Brief from client:
Careys a civil engineering and construction contractor, approached Steve Maynard, Altum Consulting’s Property Lead, looking to recruit for a newly created Head of Finance position based in Glasgow. This was Careys’ first finance hire in Scotland and was to play a crucial role in the expansion of the business, business partnering with the operational leaders and providing financial support on projects across the northern region. The hope was that this hire could be the first of many finance hires in Scotland and is an initiative spearheaded by the CFO, Finance Director, and the Head of Finance to prove it can work efficiently despite the distance from the head office in London. As this was the first hire of its kind, Careys were interested in meeting candidates from larger corporate businesses with a proven track record of instilling good financial processes.
Execution:
After taking and understanding the brief, Steve Maynard pitched a retained search solution as the most effective way for Careys to gain deep insights into the local market through talent mapping and targeted headhunting. The Altum team, sat down with both the CFO and Finance Director to gain a deep understanding of the key requirements and what areas Careys were able to be flexible on. Altum then mapped the finance talent within all large corporate businesses in a 20-mile radius of the Careys office, with a specific focus on organisations that have a track record of hiring high calibre finance professionals. Glasgow is not as easily accessible via public transport compared to other major metropolitan areas, a key consideration during the search was the ability for candidates to commute into the office.
Once a longlist has been created, Altum conducted two weeks of rigorous interviews in order to present a shortlist of four suitable candidates to the client.
Result:
The four shortlisted candidates were all interviewed by the Finance Director, two excellent candidates were then put through to final stage interviews that were conducted in-person with the CFO. Due to the logistical difficulties involved in coordinating availability across two countries with multiple stakeholders, we suggested the interviews be back-to-back and arranged for them to take place at Glasgow airport so that the CFO can easily fly back to London straight after. Due to a retained search solution being adopted, Steve was able to provide a thorough search process with meticulous planning, at pace. Steve coordinated the offer management and successfully secured the preferred candidate for the role; the candidate is now in position and has officially passed probation with flying colours.
Client Feedback:
This was the first time I had used Altum to recruit, and it was a positive experience throughout, very professional and knowledgeable. I was very impressed with how Steve really understood the type of candidates I was looking for and asked a lot of questions to ensure the right fit, all candidates put forward by Steve were interviewed. The support from Steve throughout the process was excellent, providing feedback from candidates at each stage of the process. The successful candidate has settled in well and I'm really pleased with the outcome.
For more information on how Steve and Altum Consulting can provide a solution tailored to your needs, please contact via: steve.maynard@altumconsulting.com
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