JazzyMedia is the company behind 'JazzyBooks' advertiser-sponsored exercise books which are widely distributed among primary and secondary schools.
Formed in 1996 by a group of international venture capitalists the company has been phenomenally successful in developing the fastest growing children's and youth media which for advertisers offers the first true alternative to children's TV advertising. JazzyMedia is based in London's 'mediaville', right in the heart of the West End.
the need
Preoccupied with the operational challenges of a new business start-up, JazzyMedia's directors were aware that they did not have human resource management expertise in-house. As managing director Neil Eastwood put it, "We soon realised that this was an area which could turn into a nightmarish drain on resources."
HRS has provided human resource management support since JazzyMedia was founded, advising on the impact of new employment legislation, creating a personnel manual complete with disciplinary policies and procedures as well as contracts of employment. More recently, HRS has project managed a major graduate recruitment programme, transforming the company's early attempts at recruitment which they freely acknowledge were somewhat two-dimensional and task oriented.
the outcome
"Outsourcing human resource management has been a bit like business insurance for us," Neil said. "HRS opened our eyes, providing on-site and telephone support, sitting in on interviews and conducting extensive psychometric testing - of our established team as well as potential recruits. This has been highly significant in the way that it helped us analyse existing capabilities and think about our corporate culture as the organisation grows and we develop the team."