The BORG as a SALES TOOL:

The BORG can come into its own when used as a sales and marketing tool.

Many headteachers, and those in schools who are designated supply coordinators, see teacher supply agencies as either a necessary evil or as parasitic. But, of course, the truth is that without teacher supply agencies the system would grind to a halt overnight. Moreover, as events have sadly proved, agencies operate in a high-risk sector, one where a single misjudgment can quite easily result in the agency’s loss of reputation, loss of revenue and profit, and even closure.

The BORG can therefore be taken to show potential clients (this is where laptops are useful!) just how organized the agency has to be to operate to the requisite standards. Armed with such a demonstration of the complexity of the responsibilities that they shoulder, it is then possible to say:

“Yes we make a margin of around **%. But have a look at what we have to do for it. Have a look at the checks and balances for which we’re responsible. This is risk-management at its best!”

It is also possible, of course, to give potential clients access to The BORG to help secure a sale. For example where a school has been failed by another agency in a specific way (let’s say, for example, that they had not even met the candidate face-to-face and had just deployed them on the basis of a phone-call). 

In such circumstances it might be useful to share a policy statement which establishes that a recurrence is unlikely (in this case the Quality Mark demands that all candidates are seen face-to-face at interview and that their identity is then incontrovertibly established from their photo ID and other documents, and The BORG echoes that demand).