Industry recruitment: the modern executive search

June 14, 2018 / Keith Osborne
Industry recruitment: the modern executive search

The upside of an expanding housebuilding industry has been countered by the downside of a skills shortage across all levels, but there are ways a company can ensure they line up the best candidates for a senior role, as marketing executive Katy Sugden from Thomas Gray explains…

Recruitment has, for many years, had a damaged reputation due to agency-led firms who in many cases forward CVs wide and far, without their candidates’ prior knowledge, and the recipient being frustrated by the intrusion and lack of understanding of their business.

Moreover, recruitment is an unregulated industry which has welcomed GDPR – professionalism and transparency are central to develop relationships with candidates and clients alike where trust and understanding is paramount.

Companies are investing more to find the right candidate because this can mean they retain the employee for longer, see desired results from the job role and save time searching themselves by using professionals in the industry. It is worth investing in Executive Search firms and although this may seem like a costly option, it ultimately saves you time; all you have to do is select which of the candidates you want to interview that we present.

What is Executive Search?

Executive Search is a thorough and in-depth methodology, used to identify and approach the very best candidates ‘in the market’ as opposed to on the market and looking for employment. This is usually on a retained basis. A professional service, specialising in headhunting executives and senior personnel with discretion and in a specific time frame – typically shortlist in two to three weeks.

Because of the upfront commitment from both sides, consultants can put more time and resource into market mapping and leveraging longstanding relationships at the highest level to gain industry referrals. Approaches are informed and warm – rather than cold, intrusive and sporadic.

Experts within Search are more involved in the hiring process, most candidates are met face to face to conduct in depth, competency-based interviews. The process examines both the direct capabilities against the job description and the full person specification with regard to motivations, management style and culture.

This extra due diligence is about de-risking hires for clients. Employing the wrong person is the single most expensive form of recruitment!

Think about it in the mind of a film director…

With the release date of Bond 25 pushed back due to the availability of Daniel Craig, we overcome similar situations in the search world, namely, board level directors who have commitments to current objectives or can be ‘tied in’ with long-term incentive plans.

For films to be successful they need to have a great storyline and special effects, but moreover, a strong leading cast. A director will have ‘perfect’ actors in mind who are well suited to the role and approach them to be in their films, despite the actor most likely not currently looking for work. This may involve delaying the production of the film until the actor has finished other commitments.

This is the same for a company, we call this ‘talent pipelining’ and it is particularly important in the candidate driven market that is housebuilding and construction right now. Employers would be willing to wait to fill the role if they knew they would be getting a top candidate.

We also believe it is necessary for employers to offer desirable packages to attract candidates to their job roles and compete with other employers. Industry knowledge and high-level industry contacts allow Thomas Gray to offer guidance on packages our clients are advertising which includes bonus structures, car allowances and healthcare plans compared to the current market.

At Thomas Gray we operate three divisions: Executive Search, for permanent director and board-level appointments; Contingency Recruitment, for permanent middle-management roles; Workplace Solutions, for permanent and temporary placements as well as focusing on the skill shortage roles.

With a large demand for staff at all levels within housebuilding and construction, Thomas Gray have focused on supporting valued clients for over fifty years with market insight, compensation advice and how best to attract, hire and retain top talent. Therefore, at Thomas Gray we can offer a more value add approach utilising our in-depth contacts, revered reputation and work more in partnership in many cases with in-house recruiters to provide a 360-degree service at competitive fee levels in all three divisions.

You can contact Katy at katy@tglsearch.com (t: 01344 845040)

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