Shaun Barratt has made a wealth of critical contributions to the field of HR recruiting during his time as the director of Salt Recruitment Limited, the company he founded in 2003. Mr. Barratt, a digital recruiting expert, has emphasized the importance of a highly specialized approach to HR recruiting and has pioneered a number of new strategies to improve the manner in which his firm is able to serve its clients.
Salt Recruitment began with just a single location and was initially based out of Auckland, New Zealand, when Mr. Barratt first began his wildly successful entrepreneurial endeavor. More 13 years later, Salt Recruitment is an international force in the field of HR recruiting and has offices all over the world, including its original Auckland office as well as others in London, New York, Dubai, Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Malaysia.
The realization of Mr. Barratt’s global vision for Salt Recruitment is the product of many years of hard work and dedication to the firm’s clients along with an adherence to the principles upon which the firm was initially founded. A passionate individual who has always been diligent in his pursuit of the loftiest aspirations, Mr. Barratt felt that a global opportunity existed to improve the services available to clients in the field of digital HR recruiting.
Now living in Melbourne, Australia, Mr. Barratt is responsible for overseeing the operations of a global force in the field of HR recruiting. Prior to founding Salt Recruitment, Mr. Barratt attended Massey University and studied accountancy. This academic experience led to a professional opportunity with Goodman Fielder Wattie, and the combination of this academic and professional background ultimately provided the foundation of knowledge and experience upon which Mr. Barratt could build while developing the concept for Salt Recruitment, his immensely successful and internationally renowned HR recruiting company.
- What was your best/favorite subject in school?
I performed well throughout my academic career, but the subjects I enjoyed most were mathematics, accounting, anthropology, and sociology.
- What was your first job?
My first job was actually as a chef at a local restaurant.
- Where and how did you first get into the industry you currently work in?
It seemed quite obvious that I possessed a unique ability for identifying the individuals whose talents best aligned with a specific set of professional responsibilities. With that knowledge, it was not difficult to recognize that HR recruiting was the industry in which I could best utilize my own talents.
- How have those jobs prepared you for what you do now?
My previous jobs helped me to better understand the qualities possessed by the most effective leaders. These experiences also allowed me to recognize the importance of consistency from those in positions of leadership.
- Describe the best day of work you’ve ever had.
There have been several days in which things just seem to “click” in a way that new ideas lead to remarkable innovations that enable us to serve our clients even better than ever before.
- How do you keep yourself motivated?
I don’t ever feel as though I have to motivate myself to succeed in anything I do, but, in the event that I need a source of motivation, I do recognize that I have a lot of employees and clients that are relying on Salt Recruitment in some significant way.
- What kind of business ideas excite you most?
I am most excited by ideas that reflect a general aversion to complacency and seek to improve upon practices that most would feel are already “good enough.”
- Have you ever tried any unorthodox techniques to attract attention to your business?
Yes, and I will continue to utilize any technique — unorthodox or otherwise — that promises to be effective in attracting attention to my business.
- What personal achievement are you most proud of?
I am proud that I have overcome all of the obstacles and tragedies I have endured throughout my life. I am also incredibly proud of the business I have built and the family I am able to support.
- What wisdom you would have liked to share with yourself when you first started out?
I would have told myself to be bold and confident in the face of any feelings of doubt about the future success of the company. I knew then that my idea was sound but was concerned that perhaps I was being too overconfident from the outset.