Beyond the CV: How Workshop Recruitment Helps Innovate Tax Find the Right People

From tax technology specialist to global partner

Established in 2012, Innovate Tax began by specialising in Oracle ERP and its own indirect tax technology. Since then, the business has continued to evolve, expanding its expertise across Oracle Cloud, SAP, Workday and a range of leading third-party tax technology platforms.

Today, Innovate Tax works across a global marketplace and has continued to diversify into e-invoicing and compliance technology, while developing its own software through a dedicated product team. Most recently, the business has been recognised as a preferred partner of a globally leading cloud-based software provider for e-invoicing solutions.

We spoke to Donna Smith, Operations Director at Innovate Tax, about the company’s development and its longstanding relationship with Workshop Recruitment.

Understanding the business, not just the vacancy

Innovate Tax has built a diverse team of people with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. What they share, Donna explains, are the company’s core values and a willingness to work collaboratively.

The business operates with a strong team ethos, where people are expected to support one another and be prepared to take on different responsibilities as the company grows.

“Because we’re a small business, people have to wear a lot of hats. It’s about finding the right person for the business, not simply someone who looks right on paper.”

Workshop has taken the time to understand this culture and what makes someone a good fit for Innovate Tax, helping to ensure that candidates are assessed on more than their experience and skill-set alone.

A recruitment partner prepared to be honest

Donna also highlights Workshop’s honesty and straightforward approach.

She recalls a particularly specialist Oracle indirect tax position where Workshop’s Director, Peter Hunt was unable to identify a suitable candidate.

Rather than continuing to send candidates who didn’t meet the brief, Peter was open about the challenge.

“Peter came back and was very honest and said, ‘I’m not going to be able to fill this for you.’ And I liked that honesty.”

For Donna, this demonstrated that Workshop’s priority was finding the right person rather than simply filling a vacancy.

Getting to the heart of the recruitment challenge

This consultative approach has been particularly valuable when recruiting for roles where previous appointments hadn’t delivered the desired outcome.

When Workshop was asked to support the recruitment of a Business Development Manager, Peter took the time to understand what Innovate Tax needed and, importantly, why previous sales appointments hadn’t been successful.

“Peter took the time to understand exactly what we needed and why previous sales appointments hadn’t worked, so we could avoid making the same mistakes again.”

That deeper understanding allowed Workshop to approach the search with a much clearer picture of the individual Innovate Tax needed.

A proven track record

The relationship has developed over a number of years, with Workshop supporting Innovate Tax across multiple recruitment campaigns and successfully placing candidates across a variety of functions.

Donna particularly highlights the success of the project recruitment, where Workshop has supported the business with two Project Coordinator appointments.

“We asked Workshop to help us recruit for two project roles, and we had two successful placements from the candidates they introduced. They’re both doing really well, so it’s been a really positive outcome for us.”

Workshop has also supported Innovate Tax with recruitment across finance, marketing and business development, demonstrating the team’s ability to understand the different requirements of each role while maintaining a consistent understanding of the business and its culture.

Find the right person, not any person

Innovate Tax will often begin its own recruitment campaigns, either advertising directly or running its search alongside Workshop Recruitment.

When recruiting a Project Coordinator, the company had already identified a number of candidates when Workshop introduced another candidate.

Despite having strong candidates of its own, the Workshop candidate ultimately stood out.

“We could have saved money because we had some really good candidates who had applied directly, but we went with the candidate Peter put forward because they just felt like the better fit for us.”

It’s a strong example of the value a recruitment partner can bring, not simply adding more CVs to the process, but identifying someone who genuinely feels right for the business.

A personalised recruitment experience

Having primarily worked with larger recruitment consultancies, Donna says Workshop’s personalised approach is one of the things she values most.

“Working with bigger agencies is a very different experience, they send CV’s and see if any stick, working with Workshop is a lot more personal”

For Donna, the relationship is straightforward and focused on achieving the right result.

“There’s no hard sell or cheesy sales pitch with Peter. He’s straightforward, takes the time to understand what we need and just gets on with finding the right person.”

It’s this combination of specialist understanding, and genuine honesty that has helped Workshop Recruitment build a trusted relationship with Innovate Tax.

Looking to the future

Since launching in 2012, Innovate Tax has grown from a specialist Oracle indirect tax business into a global tax technology consultancy spanning professional services, managed IT services and product development.

As the company continues to expand its technology offering and develop its own products, recruiting people who can grow with the business will remain an important part of its success.

When asked whether Donna would recommend Workshop Recruitment to other businesses, her response was emphatic. For her, it comes down to the personal and honest approach she experiences when working with Workshop:

“I’d definitely recommend you. It feels more personal working with you, and it feels more honest.”