THE CLIENT
With over 70 UK partners and 550 employees, Saffery Champness is recognised as one of the UK’s leading accounting firms and a leader in the private client market, specialising in providing advice to a broad range of individuals, their families, businesses and wider interests.
THE CHALLENGE
Saffery Champness in High Wycombe were winning large volumes of work and in need of an experienced Private Client Senior Manager to join their team. As Saffery Champness is recognised as one of the leading private client practices, the candidate must have specific experience within private clients, non-domiciles, trusts, HNWI’s and landed estates. Due to location of the office, Saffery Champness were looking at a very small pool of candidates and were focusing on those that were local and looking to re-locate for the opportunity. The role was sent out to several agencies on a contingent basis and after several months was still trying to be filled without success. Saffery Champness approached Pro-Tax and asked if we could come down to their offices and think of the best way forward approaching this piece of recruitment.
OUR SOLUTION
Pro-Tax met with Karen Bartlett, the Lead Partner at Saffery Champness in High Wycombe and discussed the contingent search so far and what would be best way to move forward. As the contingent search was unsuccessful and the role was a matter of urgency we decided a retained search would be the best way forward. This would mean we would engage in a more proactive search by means of mapping the market, advertising both in print (taxation, tax advisor, tax journal) and online (linked in, taxation, ICAEW, reed etc.), this was to attract a more ‘passive’ candidate. I shortlisted 66 candidates who had experience across private clients, non-domiciles, trusts, HNWI’s and landed estates. Advertised with the Saffery Champness logo on the Pro-Tax website and within our monthly Orange Top- Newsletter, and headhunted candidates over LinkedIn.
THE RESULT
Pro-Tax had a highly qualified passive candidate call in as they had seen the role with Saffery Champness advertised through Pro-Tax and wanted to be put forward for the role. I then spoke with three candidates who were the right for the role and sent the four profiles across to Karen Bartlett. Three of the candidates were called for interviews, two of which were then called back for a second stage and one who was offered the position and accepted the role.
FOLLOW UP
The candidate is set to start at Saffery at the start of December and is looking forward to starting his new role.
