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Andrew shows you how to hire alpha in sustainability with the legendary Foresight Group.
The problem
In their New York Times Bestseller, “Who: The ‘A’ Method for Hiring”, Geoff Smart and Randy Street offer their solution, “to what The Economist calls ‘the single biggest problem in business today’: unsuccessful hiring. The average hiring mistake costs a company $1.5 million or more a year and countless wasted hours.”
Their main solution is always to be talent spotting, especially by asking for referrals from people you trust. This is great for the long term. But what happens if someone leaves, you get promoted, get a new job, or start a new business? What do you do in the short term?
Their advice is to get people like me to help, “although success depends heavily on the quality of the actual recruiter assigned to your search.” This is the key. Recruitment, executive search and headhunting are not like other professions, with a clear professional pathway and qualifications.
In fact almost anyone can set up in recruitment, so long as they can get themselves clients. It is a sales driven sector and this often gives a bad impression to clients and candidates. The approach can seem scattergun, transactional and expensive for the value that is created. The outcome is too often just good enough rather than the best possible.
However, finding the right people is the most important factor in the success of your business. So how do you put in place the optimal process? Understanding the market for a particular position is at the heart of what we do.
This involves desk research, market analysis, creative thinking, engaging with people, and listening to what they say. Then you understand people’s motivation, who is respected in the market and how you are perceived. Then you know who is the best person for you. Read on to find out more.
The solution
You are building our sustainable future.
Your work is the most important of our time.
You deserve the best people to make it happen.
By finding exactly the right people for you.
To do this you need to know three things…
1. Who is in the market?
2. Who is best for you?
3. How to close the deal.
Finding the right people
How do you discover whom the right people in the market are for you? This is a process of identifying the market sectors, organisations, divisions, job titles and individuals who might be right for you. It begins with desk research. This basic information is turned into deep objective knowledge through conversations, opinions and judgements.
Why are sustainability leaders under pressure?
The world has changed. Sustainability is top of the corporate and social agenda. And you are leading a business that is making a difference. Yet day-to-day it doesn’t feel like that. Things have gone so well up until now. But with every success comes new challenges....
Engaging with them
How do you reach out to people, so that they become a candidate or source? It is easy to find people’s contact details now. But what is the approach that is most likely to receive a helpful or interested response? Normally a quick and intriguing enquiry will lead to many helpful responses and lead on to in depth conversations. This is where your rich market knowledge comes from.
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Closing the deal
Once you know their background and motivation, how do you bring them on board? The key here is to anticipate the various possibilities that might happen. Then you can ask the right questions in advance, so that you are fully prepared. When you are armed with knowledge in advance you will be able to manage the process to a successful conclusion.
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What they say
“I agree with your philosophy totally… business success depends totally on talent and structure [and] securing alphas.”
“Andrew helped me build my top team when I was MD In House Services at the Houses of Parliament. He understood the market well and contributed towards bringing the right people on board.”
“Andrew and I have worked together on a number of difficult assignments. He is one of best professionals I have worked with during my 30 years as an Executive Search Consultant.”