NHS recruitment case study

Our client required a direct marketing specialist after reviewing the team and its needs. After meeting him to take a full brief and discuss in more detail about how the role had come about and the type of candidate that would fit into the team, we also discussed which sector/industry this candidate would have worked in and why they would want to work for this particular organisation.

Because the hospice sector is a very regionalised, the chances of someone having a good understanding of The Peace Hospice were limited.

The main 'sell' to candidates was working in a worthwhile sector in a reputable organisation where they could give something back. The role was a direct marketing manager and therefore had a very specific skill set.

We discussed how to best attract candidates and our recommended approach was to advertise the role on a selection of not-for-profit focused websites which would also promote the excellent work of the hospice. We also used the Michael Page database and our own significant network to source suitable candidates.

We spoke to 19 candidates and 12 were interested. We met the 12 and interviewed them before providing the client with a final shortlist.

The client called after the interviews and was keen on one of the candidates and wanted to offer them the job. However, the candidate rejected the offer due to a radical change in personal circumstances.

Over the next ten days we sourced four further candidates all of which were interviewed and two were called back in for a final interview. The client called later and asked us to offer the role to one of the candidates. The candidate promptly accepted and started three weeks later.

Within three weeks we had our shortlist and interviews were arranged quickly thereafter. The client interviewed five candidates.

We continued to keep in touch with both parties over the following weeks and the client told us that he was about to advertise for a head of retail but did not contact Michael Page because he did not realise we specialised in that discipline. We then introduced the client to Michael Page Retail which resulted in another bespoke appointment.