Accelerating talent acquisition plans
Partnering with Howdens Joinery to build a winning workforce
Brief
Large volume recruitment
As the UK’s number one choice for trade kitchen supplies among more than 480,000 loyal trade professionals, Howdens Joinery needed to keep pace with a surge in consumer demand, driven by nationwide increases in home improvement projects and work-from-home trends post-Covid.
Operating across 870 depots throughout the UK and Europe, Howdens sought our assistance in undertaking a large-scale recruitment campaign, starting in London and the South East. Our challenge lay in finding the right talent swiftly, enticing candidates to consider new job opportunities during a time of economic uncertainty, and understanding the diverse needs of each depot and hiring manager.
Experienced trade recruitment
Solution
Our deep understanding of kitchen and bathroom design recruitment, extensive network, and experience in identifying the right talent pools at pace enabled us to design a recruitment process that could identify and onboard the right candidates quickly and efficiently.
Our strategy involved several depot visits to understand the working environment and to foster strong working relationships built on trust and friendship. We also benchmarked Howdens' top performers to understand what excellent talent looked like for them.
To ensure consistent service and effective communication, we appointed an experienced account manager as the lead, backed by key support functions to streamline communication and maintain service consistency.
Working alongside Howdens' in-house recruitment team, we submitted weekly reports on key performance indicators while developing relationships with hiring managers to understand each brief fully. We went beyond targeting sector-specific candidates, pinpointing individuals with transferable skills and a culture fit—those showing promise to become Howdens' future superstars.
80 hires over an 18-month period
Impact
Our approach led to a thriving, ongoing recruitment partnership that has seen success across the nation. In just 18 months, we placed over eighty hires, taking on the first-stage interviews to save Howdens time and money.
Our effective selection process led to an impressive interviewing ratio of 1 candidate being selected for every 1.5 interviews. The relationship has only grown stronger over time, underscoring our commitment to serving as more than just a recruitment agency—we're a recruitment partner.
