Our client thought finance recruitment would be straightforward when their payroll and accounts person resigned, so they took a measured approach to recruiting. After two months of advertising, the position was still vacant, three months on from the resignation.
With no one in the seat, the business had to outsource the work to its accounting firm. It was expensive, and every query meant more back and forth. Once the new hire started, the outsourcing stopped.
Client Snapshot
- Client industry: Engineering
- Business size: Small
- Role: Payroll, Accounts and Invoicing
- Employment: Permanent, full-time
What Was Going Wrong
Their ad read like a job description. A list of duties, with nothing to show how they fitted together. It sounded like three jobs rolled into one, and candidates could easily worry about an overwhelming workload, especially as they’d be doing it on their own. It was no surprise that the applicant response levels were low.
How We Approached It
We rewrote the ad to speak to the market, not just list tasks. The aim was one clear role, not three.
A headhunt for this mix of skills could have taken a while. Instead we ran three different ads.
Within a week we had 10 shortlisted applicants with relevant finance experience. Five progressed to client interview; from there, three were shortlisted and completed practical assessments.
The Real Job Was Choosing
Every version of the ad brought in a strong pool. The hard part was finding the person who’d suit the role long term.
We screened through interviews, assessments and practical assessments. The final three worked through tasks they’d face on the job, such as general ledger entries, processing long service leave and writing cashflow advice from a P&L.
One finalist stood out. Calm, thorough and sharp on detail, they excelled in the practical assessments and were the right fit for the role. Neither a resume nor an interview answer would have shown that.
The role was filled in 15 days, from brief to accepted offer.
“We wish we had called you three months ago!”
Director, small engineering firm
Results
| Measure | Before | With Recruitment Central |
|---|---|---|
| Progress | Role vacant for three months | Filled in 15 days |
| Applicants | Low response | 10 shortlisted in one week 5 interviewed by the client 3 completed practical assessments |
| Assessment | Candidates judged on resumes alone | Finalists assessed on tasks from the actual role |
| Cost and effort | Finance work outsourced, adding cost and constant queries | Finance work back in-house with the new hire |
Our Advice
If a role covers several areas, explain how the work fits together. A list of duties on its own can make a manageable role look overwhelming.
If your ads aren’t bringing in the right people, review the message before running the same ad again.
Don’t wait to see if a role will fill itself. A vacancy costs more the longer it sits.
Struggling to fill a role? Get in touch. We can help you work out what’s holding up the search and what to do next.
