Private Equity Backed Niche Leisure Goods Manufacturer & Wholesaler

A private equity backed leisure goods Manufacturer and Wholesaler headquartered in the USA with operations and manufacturing plants in six different countries that counts a diverse range of products and services amongst its offerings needed to parachute a high calibre Finance Director into the organisation to raise the standard of its Finance division. The salary range for the role was £120k – £150k. 

The challenge 

This was a complex business that required experience of managing multiple sites, operational teams & currencies. They needed a Finance Director who could play an important strategic role in driving their continued and ambitious growth plans, both organic and by acquisition.  

Due to our expertise, Argyll Scott was engaged exclusively to manage this highly confidential assignment with the remit to upskill and drive the finance operations function by initially sourcing a high calibre Finance Director with the potential to support future hiring within the function as required. 

Our approach 

An extensive UK search was undertaken with all relevant competitors fully mapped and suitable other companies combed in order to identify the best possible talent for this position. In addition, a tailored online advertising campaign was run on specific appropriate sites. Argyll Scott consultants identified and qualified individuals for a long list. They then interviewed candidates either face to face or via video conference to assess their technical ability, career motivation and suitability for the client. 

Argyll Scott presented a high-quality shortlist which was then approved by the large number of client stakeholders involved in multiple locations. This was particularly challenging due to the conflicting views internally regarding the required profile for the role. Argyll Scott used its expertise to advise the client and negotiate agreement on the right potential profile based on its knowledge of the market and competitor analysis. 

Argyll Scott managed the entire interview process, the first round of which was held at our offices and the second held at the client’s headquarters in the West Country. Our team then managed the offer process and prepared the preferred candidate to handle the resignation process and possible counteroffer. We stayed in regular contact with the successful candidate until the start date. 

The outcome 

Following this successful placement, Argyll Scott has been mandated to source a number of senior hires for permanent and contract positions as the client was so happy with the outcome. 

FTSE 100 Retail Financial Services Group

This leading UK retail financial services had a clear vision for a higher value, dynamic, internal client focussed finance function. However, it believed that too many of its existing finance staff were institutionalised and lacked the aptitude to drive the broader team towards this vision. It, therefore, wished to recruit a cohort of high calibre individuals who would transform the capability of the team. 

THE CHALLENGE 

The organisation had an incumbent RPO partner and associated PSL of recruitment agencies, however, based on previous experience, they did not believe that it could source candidates of the calibre required. 

Argyll Scott was engaged directly by the COO, Finance and the Head of Executive Recruitment to hire up to 15 individuals into roles at E, F, & G level grades (£50k to £120k per annum basic salary) covering core finance and finance change disciplines into the organisation’s London, Edinburgh and Bristol offices. 

OUR APPROACH

To scope the project, we initially worked with key stakeholders to define “what good looks like”. In addition to being experienced financial services practitioners and possessing the core skills sets and experience for each role, it was agreed as a pre-requisite that each successful candidate should be able to demonstrate both a current career trajectory and the potential to progress by two grades in the next three years. 

Argyll Scott adopted a multi-channel sourcing strategy of: 

• conducting an exhaustive search of the financial services organisations in each city, 
• building a recruitment micro-site supported by a geographically targeted PPC campaign in Edinburgh and Bristol, and 
• an online advertising campaign using selected jobs boards. 

We held assessment days in each city to qualify candidates. All qualified candidates were interviewed and appraised by Argyll Scott using the organisation’s own personal development competency framework. Subsequently, a long list of candidates was presented to the client from which individuals were selected to attend six client recruitment assessment centres. 

Argyll Scott managed these assessment centres across the three cities with up to 10 candidates invited to each event. Hiring managers were provided with interview packs which included each candidate’s CV and competency framework assessment, together with a summary of which competency each interviewer should focus on. 

All assessment centre candidates were managed through a four-stage interview process. At the close of the assessment centre, Argyll Scott facilitated a wash-up session whereby the client staff discussed each candidate and made a preliminary decision to offer or reject. Appropriate offers were then made the following morning. 

Argyll Scott consultants managed the full offer process and prepared candidates to handle their resignation submissions and potential counteroffers. We stayed in regular contact with the successful candidates until their start dates. 

THE OUTCOME 

	19 offers made
	16 accepted positions

In total the client made offers to 19 candidates, of which 16 accepted positions. This was one more hire than the project had been originally scoped for, however, the client was so impressed by the calibre of the candidates that they decided to increase the headcount.

FTSE 250 Global Business Services Group

Following a number of acquisitions, this Business Services Group wished to establish a common management leadership structure in each of its Continental European operations. Argyll Scott was engaged to hire the CFO and the CMO roles for 6 of the countries. 

The challenge 

The desired structure comprised a General Manager, a Chief Financial Officer, and a Chief Marketing Office for each country. This led to a requirement to hire one, two or all three of these roles in eight different countries ranging from Finland to the Netherlands, France and Greece. Despite being a Business Services Group, the client wanted candidates predominantly from blue-chip retail backgrounds in each market. It had engaged local recruitment agencies but was unhappy with the quality of candidates that is was seeing, so wanted a specialist who could deliver. 

Our approach 

Our team conducted a full search of the leading retailers in each of the cities that the roles would be located. This was supported by a comprehensive online advertising campaign, which used appropriate job boards in each market. 

We worked the client’s head office and local senior managements teams to agree on the list of target retailers in each market that would form the bulk of our search. We were able to conduct the research cost-effectively by utilising our digital resourcing function in Manilla, which identified and obtained contact details for all the senior finance and marketing staff in each relevant city of the search. 

Argyll Scott consultants then approached the identified individuals to qualify them for the roles. We interviewed them all using video conferencing facilities. A shortlist of five candidates was presented for each role. We managed the entire interview process, which comprised of a mix of face-to-face interviews with local management teams and video interviews with Head Office staff.     

We then managed the offer process and prepared candidates to handle the process of their resignations and possible counteroffers. We stayed in regular contact with the successful candidates until their start dates. 

The outcome 

	6 CFO positions filled
	4 CMO positions filled

 

We successfully filled six CFO positions and four CMO roles within eight weeks of being mandated. Nine of these candidates are still employed by the client today (some eighteen months later). The roles that Argyll Scott did not fill were given to candidates either referred by local staff or to individuals who were already known to the local General Managers.