Rebuilding from the inside

HR recruitment in a business turnaround

The situation, a business turnaround with a talent problem

A major Australian automotive parts retailer was losing significant money. New leadership came in to turn it around. The new CEO and C-suite inherited a business with financial difficulties, struggling to attract talent. Within six months a new CPO had led three separate restructures. She needed HR capability that could keep pace with constant change. She also needed a recruitment partner she could trust to have honest conversations with candidates about the reality of the role.









The challenge, why candidates were avoiding the role

Candidates do their research. The company's financial reports for the prior two years were poor. Standard advertising was attracting low-quality applicants, or candidates weren't applying because they'd seen the numbers. Finding people willing to join a business mid-turnaround required a different approach. They needed to be upfront about the challenges the business was facing, and reframe it honestly as an opportunity.

Our approach, recruiting honestly for a business in turnaround

The Next Step had worked with this client previously, albeit sporadically. When the new CPO came on board, we gave her time to settle in before making contact. When she did meet with our team, she provided a thorough brief, 90 minutes of context, and committed to working exclusively with The Next Step for all HR roles.


We filled both permanent and contract HR positions, and our approach to candidate conversations was direct. We told candidates: this is a short-term gig. The financial history is not pretty. But you will be part of a genuine transformation of a well-known Australian brand. You will own workforce planning, structural design, and cultural change at scale. For the right person, that is genuinely exciting.

The outcome, building an HR team through transparency

Roles were filled with candidates who understood the brief and chose it intentionally: people who wanted to be part of a transformation, who had applied with purpose rather than convenience. The CPO built a team capable of supporting ongoing structural change.


This client is expected to be a significant ongoing partner for The Next Step over the next one to two years, as the turnaround continues and headcount stabilises.

Why honesty matters in difficult recruitment

Difficult recruitment assignments require honesty. Candidates who know exactly what they are walking into are more likely to stay, contribute, and succeed than those who were sold a version of the role that did not match reality.

That kind of honest is only possible when a recruiter has enough market knowledge and relationship equity to be direct with both parties, and trusted by both.

"Some people find that kind of challenge truly exciting. We would much rather work a complex assignment than a straightforward one. The complex ones are where we add the most value."

 - Paul Bridgewater, The Next Step