Startup Story
South Africa is suffering from tough economic times right now, and unemployment is on the rise. For skilled mothers who are looking to get work whilst also looking after their families, it is a challenge. That’s where Phillipa Geard’s business, RecruitMyMom, comes in.
LoA learned more about this recruitment platform with a highly focused difference from its founder, Phillipa Geard.
What does your company do?
RecruitMyMom.co.za is an easy to use online recruitment platform and related services for skilled mothers seeking meaningful employment. It allows them to integrate career and family through flexibility or part-time hours, and forward-thinking employers looking to hire experienced skills in a more flexible or part-time capacity.
“We are a purpose-driven organisation, wanting to improve the lives of millions of women and children.”
What inspired you to start your company?
The inspiration for RecruitMyMom came from personal interactions with mothers at school. The moms at school, where I dropped my children, would often say that they envied my ability to work flexibly as a marketing consultant. Having similar stories to mine about successful careers in large local or international corporates, and then deciding to stop due to family needs, they now wanted to return to work in a more flexible or a part-time basis. The recruitment agencies would put the CV in the bottom drawer if they knew flexibility was required. It was because of these conversations that I wanted to create a national platform to help moms find meaningful skilled work that is part-time or partly flexible, without having to apologize for the fact that they want to integrate work and family. Now employers both locally and internationally have one central place to go to find these phenomenal skills and employ them in office, or remotely, or a combination of the two.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
We are a purpose-driven organisation, wanting to improve the lives of millions of women and children. RecruitMyMom makes it easy and efficient for busy employers to access this pool of skilled talent, clearly communicated by their service offering, allowing for expectations to be met. Previously there was no easy way to access these skills, given the bias towards women seeking more flexible types of work by traditional recruitment agencies. Using professionally trained recruiters to assist the process, RecruitMyMom has turned an “unattractive” market into a viable, successful solution by highlighting the benefits to employers. RecruitMyMom offers a cost-conscious growing SME an appealing answer to their resource needs.
“Known for delivering "wow" through service, we aim to match the right candidate to the employer based on needs and expectations of both parties.”
Tell us a little about your team
We are a dedicated team of women who all work remotely from offices around the world. Connected by a common purpose of making a positive social impact and the newest technology, this small team of professional women make this business what it is. Known for delivering "wow" through service, we aim to match the right candidate to the employer based on needs and expectations of both parties.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
I saw first-hand what it took for my father to build a successful business while my mother worked in network marketing. I went on to study a Business Science (Hons) degree at UCT majoring in marketing before starting a successful career at Procter & Gamble, both locally and internationally. After having children, I co-owned a marketing consultancy which gave me the confidence to know that SME's need great skills, but not always on a full-time in-office basis. This is when I started RecruitMyMom. In 2019 I launched RecruitAgraduate.co.za to assist with the high youth unemployment in SA. Being an entrepreneur is in my blood.
“RecruitMyMom offers a cost-conscious growing SME an appealing answer to their resource needs.”
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
We have plans for further local expansion and global expansion utilising our local skills. This will then open up the path to global expansion into other markets using in-market local partners.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
Seeing something that started as a wild idea, develop and grow into a thriving business that is making a massive positive impact on society at large. Giving back is so much more satisfying than receiving.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Self-doubt and self-belief are opposite ends of the same line. Every day you have to decide to put aside self-doubt and choose self-belief if you are going to make a success of your business.
Contact or follow RecruitMyMom
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | YOUTUBE | EMAIL phillipa@recruitmymom.co.za
Why LoA loves it….
So many women entrepreneurs are inspired to start a business because they experience a personal gap in the market and feel compelled to do something to address it. For Phillipa Geard, she saw at first hand a pool of talent just looking for an opportunity to work flexibly and to make a contribution to the economy. Her innovative RecruitMyMom platform is now providing the means to connect skilled women to flexible employment opportunities, a win-win for both employers and future employees. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo of Lionesses of Africa