Case Study

The Client

Sigma Recruitment was contacted by the Operations Director of a site we were already familiar with. We had helped to find two shift managers for them in the past, and they had now returned with a new challenge.

The Vacancy

Maintenance Manager

The Challenges

The hiring manager had a long list of requirements for this new hire. They had to be technically very competent to lead the team. They also needed to be more of a leader who could direct the team as required, rather than more of a hands-on performer.

They also had some other challenges, including:

• They only wanted to consider certain industry backgrounds.
• The site was going through an exercise to implement a planned maintenance module into their MRP system at the time and was keen to find someone with prior experience working with that system.
• The salary on offer was reasonable but was not going to be attractive to a large number of the existing maintenance managers in the area. They would already have been on similar or often higher salaries.
• The benefits package was not particularly extensive in comparison to some of the other companies in their area.
• There was no technical member from the senior management team on-site, meaning it was going to be difficult for them to assess this element of the person’s skills.

The Solution

Sigma’s team took the time to undertake a detailed vacancy qualification with the client to fully understand their requirements, with a focus on which elements were the most important. Only then could we create a custom plan to suit this job.

• We discussed alternative industry backgrounds that the client could consider to broaden the market. We were able to suggest potential options they’d not previously thought of as relevant.
• Through our discussion with the client, we were able to determine that they were happy to consider someone who had worked at a supervisory or team leader level as opposed to being an experienced manager – provided they had the technical ability and the right character fit.
• We drafted an SEO advert for the role and posted it across multiple job boards, social media platforms, and our own website.
• A sourcing plan was created to enable us to find the best candidates, and we deployed it across all of our database resources.
• We sent a four-stage text mailer campaign to 300+ candidates with experience at either a supervisory/team leading level or at a managerial level in the given field. We then filtered the responses to focus on speaking with the candidates who were the closest fit to the job.
• Our team contacted candidates, and didn’t stop with calls: we reached out via text messages, emails, and answerphone messages to those who presented the closest fit to our criteria. We provided them with initial information, a link to the advert for them to review and ways in which to contact us.
• We undertook detailed pre-screening interviews with candidates to ensure they had the skills that the client sought, that the variation of the role was something they could manage, and that the package and benefits were right for them. We used a number of questions based on their technical ability to ascertain their level of experience.
• Sigma sent a job information pack to all candidates who expressed interest in the role and matched the client’s criteria at the end of the screening process to confirm their interest.
• We provided the client with detailed notes from our screening interviews to highlight candidate qualifications.
• We managed all stage one and two interviews.
• We managed the onboarding process while the candidate negotiated a shorter notice period to start with the client.

The Results

We submitted eight candidates for the client to review – four of which were invited to interview. From the first round of interviews, there was a standout candidate for them who took the job.

By making sure we clarified the most important qualities from the long list of criteria the hiring manager stipulated, we were able to hone our search and find the client someone who was truly a great fit. The client was ecstatic. The successful candidate had worked in a relevant industry with similar equipment at a supervisory level. This candidate also had budget management experience, had overseen project and installation work, was qualified to a level they felt was appropriate and had worked with the client’s desired MRP module for planned maintenance.

Other Sigma assignments in packaging have included packaging buyers, supply chain managers, engineering managers, and packaging engineers, to name but a few.

Sigma Recruitment – packaging recruitment agency

Since Sigma Recruitment opened in 2005, we’ve developed an enviable reputation as one of the leading independent manufacturing and engineering recruitment agencies. We’ve recruited for a wide variety of companies, from Fortune 500 firms with sales in the hundreds of billions to niche high-tech start-ups and everything in between; we can recruit across the United Kingdom, including locations such as Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Bristol, Birmingham, Cambridge, Gloucester, Leeds, Manchester, Oxford, Reading and Swindon.

If you’re looking to recruit candidates with engineering or technical skills in the packaging sector, then Sigma Recruitment is ideally placed to help you find the elusive high-calibre talent your business needs. If you’re looking for a packaging recruitment agency, then please book a call with our founding director today! And we will show you why we are one of the leading manufacturing and engineering recruitment agencies.