Listen. Advise. Deliver.

Recruitment Challenge: Attracting talent with commercial finance experience

Nick Sambridge, Finance Director – IT and Transformation, explains that his biggest recruitment challenge for Post Office Ltd is attracting senior finance professionals with commercial experience.

“We commissioned Cedar to fill a challenging Senior Strategy Manager role which required a very specific set of competencies. Cedar not only provided a fast and efficient service but were a pleasure to work with, responsive and accommodating of our recruitment timescales. They identified relevant individuals in a highly  professional manner and constantly demonstrated a clear commitment to succeed. I would not hesitate to recommend Cedar and will be working with then again in the future.”

“We instructed Cedar to help us with the appointment of an Interim Group Corporate Finance Manager. They quickly understood our brief and set to work sending us CVs for five high calibre individuals. We conducted three interviews from this shortlist and subsequently offered the role to an excellent candidate. The entire process was completed in just five days. We were extremely impressed not only with the quality of the candidates but the speed at which they could be provided. I would not hesitate to recommend Cedar’s interim practice.”

“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.”

“I had the pleasure of being supported by Cedar across all levels of Finance recruitment from part qualified through to senior hires. At all the stages of the process, it was clear they had a fundamental understanding of the calibre of individuals we were after as well as working together with us to give useful insight and market knowledge. This allowed us to be competitive in market place when it came to top talent. I was impressed with the knowledge of the business they had and the strong relationship they had built with key stakeholders. They gave me the confidence t that they could inform and advise the business without my intervention. I would highly recommend Cedar and look forward to work again with them in the future.”

“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.”

“We first tried Cedar when we needed a high quality candidate, fast. They didn’t disappoint, and unlike many other agencies we had tried, provided us a highly credible shortlist of suitable candidates. We could have filled the role several times over. Since then, Cedar hasn’t disappointed and each time we’ve needed to add to the team, Cedar have delivered credible candidates. They seem to know the candidates they represent well, and they have handled each of our engagements with swift efficiency, which has taken the pain out of recruiting for senior candidates. Happily recommend Cedar to anyone who doesn’t enjoy the recruitment process.”

“Having worked with a number of other recruiters over the years, Cedar were a refreshing change and a real delight. Their attention to detail, ensuring that candidate and client were a perfect fit, was second to none.”