Meet Jo McGregor of Mcgregor Consultants

What kind of services does your company provide?

McGregor Consultants is an established provider of recruitment services based in Aberdeen, Scotland, and serving the global upstream oil and gas industry. We bring an ultra-responsive, personalized approach to recruiting and placing highly qualified oil and gas professionals for contract and permanent positions throughout the worldwide oil and gas industry. In other words, we are a recruitment company specialized in placing consultants in the oil industry.

What did you do before McGregor Consultants?

I worked for a competitor for nearly ten years where I learnt everything. I worked in the consultancy side of the business and largely I worked in the business development on the well management side. When they sold I decided to see if I could do it on my own and create a recruitment company with my standards using the tools and knowledge I had acquired there.

How is your management style different to others?

We are very personal which I feel in a recruitment company is very important. I think technology has changed the way people work, in the sense that most recruitment companies send generic e-mail and automate everything. That is something we never do; we pick up the phone, we Skype or we e-mail personal e-mails to people. We treat people as individuals and not as numbers.

Regarding my employees, I try to empower them. We don’t have sales targets and we do not have KPI’s either (Key Performance Indicator). In my opinion, the best motivation for them is to be respected and in a great working environment. Everyone is important in my company. We work as a team.

How would you describe yourself as a person?

I think I am a positive person; I have a lot of energy. I am a multi-tasker as I have three children and have to juggle everything. I can be loud, can be mad at times and demanding but in the end, I like to have fun and enjoy what I do.

How would you describe yourself as a businesswoman?

I try to treat everyone with respect and expect that in return. It is important to think outside the box at times and always try to find solutions. If a problem comes along it is not a problem to me it is just another hurdle to jump over. When it comes to business there is no secret, you have to work hard. I just come to work every morning and do my job and I love it.

What do you enjoy most about working for yourself?

Working for yourself gives you flexibility. That is what I enjoy most, my freedom. It is nice not to have to answer to anybody and to be able to make decisions, although it can be tough at times. I do also feel self-pride. I have three children and I would like to be a good role model. I take pride in what I do and the example I give to my children is very rewarding.

Tell us about the Employer of the Year Award.

We recently won the Employer of the Year award, which was absolutely fantastic for every one of us in the company. It was a huge success, we were up against many companies and we were all extremely proud of the achievement. Winning this award speaks for itself as what we are as a company. (The employer of the year is a regional award in Scotland with thousands of companies competing for the honour.)

How do you see the future of your company?

There are certain areas in the world that we are not as active in as others; we would like to expand internationally. Not only for more business but also to create more opportunities for everybody in the company. We are currently looking at Australia and we would try to cover South East Asia. So the next step is for me to go there and see if it is a viable option or not.

What would be your advice to future entrepreneurs?

Advice would be to do what you are good at, stay focused and build your reputation because without your reputation you have no business. Make sure that you are spending enough time with your family, without them and their support you will not have all the strength and belief in you that you would need.

And never forget to have fun. I have always said that the minute we stop having fun then it is time to pack our things up and go home.