'Our people are our greatest asset'. How often does one hear that? And how many people really feel that their employers mean it?

At Loop, acknowledging the importance of people starts right from the beginning of the process. Everyone in Loop is a talent scout, because everyone at Loop knows that sharing the company values of Working Together, Customer Focus, Leadership, Professionalism and Achieving Success is what makes a great Loop employee in any role.

Existing employees know about vacancies before they are advertised internally, so that they can tell their friends and relatives, and managers hand out 'scout cards' do anyone who has shown good customer service, wherever they are.

A key part of recruitment at Loop is the way it reflects many of the features that will characterise employment with Loop, helping to bring about a good match.

Nicola Wilson
Head of Human Resources
Loop Customer Management

• Honesty and personal development is key for people in Loop – and in recruitment is reflected by the constructive feedback which is given to everyone who applies, whether they are successful or not.

• Another aspect of honesty is 'no surprises', and the ongoing coaching that employees receive from their managers means they always know how they are doing. In recruitment, the application form 'tells it as it is', making sure that prospective employees have thought about whether they will be comfortable with the role, and ticking to indicate their commitment to being professional, to meeting targets, to upholding the Loop values, etc.

• Planning around people is also the Loop way - people work an infinite variety of hours, aiming to match their personal needs to those of the business. During recruitment, the timescales are worked back from induction – so that a new starter can be given a full introduction to the company without delay, rather than waiting perhaps months until the next course.

• Mutual respect and reliability is also important, and within the recruitment process it is expected that appointments will be kept and punctuality observed – candidates who do not turn up on time will not get any further!

• And finally, fun counts! As well as working hard, Loop people know how to enjoy themselves and there are numerous events and one-off celebrations. The recent recognition in the Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies to Work For in the UK 2004 and the Financial Times Best 50 Workplaces 2004 listings will be celebrated at the Loop's Knockout Day in June. All employees are invited, along with their family and friends, to a jam-packed day of fun with attractions including an 'It's a Knockout' competition, bouncy castles, quad biking, human table football and much more besides. The day will be rounded off by watching the England v France football match on a large screen with a BBQ and a few drinks!

Our culture is perfectly characterised in our recruitment campaign - a relaxed and informal approach typified by a big armchair and slippers, using our people. The Loop slippers have been a great success at events!

In short, people going through the recruitment process really do get a good insight into what working for the company will be like, and the best possible opportunity to assess honestly whether they will be comfortable there. The result of this focus on 'real' recruitment and on values rather than skills is that the turnover figures dropped from 32% in the year ending 2001/2002 to 20% at the end of 2002/2003 – plus of course Loop's appearance in both the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For 2003 and the Financial Times 50 Best Workplaces 2003 and 2004, both of which are primarily based on a survey of employees' opinions.