For Bruce Emerson, director of 3R Group, the importance of getting the right “fit” when employing staff is paramount.

3R designed, implemented and now manage the PaintWise and Agrecovery Product Stewardship programmes.  These recovery programmes successfully enable producers (brand owners), retailers, consumers and other stakeholders to accept responsibility for the environmental impacts of products – from the time they are produced until the end of their useful life.

3R have grown since their startup in 2004, and with that expansion has come a need for more staff.

These appointments vary from highly technical positions to marketing and administration staff.

Bruce says finding the right “fit” isn’t a simple task.

“It’s more than just finding the right skills, it’s also really important to find a person with the right cultural match for our company.”

Six appointments have recently been made through RIOT Recruitment, and Bruce says their expert attention has handed 3R the employment success stories they required.

“Rohan and Ian are more than recruitment consultants – they appreciate what it takes to make a business work,” Bruce says.

“Before beginning the recruitment process, the RIOT team spent considerable time with us, making sure they accurately understood 3R and the way we operate.”

“I would go so far as to say, their dedication to each appointment feels like they are finding staff for their own business,” Bruce adds.

One of 3R’s most recent appointments required an extremely high level science and agrichemical compliance background, and while 3R strive to recruit from within Hawke’s Bay, the Agrecovery national chemicals co-ordinator position required a nationwide search.

The perfect candidate not only needed a thorough understanding of chemicals used in the primary sector, but also compliance. In addition they would possess the communication skills necessary for liasing and empathising with all stakeholders in the primary industry – from a dairy milker to a market gardener to a horticulturist.

“As usual, we gave a robust job description to RIOT and they came back to us with a  shortlist.”

Debbie Sherwood was one of those candidates “on the list.”

Debbie hailed from Hawke’s Bay originally but had been living in Christchurch since her study days at Lincoln University.

The chemicals whiz holds a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Zoology and Microbial Science with a Post Graduate Diploma in Lab Technology.

“I saw the job advertised online and I just knew it was for me,” Debbie says.

A phone interview with RIOT came next, followed by a successful visit to Hawke’s Bay to meet with 3R.

Bruce is thrilled with Debbie’s appointment and says finding her on his own would have been a lengthy process.

“RIOT makes sure the process is much faster and more accurate for us and because they are finding the right skills fit, it just leaves us with ensuring we have the best cultural fit.”