AN employment agency boss swapped his shirt and tie for warehouse overalls in an initiative aimed at boosting his firm's services.

Malcolm Hughes, managing director of East Lancashire firm Tempo Recruitment, said he had learned a few lessons from his stint working at a client's distribution centre.

Mr Hughes spent a day at electrical heating firm Glen Dimplex in Burnley, undertaking a variety of tasks.

"When you are running a firm, it is very easy to become detached from life at the sharp end," said Mr Hughes, who has been at the helm of Tempo for the past four years.

"This initiative was a perfect way of finding out directly of any issues that we need to be aware of and also provided an interesting perspective on the kind of service we give our clients."

To complete the picture, warehouse operative Justin Jennings from Glen Dimplex filled Mr Hughes' shoes for the day -- sitting in on a Tempo strategy meeting.