Behind Sitka: Eight Years of People-First Recruitment
Back in 2016, Karen and I made a bold but exciting decision to step away from conventional recruitment and the safety of working for large profit driven organisations – for which we’d been part of for decades – it was an exciting and scary time!
Between us, we had over 30 years of experience in recruitment, and we passionately believed we knew how things could be done differently.
That’s when Sitka was born. From the very start, we were driven by a passion to focus on what truly matters: people, meaningful core values, and strong connections.
Join us as we reflect on our journey from humble beginnings to where we are today (and stick around until the end for a fun fact about how Sitka got its name).
From Start-Up to South Wales Success Story
When we founded Sitka, our mission was simple: redefine recruitment by putting people at the centre of everything we do.
To put it simply, we didn’t want to be just another agency focused on profits or filling roles quickly. Instead, we prioritised building relationships to last, both with our clients and candidates.
Being shortlisted for the 2017 Startup Awards in Wales – only a year into running the business – was truly symbolic as we were recognised not only for our business excellence but also for staying true to our core belief that people and values are the foundation of success.
Building Trust Across Sectors
Over the years, our focus has allowed us to build trusted partnerships with a variety of organisations, especially when it comes to recruiting roles in finance, HR, and marketing – our three specialisms. We’re proud that around 60% of our business come from the third & charity sectors, with nearly all the rest being local SMEs. We really understand how important it is for these organisations to offer value for money, and we are conscious that many of our competitors, especially at the executive level are quite often not that way inclined. Our charity partners are also important to us and over the years we have donated a share of our profits to Welsh charities such as City Hospice, Forget-me-not Choir and Cancer Research Wales.
Some of our clients, have been with us since the beginning, in fact some ‘hunted us down’ when we started, which speaks volumes about the value of those long-term relationships. It’s been incredibly rewarding to work with so many Welsh organisations and see the positive impact we’ve had on their growth and success.
Here’s what some of treasured clients have said:
“They (Sitka) invest time to make the recruitment process individual and personal. Before starting the search, they spend time to understand the role, our culture, and the importance of getting the right fit of candidate for us.”
Jo Way, Director of Finance & Corporate Services – Drive
“As always, Ita was quick to understand our needs, the role, and the type of person we were looking for. She very sent over candidates for review and secured interviews the following week. The process was swift, professional, and effective.”
Katharine Burton, Head of Marketing – Intelligent Ultrasound
“I love working with Sitka as they are very friendly, approachable, and trustworthy. Karen has such a great energy, she really cared about getting the right people and right dynamic for my team. She took time to understand the roles & business and was committed to getting it right!”
Ceri Hodgkinson, Director of People, Bristol Waste
Adapting to a Changing World
The journey hasn’t always been smooth sailing. Like many businesses, we faced challenges during the pandemic. But being a smaller, more agile firm meant we could adapt quickly and continue supporting our clients and candidates in ways that larger agencies simply couldn’t.
That ability to adapt is something we take immense pride in; it’s one of the key reasons why Sitka hasn’t just survived but thrived through such challenging times. Our close-knit team has always been there for employers in Wales, allowing us to be responsive, adaptable, and invested in their success.
Balancing Tech with a Human Touch
We know that the recruitment industry has changed a lot over the years, especially with all the modern technology—AI screening, tracking systems, and automation.
While those tools have their place, we’ve always been careful not to lose sight of the human connection that recruitment should be based on. We’re big believers in holding onto the traditional elements of recruitment, like building relationships and fostering trust, even as technology evolves.
It hasn’t been easy. Sometimes we get inundated with unsuitable candidates, and it’s a challenge to respond to everyone as quickly as we’d like! But Karen and I always try to make sure we’re doing our best to keep that personal touch alive, no matter how busy things get.
“We can’t always respond as quickly as we’d like, and we genuinely care about giving each candidate a positive experience,” says Karen. “We work endlessly to try and make sure that even during our busiest times, we respond to everyone.”
Personalised Partnerships Built on Shared Values
From the start, we’ve taken pride in being a boutique agency that goes beyond industry labels. For us, it’s all about value alignment – something perhaps even more important for our nonprofit clients. We don’t sign up to PSL’s where multi-agencies are involved or rush into send CVs to clients —that’s just not our style and it would go against how we like to work!
Instead, we adopt a personalised approach, blending traditional recruitment with modern search techniques to ensure we find the perfect fit. We focus on building long-term partnerships where employers and candidates who share mutual respect and ethics. Some of our clients have been with us since our early days back in 2000, and a few sought us out when we set up Sitka, we believe this speaks volumes about the strong relationships we’ve built.
Staying True to Our Values – For Candidates Too
What’s keeps us on the straight and narrow is our commitment and dedication to the core values that Sitka was founded on—integrity, commitment, and excellence. These values shape every decision we make, every client interaction, and every candidate placement, they are in our DNA. We do all in our power to never compromise on that, even when it would sometimes be easier to take shortcuts.
We’ve always believed that the right match between a candidate and an organisation is about more than just skills—it’s about shared values, mutual respect, and a genuine fit.
For this reason, the candidate experience is a key element in our approach. Many candidates we speak to on a day to day basis mention poor communication and vague feedback as major frustrations when dealing with other recruitment agencies.
“From the moment we started working together, I felt like they truly invested in me. They made sure I was fully prepared for each step of the process, offering insights and advice that helped me feel confident and well-equipped. Even after I accepted the role, they took the time to check in and make sure everything was going smoothly. I’m so grateful for their encouragement and dedication.” – Candidate Testimonial
The Future of Sitka
As we look to the future, we’re more committed than ever to continuing what we’ve built to date. Our vision for the next five to ten years (and beyond!) is to deepen our impact in South Wales and continue helping ethical organisations grow.
We want to help Welsh SMEs and third-sector organisations navigate the ever-changing recruitment landscape.
If you’re a candidate looking for your next opportunity, or an employer looking for your next star, we’d really encourage you to get in touch at info@sitka.wales.
Ah, you made it to the end of my ramblings! Not quite…..
If you’ve ever wondered why we chose the name Sitka, here’s the answer: the Sitka Spruce is a large coniferous evergreen tree that can grow over 100m tall and has a trunk diameter of more than 5m! We chose this name for its symbolism of growth, strength and stability — qualities that we hope defines and demonstrates the approach we take to the work that we do. We love the fact that is is a blend of myself and Karen’s name (except for the random ‘S’!) – we were very nearly Cedar Recruitment, and that my friends, is another story!
To find out how we can work with you, please drop us a line
The recruitment process was a very smooth one with constant, non-intrusive updates. We benefited greatly from a personalised visit to our business, ensuring the right candidates were sourced for us. We received an excellent service.
I chose to work with Sitka as I know them to be open minded and creative in their approach to recruitment. Ita was able to pin down the most important parts of the role and understand our needs quickly and clearly. Ita then joined the dots between her understanding of the role with the perfect candidate. I have recommended Sitka to colleagues and I will continue to do so.
We liked Karen’s personal approach to finding the best candidate. She spoke to them in depth, matching the person to the business and vice versa, rather than just advertising the role to an existing database of job seekers. The process was very efficient and well-communicated from start to finish.
Sitka wanted to know about the organisation, our culture, our plans and aspirations. This meant they could be really confident talking about us and I’d like to think they were proud to be working on our behalf.
Everything about Sitka’s approach is a breath of fresh air. I have worked with Sitka on both the candidate side and recruiter side and I have never had a better relationship with an agency. I trust them implicitly to provide a service that is above and beyond what you would expect a recruitment agency to do and I wouldn’t hesitate to use them again.
I was thrilled when I was offered my new job, which I felt was down to Sitka’s support and proactivity. Karen kept in contact and made sure I was happy in my new role. This personal and professional service is second to none. I would highly recommend!