Skanska

Business
Skanska is one of the world’s leading project development and construction groups. Operating around the world in selected markets in Europe and the US, Skanska is listed on the Stockholm stock exchange and headquartered in Sweden’s capital city. Skanska UK is a £1.9 Billion UK operation and is one of the country’s top construction and development companies. It is an inclusive and responsible business that is helping to build for a better society. Known for working on major projects & iconic infrastructure, such as the Gherkin, the M25, HS2 and Crossrail, as well as the A14 bypass projects (the UK’s largest-ever road programme) they are building, upgrading and maintaining the country’s infrastructure for future generations. 

Our history with Skanska
Harcourt Matthews has supported various Finance Directors at Skanska for over 20 years

Situation & Objective
Harcourt Matthews was approached by one on the new Finance Directors whom we had supported as a previous client over a 10-year period; we were approached to support in the hiring of a new role – Interim Project Accountant following several failed attempts to recruit a suitable individual permanently via their usual internal recruitment methods.

Actions
As the role was a “temp-to-perm”, the background and motivations of the individual had to be carefully assessed and conveyed to the Finance Director so that they could recruit a candidate that wanted a permanent role but was willing to be employed on a temporary basis to ensure their recruitment protocols were adhered to.

Following the successful hire of the individual, who then became a permanent employee, Harcourt Matthews was then invited to become part of the permanent preferred suppliers’ list for all UK finance recruitment, and following the introduction of a managed service agency to manage a new internal temporary recruitment process, Harcourt Matthews was then invited to be a part of the temporary preferred supplier’s list for all temporary positions UK wide.

Example: –
Finance Manager: travelling across multiple sites in the South West and based in Somerset this role managed financial & management reporting for several high-profile Highway Maintenance contracts for the local council

Requiring travel to various site offices around the region, the business sought an individual with an understanding of corporate processes who could also provide hands-on month end support alongside a small admin team, traditional recruitment methods did not elicit results to accommodate the specific & necessary skills and capabilities to do the role so a proactive search of individuals on LinkedIn and additional CV databases was enabled via Harcourt Matthews. This allowed for a much more detailed shortlisting process to take place and more informed advice to the hiring manager on the challenges within the local market.

Results & benefits for Skanska using Harcourt Matthews
As an established member of both permanent and temporary preferred supplier lists, Harcourt Matthews has worked closely with successive recruitment teams and, more importantly, met with and contributed in briefings with line managers to advise on alternative approaches and challenges of identifying the correct talent.

Roles we have worked on recently include
Salaries range from Interim & Permanent: £25k – £90k + bens

Finance & Transactions

  • Interim Tax Manager
  • Head of Reporting, Tax & Treasury
  • Regional Finance Directors
  • Finance Manager
  • Project Accountant
  • Finance Data Analyst

Operations

  • Interim Project Controller