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Case Study:
HPS Services

"Not all recruiters are made equal, and Maxwell Stephens are the best FM recruiter we have worked with. They have filled several senior roles for us this year. They are 100% professional and a real pleasure to work with. They really get under the skin of the brief."
Marcus Ginn, Owner, hps Students

Background

HPS Services is a lifestyle Real Estate brand providing sector-specific soft-FM (mainly cleaning) services. They have a fantastic client list and proven growth record in the Higher Education and PRS sectors based in the fashionable South Kensington area of London.

 

The client, HPS Services, initially contacted Maxwell Stephens to get some general advice around salaries and as always we were happy to help any way we could. This eventually resulted in HPS Services contacting Maxwell Stephens to support in the recruitment of a number of senior positions: A Managing Director, an Operations Director, and 2 Operations Managers. These recruitment campaigns were on a retained basis, with Maxwell Stephens acting as the sole recruitment partner.

hpslogo

hps Students is London’s only specialist student accommodation cleaning service​

Approved supplier of cleaning to over 50 halls in London

The Position

Obviously, such senior positions meant that the successful candidates would be integral to the operation and success of the organisation. The MD would join an executive team which includes the company founder, the Non-Exec Director and Finance Director.

One of the key drivers of hps, and by extension the successful applicants, is the aspirational and ambitious growth plans of the organisation within the sector and beyond. Successful candidates would need to utilize their proven ability to lead Operations and win new business, specifically they would devise, support and execute a New Business Development plan which maintains annual growth of 30%, and which also flattens sales to make hps a less seasonal business. In addition other responsibilities for these roles included taking ownership of financial management, including cash flow management, debtor/creditor control and the production of monthly management accounts through the finance team.

The level of seniority of these positions brought with it a certain level of autonomy, this was particularly true for the role of Managing Director. The MD would have the freedom to build their own team and add senior hires to the experienced core team. Ultimately the Managing Director and other senior  leadership would be left with the space to run and develop the company as they see fit.

The Candidate

With these unique opportunities to lead and grow a market-defining brand, HPS needed individual’s who would be able to shepherd the organisation through a period of rapid growth. For such a task it was vital that the recruitment focus on candidates with the right kind of experience and past success. The ideal candidates needed to have experience within a cleaning business or business division at or beyond £10 million turnover, in addition to experience of running and working on large job/project based or seasonal cleaning contracts. To support the ambitious growth plans of the organisation, successful candidates would also ideally bring contacts and a sales pipeline in from previous roles. 

 

Although applicable experience was vital for these roles, it was equally, if not more important, to find the right personality fit for hps and their ambitions. They needed individuals who were charming, collaborative, energetic, non-hierarchical, hands on, ambitious and inspiring. They had to be keen to embrace the freedom and opportunity provided by a small company environment, but also accept the need to ‘do’ as well as ‘manage’, and fully exploit the opportunity to take the helm and drive the business forward.

"From the moment I met Marcus, it was clear that not only would we have a successful and rewarding working relationship, but also that Maxwell Stephens were perfectly placed to fill these positions. We were thrilled for the opportunity to make a real impact on the future success of hps and with these appointments, I know that they will continue to go from strength to strength."
Peter Forshaw, Managing Director, Maxwell Stephens Recruitment