We have developed a system that we believe, for the first time, de-mystifies the search
experience for clients. We talk about search "processes" pluralized, because every search
is custom to us. There is no one process that applies to all search projects. What makes
search truly productive and successful is the thought process behind each and every
project, not just the process itself. However, there is a core set of systems, tools,
philosophies and operational components that make up the process that we apply to every
search project. We have developed this process through 30 years of continuous development.
We take advantage of the latest in technology, and fund innovation to this process
aggressively. It's what really sets us apart from the field, and we're willing to
back this statement up with facts and metrics. We describe all of the details of this
in person with clients, in the context of their particular need, but the four basic
components are described below:
Work with the client to define the characteristics of the Ideal Candidate,
including where to find them:
We give the definition of the role a great deal of care, and
focus on deliverables for the candidate. The job description is also a sophisticated pitch,
to get people excited about the industry segment, the team, the technology and story, etc.
This is completed and agreed upon by the search committee in the first week, sometimes the
first few hours of a search. It's important to get this done right, and early on. It should
be flexible to account for some degree of calibration, but unambiguous, deliberate and
straightforward.
We're organized in thinking about where to find candidates beyond
just the obvious places. Our target lists are ranked, prioritized and well presented. We
get alignment on where to look up front, which gives our clients ownership in the search
from the early moments, the formative stages. We cast a wide net, but we focus on quality
backgrounds, who are the sector performers and outperformers, who's had success in the
related fields, etc. We take a rifle shot approach, not a shot gun. We never ask our clients
to do the hard work here. Your search firm should do this for you, but get you involved.
We ask ourselves and our clients: "Who is going to get the search
committee excited when they become a candidate?"
We drive a metrics oriented, no-nonsense, transparent process
from start to finish:
We have goals for how many candidates need to be contacted every
day and we track progress towards those goals vigorously.
We have specific targets for how many companies need to be
researched, in what order and why.
We track everything that happens electronically. Every
discussion, every decision we make, every strategic discussion internally and with
the client. This is designed to guarantee precision, empirical and fact based decision
making, and transparency.
We focus on where clients are headed, not just where they
have been in the past, and even possibly where they are today. Can you hit someone
"in stride" as they are looking forward into the next trend your client is tapping into?
We try and map client strategy with candidates' experiences and capabilities.
We do all the heavy lifting:
We set up weekly update calls for our clients and meet with
our clients regularly in person.
Candidates' backgrounds are vetted by us, and every candidate
is personally interviewed by the project leader within our firm. Whomever is running
your search will see your candidates in person or if this is not possible (if the
candidate lives overseas or outside of our clients' physical area), we will extensively
interview them by telephone and check early references before presenting them formally
as candidates.
We coordinate the scheduling of every conversation, every
interview. Our clients don't have to burn internal resources and time on any of the key
logistical elements of the process. Let us do it for you!
We get reference information: both formal and informal, during
the candidate "lifecycle" and share it with our clients openly as it becomes available.
We don’t wait until the very end of the search to develop a reference picture of the serious
candidates.
We determine how gettable the candidates will be early, and often.
We're the first to raise our hands if we don’t think we can close someone, and it's time
to move on.
We make a LOT of phone calls, always looking for new people to talk
to, along with our considerable network, and we meet a lot of people, so you don't have to.
Clients will meet only the best candidates, and we never confuse activity with progress.
Candidate Closure process and follow up:
We stay very close to our candidates, and socialize important
concepts with them early and often such as compensation expectations, location challenges,
where they hit the description and where they fall short, etc. We do not coach them on how
to interview. We let their candidacies stand or fall purely on personal and professional merit.
We'll drive the deal itself: we have compensation data, drive
negotiations, develop offer letters, coordinate input from attorneys where appropriate, etc.
We work with our clients to determine how much or how little they want their resources spent
on this component.
We don't bank on any one candidate. We try very hard not to reach
closure with only one candidate seriously under consideration.
Once the deal is done, we monitor the candidates' transition with
great interest, to make sure they are on track for a successful start.
We follow up with our clients and candidates regularly to monitor
the assimilation process, and develop close relationships with both sides to act as a sounding
board where appropriate, in case anything threatens to move off course.
A lot of search firms can talk about process, but we have developed a system that we believe
delivers huge value, in that nothing drives decision making like real data. Knowing what data
is important, how to track it and how to report it is something we've turned into a science.
