Anatomy of a successful search: a case study
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Executive searches don’t always go as they should. As I have detailed elsewhere, it’s not unusual to run into speedbumps along the way. These can include lack of clarity around a role, hiring managers rejecting candidates without even meeting them, or being inflexible with the job title.
However, we recently completed an executive search that went really well. In fact, it was executed so well that I thought it would make for a perfect case study. I have changed some of the details to protect our client’s identity, but everything else is a good representation of the process.
Kathbern’s client:
A successful family business without an obvious succession plan
Our client was a family business that’s been operating for about 25 years. Co-owned by a husband and wife in their late seventies, the company has annual revenues of approximately $50 million. It has approximately 150 multi-national employees, who work out of a decent-sized facility in a suburb of Toronto.
There’s a strong, employee-oriented culture, and the company really tries to foster a family atmosphere. There seems to be low turnover.
The challenge:
No obvious succession plan
At the peak of their careers, the co-owners were running the company. He was the president and she was the vice president, although she has been retired for some time now. Unfortunately, he is unwell, and with no obvious internal heir apparent, they needed to find a suitable successor to run the company relatively quickly.
There were some trusted executives in senior roles, but none of them, including the person who was our key contact at the company, believed they had the financial acumen necessary to become president. There were also other younger family members in different roles in the organization, but none with the experience or seniority to take on the role.
They had considered selling the company, but decided that the company was still growing and building value. If they could find a good person to run it, perhaps they could sell it for more later on down the road.
Solution:
Engage Kathbern to conduct a comprehensive search
So, they approached us.
We were hired to conduct a comprehensive search for candidates who had:
~ the right management experience
~ similar industry experience
~ the right personality to be able to maintain the culture the owners had fostered.
The company chose to outsource the search to us because we could dedicate the time to focus on the search, sort through all the candidates, and deliver a short list of four to six candidates to consider.
Kathbern’s process:
A clear, proven strategy for success
We got to work as soon as they signed the contract.
Our first step was a meeting with me, one of my top recruiters, and our lead contact at the company. We ask a lot of questions so we can develop a keen understanding of the type of candidate they are looking for, including experience, skills, and education. And we want to learn as much as we can about the company’s culture.
Our second step is key. We advertise the role on places like LinkedIn and Indeed, but part of our value add is reaching out to engage with candidates who are already employed and not actively looking for a change. We reviewed resumes, conducted many interviews, and curated a vetted list of six candidates that we presented to the client, along with a report on each candidate.
Our client was a model of how best to complete the third step, completing video interviews with all six candidates. The client then settled on a short list of three, holding in-person interviews with each one.
All three candidates were excellent, and it was difficult to rank them. In addition, two of the candidates had competing offers with near-term deadlines, so the client held a final group video interview during which each candidate was asked three challenge questions.
In the fourth step, the client authorized us to deliver a verbal offer with broad employment terms to the lead candidate, who then rejected their alternative offer. Then a formal offer was developed, conditional on references, and presented to the candidate, who accepted.
We followed up in the fifth step by completing the reference checks and presented our client with a reference report.
In the sixth and final step, our client approved the references, the condition in the offer was waived, and both sides agreed to the offer with no remaining conditions.
All told, the process took us 11 weeks.
What helped:
Hallmarks of a model search
*Foresight: our client quickly recognized that they needed help going beyond candidates who were actively looking for a new job opportunity.
*Transparency: we worked together with our client as a team, and there was open communication at every step.
*Responsive: our client gave us quick and useful feedback about candidates so we could adjust our search criteria and perfect the results.
*Open-minded: our client preserved their options, keeping three candidates in the mix until the very end rather than focusing on only one.
*Engaged: we had two representatives available to our client 24/7, so there was always a top recruiter available to answer questions.
This was a project where the client respected our advice and followed our suggestions to make this a success for everyone.
Larry Smith is the founder and president of Kathbern Management, an executive search firm based in Toronto. Kathbern helps companies find the executives and senior managers who not only have the experience and credentials to fulfill their responsibilities, but also have the emotional and “fit” requirements that will enable them to be successful in a particular environment. Kathbern simplifies the process and, through deep research, brings more and better candidates forward than would ever be possible through a do-it-yourself passive advertising campaign.
Learn more at www.kathbern.com, or contact us today for a free consultation about your key person search. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.