Case studies
Warrington Hospital
Role
Robertson Bell worked with the hospital to fulfil the role of Senior Financial Accountant. The previous candidate had been on an internal secondment, leaving the position vacant for an extended period of time.
Due to low activity levels during the pandemic, there was no immediate need to fill the role, however as demand started to increase, a full senior finance team was essential. The hospital had carried out its own recruitment process but struggled to find the right candidate.
Client profile
Robertson Bell was delighted to partner with Warrington Hospital, a leading district general hospital, which focuses on emergency and urgent care. The hospital specialises in critical care, stroke, cardiac and surgical units with a new £7 million critical care unit, and is home to Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s accident and emergency department.
Assignment
Our consultants saw the vacancy advertised and offered to support the hospital in filling the role. As the hospital’s day to day operations took resource away from recruitment, Robertson Bell and the Finance Department of the hospital arranged a series of meetings to outline the specialist requirements of the Senior Financial Accountant role.
Considerations and challenges
- Locating finance professionals at the right level with the required experience was a niche search. It was non-negotiable that the right candidate had recent NHS experience at a mid to senior level.
- In the current climate, many organisations have shifted to a remote or at least hybrid working model. This role needed an onsite, physical presence, so could not offer a fully remote role which subsequently narrowed the talent pool.
- The role was a temporary three-month position which further limited the candidate pool.
- Due to internal absences, our consultants liaised with the hospital’s Deputy Director of Finance to fill the vacant role immediately as activity and demand was growing.
Solution
As the client had previously struggled to find a strong candidate for the Senior Financial Accountant role, our consultants worked closely with the Deputy Director of Finance to learn more about the specialist requirements of the role.
A full targeted campaign was implemented starting with comprehensive conversations and meetings. Social media and job site advertising, as well as posting on the Robertson Bell website meant we reached a large range of potential candidates. However, the relationships our consultants have within our networks were most effective at identifying a suitable talent pool.
While the short-term nature of the contract proved to be undesirable for some candidates, our consultants ensured it was communicated clearly that the senior position offered very high exposure and had the potential to be extended.
Following the campaign, we carried out rigorous interviews and competency testing before presenting the best candidates to the client. The shortlist comprised of two candidates who were locally based, able to work onsite, and in the position to take on a temporary contract.
The successful candidate was coming to the end of their contract at their previous employment which allowed for a seamless and almost immediate transition into the new position.
Outcome
Although Robertson Bell was competing against multiple agencies, we were pleased to appoint the successful candidate for the position. In addition, positive feedback from the client has resulted in this candidate being extended past their initial 3-month agreement. Our strong and unique footing in the financial and public sectors means we have the expertise and network to bring a highly qualified and specialist talent pool to our clients, which other agencies may not have.
In the current market, active candidates can be hard to come by, often requiring a specialist recruiter to reach out to known talent. In this case there were several key factors which may have posed a challenge, fortunately our experts were able to overcome them to place the right candidate.