Client overview

Our client is an innovative rental living company that creates welcoming and well-connected rental neighbourhoods. Their focus on thoughtful design and community-centred living has positioned them as a leader in the modern rental sector, developing spaces that foster genuine connections between residents while maintaining high standards of design and functionality.

The challenge

Our client had completed construction of a brand new rental site and required immediate mobilisation through strategic hiring. The challenge was to recruit a complete operational team from scratch within tight timeframes to ensure seamless site launch. Key positions needing to be filled included General Manager, Leasing Manager, Maintenance Operative, and Resident Host - each requiring different skill sets and experience levels while maintaining our client’s community-focused ethos.

Leadership

Jonathan Catt, Senior Recruitment Consultant within our Rental Living team, led this critical mobilisation project. With extensive experience in the rental living sector, Jonathan brings deep market knowledge and proven expertise in building complete operational teams for new site launches across the UK rental market.

Our approach

Competitive Market Mapping: Comprehensive analysis of the rental living landscape to identify top talent across competing operators and relevant property management companies, ensuring our client could attract high-calibre candidates from established market players.

Talent Mapping: Leveraging deverellsmith's extensive database to identify passive candidates with proven track records in similar roles, targeting professionals who aligned with our client's community-focused approach and operational excellence standards.

Consultative Process: Deep consultation with our clients' leadership team to understand their specific cultural requirements, operational needs, and long-term vision, ensuring all candidates presented would contribute to their unique community-building mission.

Results

• Successfully filled all four critical positions within the project timeframe

• 100% shortlist-to-interview conversion rate across all roles

• All hired candidates commenced roles in time for site mobilisation

• The client achieved operational readiness ahead of the resident move-in schedule

Key success factors

Jonathan's deep sector expertise and systematic approach to talent identification proved crucial in delivering a complete operational team. The combination of market mapping, database leverage, and consultative methodology ensured our client secured the right talent mix to successfully launch their new community-focused rental site while maintaining their high standards for resident experience.