UK Enterprise 2017

76 WORLDWIDE BUSINESS REVIEW / UK Enterprise Awards 2017 , Most Innovative Recruitment Company - London Persona HR Ltd is a vibrant and established professional recruitment consultancy that provides specialist recruitment to the Security, Events and Hospitality industries. We invited Founder Krista Brown to tell us more. Since inception 9 years ago Persona has grown at a steady rate by sticking to offering a niche service and competitive rates, it is a viable and well-established business. When the firm first started it was seen as a non- entity. Starting off with one woman and her laptop, the firm now has a HQ, 26 Man management team and around 400 staff. Krista discusses how far the firm has come and what sets it apart from its competitors. “Winning this award is a huge achievement for us all at Persona and it’s all been done through teamwork, honesty and determination. What differentiates us from the competition is that we pride ourselves on being ahead of the game. We are the only Disability Confident Company in the London Borough of Waltham Forest and the only organisation in our industry that focus on Youth Regeneration. Additionally, last year we launched our Company App last year for staff & clients - Giving Industry Updates and News, Promoting Training Courses and Booking people in for work. It has proved to be a huge success with over 300 apps downloaded thus far.” Founder Krista was the pioneer of the Spectator Safety WUK17073 Apprenticeship, an Ambassador for the National Apprenticeship Service and UK Work Experience. She works tirelessly alongside schools, colleges and youth organisations across London introducing students to the various prospects of careers in their future through Insight to Industry days, Work Experience, Interview Technique Training, Recruitment and more. She discusses her latest project to support students and how this is changing the face of the industry. “Our latest project, The Danger Squad is an interactive, fun- filled KS1 learner programme and series of Early Reader books, aimed at teaching children Emergency Awareness, Understanding, Preparedness and Response. We successfully completed our pilot ending June 2017, where we taught 1000 children across England and had amazing feedback. “The programme does not use shock tactics, but it does gently introduce children to some of the emergency situations that they or their peers could face – and how to respond to them in the correct way using safe steps and being aware of safe people, safe places and safe signs, for example. One of the inspirations behind the development of the programme was a young boy who found a gun in his home. He did not know what to do – but with the help of the Danger Squad, our aim is to give children the understanding and awareness they need.” Looking ahead, the plan is to build upon Persona’s current success and continue to offer its vital services to a wider range of clients, as Krista concludes. “Overall, our ongoing company ethos is to remain a family orientated business, offering fast, feasible and cost effective solutions to clients. We aim to ensure that the organisation helps everyone into employment specifically giving aid to those that struggle due to circumstances and would like to develop a successful career within the industry. We have changed lives – grown kids into adults, helped ex-offenders stay off the wrong path etc. We genuinely care about the people we work with and the success of Persona is down to our great staff and amazing management team always going above and beyond their call of duty. Our testimonials speak for themselves – everyone loves working at Persona. We are hugely proud of being different than the rest & being recognised for the right things.” Contact: Krista Brown Contact Email: [email protected] Address: 10/11 Excalibur Works, Argall Avenue, London, E10 7QE, UK Phone: 020 8558 4315