European HR Director for a global investment bank
Our client needed to find a highly accomplished HR professional to take the organisation through a period of change.
A careful brief
Our first step was to determine the personal characteristics and professional experience the role demanded. And, after talking through the list of organisations that the client wanted us to use, we started a search of those companies.
Our client wanted us to pass on the details of candidates as soon as we identified them. That meant they had a full shortlist and were able to begin the first round of interviews within six weeks. Three candidates went forward to the final stage. The client felt all three were strong choices, but were able to select one for the role.
Support at every stage
We worked carefully with the client and candidate throughout the offer process. There was a buy-back attempt by the candidate's employer. Our knowledge of the people involved kept our negotiations positive.
After the candidate had completed gardening leave, he started in the new role and made an immediate impact. But the assignment didn't just end there. We were invited to work in partnership with him and rebuild a new and stronger HR team.
HR Director for the UK division of a global energy client
This was a challenging assignment. Our client not only needed strong candidates, but also a potential successor to the UK HR Director. The ability to continue growing within the role was critical.
Working outside the box
We agreed with the client that they needed to look at candidates from outside their sector. With that in mind, a pure search was not recommended. Our solution was to run a hybrid search and selection assignment. This included a targeted search into a small group of companies known for their progressive approach to HR. We also ran an advertisement in the Sunday Times.
A strong shortlist
For the shortlist, we provided the client with six candidates, three from the search and three from the advert. All of this was completed within six weeks of starting the project.
The client took three candidates to the second stage with the UK Board and made a successful choice.
A positive review
We completed a review with the candidate after they'd been with the company three months. It was clear that the right person was in the role and matched the business culture. In fact, the impact was already being felt.
Northern European Head of HR for Global Technology Business
Working closely with our client, we helped design and scope the role of HR Director Northern Europe and produced an overview of the European HR marketplace.
Our brief included specific culture and language requirements. We agreed to conduct an executive search assignment that we supported with a targeted selection advert. We also undertook a detailed search of the market. The result was a significant and high-quality response.
A global head of HR for Exploration and another for IT.
This international approached us. They needed help in finding a global head of HR for Exploration and another to take on a similar role in IT.
After conducting research to determine the best media avenues for our advertising, we selected the Sunday Times and a cluster of appropriate websites. Then, we reinforced our selection campaign with a targeted executive search. The response was outstanding, both in terms of the calibre of candidates and the sheer number of applicants.
A focused shortlist
We quickly compiled shortlists for both roles that included candidates from around the world. The exploration role was filled successfully within six weeks and arrangements made for the candidate to relocate to the UK. The IT services role was successfully shortlisted and proceeded to the final round, before the client decided to put the role on hold.
Strong results
Overall, our expertise helped us work quickly and effectively within a specific marketplace. At every step of the way, we were able to maintain and build on our relationships.
HR Managers for the Western and Eastern Europe offices of an international manufacturing company
Following the take-over of a large competitor in Europe, this organisation needed to recruit hundreds of new staff. It was a huge project - the scale of which they had had not experienced before. We began by addressing the demands and difficulties that could be involved. We also talked through the aims they had for recruiting onsite HR managers in both locations.
The client expressed concern over the difficulties they had experienced in the local market, and the amount of time they were investing in travel to conduct interviews.
Knowledge and time
We worked closely with the client and used our knowledge of the European market to revise their recruitment plan. By advertising online, we helped target candidates based in the locations they were recruiting for, as well as candidates who were looking to move to these areas. We also conducted networking exercises which produced a number of viable solutions.
Strong results
Initial interviews were conducted by phone, and a shortlist was compiled. The client then travelled to meet these candidates on an agreed date. The result was strong candidates were found for both the Eastern and Western European roles.
HR professional for a South Eastern university
The client wanted to recruit for a number of senior educational positions and required an experienced HR expert to oversee and support this process.
Tight timescales
There was a very strict timeline for this assignment, so we had to makes decisions and respond quickly. By drawing on our extensive network of contacts and knowledge of the market, we were quickly able to draw up a shortlist of strong candidates.
Short, sharp and successful
The client conducted two interviews and selected one of the candidates for the role. The candidate is now a highly-regarded member of the team and has been asked to stay on until the end of the year.
A fixed-term interim for an entertainment/manufacturing client
Our client required a c£50,000 candidate for a 12-month contract, managing a major redundancy project and overseeing the cross-training of the remaining staff. After an initial meeting with the MD and Operations Manager, we were able to establish exactly what combination of experience and abilities would be needed to deliver these projects. We suggested the role would require someone with senior level experience prepared to deal with a potentially difficult situation and manage the complete process.
Key qualities
The client stressed that they wanted someone who could be trusted to work autonomously and consistently make the right decisions. We agreed to consider candidates asking for up to £60,000, so we began selecting suitable interviewees to present to the client.
A clear solution
We put forward five CVs and three candidates were selected for the interview. The chosen candidate was offered £60,000 for the 12-month contract.
An interim HR manager for a three-month contract at £500 per day for a voluntary sector client
From the initial meeting with the client, we established that the HR department had a backlog of very complex and difficult cases that need to be both managed and finalised.
It was clear that the candidates we put forward must be able to handle the pressures of the role, and take ownership for their responsibilities.
A strong short list
We selected six CVs to present to the client, and of these, five were interviewed. Two candidates were offered the role, as the client wanted to utilise their individual skill sets to focus on different areas of the business.
One of the candidates has been with the client for nine months and now holds an operational role supporting HR across the UK. And, because the role has become so important to the organisation, the contract will potentially be extended into the new year.
Professional Services HR Advisor for a London-based consultancy
The client wanted to target candidates with prior professional services/partnership experience. Recruiting through the internet had already failed.
During an initial meeting, we agreed that the response they had received using internet advertising was large. But most of the applicants didn't reach the right standards. We suggested engaging passive candidates who weren't necessarily searching internet job boards, but who do look at ads in the professional press.
Changing the media
A carefully-written advert placed in the right media produced a good response. From this, we were able to pre-screen and interview candidates with the right qualifications and experience.
In the end, the client met with four qualified candidates and made a decision.
A regional retailer recruiting for multiple roles
This niche retailer needed to build a new regional HR team and recruit three regional HR advisers.
Mancunian expertise
Our Manchester office ran the advertisement campaign and worked closely with the London office to identify candidates.
The three roles were filled successfully with one candidate relocating from the South
A Learning and Development Officer for a Global Technology Business in Berkshire
This organisation approached. Our assignment was to find a L&D officer. Time was of the essence. In the past, our client had worked with numerous agencies. But the relationships did not result in timely or effective solutions.
Success – at speed
Our approach to pre-screening gave us the confidence we needed to deliver a talent pool of quality candidates - quickly. The client agreed to provide us with exclusivity for two weeks. That was enough time to create a shortlist and arrange the first round of interviews. From the interviews a suitable candidate was selected and has been working with the client for the past year.
Four organisational development roles - three generalist and one analyst for a large North-West employer.
Our client had a range of roles they were looking to recruit for across two sites. They were going through wide-ranging changes, with all areas of the business being analysed and refreshed.
Refining the idea
From speaking to the client, we understood how important it was for candidates to be able to demonstrate real ambition and share our client's drive.
The client took a contingent, non-exclusive approach to the assignment. But within six weeks, our Manchester office of Futurexec was able to place all four roles. The time and money the client spent with other recruiters turned out to be completely redundant. All four of our candidates are still successfully working with the client.
Head of safety for a global food processor.
Global challenges
The client is a well known international food processor that has grown rapidly over the past 5 years. Fuelling that growth was a combination of acquisitions and major capital investment. A result of this growth required significant investment in developing their health and safety function and embed a consistent approach to behavioural safety across all of their UK and European sites.
A broad approach
We knew that the likely candidate would be sitting within or have experience of a major FMCG and production environment. In order to reach the right candidates we decided to adopt an advertised selection campaign. Carefully written and targeted advertising consistently proves successful to reach both active and passive job seekers. It has the added advantage of building awareness of the opportunity along with attracting the right candidates to apply.
The right result
We told candidates how far our client had come, as well as their plans for further investment. Then we highlighted the huge part the candidate would play in this growth – all of which created significant interest and allowed us to attract suitably qualified and experienced people to apply. We were able to present our client with an excellent shortlist with candidates from their nearest competitors and additional world class production organisations. The role has been filled and could have been appointed by a number of candidates and our client continues to grow.
A behavioural Head of Safety for a leading aggregates business.
A Progressive Approach
The client, a major aggregates and building materials supplier was seeking to implement a behavioural approach to Safety in line with the Du Pont model. This would need a visionary Head of Safety who was able to influence and change the culture of the business to drive down incidents by making the issue of safety as the first thought for every employee from the Chairman downwards.
A Precise Solution
As the individual sought would not only need be a highly skilled practitioner, but also an agent for behavioural change, we knew from the outset that this would not be a straight forward assignment. Whilst we could target companies known for implementing the Du Pont approach, we also knew that our target may well have moved on and be in an organisation that was not renowned for such an approach at this stage. As such we utilised a hybrid search and advertised selection campaign to try and reach all potential targets.
An Excellent Result
Whilst the campaign was exhaustive and time consuming, we managed to identify an outstanding individual for the client who combined both the technical skillset and a well developed behavioural approach to safety. As we expected the successful candidate did not come from an obvious target for the search, but is now producing outstanding results for the client. A great testament to taking an holistic approach in how to reach 'hard to find' candidates.