Our client is an independent debt and equity provider to SMEs throughout the UK. A true purpose drives it: to help the economy and growth of small and medium-sized businesses. Both are inextricably linked.
SMEs are considered the backbone of any healthy economy – driving growth, providing employment, and opening new markets.
There are 5.5 million private sector businesses in the UK, according to the government’s latest statistics, with a breakdown:
- 5.47 million small (0 to 49 employees)
- 35,900 medium-sized (50 to 249 employees)
- 7,700 large (250 or more employees)
Our client, a not-for-profit lender, partners with organisations such as the British Business Bank to provide equity and debt to businesses needing funding but may struggle to secure traditional bank loans due partly to stringent regulations.
Bread and butter roles
Our client engaged us to fill seven crucial roles across the UK: two regional directors, four fund managers, and a risk assurance expert.
Typically, our searches and network would uncover many suitable candidates because these roles make up a large proportion of all our placements. However, these searches required extra rigour because we were looking for highly skilled bankers with excellent cashflow lending technical skills and strong new business capabilities focusing on the SME marketplace. In addition, we were looking for candidates with a strong, genuine belief in the company’s culture and purpose.
Time is an asset
Because we needed time to find the right people with a great cultural fit, exclusivity for all seven roles was agreed upon – the best option for the client, the candidates and us.
“If we’re not in a race with other agencies, our searches can be more thorough in attracting the exact fit,” explains Chris Notley, MD at Chamberlain. “With exclusivity, we can use all sources to find exceptional candidates because time is on our side.”
Deeper relationships yield better results
Because we’ve worked with this lender for almost two years, we understand their business model, people, purpose, and culture. Our insider perspective eliminates any doubt about what a successful person looks like in that business, which makes our searches more targeted and effective.
And we used all sources: our network, advertising, headhunting, and referrals to find these highly experienced bankers and placed all seven: three came from our network, two from headhunting, and two from advertising.
Culture is valuable
As anticipated, these roles were attractive to highly qualified bankers who’d successfully operated in a big bank environment and were looking for a change. No longer driven by overly demanding targets in a highly stressed environment, they now work in a more relaxed setting for a business united by a purpose: to help the economy and growth of British SMEs.
WHY CHAMBERLAIN?
We work exclusively with small and medium-sized banks and non-bank lenders, attracting banking and finance talent from senior analysts to C-level executives for sales and relationship management, operations, risk and compliance, and product management positions. Our focus is on understanding precise client needs to find the exact talent for your business.
Please get in touch:
Chris NotleyManaging Director
chris.notley@chamberlaincareers.com
