A new service from Jonathan Lee Recruitment is helping SMEs overcome the challenges of recruiting senior management. In tough economic times some companies can be hit hard if a senior manager resigns unexpectedly, or at a critical time. Other businesses may look to consolidate their growth through the addition of strategic level specialist expertise and insight. In both cases the Resourcing Solutions service efficiently addresses these sensitive high level appointments by applying dedicated recruitment managers with strong industry understanding to source the right candidates for senior positions.
“Employing an unsuitable candidate can be particularly damaging for an SME that is in a vulnerable position or undergoing transition,” says Henry Noteman, Associate Director - Resourcing Solutions. “Our ability to apply our wealth of industry knowledge and experience to formulate an approach, and objectively assess applicants for both their background and personal fit, ensures that our clients get someone who is able to hit the ground running and have an immediate and positive impact. Without that instant impact, the productivity and profitability of a company can be adversely affected.”
A prolonged vacancy at a senior level can impact performance, confidence, and subsequently morale across the entire company. At a time when the uncertain economic climate is affecting all industry sectors, this can be especially damaging to SMEs that may not have the robustness or infrastructure to cope with the consequences of poor leadership. Conversely, the injection of new insight and experience at a senior level can bring added impetus and progress to companies looking to develop their business.
Resourcing Solutions’ Account Managers work with a very limited and exclusive portfolio of clients at any one time. The holistic approach by their dedicated Consultants starts with an in-depth client interview, allowing them to gain a deep understanding of the company, its products or services, and its requirements based upon its strategic objectives. Through the intelligent use of a range of tools at their disposal, they know how to attract the right candidates, who then go through a number of stages of selection dependant on the client. Should the client require it, a full range of objective psychometric selection tools are available.
“Changes at the strategic level affect the entire organisation, and as such are usually extremely sensitive,” says Henry. “Our own senior management experience and understanding of the industry requirements gives us the ability to help our clients find the right person to drive forward the company’s core business model, not just someone capable of doing the job. Our candidates have a depth of experience and knowledge that allows them to bring another level of quality to the position rather than simply filling a vacancy like for like.”
An existing Resourcing Solutions client is the The Quality Furniture Company Ltd in Grantham, a manufacturer designing, developing, and supplying some of the UK’s best-selling upholstered furniture. A culture of continuous improvement and lean manufacturing techniques has helped this company stay ahead of the competition in a competitive market place. As part of planned growth to meet rising demand, the company decided to reinforce its senior management by introducing a Business Unit Manager, Head of Product Development, and two General Managers. They turned to Resourcing Solutions to assist them, and following discussions with members of the Executive team, a strategy was developed to source and identify candidates with the right skills and style to suit the business.
“Whilst we are a strong company with a great product range, we rely on a relatively small management team to implement our strategy and drive the business forward, so people are at the heart of what we do,” says Vernon Goldberg, Quality Furniture’s CEO. “Making these appointments has been critical to our business, and I am absolutely delighted with the quality of work, response time and industry knowledge the Resourcing Solutions team at Jonathan Lee Recruitment brought to us. We consider their business to be very much an extension of our business, especially with the additional selection and development services they provide.”
