Employers
Job title: IMS Auditor
Location: Leicester based, covering the UK
Sector: Construction
Function: Health and Safety
Level: Team Leadership
Candidate location: Derby
Search duration: Two months to placement
Consultant name: Jean-Claude Hedouin
Ex-Mil was approached by a client who was seeking a key player to join their Audit team as Head of the Risk and Assurance team. The client saw that his current Health and Safety Advisor was acting as an impediment to the smooth operation of the company, and was therefore seeking someone to become a key figure on the Health & Safety aspect of the business. The client had to be someone who can see the bigger picture and help improve the Health and Safety situation in the company, as well as it’s overall operations.
The client had already briefed several recruitment companies and met a handful of candidates before approaching Ex-Mil Recruitment. They quickly came to the realisation that previous recommended candidates were all too similar, the organisation needed to find someone who could shine a new light on the issues and find new methods to drive the company forward.
After speaking to the client, it became clear that he was seeking a Senior Non Commissioned Officer, either from one of the Technical Corps within the forces – probably Royal Engineers or REME, or an individual who had already made the move into this sector from the military. The candidate would need to display the ability to not only hold their own when put under pressure from senior management, but also possess the flair and wit to get people on side, using “real life” examples when dealing with potential Health and Safety issues.
We carried out an initial database search on the role and individual, quickly identifying two candidates that were interested in the role. The candidates lived in the right areas and both had the capabilities to fulfil this sort of role.
The client interviewed one of the candidates due to time pressure, and quickly agreed in our assessment that the candidate was more than capable of taking on the role, showcasing various other qualities which the company could use in the near future. The candidate was brought back for a second interview with HR involved, and was offered the role within five minutes before getting back to his car.
The candidate was offered the role and accepted within a very short space of time and started working for the client within 4 weeks. Ex-Mil Recruitment was then invited to meet with the HR team in Leicester, where we have now been selected to join their Preferred Supplier List which will be going live at the end of May 2018 and open new roles for this company. The Line manager was praised by the HR team for thinking outside of the box, as they have also seen the same issue for some of their other posts.
The client’s feedback at the end of this recruitment drive was very positive, as he stated, “Ex-Mil had the ability to really understand what my main drivers and concerns were. They were able to articulate and understand our business needs within a very short space of time, presenting two excellent candidates to review”.
Following placement, we spoke to the candidate after four weeks, and his feedback was very positive. He feels that he can make a positive impact on the company, commenting on how the role was almost exactly how we described it and how we expanded on the job description that was supplied. In the candidate’s words “we were able to add meat to the bones”.
The challenge for us initially was that the client, who came from an accountancy background, was not 100% certain on the role as he was newly appointed to the post. However he knew he needed someone, but not exactly who this person was.
We had to bring together our experiences in placing similar candidates in the past within this sector. This had to be done without trying to overtly impose our knowledge onto the client, which we were able to do successfully. At the same time he became our champion to the HR team which invited us into the company formally.