The challenge
Kensington Mortgages is one of the UK’s leading non-bank specialist mortgage lenders. The firm already successfully worked and built a strong relationship with Reed as a long-standing client to source ad-hoc applicants across their business.
During the pandemic, the firm had significant requirements in its business servicing department. It needed to recruit six or seven high-quality candidates, per month, over a three-month period to help its response to Covid-19 guidelines around payment holidays.
Kensington Mortgages decided to partner with Reed on this project as the firm felt, from its previous experience of using Reed, we were better equipped to efficiently source this high volume of candidates.
Reed’s candidate management was very good. I have been very pleased with both Billie and Jess’s speed of response, their knowledge of the market shows that they are very experienced recruiters, which is reassuring
Recruitment & Diversity Manager at Kensington Mortgages
The solution
Magda Tehrani, Recruitment & Diversity Manager at Kensington Mortgages approached Reed’s business support and administration team in their local area and were partnered with both Billie Dhadda, Senior Executive Permanent Consultants and Jessica Lock, Senior Area Manager at Reed.
Once Reed received a brief from Magda on the type of candidates the lender was looking for, they organised a meeting to get to know the business, its expectations and decide how best to tackle the brief.
Magda said: “Billie and Jess took the time to understand us as a business to ensure that the candidates they submitted were the right fit for the Kensington Mortgages culture, as well as having the required technical skills.”
Once the requirements were agreed upon, the consultants began actively sourcing candidates through LinkedIn and Facebook searches, advertising, referrals, and e-marketing campaigns to secure a diverse list of professionals. Throughout the process, both consultants kept in regular contact with Magda to ensure complete transparency.
Reed also agreed to conduct a comprehensive vetting process - which Billie describes: “We carried out full testing for each candidate, including pre-screening and holding all the first stage interviews to make sure the candidates put forward were the very best. The client only had to carry it the final interview stages and offer, saving them time.”
Magda was thrilled with this removal of much of the legwork, stating: “They saved us so much time with their suggestion of a pre-vetting process and working on a retained basis gave me the confidence that we had their full dedication.”
The results
Reed was able to successfully fill all vacancies with high-quality candidates. Overall, 60% to 70% of the professionals that were placed by Reed are still in the business, with many receiving promotions.
Magda expressed her gratitude for Reed’s service: “Reed’s candidate management was very good. I have been very pleased with both Billie and Jess’s speed of response, their knowledge of the market shows that they are very experienced recruiters, which is reassuring – overall we are happy with Reed and will continue to use them again for similar projects.”
Likewise, one of the successful candidates, New Business Assistant Sakia Khalid, shared her experience: “The service was above and beyond what I expected, my skills were perfectly matched, and I would recommend using Reed to whoever is looking for their next role.”
