Food Job Blog: The inside track on Food Recruitment and Careers

A recent email from Premier Foods has caused a lot of furore with suppliers of staff to the giant food manufacturer. In short, Premier Foods have "invited" recruitment agencies to sign up to their Preferred Supplier Program (PSP) for a fee of £10,000. This begs a number of questions: Firstly, why? Premier's official response has been that they are looking to reduce their supply base (not just across recruitment services) and are looking to work with fewer but closer aligned partners and this funding would help drive the business forward (a point to add is that no information has been given on where the money will be invested). Secondly, what is the benefit? Premier suggest that "all HR managers at Premier will be briefed as to which agencies are members so that introductions are made easier", be eligible to receive 'Premier Life' (a quarterly magazine published by Premier) and regular updates on the business.

A couple of further points; after the story broke and the proceeding backlash, Premier were quick to point out that signing up was not compulsory - which begs the question why do it at all? Or is it what they haven't said that needs to be considered "pay up or you will not supply" - in which case agencies will have to ask themselves is there any value in this? It remains to be seen but as one supplier quips "At the last supplier meeting we did get a bag of custard and some OXO, but it was not quite ten grand's worth...."

To step out of my recruiter's shoes briefly for one moment and as a final point to consider, retailers have charged food manufacturers the pleasure to supply them in various guises for a long time - is it so outrageous that these manufacturers should pass on the burden? Possibly not, but I believe with all the recent stories of Premier's cash issues, they may be guilty of poor timing at the very least.