Client Testimonials
“We needed an extra Finance person after a recent business expansion, we had already worked with Sarah Costin on many occasions so I already knew she would do a great job. I contacted her and she came to see me the next day. Sarah took time to understand our business, the team, and the requirements of the new role. She managed to find the right candidate quickly which is just amazing in the current job market. I would like to take the opportunity to say thank you to Sarah and her team. The candidate is just the right person in every aspect of our business, she has quickly settled into the role and is doing very well. I would definitely recommend BAS Recruitment and Sarah in particular, and I will look forward to working with them again”.
“In the last couple of years, whilst working with BAS Recruitment for interim and permanent vacancies, they have taken time to understand our organisation and what we are looking for. It feels like a personal service, which makes such a difference. They also have an understanding of the budget pressures which our sector faces. We appreciate your honesty regarding the market and in managing our expectations, whilst at the same time ensuring that only candidates who meet the key “musts” of the brief are put forward for us to consider. In particular, the most recent appointments you have helped us with are going really well (Bank & Control Manager, Interim Finance Assistant and Interim Accounting Manager). Thank you so much again”.
“I was involved in the recruitment of Finance Manager for a sister company and needed the help of a specialist finance recruiter so approached Tracy at Bayman Atkinson Smythe as Tracy had helped me with recruitment in the past. Tracy came out to meet me at the premises as she said it would help her gauge the environment and culture of the company and better understand the requirements of the role. Tracy ran through her perception of what was needed with me, which was spot on. Tracy got to work and put forward a select small number of applicants. All applicants were perfect in terms of experience, and we made the decision to offer one of them the role. The candidate accepted and we are confident that they will be a perfect fit for the business and will become a valued and long-standing member of the management team just like their predecessor. I have to say the process of recruitment using the services of Bayman Atkinson Smythe was first-class, and their communication was outstanding throughout the process. Big thank you to Tracy and the team, it goes without saying that we will be in touch again for the next finance team hire”.
“We have worked with Bayman Atkinson Smythe for multiple years and we have always received a bespoke and professional service. They have extensive knowledge of the industry and take the time to understand your business needs. We have had many successes with placed candidates and a strong working relationship. Overall, they are a great agency to partner with and will always put your needs first. Thank you” - Head of Recruitment
“I’ve been very happy with the service provided by BAS. Claire has a good understanding of the housing sector and provides candidates that match our requirements. Happy to recommend” - Executive Director of Resources
“I have had the great pleasure of working with Claire and the team for many years, in various roles including Head of Finance and Finance Manager. I know I can always trust that Clare understands our brief – where the ideal candidate can offer us much more than qualifications and experience. Claire always gives us a no-frills, honest overview of the candidates she recommends, resulting in many a fantastic placement. I have also had the great pleasure of being placed into roles myself through BAS and know that they take this holistic and supportive approach with candidates as well!” – Finance Manager (Reporting)
“Bayman Atkinson & Smythe have worked very successfully recruiting 9 new colleagues for the South Lakes Housing Finance Team, including sourcing candidates for specialist roles with specific experience, knowledge and competencies to meet our growing business requirements. The process has been seamless from the initial conversation that proposed a dedicated campaign including South Lakes branded microsite, an appreciation of and flexibility to work within our HR policies and an excellent knowledge of candidates in the marketplace. The BAS single point of contact throughout the process delivered an outstanding service throughout, with flexibility to respond to SLH’s priorities of maintaining the business. The clear and accurate campaign and communication with candidates resulted in strong candidate shortlists for each role enabling South Lakes to recruit outstanding candidates that are enjoying their new roles; all whilst enabling management to focus on delivering the finance service” – Director of Finance
“I have known Claire for many many years. Too many to count, to be honest. Claire has assisted me personally in my very early career to find suitable positions. As I climbed the ladder, I used Claire’s previous employers to assist with recruitment. I think that it’s the individual rather than the company that you choose and so as Claire moved and now set up in her new partnership I clearly moved with her. I had never worked with Tracy before so it was nice to have the introduction whilst they were working on our recent Head of Finance recruitment. It’s so important that the recruiter understands our business and my teams to know that the candidate they put forward is one that will fit. The candidate appointed has been fantastic and shows the calibre of individuals on your books." - Finance Director
“Right from my first meeting with Tracy she came across as extremely professional and has been a pleasure to work with. From the outset, Tracy (& Claire) was very keen to understand our recruitment needs, also ensuring they had an understanding of the organisations' culture, values, and environment. I think this investment at the start ensured that they had a good grasp of what we were looking for and as such were better placed to offer a great experience for both candidates and us. I am pleased with all three candidates we have recruited with BTS and would definitely work with Tracy again.” – Finance Director
“I've known Claire for a number of years, and she is a true professional. She has a rare talent for actually listening to the requirements of the role you wish to fill and tries to find the most suitable candidates. We filled a role here recently but unfortunately, the lockdown has put off their training while they are being furloughed. I've also had dealings as a candidate myself and again she’s a pleasure to be with. Always tells things as they are and no flowery rubbish. Claire is a delight to work with” – Finance Manager
“We chose Bayman, Topping & Smythe to support the recruitment of a Finance Business Partner, recognising the depth of knowledge and experience that Claire and Tracy have in financial recruitment and previous experience of working with them both over many years. From the start of the process, Claire and Tracy invested time to understand our organisational culture and identify the knowledge, skills, and competencies we required in the role of the candidate to be a success in our business. The process was professional from the beginning, with Bayman, Topping & Smythe undertaking proactive networking to source candidates that met our brief, producing a shortlist of pre-interviewed candidates that met our brief. The collaborative approach delivers results; our new employee was making a positive impact with us from week 1, confirming the benefits of choosing Bayman, Topping & Smythe’s ethical approach of finding the right candidate for the employer and the right role for the candidate to ensure a genuine fit for us both.” – Head of Finance
“BTS have consistently been able to source high-quality relevant candidates over the last 12 months- its been a challenging year and it's been vital to get good quality people in, they have fitted our briefs , hit the ground quickly and had a real and prompt positive impact within and across the organisation- I would happily use again and recommend BTS” – Director of Finance & Resources
“I’d be happy to recommend Tracy, having worked with her as a client and candidate for many years. She has that natural personal touch that you can’t teach, which means that she quickly gains the respect and trust of clients and candidates alike. For my last vacancy, which had a good response, Tracy picked out the successful candidate early in the process, which shows she had a great understanding of what we needed in terms of skill set and personality fit.” – Group Treasury Manager
“I would be more than happy to provide a testimonial as I have been very impressed with the service I received from Bayman, Topping and Smythe. I have worked with Tracy to recruit two people into my tax team this year. Tracy took a lot of time to understand what we were looking for and gave me a very helpful overview of the type of candidates we were likely to be able to recruit. She gave us a list of three candidates for the positions we had, and we were impressed with all three. Every one of them met our requirements and was qualified for the role. The difference for me was that Tracy focussed on getting us candidates who she knew would be able to do the job for us, and didn’t waste our time by sending in CVs on spec. We will definitely work with you again if we need to recruit in future” – Head of Taxation
"Building relationships with recruitment agencies can be challenging. It is so tempting to reach out when those ideal candidate profiles hit your emails. However, for me the key is to recruiting via agencies is all about the relationship you have. From the outset Sarah and Tracy set the tone, they came out to visit our premises to truly understand our business as it is today and the recruitment needs for now and the future. This makes the process much easier to match candidates to the role and the firm, they know when that match isn’t right and provide the true screening experience you require. Their experience shows,I trust their judgement. Highly recommended." - HR Director
“Bayman Topping & Smythe offer a dedicated and professional recruitment service, they take time to understand your business needs and strive to source the best candidates for your role. They are very knowledgeable on the finance industry and have a proven track record of finding talented, experienced and engaged individuals. Overall, they go above and beyond to assist employers with their recruitment strategy and always understand what it is you are looking for in a candidate” – Resourcing Manager
“I had the pleasure of working with Bayman Topping and Smythe recently to fill a managerial post within our organisation. We provided a brief of what we were looking for with a very short lead time. Claire discussed our requirements to fully understand the needs of the business. Given the chaos of COVID19 Claire had shortlisted 4 candidates within two weeks and we interviewed. We went from Job spec to sending out an offer in 4 weeks without any unexpected complications. Excellent service!” - MD
“Very refreshing compared to experiences with other agencies. Tracy did some recruitment for a role which we’d had no real success with by other means for the best part of six months. We had a face to face visit from Tracy (other agencies don’t tend to do this at all). We had two or three CV's within a couple of weeks (and bear in mind this was around Christmas when recruitment slows down) – all good quality. Tracy wasn’t pushy, was honest about the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates, and gave us some very sensible and calm advice to resolve a little issue that came up during the onboarding. The admin was excellent – calls got returned, interviews got scheduled quickly (you don’t always get this with other agencies). Tracy is working with other parts of our business and we felt she had a really good appreciation of what we wanted in terms of culture. Tracy helped us with some Internal Audit recruitment in 2007 – the two candidates are still at with us now! We wouldn’t hesitate to use Tracy for future recruitment.” – Director of Internal Audit & Risk
“No hard sell just solid quality candidates that meet the need” – Group Director of Finance & Risk
“BTS offers a personal, tailored and honest process to ensure that they find the right fit for your recruitment needs” – Head of Finance
“I appointed Bayman Topping Smythe (BTS) to support the recruitment of seven finance professionals where I was Interim Finance Director. BTS submitted a very professional proposal that provided an innovative cost-effective solution for a competitive marketplace. Once appointed Claire Bayman and Tracy Topping worked diligently to complete the assignment. They worked with us to fully understand the culture and values as well as the skills and aptitudes we were looking for. This, alongside their exceptional connections to potential candidates, meant they promptly presented a substantial number of good quality candidates who were an organisational fit. They supported us with the organisation of our robust selection process allowing us to involve stakeholders from across the business and choose the best candidate. I would have no hesitation in recommending Bayman Topping Smythe and hope I will have the opportunity to work with Claire and Tracy again in the future.” - Director of Housing & Corporate Services
“I have worked almost entirely with Claire and I would just say that she has been extremely effective in placing several very strong candidates with ourselves. She is always a pleasure to deal with, is very responsive, pays very close attention to our requirements, and provides excellent advice which helps us achieve the desired outcome.” – Head of Finance