corporate Golf Day under his wing and established it, to such an extent, that some clients were prepared to book a day’s leave, to ensure they could make it!”

And finally, the long-term relationships that CMA has developed with its clients, the advisory community and the institutions within the industry, is something Richard is proud to have played a part in: “I would like to think that if canvassed, our reputation and service delivery would be viewed very favourably and long may this continue!”

Changes to the recruitment industry

As well as huge technological advances, the biggest shift in the sector that Richard has seen is the more recent change in people’s aspirations and expectations.

Salary and career development, while still important to many these days, were the over-riding aspirations two decades ago. Now there are other factors that people want to consider.

“The phrases ‘work-life balance’, ‘flexible working’ and ‘mental health and wellbeing’ were relatively unheard of back in the 2000s and it’s been a very positive move that these focuses have replaced the ‘first in, last out’ mentality that was prevalent to advance your career.”

CMA has embraced this change, with the leadership team actively encouraging the team to achieve a balance in their lives and ensure they are able to bring their best selves to work, refreshed and raring to go consistently.

“Rewarding and acknowledging our team for outstanding work done is another key facet of CMA’s approach to our employees, which we have focused on and developed over the years”, explains Richard.

“From internal feedback and the average tenure of the team (between 8-9 years!), this seems to be appreciated and valued by all.”

Future Outlook

What excites Richard about the future? Growth for CMA is a key aspect of this: “Both in terms of market share in our existing territories, as well as the opening of additional offices. That’s why the past 25 years have flown by; we have always been driven by improving our service offering and developing our client base.”

Watch this space for the specifics of where and what this expansion will look like!