Change & Transformation

Recruitment Challenge: Finding candidates who understand the complexities of a multi-site business.

Jackie Freeman, Strada, explains that her biggest recruitment challenge is finding candidates who understand the complexities of the financial analysis for a multi-site retail business.

“I approached Cedar to find a special candidate to help build a growing team. In an extremely tight timeframe, Cedar used their immense experience and connections to locate a benchmark candidate who fit culturally into our business and who had all the required skills. The biggest players on the market couldn’t get anywhere near to matching such a candidate and I believe we got the best person on the market at the time. What I also like about Cedar is their proactively and their confidence to tell you how it is, which not only minimises wasting time, but also adds value to the recruitment process.”

“Having known Howard Bentwood for a while, I can see his approach to recruitment has come through in Cedar. It can be easy for most recruitment professionals to achieve the basics in finding a candidate, however, Cedar spend time ensuring that they fully understand both a business and the position on offer. This means that Cedar is more likely to find a candidate that fits best and stays. Putting that together with some sensible discussion ensures the job gets done effectively.”

“We met with Cedar to describe the role and allow them to query, challenge and clarify as appropriate. Cedar also directly assessed the environment and expectations placed on a candidate and judged the support such candidate may realistically expect to receive in a very challenging situation. As a result, the shortlist of interviewees Cedar organised for us to meet within the week was outstanding and testimony to the care and attention received from the original investment! Prompt, focused, empathetic advice and service, couldn’t ask for more.”

“Cedar is a pleasure to work with, I have worked with them on both ends of the spectrum where they headhunted me for my new role and also found me some great candidates for my team.”

“I have worked with Cedar on both sides of the process, having been headhunted for my current role and they also found me some great candidates for my team. Cedar is the most proactive recruiter I have come across in a long time, always transparent, honest, and great work ethics.”

“Hugely impressed by the way Cedar go about their business in sourcing candidates and the matching process they go through which has proved to be an astounding success. We have over the course of the last 18 months brought in ten new people and it’s safe to say, the candidates we see from Cedar are always top of the pack. They are the ones that impress the most in the room and on the job, with some exceeding expectations and on the path to being our leaders of tomorrow. I’m genuinely really impressed in their methods on understanding the role, the recruiting manager and team and likewise candidates to really make sure the match it right.

We continue to deepen our relationships with them in areas such as devising recruitment and people strategies to make sure we ultimately make the right decisions and get the best for our business and its future; they have truly become a trusted partner of BT.”

“We worked with Cedar to fill a finance role on our team, we needed a high potential candidate with more than just a great CV. Cedar helped us fill the role quickly by understanding not only the technical requirements but also our company culture. They helped us find multiple candidates who fit our team and had the skills needed to succeed and grow in our organization.”