Why choose us to find you interim HR cover?
Our HR interim recruitment team is part of a 5-star-rated multi-award-winning HR consultancy, workplace wellbeing specialist, and management training provider, which supports over 350 businesses across the East Midlands.
So, we totally understand what HR can deliver and the difference a great HR professional can make to a company.
Our HR recruitment services are bespoke to your business
We value long-term relationships and are personally invested in finding you the best candidate for the role.
We gather detailed information about the role requirements through a comprehensive process. This includes in-depth discussions with you and the current role holder, and if necessary, the use of a model based on HR best practices for SMEs. Through a series of targeted questions, we ensure we fully understand your HR needs.
We undertake rigorous selection, including assessing technical capability via a ‘technical desktop exercise ‘. This exercise is designed to evaluate the candidate’s practical skills and knowledge in HR, ensuring they are well-equipped to handle the demands of the role. We also focus on ensuring the candidate is a good fit for your business environment.
Rest assured, we do not ‘spray’ you with CVs. Our focus is on quality, not quantity. We provide you with a handful of carefully curated applicants, each with a candidate synopsis outlining the pros and cons and the areas to explore at the interview. All of whom are capable of doing the job. This should give you confidence in your decision-making, knowing that each candidate has been thoroughly vetted and is a potential fit for your role.
Clients often tell us that we give them a real dilemma regarding selecting a candidate. That is our ultimate aim.
Finally, our values drive everything we do. We adopt a ‘no surprises’ approach, which means we are committed to providing you with all the necessary information about the role and the challenges it may bring. If it is a challenging role, we will tell the candidate upfront. This ensures that if the candidate accepts an offer, they do so with full knowledge and understanding of the role’s demands.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
How much does it cost?
Right then, let’s cut to the chase!
Whilst cost isn’t everything, as a small business ourselves, we totally get that it’s something you’re certainly going to be interested in.
Our pricing model is bit different to that typically used by most recruitment agencies. We’ve carefully designed it to be fair to everyone, balancing providing you with a cost-effective high-value service, whilst at the same time providing us with reasonable remuneration for the time, effort, and expertise we provide.
Rather than just going for a percentage of salary for an all-or-nothing thing that may or may not happen, we split our HR interim recruitment process into a series of stages, each with clear pricing and a well-defined deliverable.
Each stage is billed when it completes, with a quote then being provided for the following one. This allows you to make an informed decision as to whether or not to precede with the next stage. If you don’t think we’re providing good value, then there’s absolutely no obligation to continue working with us.
In addition, this approach allows maximum client flexibility and value-for-money, since you can choose to handle some of the stages yourself, rather than outsourcing them to us. Likewise, the process can be halted or modified at any point, should your business needs change.
Although our pricing model doesn’t determine fees based on a straight percentage of salary, it works out to be the equivalent of only 12.5%. Check out our pricing model for a worked example showing how we’ve calculated this.
In comparison, other recruitment agencies typically charge fees starting at 15% and rising to 20% or more, particularly in the case of senior roles, so we think this makes our pricing very competitive.
And we feel that this is particularly the case since we have so much more to offer than the typical recruitment agency in terms of our extensive HR expertise. So, not only will we have a much greater understanding of your HR interim recruitment needs, but we’ll also be able to deliver a much more holistic solution.
For more details, see our HR interim recruitment process and our our pricing model.
What does the recruitment process entail?
We gather detailed information about the role requirements. We do this by talking to you and the current role holder and, if required, utilising a model based on HR best practices for SMEs; through a series of questions, we establish your HR needs.
We obtain practical details about the role via an easy-to-complete online survey. We then produce the job description and write advert copy based on your requirements. If necessary, we also liaise with your marketing team to ensure we capture your tone of voice and the company’s unique selling points.
This forms the Foundation stage of our HR interim recruitment process.
We use a job board broker to advertise the role, which guarantees your role will appear across at least ten job boards and websites. Resulting in lots of eyeballs and applications. The job advert is fully branded with your company logo, in contrast to many recruitment agencies who insist on white labelling roles, which doesn’t attract as much interest. We then screen the applicants to form a short-list of the most suitable candidates. Since we do HR ourselves, we know exactly what a competent HR person needs to be able to do.
This forms the Attraction stage of our HR interim recruitment process.
Finally, if you would like us to, we can help you choose the best candidate for your role from the short-list.
But if you’re happy handling that yourself, that’s fine by us.
This forms the Selection stage of our HR interim recruitment process.
For more details, see our full HR interim recruitment process.
How long will it take to fill the position?
The Foundation stage of our HR interim recruitment process will take several days to complete.
The Attraction stage of our HR interim recruitment process will take around four weeks to generate a shortlist of high quality candidates, all of whom could fill your vacancy.
The Selection stage of our HR interim recruitment process will probably be handled by you.
What level roles do you cover?
We recruit all levels of HR interim, from HR Administrators to Head of HR roles.
We specialise in standalone HR roles, but are completely happy to help internal HR teams manage their workload.
Is the interim employed by you or us?
You employ the interim.
Can I extend the contract?
Yes, as you directly employ the interim, you can mutually agree to extend the contract if you wish.
This won’t result in any additional fees from us.
Can I offer the interim a permanent position?
Yes, this won’t result in any additional fees from us.
So, employing an interim can be a great way to ‘try before you buy’ when ultimately seeking a permanent employee.
What if the interim doesn’t work out after starting?
We offer a no-quibble replacement service should you decide the interim is unsuitable within twelve weeks of engagement.
But to-date we’ve never had that happen, which we feel is a great reflection of the amount of effort that we put in to ensuring a good initial match.
What if you can’t provide me with a suitable interim?
In the unlikely event that we can’t provide you with a shortlist of suitable, then you won’t pay the Attraction fee.
In the unlikely event that none of the candidates on the shortlist are suitable, then you won’t pay the Appointment fee.
Should that happen, you could choose to revisit the Foundation stage, and/or re-run the Attraction stage.
However, to-date we have had a 100% success rate in meeting the needs of our clients.
Can I terminate the contract early?
This will be subject to the contractual arrangements that you put in place.
A company will typically engage on a fixed-term contract basis.
Our colleagues at Loates HR Consultancy can advise you on specific contract wording bespoke to the circumstances of the arrangement.
Do you recruit permanent staff?
Yes, we do sometimes recruit permanent HR roles, but our specialism primarily lies in interim HR recruitment.
But we’re totally happy to help you, and completely up to the job, so just give us a shout if that’s what you need!
How long will the short-list be?
Around three candidates.
However, they will all be an excellent match for the job role.
Indeed, most of out clients tell us that they have trouble choosing between the candidates we put forward.
What if you can’t provide a short-list by the due date?
If we can’t provide you with a shortlist, then you won’t pay the Attraction fee.
However, to-date we have had a 100% success rate in meeting the needs of our clients.
What if none of the short-listed candidates are any good at interview?
If none of the candidates on the shortlist are suitable, then you won’t pay the Appointment fee.
Should that happen, you could choose to revisit the Foundation stage, and/or re-run the Attraction stage.
However, to-date we have had a 100% success rate in meeting the needs of our clients.
How involved am I in the recruitment process?
We’ll work closely with you during the Foundation stage of our HR interim recruitment process, so that we can fully understand what you’re looking for.
During the Attraction stage of our HR interim recruitment process, we’ll just get on with things without your involvement, so we can deliver you a shortlist of high quality candidates.
How involved you are in the Selection stage of our HR interim recruitment process is completely up to you. We can do it for you, assist you, or you can do it all yourself.
Is this an exclusive arrangement?
We carry out the Attraction stage of our HR interim recruitment process on an exclusive basis.
This ensures that there is no confusion as to who is entitled to fees should the same candidate be put forward by multiple recruitment agencies, and then subsequently appointed by you following the Selection stage.
What if I fill the position from elsewhere?
Fine by us, we understand that an internal candidate might sometimes be the best fit.
Just make use the stages of our HR interim recruitment process that work for you.
Are your fees lower for part-time roles?
No, our fees are based on the full-time equivalent (FTE) annual salary.
This is because the recruitment process takes us the same amount of time and effort as with a full-time position.
Are your fees higher for longer contracts?
No, the length of the contract doesn’t affect our fee. Our fees are based on the full-time equivalent (FTE) annual salary.
This is because the recruitment process takes us the same amount of time and effort for a long contract as for a short one.
But on the flip side, you’re free to extend the contract, or indeed, offer the interim a permanent position for no extra fee.
Is your fee percentage greater for higher level roles?
Unlike other recruitment agencies, the seniority of the role doesn’t affect our Appointment fee percentage.
However, it does affect our fixed Attraction fee.
This is because we have found that more senior roles are more challenging and time-consuming to short-list.
Consequently, before commencing the Attraction stage, we will give you a clear quote as to the cost based on the findings of the Foundation stage.
How do your fees compare with those of other recruitment agencies?
Although our pricing model doesn’t determine fees based on a straight percentage of salary, it works out to be the equivalent of only 12.5%. See our pricing example to see how we’ve calculated this.
In comparison, other recruitment agencies can often charge fees of 20% or more, particularly in the case of senior roles, so we think this makes our pricing very competitive.
And we feel that this is particularly the case since we have so much more to offer than the typical recruitment agency in terms of our extensive HR expertise. So, not only will we have a much greater understanding of your HR interim recruitment needs, but we’ll also be able to deliver a much more holistic solution.
As a small business ourselves, we get that cost is important, but would also encourage you to consider overall value, not just upfront cost.
We are totally confident that we can deliver you exactly what you need, first time round.
Because we understand how important this can be in respect of HR interims, where time is often of the essence.
Is your appointment fee calculated on advertised salary or agreed salary?
Our Appointment fee is calculated as a percentage of the final salary agreed between you and the interim.
Is your appointment fee calculated on base salary or total remuneration?
Our Appointment fee is only calculated on base salary, so doesn’t include commission and the like.
When are your fees due?
Our Appointment fee is due on the day the interim starts work with you.
Fees for the other stages of HR interim recruitment process are due at the point each stage is completed.
How do you ensure the quality of your interims?
We actually do HR ourselves on a day-to-day basis, so we know exactly what HR people need to be able to do.
And what’s more, we’re specialists in doing all the difficult and messy HR stuff that no-one else wants to deal with.
So, you can be absolutely sure that any candidates we put forward for your role will totally be able to ‘walk-the-walk’, not just ‘talk-the-talk’.
And as a small business ourselves, we completely understand how much impact a ‘missing’ staff member can have on the smooth functioning of an organisation, and the sense of worry and urgency that business owners face, and consequently how important it is that an interim can ‘hit the ground running’.
We totally get that you’re not really buying an HR interim, but actually peace of mind.
What types of businesses do you work with?
We work with businesses across a huge range of industries and sectors, including manufacturing, professional services, education, charities, logistics, construction, IT,…
Indeed, we’re currently working with over 350 active clients across our recruitment, HR consultancy, workplace wellbeing, and management training arms.
So, whatever your business does, and whatever challenges it’s presently facing, the chances are we’ve come across something pretty similar before.
Our HR interim recruitment services are primarily targeted at those companies with a small or single-person internal HR team. But even if that’s not you, just get in touch, and we’ll see what we can do to help!
Do your listed fees include VAT?
No, VAT will be added to our listed fees.
But if you’re a VAT registered company, you’ll be able to offset this when making your VAT return.
So, what’s the catch?
“So, how come your rates are so much lower than everyone else? What’s the catch?”, we hear you ask.
Well, just to be clear, It’s not because we’re rubbish!
We’ve been around for over ten years now, and during that time have built up an exceptional reputation for all things HR.
And to-date we have a 100% success rate in the recruitment we’ve undertaken.
Values are really important to us, so above all we want to be fair, transparent, and create a win-win scenario for everyone.
We’re looking to have a long-term relationship with you, not just make a quick buck.
So, we’ve carefully designed our pricing model to be fair to everyone, balancing providing you with a cost-effective high-value service, whilst at the same time providing us with reasonable remuneration for the time, effort, and expertise we provide.
So, in the interests of full transparency, here’s the ‘catch’, if you want to consider it as such:
If you examine our HR interim recruitment process, you’ll see that the way we charge for the stages offers a risk-reward trade-off in comparison to other recruitment agencies.
Which means that you’re trading the risk of paying for the early stages of the process, even if we don’t recruit anyone, with the reward of paying a much lower overall fee when we do.
But we don’t think that’s much of a ‘risk’, because to-date we’ve made a successful placement in every case.
We can help you find interim HR cover!
Already know what you want? Great, let’s get to it!
Not sure exactly what you need? No problem!
Whether you’re a business looking for interim HR cover, or an HR professional seeking an interim role, our friendly and down-to-earth HR recruitment experts will point you in the right direction. We’d love to have an informal chat to find out more about your end-goals, and so help identify what would work best for you.
We’re not after a quick buck, we’re all about building long-term relationships. In fact, we don’t even employ any sales people or generic recruitment consultants. Instead, our recruitment team consists entirely of qualified and experienced HR professionals. Which means that right from the start you’ll be directly dealing with someone who knows exactly what you’re talking about, and who has all the sector-specific knowledge and expertise needed to actually help you.
We’re ready and waiting, so just get in touch!