The challenge Sonion faced was getting the right candidates in a short amount of time. To achieve this, Sonion needed to work with an agency that understood exactly what the hiring managers would like to see and were willing to challenge them on their strategies. At some point, Sonion had 20 open vacancies within the R&D department that they needed to fill. After making successful placements in the past, they trusted Ivor to fill all 15 positions while working in a retained exclusive agreement. When Sonion started working with Panda exclusively Ivor delivered a shortlist of candidates within two weeks with spot-on profiles, this was a far better experience than what Sonion had before. Next to this, Ivor gave insights on what is realistic and what isn't while simultaneously managing the process from beginning to end.

While working based on a retained and exclusive agreement, Ivor could give full commitment to Sonion. This allowed him to headhunt the best suitable candidates in the market within two weeks. With fast and transparent communication Ivor could offer quick solutions. He scheduled weekly meetings to evaluate all the running interview processes and gave updates on the searches that were ongoing. When Ivor had setbacks in the offer process in the project he immediately delivered a new shortlist so Sonion had a new option. The main focus was on passive candidates and with a niche skill in R&D making them enthusiastic and motivated to join Sonion. 

Ivor offered Sonion a shortlist of a minimum of 3 outstanding candidates for each position that not only met the criteria but exceeded it. In this way, Sonion had the luxury to make a well-considered choice on whom to speak with which allowed Sonion to hire the best possible candidate. Besides that, Ivor also managed the process completely making sure it was transparent for both candidates and client from beginning to end. 

This resulted in a strong partnership with more than 20 successful placements within Sonion's R&D department.

Absolutely. Since Sonion is a company that offers great growth opportunities for engineers and of course the great ongoing partnership Ivor has built with Sonion makes Panda feel part of their team. 

Since November 2020 I re-joined Sonion as an Interim HR Business Partner as a maternity cover starting with the major recruitment project for the R&D expansion. 

Later, in March 2021, I stepped up to take on the Interim HR Manager role. My focus from the start has been on working together to get the right staff members on board.