Case studies
West Thames College
Role
- Financial Accountant
Client Profile
Established in 1976, West Thames College is a successful, vibrant college of further and higher education, offering a range of courses and apprenticeships from A Levels and specialist vocational courses to higher education level: BTECs, NVQs, City & Guilds, Foundation Degrees and HNDs.
Spread across two campuses in the London Borough of Hounslow, the college has an ongoing commitment to widening participation and hopes to contribute to a prosperous and cohesive community.
Assignment
The client requested Robertson Bell’s help at the beginning of December with an interim Financial Accountant role. Not only did the client need a candidate as quickly as possible but they also required a qualified accountant with previous experience in this specific role. The applicant needed to be able to make an immediate positive impact in the client’s finance team.
Considerations and challenges
Outside of the challenge of a tight turnaround, sourcing financial accountants in the current market is proving increasingly difficult. The client had been recruiting for the role for some time and was aware of the rarity of candidates qualified for this position. Therefore, they understood the challenge that the consultants would be facing.
This was the first time that Robertson Bell had ever worked with this client, so it was crucial for the consultant to have a clear picture of what was needed and build a rapport with the line manager.
Solution
The consultant took a detailed brief from the line manager to understand what was essential, as well as how quickly the candidate was needed. The consultant sent over several applicants to the client and a candidate was interviewed, offered and accepted the position the next day. The client was pleased with the quality and fit of the very first candidate sourced and was eager for them to begin straight away.
The ability to find applicants of the correct calibre and ‘fit’ for the client is testament to the team’s ability not only to take a brief thorough enough to inform the suitability of a potential candidate but also to utilise networks to achieve this positive outcome in such a challenging market.
Outcome
As the client had previous experience with being unable to fill the position and an expectation that the same problems would be experienced again, West Thames College was extremely pleased and impressed with the speed and positive outcome of the process.
As a result, the team has built a strong relationship with the client who has since returned to request support with two more interim positions; a Financial Officer and another Financial Accountant, who were both in position within two weeks.