Anne Fanthom
MD of Recruitment Plus and mother to 16- year -old Niamh.
I started the business in 1999 having worked in the sector for 12 years, and I set it up literally from my dining room table. I passed my 25th anniversary recently and I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy the work I do, immensely. We were awarded Recruitment Agency of the Year by the NRF – National Recruitment Federation this year and also last year. To win back-to-back awards is a huge testament to the work of the team at RecruitmentPlus. We have a great team and of the 10 staff, the average service is eight years, which is very unusual in a sector that isn’t always recognised for its longevity!
My mother is a person I really admire. She was widowed at 40 years of age with six children and had a successful business in Limerick to manage and worked hard to maintain its survival. We are lucky in Ireland to have so many exceptional people across all walks of life. From a business perspective, JP
McManus is someone I always find interesting to read about, a Limerick man, who despite his massive wealth also organises a huge range of charitable events each year and makes a huge contribution to charities, schools and business centres in Limerick. As a political figure Mary McAleese inspires me with her building bridges mission which she clearly achieved, both with her success with the unionists in Northern Ireland and also with the first visit ever from the Queen to Ireland.
For a few years I was part of a band called ‘Midlife Crisis’ however the band parted company and I haven’t returned to that particular past-time. Instead I’m part of a Book Club who read a lot of good books, enjoy lots of fun and also enjoy the odd wine label! I do yoga; walk with my dog Bart who is a cute Shiatsu with the very best disposition and my favourite time is spent with my daughter Niamh, when (as a busy 16-year-old!) she “grants” me appropriate time and we might see a movie together or very occasionally go for a walk! (But I believe, it’s not so cool to be seen walking with your Mum!)
From the earliest time, my mother reckons I was born with a phone cord (as it was until cordless phones arrived) not an umbilical cord. Anyone that knows me, knows the phone goes everywhere with me and remains at my bedside at night. I am extremely proud of our achievements and of the team at RecruitmentPlus. We have survived tough years and I believe we are well positioned to ensure our survival during these hard times. I am also glad that during the last few years, when redundancies were common-place, we made a team decision to ensure we had no redundancies. We did this by each of us taking a pay-cut, a few deciding to make a lifestyle decision and reduce their hours to allow more time with their young families but with all of us agreeing to having a home PC to dial-in to their desktops to keep on top of incoming mail, check voicemails and respond to clients and candidates immediately.
There are challenges raising a family and running a business in tandem. Having more than 24 hours in a day would be helpful!
Being organised is key and asking family members for help was essential when Niamh was younger. I was fortunate, I specifically opened our first office near my home, close to Niamh’s school and had my sister and in-laws living locally to support me when necessary. Enjoying both the business and raising my daughter, made it easy to maintain high energy levels