As a leading supplier of sales automation software to financial institutions, Focus Solutions’ standards for technical staff are one of the highest. The right level of technical skill is the bare minimum requirement, according to Chief Information Officer, Frank Murray. Good communication skills and industry sector knowledge of the life, pensions and mortgage market are equally important.

As a result, the vacancy for a business analyst who would be required to facilitate customer workshops had been unfilled for some time, so Focus turned to Jumar.

Our approach was to make sure we had a thorough understanding of the technical requirements, the key elements of the role and of Focus’ culture. In addition to utilising our exclusive database of both associates and contractors, we used the Thomas International Personal Profiling tool to assess personality and cultural factors to ensure an extremely close fit with customer requirements. One candidate stood out and following an interview, he was offered the job.

The success of this approach led to Focus using Jumar to source candidates for further technical vacancies. At Jumar, we are able to take advantage of the strong in-house technical resources, in our IT Solutions Division, to support us during both the technical assessment and interview processes.

Frank Murray comments, "We are not interested in dealing with recruitment companies that just throw CVs at us. We are looking to develop relationships with suppliers who take the time to understand our business and the type of person who will work well in our culture and environment - as well as understanding the technical requirements, of course."

The relationship has continued to develop and Jumar is now a member of the Focus preferred supplier community with a further brief to find the best, experienced IT candidates, with excellent customer facing skills who can work in a dynamic, fast growing organisation like Focus.