Interim and Temporary Professional Recruitment | Multi-site Project Recruitment | Workforce Mobilisation
The Challenge
The implementation of a new ERP system required REHAU to bring together experienced employees from several different teams to form a dedicated project implementation team.
Releasing those employees from their existing responsibilities created an immediate need to backfill their roles for the duration of the project, 14 months. Without the right people in place, there was a risk that the ERP implementation could be delayed or that additional workloads would fall on existing team members, creating avoidable pressure and frustration.
REHAU needed to recruit 15 experienced interim professionals across four UK locations:
Ross-on-Wye
Manchester
Runcorn
Blaenau Ffestiniog
The roles spanned several business functions and included:
Accountants
Sales Coordinators
Production and Supply chain roles such as: Material Planner, Maintenance Planner, Stock Control, Logistics Coordinator and Supply Chain Operations
REHAU needed one recruitment partner that could take responsibility for the whole project, rather than relying on different agencies in each location.
The chosen partner also needed the financial strength and operational capability to pay all Temps weekly while invoicing REHAU monthly. This reduced the administrative burden on REHAU’s Finance team without affecting the experience of the interim workers.
An Established Relationship, Extended Across the UK
Hewett Recruitment had worked with REHAU for several years, primarily supporting permanent recruitment at its Ross-on-Wye site across Finance, Sales, Marketing and IT.
That established relationship meant we already understood REHAU’s culture, expectations and approach to recruitment. However, this project required us to extend our delivery across several teams, hiring managers and geographically diverse locations.
REHAU selected Hewett Recruitment as its exclusive recruitment partner for the project, giving our team responsibility for all 15 appointments from initial brief through to placement and onboarding.
Rather than dividing the project into disconnected vacancies, the team managed it as one workforce mobilisation programme. This gave REHAU a consistent recruitment process across all four locations while allowing us to respond to the different requirements and timescales of each hiring manager.
Understanding Every Role and Team
Before commencing the candidate search, we held detailed meetings with REHAU’s HR contacts and individual line managers.
These meetings enabled us to understand:
The technical and professional requirements of each role
The responsibilities the successful candidate would be covering
The culture and working style of each team
The expectations of individual line managers
The planned interview approach
Required start dates and training considerations
What candidates would need to know to make an informed decision
This detailed briefing process meant we could assess candidates against more than a job description. It also allowed us to prepare each shortlisted candidate thoroughly, helping them feel comfortable and giving them the best opportunity to demonstrate their suitability at interview.
Proactive Candidate Attraction
The team proactively searched for experienced candidates with the skills needed to contribute quickly.
Because the assignments were temporary, we made a conscious decision not to target people securely employed in permanent roles simply to move them into an interim opportunity. Instead, we focused on relevant candidates who were genuinely available for and suited to a 14-month assignment.
Every candidate was met face-to-face, either in person or through a Teams video meeting. We would not place a candidate without meeting them and properly assessing their experience, communication and understanding of the opportunity.
Compliance remained non-negotiable throughout. Original identification documents were checked in person or, where appropriate for remote candidates, Right to Work checks were completed using Yoti.
Clear Project Management
Managing 15 vacancies simultaneously across four locations created the potential for information to become fragmented across multiple emails and conversations.
To avoid this, we created a live project document that REHAU’s HR contact could access at any time.
The document tracked:
Every vacancy
Required start dates
Planned interview dates and times
Candidates submitted for each position
Progress through the recruitment process
Offers and confirmed starts
This created one reliable source of information for both organisations. It kept the project organised, gave REHAU immediate visibility and reduced the risk of actions or information being lost in lengthy email chains.
Supporting the Candidate Experience
The main recruitment campaign took place during the summer holiday period. This led to some changes and delays as the availability of hiring managers and other stakeholders shifted.
Our responsibility was to ensure those delays did not have a negative impact on the candidate experience.
The team maintained regular contact with candidates, kept them informed and managed expectations around interviews, decisions and revised start dates. This helped sustain engagement throughout the process and reduced the risk of losing strong candidates while arrangements were being finalised.
The rural location of the Blaenau Ffestiniog site presented an additional challenge because of its smaller local candidate pool. The roles at this location also had less defined interview and start dates, requiring the team to remain flexible and respond quickly as REHAU’s plans developed.
From Brief to Interview in Nine Days
The first confirmed brief, for Customer Service roles, was received on 8th June.
A clearly structured recruitment timetable was agreed:
8 June: Confirmed role brief received
12 June: Deadline for Hewett Recruitment to present CVs
17 June: Pre-booked candidate interviews
13 July: Planned start date
Setting clear expectations at the outset meant that the hiring managers, recruitment team and candidates could work towards the same deadlines. The result was a smooth and successful first phase of recruitment.
Other vacancies followed different schedules according to the needs of each team and site. The final successful candidate started on 24 August.
Operational Support Beyond Recruitment
The success of a project workforce depends on more than finding the right candidates.
Hewett Recruitment’s Finance and Payroll teams worked proactively with their counterparts at REHAU to create an efficient process for weekly pay, cost allocation, time tracking and monthly invoicing.
The process included:
Paying every Temp weekly
Accurately tracking hours worked
Matching individual workers to the appropriate REHAU cost centres
Structuring invoices to suit REHAU’s internal requirements
Producing monthly invoices that could be reconciled easily
This allowed REHAU to reduce the administrative demands on its Finance team while maintaining clear oversight of project costs.
Following the initial mobilisation, members of the Hewett team visited the Ross-on-Wye site to meet the Temps working there and conduct a service review with REHAU’s HR team.
The Results
The project achieved a 100% fill rate:
15 vacancies
15 successful placements
61 candidates submitted
45 candidates interviewed
Four UK sites supported
14-month temporary assignments
One exclusive recruitment partner
100% of vacancies filled
All 15 interim professionals remain on assignment, providing experienced support across REHAU while its existing employees contribute to the ERP implementation programme.
The project enabled REHAU to maintain day-to-day capability across affected teams without placing additional pressure on existing employees or compromising progress on the implementation.
What Made the Project Work
Several factors contributed to the successful delivery:
A Clear and Well-Managed Brief - REHAU approached the project in an organised and collaborative way. Although some requirements changed slightly as the campaign progressed, the overall brief was clear and well managed.
One Coordinated Recruitment Team - Tammy led a single Commercial Temps team across all roles and locations. This provided consistency while avoiding fragmented communication or competing processes.
Detailed Role Understanding - The team invested time with HR and each line manager before approaching candidates. This improved candidate matching, interview preparation and the overall quality of each introduction.
Exclusive Partnership - As the exclusive recruitment partner, Hewett had visibility of the complete project and could coordinate activity across all four locations from start to finish.
Candidate-Centred Communication - Regular and honest communication helped maintain candidate engagement when interview or start dates changed during the summer holiday period.
Integrated Finance and Payroll Support - Weekly pay for the Temps, accurate time tracking, cost-centre allocation and tailored monthly invoicing reduced administration for REHAU and helped the project run smoothly beyond the initial placements.
The Outcome
Through a responsive, team-based recruitment partnership, Hewett Recruitment mobilised an experienced interim workforce across multiple disciplines and UK sites.
The solution provided REHAU with:
All 15 required interim professionals
Continuity within teams affected by the ERP implementation
One accountable recruitment partner across four locations
A consistent and carefully managed candidate experience
Clear oversight of recruitment progress
Reduced administrative pressure through tailored time tracking and monthly invoicing
Ongoing support for both REHAU and the Temps throughout their assignments
Why Hewett Recruitment?
Project recruitment requires more than filling individual vacancies. It requires coordinated delivery, clear communication and the operational capability to support a workforce after it has started.
For organisations delivering major systems, transformation or business change projects, Hewett Recruitment provides:
Experienced interim and temporary professionals
Multi-role and multi-site workforce mobilisation
A dedicated project recruitment team
Thorough candidate assessment and preparation
Clear, live progress reporting
Right to Work and compliance management
Weekly payroll for Temps
Flexible invoicing and cost-centre reporting
Ongoing candidate care and client service reviews
Need an Experienced Interim Team for Your Next Project?
Whether you are implementing a new system, delivering organisational change or releasing key employees to work on a strategic project, Hewett Recruitment can help you maintain business continuity.
We recruit experienced interim professionals across multiple disciplines and locations, providing one coordinated solution from initial workforce planning through to placement, payroll and ongoing support.
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