Frank Butler, joint managing director of employment services consultancy Joining Forces, has discovered that many growth-hungry companies may need to look no further than their existing resources to improve efficiency and profitability. After many years' experience in human resources, recruitment, training and marketing, Butler decided to form Joining Forces. Naturally at the start he assumed the main focus would be on search and recruitment. But the approach soon changed once Joining Forces started to talk to clients and find out exactly what they wanted. They discovered that even though senior personnel know what their company needs to grow, they don't actually have the time to implement it. And it's not just time limitations. Lack of detailed analysis and even company culture constraints can hinder the quest to improve efficiency. Also, many many companies think increasing staff levels is the answer to their growth requirements. However, Joining Forces has found taking this approach can actually add to costs. To address these problems, Joining Forces has developed a Total Assessment Procedure to offer a tailor-made cost-effective solution. This involves a completely free initial consultation to agree the brief, followed by a sensitively executed audit of the selected company functions. By sharing our observations with senior personnel, we then mutually agree a training and development programme to ensure that people work together more smoothly and therefore more profitably. In some cases, this has led to startling improvements in motivation and productivity. The next stage is to see if recruitment should form a part in the structured plan. Many companies do not make time to see that existing personnel are a vital asset offering untapped potential. Put simply, many companies are sitting on a goldmine but need a catalyst to exploit the rich vein of talent which lies within. {{PEOPLE MOVES }}