The Challenge

A sales force of 280 is not built overnight. Hammonds needed a recruitment partner who could deliver consistent quality at volume — sourcing the right personality and skill profile repeatedly across a sustained engagement. Attrition in the sector meant ongoing recruitment was essential, not one-off. But volume alone was not the only challenge.

Hammonds’ managers were not adequately equipped to interview and assess candidates effectively, which meant strong candidates were being lost at the hiring stage.

How Citrus Connect Helped

Citrus Connect became Hammonds’ specialist direct sales recruitment partner, running a structured and repeatable recruitment process designed for volume without compromising quality. Every candidate went through the same assessment criteria — ensuring Hammonds received a consistent standard of candidate regardless of location or timing.

Our approach included maintaining a warm pipeline of pre-assessed candidates, allowing Hammonds to move quickly when vacancies arose rather than starting every search from scratch. Leena also worked directly with the Hammonds management team, creating and delivering a full training day covering recruitment best practice, candidate profiling and workforce planning — giving their managers the tools to identify and select the right people with confidence.

The Results

• 280-person direct sales force recruited and maintained
• Hammonds’ management team fully trained on candidate identification, interview technique and workforce planning — with a set of ideal candidate avatars built from their top performers, giving them the internal tools to hire with confidence long-term