Daily Times

You are the founder and chief executive officer of one of the top recruitment agencies in the United Kingdom. Tell us about your journey and how you started out.

I started working as a junior recruiter back in 2006 whilst I was only 17 years old. I worked for a number of recruitment companies during the next seven years and gained valuable insight at both regional and national levels. Although, I was very successful in my career, I knew it wasn’t enough to even whet the appetite of my ambitions. Frustrated at the prospects of continuing my employment, I teamed up with a great friend, a colleague and now business partner, Michael Gadsby and incorporated Staffing Match. The business was launched in 2013 and has been a phenomenal success ever since, Alhamdulillah.

Tell us about some of the key workings of Staffing Match. What sets the venture apart from the rest?

I can argue a long list of things which are totally unique about Staffing Match however, I would place our people at the top of that list, given they are what makes Staffing Match unique and massively successful. Starting with our senior management, we have industry veterans with decades of experience, and we are also fortunate to have a very highly motivated and resilient team. Combined they have demonstrated their unique abilities through our rapid growth, which wasn’t only sustained but accelerated during these turbulent times amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Do you also head businesses on the side or in partnership elsewhere?

Yes, I’m increasingly involved in ventures and investments in both physical and digital assets outside of our recruitment business. I’ve always been quite passionate about real estate and over the years have managed to establish a sizeable portfolio with various different types of assets diversified in number of locations around the world. However, over the past couple of years my interest and exposure to cryptocurrencies has also been growing rapidly. We have recently incorporated and funded another investment vehicle to rapidly increase our exposure in both of these asset classes.

‘I profoundly believe there is no better profit than the duas of vulnerable and under-privileged children. Staffing Match fully funds a fantastic organisation called Heat Foundation, which provides education to over 1,200 children in Kerala, India, Dhaka, Bangladesh and Mansehra, Pakistan. At present, we are also working on plans to establish a very first seven-star orphanage in Pakistan very soon Insha Allah’

In what ways do you find your work fulfilling to the core?

People are at the very core of our business, whether they are employers, workers, suppliers or our internal colleagues. Staffing Match does not manufacture, produce or grow any products and as a service business we place the highest importance on forming and sustaining healthy and satisfying relationships. I fundamentally believe, our success is the by-product of us doing our best to ensure that people we work with are also successful in achieving their objectives. I find it heart-warming to note our ever increasing organisational ability to help connect people looking for work opportunities with credible employers throughout the UK. Being able to watch and appreciate people growing and prospering through our journey and alongside us, is no doubt a blessing from Allah SWT.

Do you think Pakistan lacks credible recruitment companies? How can the country build a model one which could encompass the ethos Staffing Match works on?

As a recruitment business in an economy such as the UK, compliance with laws and regulations is absolutely paramount, implementation by regulatory authorities is robust and failure can be highly damaging economically and for our brand reputation. Amongst many other, we strictly comply with regulations such as the Immigration Act, Bribery Act, Equal Opportunities Act, GDPR, and Working Time Directive to name but a few. Compliance with such regulations is a major consideration in our business, which I believe isn’t as robust in organisations operating in our sector in Pakistan. We must also comply with sector specific regulations such as Recruitment Agencies Conduct Regulations and GLAA, which goes a long way long way to level the playing field amongst agencies and helps prevent exploitation of workers in a sector which has steadily grown to a staggering £45 billion turnover per year. I believe the employers, workers and the recruitment sector in Pakistan would benefit greatly to have such regulations, as it would increase transparency, fair competition and above all act as a catch-all for other related regulations. I would find it difficult to comment on credibility of any individual company, however it is clear the recruitment sector as a whole in Pakistan is still young, currently limited in its scope and underdeveloped, however these are also the very ingredients one needs when evaluating opportunities for expansion.

How do you manage hard days at work?

I honestly love what we do, and the very nature of our business means we exist to eradicate the challenges and problems our clients have. Hard work has never scared me and I’m pretty certain that’s a running theme in our entire team, as attitude is a major consideration when selecting new hires for our team.

We hear you do plenty of charity work also. Would you like to shed light on that?

I profoundly believe there is no better profit than the duas of vulnerable and under privileged children. Staffing Match fully funds a fantastic organisation called Heat Foundation, which provides education to over 1,200 children in Kerala – India, Dhaka – Bangladesh and Mansehra – Pakistan. At present we are also working on plans to establish a very first seven-star orphanage in Pakistan very soon Insha Allah.

You have won many awards and laurels for your work, but what according to you has been your biggest achievement so far?

This is a tough one to answer as we have been blessed with so many achievements in such short space of time, Alhamdulillah. Staffing Match was recently listed amongst the top five fastest growing recruitment business in the UK. Given the young age of our enterprise and the fact we operate in a highly saturated marketplace amongst circa 45k other recruitment businesses in the UK, this is a massive achievement to say the least and one we are very proud of.