Expertise for short-term hire with new recruitment consultancy

That is the boast of what has been billed as the first fine art recruitment and consultancy firm on the market, a firm that is trying to update the way fine arts companies do business.

Drummond Read Recruitment and Training, who have already been sounding out fine art firms internationally on prospective projects are promising a range of benefits that they say will bring fine art firms the most effective method of acquiring and developing expertise.

Although promoting their consultancy database heavily, they are looking to find full-time employment for candidates on their books, too. They believe that the system they operate, which guarantees strict anonymity for all parties until commitments are made, will make it easier for candidates and potential employers to find each other without fear of indiscretion in a world where “everyone knows everyone”.

However, with recruitment not exactly on the rise after the raft of redundancies at Bonhams and other firms, Drummond Read have been concentrating on building up the consultancy side of the business and are offering a highly sophisticated database management system, which they have built themselves, and allows them to carry out searches to match expertise to client.

With consultants available for specific assignments as and when required, it means companies can buy in expertise when they need it rather than having to face the ongoing costs and responsibilities of maintaining full-time staff. This could be particularly attractive to some auction houses operating on slim margins, and Drummond Read say that this particular aspect of their business attracted strong interest in a round of meetings they have just held in the United States.

“The search can be as broad or as narrow as you like,” says Nicola Beach, who has spent the past few weeks sounding out potential clients in the UK and US. “An auction house in Hong Kong might need someone short term with an expertise in Eskimo art. Our database would find the match.”

The business and management side is also well covered, with services including everything from redundancy management to skills auditing, and there is a lecture and seminar programme for personal and management development, covering subjects such as time management and negotiating skills.

Fine arts related training includes seminars on a range of topics, such as taxation and jewellery identification, and the company are also developing a graduate programme.

Those involved in running Drummond Read Recruitment and Training all have extensive expertise and experience in both the world of fine arts valuation and recruitment and training.

As well as fine arts, Drummond Read offer similar services for the insurance industry, museums and galleries, art advisory services and estates management.