Being pipped at the post for the Customer First award at the 2021 Northern Star Business Awards turned out alright for Grace May People’s Director, Sasha Jaypalan. The ever-gracious entrepreneur wasted no time in reaching out to his triumphant competitor, Nimbus Blue, to congratulate them on their win, and so a lasting business relationship was struck up.

“I was delighted to hear from Sasha,” explains Managing Director for Nimbus Blue, David Tawse. “It was great to receive such genuine praise for our achievements, especially from someone shortlisted for the same award! Sasha was instantly warm and likable, and it was an easy decision to later approach him for help with our recruitment.”

Specialising in executive recruitment for the IT sector, Grace May People offers an alternative approach to mainstream recruitment, in a process that prioritises precision, empathy and passion in the search to match candidates with clients. “We’re all about people,” explains Sasha. “We put the human factor at the centre of all we do, from understanding our clients’ needs to getting to know our candidates, and we try very hard to see the process from the two different perspectives throughout.”

With over 70 five-star Google reviews, an average of 28 days to hire and 95% of candidates still in the role 12 months later, it's a tried and tested method. Technical Team Lead for Nimbus Blue, Andrew Pilkington, is one such candidate. “Sasha and his team played a key part in helping me secure this position, and I’m delighted to now be working in a field I enjoy and with a fantastic team of encouraging and like-minded individuals I can learn from.”

“Sasha made the whole recruitment process so much easier,” adds David. “Recruiting is never simple – you’re dealing with people, after all – but it was clear very quickly that Sasha and his team are closely aligned with our values here at Nimbus Blue, so they were very quick to identify the right candidates. Sasha was extremely proactive throughout, assisting a great deal during the interview cycles.”

“Like all relationships, matching clients with candidates is a balancing act, often involving flexibility and compromise,” continues Sasha. “One candidate may lack certain key criteria, but show great promise or expertise in another area the client hasn’t perhaps prioritised or even considered. My role as the go-between is to facilitate and sometimes observe the client-candidate interactions in such a way as to illuminate the key offerings each side brings to the table, and recognise and highlight any areas of common ground, experience and potential - or indeed any fundamental differences that would make the recruitment problematic.

“David provided a clear brief as to Nimbus Blue’s requirements, and was easy to work with right from the outset. Half the battle can be in helping clients establish their ideal candidate, and with the right knowledge and experience, and his easygoing, approachable nature, Andrew was a great match for their key responsibilities and person spec, as comfortable interacting with new people as new tech. I’m looking forward to helping them find their next recruit!”

Established in 2015 in Aberdeenshire, Grace May People provides bespoke technology and executive recruitment services based on the principles of trust and clarity.  Adopting an alternative approach to the mainstream recruitment experience, Grace May prioritises empathy and trust to build relationships in a process that works for both clients and candidates. The firm works with leading companies across the UK to build successful technology teams through the provision of search, interim and consultancy recruitment solutions, for both permanent and contract roles, covering a variety of positions including CTO, Heads of IT, Web Technology, Software Development, Data Analytics, Microsoft 365 talent and Cyber Security.