Case Study: Rapid Recruitment of Multilingual Credit Controllers for European Debt Recovery

Consultant: Zoe Jones

Background

An international organisation faced a critical need to recover significant overdue debt across multiple European countries. To address this challenge, they sought five skilled Credit Controllers with fluency in German, French, Italian, Greek, and Dutch. These six-month interim roles were essential to drive debt recovery efforts in regions where language skills and cultural familiarity were critical to success.

The organisation required candidates who could navigate high-pressure scenarios, work independently, and start within two weeks—a tight timeframe. 

 

Methodology

Understanding how urgent the roles were, Zoe cancelled a days leave and also came in on a Saturday to source for candidates. We had worked on a number of language roles over the years, so the database was a useful starting point, however, a more rounded search was required (and at pace!):

 

Database Mining and Active Search: Zoe began by leveraging her extensive internal database of multilingual candidates, identifying potential matches swiftly.

Reed and LinkedIn Recruiter: She conducted targeted searches on Reed and used LinkedIn Recruiter to engage with professionals fluent in the required languages.

Referrals: We asked other professionals who we knew had worked in European functions if they were about to refer people to us. We run a refer a friend scheme which was very successful on this occasion.

Advertising Campaigns: To maximise exposure, Zoe posted detailed job adverts highlighting the urgency and specifics of the roles.

Dedicated Weekend Effort: Demonstrating extraordinary dedication, Zoe gave up her Saturday to source and screen talent, ensuring the shortlist was ready by Monday morning.

By combining these methods, Zoe identified and engaged candidates who not only had the language skills required but also brought expertise in debt recovery and credit control.

 

Outcome

Zoe's efforts culminated in a rapid and seamless recruitment process:

  • A tailored shortlist of candidates was delivered by Monday, just three days after the roles were called in.
  • Teams interviews were conducted on four working days after the roles were given to Zoe.
  • All five Credit Controllers started their roles the following week, meeting the client’s demanding timeline.

 

The newly onboarded professionals quickly began recovering overdue debt, providing immediate value to the organisation and addressing the pressing financial concerns across the European markets.