History of ANCOR

present

Company restructuring

2003

Into a new Century with a New Strategy

2000

Package Services

1999

ANCOR in the Crisis Situation

1998

Conquest of the Market

1992

First Steps

1989

2003 — present time:
company restructuring

The process of restructuring ANCOR network into the holding structure started in 2003. A year later the Management Company was established. ANCOR Staff Leasing Company was created within the holding's framework in May 2005.

In October 2005 ANCOR Energy Services was created within the holding's framework to provide a full range of professional search and staffing services to fuel and energy complex companies.

In July 2006 country management structure was implemented at ANCOR Group. Today the company has four country subdivisions: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

In  2007 Unistaff Payroll Solutions became a joint venture of Unistaff and ANCOR Group. Also the new business subdivision ANCOR Retail & HoReCa was created, industrial specialization of which allowed to provide more qualitative service to retail companies.

By December 2007 the process of ANCOR’s network restructuring into holding had been fully completed.
In 2008 several new industry-specific companies were created: ANCOR Real Estate & Construction, ANCOR Healthcare & Pharmacy, ANCOR Banking, Financial services, ANCOR Automotive, ANCOR Metals & Mining.

1989—1992:
First Steps

May 1990 marks ANCOR’s official birthday, though the idea of launching a recruitment company was initiated in the preceding year when a team of enthusiasts began offering professional search and staffing services to Russian and foreign companies. At the time, this type of service was new to the Russian market, a factor that had both advantages and disadvantages.

On the one hand, it was easier to work due to the absence of extreme competition. It was not very difficult to find candidates, as thousands of educated people were looking for jobs, having been practically left without any means of subsistence. They were remarkable candidates from the point of view of intelligence, education and general erudition, if we take into account that employers’requirements of potential employees were not very strict: knowledge of the English language, elementary computer skills and a higher education diploma were quite enough for employment with a Western company.

On the other hand, ANCOR — one of the first recruitment companies in Russia — had no corresponding background and skills, and had to start «from scratch». As national business was only taking its first steps, and Russian businesspeople were ignorant of the importance of professional recruitment, they formed their teams from relatives and friends. Thus, in most cases ANCOR’s first clients were Western companies.

This phase was extremely important for ANCOR’s establishment. We could not disappoint our customers; it was imperative that we won their trust and respect. In their turn, working experience with our first clients, including McDonald’s, Philip Morris, Xerox, General Electric and Shell, lessons were valuable for ANCOR. Thanks to their recommendations, ANCOR’s services quickly gained popularity with other employers. Close and long-term collaborative initiatives with our clients helped us learn the ins and outs of their work, and especially their business. We learned to understand their demands better and improve our skills.

1992—1998:
Conquest of the Market

As Russian business developed, our clients became more geographically widespread, opened offices outside Moscow and recruited personnel from all over Russia and the CIS. ANCOR accompanied them to the regions, launching its own network.
Our first office was opened in 1992 in St. Petersburg, then we opened offices in Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Vladivostok, Rostov-on-Don, Samara and Perm. We opened 7 offices between 1992 and 1995, and later opened new branches almost every year.
ANCOR launched its Regional Development Department in Moscow with the purpose of rendering information and organizational support to its offices, training the personnel and observing the quality standards.
By 1993 the Russian job market was joined by other recruitment companies. Some came from abroad bringing time-tested technology and financial support, while others were launched here. Many foreign companies (Antal International, Ward Howell International, etc.) had defined their niche within the top-positions market, whereas ANCOR was operating in the middle management market that was various, difficult and involved risks.

Well aware of that severe competition required the use of the best methods developed by Western colleagues, ANCOR began collaborating with the American RWJ/Express Personnel Services. In 1993 we signed a five-year franchise agreement, the result of which was our American colleagues started training sessions and supplied us with literature. Every year, the finest of ANCOR’s employees had trainings at the Express Personnel offices.

Apart from severe competition, the situation was aggravated by new requirements set by companies for staff members. It was not enough to be knowledgeable in foreign languages, candidates now had to possess special training and skills. A professional with a specialized background became the principal player in the labour market. This posed the need to have a deep knowledge of the job market, and ANCOR’s staff started to include professional physicians, financers, programmers and engineers. By 1996 it had 15 consultants staff, each of whom maintained contact with candidates and staff members in specialized positions.

The introduction of a unified information system presented the opportunity to accumulate market information as well as the experience and knowledge of our consultants and data on candidates, which resultantly allowed the company to work more effectively and improve its service quality. As of today ANCOR’s HR database contains over 250 thousand specialists, and we acquire approximately 200 CVs a day.

In late 1995 we conducted our first salary survey in Moscow and the Moscow region, operating on our clients’ request. The research turned out to be so timely and necessary that we began to conduct it on a regular basis in the following years, assessing a number of Russian cities.

The period of 1996-August 1998 could be described as steady: teamwork and technology were being adjusted. We were confident in the market, the more so that we had a permanent flow of orders. But then came the collapse of August 1998.

1998—1999:
ANCOR in the Crisis Situation

The Russian financial crisis of 1998 placed the company and its clients in a different context. Companies’ recruitment funds were noticeably reduced, giving rise to mass dismissals. The flood of CVs we received on those days left us with a feeling of despair and hopelessness. In this context, the new service of ours — Outplacement — was in high demand.

While we were busy finding jobs for the former personnel of foreign companies, we got to know national business better. During the crisis and immediately following, Russian companies received the impetus for development. And with the arrival of Western specialists, a lot of businesses were being rebuilt. Instead of friends and relatives, Russian employers now invited professional specialists capable of strategic management and knowledge of the ins and outs of sales and marketing taught to them at the Western companies. We realized, we could be useful to the Russians and noticeably expanded our client circle.

By the start of 1999, our old customers became active again — and the feeling of despair disappeared.

1999—2000:
Package Services

As a result of the crisis, a new type of specialist was on the highest demand. This person was mature and open-minded, capable of independent idea generation with the ability to bear responsibility for implementation, notwithstanding the professional profile. Creativity and business approach had become the decisive characteristic in the selection of candidates. In this context ANCOR’s specialization in some positions sometimes became an obstacle for successful project implementation.

We decided we should not only get to know the certain professional market, but also be well aware of the area in which our clients worked and of their demands, capabilities and business nature. The stake was made on package services, in which ANCOR’s consultants in a certain market sector staffed all positions for their clients. For example a tutor of the pharmaceutical department became fully responsible for the recruitment of personnel for his client and conducted work with his profile companies, formed a service package that optimally matched the client’s needs and his company specifics.

For ANCOR 1999 became not only a year of transition to market sector specialization, but also a year of new services. Among them were Outstaffing, Temporary staffing and Personnel assessment.

With the purpose of rendering the best service to our clients, better understanding their requirements and quickly responding to them, ANCOR launched a marketing department at  the same period.

2000—2003:
to a new century with a new strategy

The start of a new millennium marked a noticeable improvement in the economical situation in Russia. It has without a doubt gave a boost to our business development. The demand for personnel skyrocketed, and now ANCOR’s clients include those companies that had previously staffed positions exclusively with their own personnel services. As a result, we opened two new recruitment departments for insurance companies and retail networks.

But because of higher demand for personnel and stricter employer requirements for potential candidates, ANCOR, like the market at large, faced the problem of  a qualified personnel deficit. We understood that the market situation required completely different relations with people looking for new opportunities, and reacted by launching the Candidates’ Counseling Department with the purpose of attracting new specialists, their training and consulting.

During the same period, we witnessed a growth in demand for professional recruitment not only of managers and hi-level specialists, but also of rank-and-file employees. In response, we opened a new Staffing Solutions Department in 2003. Within its framework, ANCOR began to render new services to the clients — Express recruitment (i.e. professional search of personnel for non-specialized positions) and Large-scale projects.

2003 — present time:
company restructuring

The process of restructuring ANCOR network into the holding structure started in 2003. A year later the Management company was established. ANCOR Staff Leasing Company was created within the holding's framework in May 2005.

In October 2005 ANCOR Energy Services was created within the holding's framework to provide a full range of professional search and staffing services to fuel and energy complex companies.

In July 2006 country management structure was implemented at ANCOR Holding. Today the company has four country subdivisions: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

In 2007 Solutions became a joint venture of Unistaff and ANCOR Holding. Also the new business subdivision ANCOR Retail Staffing Solutions was created, industrial specialization of which allowed to provide more qualitative service to retail companies.

By December 2007 the process of ANCOR’s network restructuring into holding was fully completed.
In January 2008 several new industry-specific companies were created: ANCOR Real Estate & Construction, ANCOR Healthcare & Pharmacy, ANCOR Banking, Financial services, ANCOR Automotive, ANCOR Metals & Mining.