As opposed to recruiting for a particular discipline or industry sector, our specialism here at Harwood HR is recruiting for SMEs. We fully understand what small businesses are about and understand the importance of finding the right fit for your business.
An extensive review and audit of your recruitment processes in order we can help you identify what is and isn’t working.
Outsource an entire campaign to us. Make it our problem to fill a vacancy, not yours!
Unsure how to incorporate D & I in recruitment? Talk to us
The majority of job adverts perform poorly. Allow us to draft job adverts which will work
Both of these activities are extremely time consuming. Let us do the leg work
Although employees (especially Gen Z) are increasingly driven by factors other than salary, your compensation offering must be good to attract and retain the best candidates.
Many clients fully outsource their recruitment campaigns to us and with our RaaS (Recruitment-as-a-Service) offering you can spread the fee across 12 months. Alternatively, some clients like to manage the process themselves but utilise us for part of the recruitment process; for example, we can help with advertising, shortlisting and screening.
We understand that recruitment can be frustrating and we know it can be time-consuming. We also know it’s expensive. That’s why we offer a ‘menu’ of recruitment services from which clients can choose whether to engage us in full or simply use us for part of the recruitment process.
Most recruitment agencies are built around volume – filling as many roles as quickly as possible for as many clients as possible. That model works for large organisations with established HR teams and clear job specifications. It rarely works well for SMEs, where each hire has an outsized impact on the team, culture and operational capacity.
Harwood HR’s recruitment for small businesses service is built differently. We take time to understand your business before we start searching, advise on salary benchmarking so you’re competitive in the market, help you build a job advert that actually attracts the right candidates (not just the most), and manage the screening and shortlisting process so you’re only meeting people worth meeting.
For businesses that find themselves hiring repeatedly for the same or similar roles, our talent pool and employer brand services create a sustainable pipeline that reduces your long-term recruitment costs. And for businesses that want to fully outsource their hiring function, our Recruitment-as-a-Service model gives you the equivalent of an in-house recruitment team, billed monthly rather than per placement.
Whether you want us to manage the full campaign or handle one specific part of the process – writing your job ads, screening applicants, running first-round interviews – we work the way that fits your business. Get in touch to discuss your current hiring needs.
Duncan is a CIPD-qualified HR leader with 24+ years’ experience across retail, automotive, manufacturing and financial services. His expertise includes HR leadership, restructuring, acquisitions, employee relations and regulatory change. He has held senior roles with Sytner Group, Porsche GB and Dollar Financial Group and founded Harwood HR Solutions.
Zoe is a CIPD-qualified HR professional with extensive experience in HR, operations and training. She helped grow a business from 4 to 250+ employees and has expertise in acquisitions, TUPE, restructuring, recruitment, employee relations and FCA regulatory change, with a strong record of delivering HR projects without litigation.
Charlotte is a qualified HR professional with experience across people planning, organisational change, performance, talent and employee relations. She progressed to HR Business Partner at The Money Shop, supporting senior leadership through structural and financial change. Her expertise includes TUPE, redundancies, sickness absence and HR support across multiple sectors, including social care.
We have extensive experience in various industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, retail, financial services, technology, education and more. Our team understands the unique challenges of each sector, ensuring we provide tailored recruitment support for your business.
Yes. We support businesses in hiring permanent, temporary, contract and interim roles. Whether you need long-term team members or short-term cover for projects or seasonal demands, we can help you secure the right talent.
We follow a rigorous recruitment process, including detailed screening, skills assessments and competency-based interviews. We also conduct thorough reference checks to ensure that every candidate meets your business’s requirements before they are recommended.
Yes. We provide specialist executive search services, helping businesses recruit for senior leadership, C-suite and management roles. We use a combination of targeted headhunting, industry networks and strategic advertising to attract high-calibre candidates.
Yes. We assist businesses in hiring seasonal workers, temporary project teams and short-term contractors. Our recruitment team understands the need for flexibility in workforce planning and ensures that the process is efficient and stress-free.
The time to hire depends on factors such as the role’s complexity, industry demand and candidate availability. On average, we help businesses fill roles within two to six weeks but urgent hires can often be arranged more quickly.
We have strong expertise in industries such as finance, legal, IT, engineering, healthcare, retail, education and hospitality. Our team stays updated on market trends to provide effective recruitment strategies in each sector.
For difficult-to-fill roles, we use targeted recruitment strategies, including proactive candidate searches, market mapping and industry networking. We also advise on salary benchmarks, job descriptions and talent attraction strategies to enhance your hiring success.
Yes. We assist businesses in building diverse and inclusive workforces by implementing unbiased recruitment practices, structured interview processes and inclusive job advertising. We can also provide D&I strategy support to help you align recruitment with your company’s equality goals.
Yes. Our recruitment services cover entry-level, mid-level, management and senior roles across various industries. Whether you need apprentices, graduates or experienced professionals, we tailor our approach to match your hiring needs.
If your recruitment need is time sensitive, confidential or is for a niche skill set or a critical/ senior hire, our retained search offering is the service you need
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