Case studies
Brent Council
Roles
Five Senior Finance Analysts
Four Finance Analysts
Client profile
As the local authority for one of London’s most diverse boroughs, Brent Council has a large Finance team which collaborates closely with related functions to ensure processes and decision making are efficient, transparent and accountable to local people.
Assignment
Robertson Bell were tasked with recruiting five Senior Finance Analysts and four Finance Analysts across multiple divisions: Commercial, Environment, Community & Wellbeing and Capital.
Considerations and challenges
- The nature of this market results in a great deal of churn of candidates, and the hiring managers were keen to access a fresh, diverse talent pool with broad exposure across a variety of finance environments.
- The intense workload of some hiring managers made it difficult for them to prioritise their full participation in the recruitment process.
- The logistical challenge of running a complex, multi-vacancy campaign to attract high-quality talent in a buoyant employment marketplace.
Solution
With an in-house database of almost 100k professionals the Public and Not-for-Profit sectors plus access to high-value third party databases, our initial search was highly productive. This was augmented by targeted advertising plus extensive outreach by Robertson Bell consultants to engage with passive, hard-to-reach talent with the appropriate skills and experience.
With good response and limited diary space from hiring managers, we deployed our In-Sight video interviewing technology to support efficient early-stage selection and quickly create high-quality candidate short-lists.
In line with the client’s requirements, we implemented robust and consistent D&I monitoring throughout all stages of the recruitment process.
Outcome
We received 240 applications across the nine advertised vacancies, plus our targeted headhunt successfully engaged with additional high-calibre candidates. All applications were anonymized, with initial selection made by a panel of experienced Robertson Bell consultants, comprising one male, one female and one from a minority group. 36 candidates were selected for first-stage video interview, from which 21 were invited to face-to-face interview and competency testing. Of the nine vacancies offered, six were appointed to external candidates sourced by Robertson Bell, with internal candidates taking the remaining three roles.
Testimonial
“Robertson Bell provided a prompt, modern and professional recruitment service. The candidate videos were a helpful innovation for the initial sifting, and they handled all of the candidate interactions well. I’d definitely use them again.”
Conrad Hall – Brent Council, Chief Finance Officer