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ServicesThe process

Four stages between a role you need filled and a person who can do it

Recruit, verify, train, place. Every candidate goes through all four, in order, against the same standard.

On this page

  1. 01The four stages
  2. 02Temporary hire
  3. 03Working with us
  4. 04Scope
  5. 05Questions

01The four stages

What happens at each stage

Each stage has its own pass mark, which is why the list that reaches you is short.

01

Recruit

Finding and attracting candidates across markets, so there is always a group of people to assess.

We do not wait for applications. We go and find people, including those not actively looking, so a new role never starts from an empty inbox.

What this includes

  • Role-specific outreach built around what you actually need
  • Candidates who are looking, and candidates who would move for the right role
  • A first screen for basic fit before anyone enters the process
  • A continuous flow, so a new role does not start from zero

Best suited to

Teams that need more candidates, faster, than they could reach on their own.

02

Verify

Checking each candidate against a defined standard before you ever see them.

The same five checks for every candidate, before they reach you. Most hiring processes leave this part to the client. We keep it.

What this includes

  • Background: work history and references, checked rather than assumed
  • Competency: can they do the tasks the role involves
  • Communication: how clearly they work with a team that is not in the room
  • Reliability: do they turn up, follow through and finish things
  • Work ethic: how they behave when the work is difficult or dull

Best suited to

Teams that have hired someone who turned out not to be able to do the job.

03

Train

Structured programmes that bring candidates up to the standard the role requires.

A capable person who has not done your kind of work still has to learn it. We train them before the placement, so you do not carry that cost.

What this includes

  • Built around the operating standard the role has to meet
  • The same programme for every candidate, so results are comparable
  • Assessed at the end, not just attended
  • Completed before the placement, not after it

Best suited to

Roles where the time a new hire takes to become useful is the real cost.

04

Place

Moving people onto your team once, and only once, they have met the standard.

Placement is the last stage, not the first. A candidate arrives found, checked and trained, then works a trial in the live role before anything becomes permanent.

What this includes

  • Transfer into the live role with the trial period in place
  • Primops employs the candidate for the duration of the trial
  • Defined checkpoints against the standard, not a general impression
  • Only candidates who meet the standard convert to a permanent placement

Best suited to

Companies that want proof of performance before committing to a permanent hire.

A trainer guiding a small group at their desks in a training room, beneath a wall display titled Training.
Stage 03 — Train
Structured training, assessed at the endStage 03 / Train

02Temporary hire

The trial period is the part that does the work

Everything before it narrows the field. The trial is where a promising profile becomes someone you have watched do the job.

Primops employs the candidate throughout. They work your live role, to your deadlines, assessed against the written standard at defined checkpoints. Only the people who meet it convert.

Why it changes the risk

Before
You sign a contract on a CV, an interview and a reference call, then find out over the following months.
After
You watch the person do the actual work while we carry the employment, and commit once you have seen it.
A person working at a laptop and two monitors in a bright office, beside a wall panel reading Build Operate Grow.
Stage 04 — Place

03Working with us

What the process looks like from your side

Seven steps from the first conversation to a permanent hire.

  1. You tell us what you need

    The role, the skills it genuinely requires, and the standard a person has to meet. If we cannot do it well, we say so now.

  2. We build the brief

    A written standard every candidate is measured against. You approve it before we start.

  3. We find candidates

    Across markets, against that brief, including people who are not actively looking.

  4. We check them

    Background, competency, communication, reliability and work ethic. Anyone short of the standard stops here.

  5. We train them

    Structured training against the operating standard, assessed at the end.

  6. They work a trial period

    Your live role, real deadlines, employed by Primops.

  7. You decide

    Only candidates who meet the standard during the trial convert to a permanent placement.

A person reading a large monitor at a desk, chin resting on one hand, beside a poster reading Good People Build Great Teams.
Careful work, every step

04Scope

What we do and what we don't

Being clear about the edges is more useful than claiming there aren't any.

YesWe do

  • Source candidates across markets against a written brief
  • Check background, competency, communication, reliability and work ethic
  • Run structured training against the operating standard
  • Employ candidates during the trial period
  • Assess performance in the live role at defined checkpoints
  • Place only the people who meet the standard

NoWe don't

  • Forward unchecked CVs for you to screen
  • Present formal regulated background screening as one of our services
  • Run executive search for one-off senior hires
  • Provide legal, tax or immigration advice
  • Place people who have not met the standard, whatever the deadline pressure
  • Quote a time to hire before we understand the role

05Questions

Things clients ask before starting

Q01How is this different from a staffing agency?

An agency forwards candidates and leaves the screening to you. We do the screening, the training and a live trial before anyone reaches your team.

Q02Who employs the candidate during the trial period?

Primops does. For the whole trial the candidate is employed by us while working in your live role.

Q03What happens if a candidate does not meet the standard during the trial?

They are not placed permanently. The trial is pass or fail, not a formality. What follows is agreed with you in writing before the trial starts.

Q04What exactly do you check?

Five things, for every candidate: background (work history and references), competency (can they do the tasks), communication, reliability and work ethic.

We check work history and references directly. We do not call this a formal background screening service, because the checks that phrase implies are regulated differently in different countries.

Q05Do you place people permanently, or only temporarily?

Both, in sequence. The temporary period is how someone earns a permanent placement.

Q06How fast can you fill a role?

It depends on the role and the market. Anyone quoting a fixed number without knowing either is guessing. Tell us the role and we will give you a realistic estimate.

Q07Which markets do you recruit in?

Across markets rather than from one location. Which ones make sense depends on the role, the hours it covers and the skills involved.

Q08What kinds of roles do you handle?

Roles you hire for repeatedly and can define a clear standard for. One-off senior specialist hires suit executive search better. If yours is on the boundary, ask.

Q09Do we interview candidates ourselves?

You can, and most clients do before a trial starts. By then the checking and training have already happened.

Q10Why should we trust a standard we cannot see?

You can. The five checks and the four stages are on this page, and the written brief from step two is the standard we assess against. You approve it before we start.

Get in touch

Send us a role and we'll tell you if it fits.

The first conversation is about whether this is the right approach for you. If it isn't, we would rather say so early.

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