Executive search for Founders who expect exceptional

Effective recruiting begins with meticulous and thorough research. ‘Filling the job’ is not enough, we are finding the solution to the problem holding back your business.

So we must fully understand the business, the people, the market and the issues this role needs to solve.

Our first step is to fully assess all the relevant facts:

Role Assessment

• What aspects of this role are especially challenging or unusual? (And what aspects might be considered 'standard'?)
• Is it a new role in the business?  if not, who did it before and how did they fare?
• What is missing from the job description?
• How is performance assessed in this role?
• What personality, attitude and traits best suit this role?
• What are the career prospects for the role holder?
• Location?
• Salary & benefits package on offer?
• Do we have sufficient experience with this type of role, or are there aspects (technical for example) that we may not understand?  

If we really cannot grasp the role, or we feel there is someone better equipped to handle that search - we will recommend a true 'specialist' from our recruiter network.  We can even manage the recruitment process on your behalf (like your own personal 'internal recruiter') at no additional cost.

Business Assessment

• What are the values and culture?
• What values and culture does it aspire to? (If there is a difference between actual and aspiration, why?)
• What is the current core business strategy? (In more detail depending on the seniority of the role)
• What factors are used to assess business performance?
• How well is the business currently performing?
• What are the key drivers in its industry sector?
• Which are its competitors and how does it rank against them?
• How 'engaged' are existing business employees and stakeholders?
• What opinion do current customers have of the business?

Team Assessment

• Who is recruiting?
• Who does the role report to?
• Who reports to the role holder?
• Who does the role holder work most closely with?
• Which other stakeholders have an influence over this role or team?
• How is team performance assessed?
• How well is the team currently performing?
• What are the challenges for the team (now and anticipated)?

How many interesting ‘Job Descriptions’ have you seen?  

Not many, I’ll wager.

However, this step is crucial to securing the very best candidate, capable of driving forward your business.

The ‘right’ person will be not just ‘talented’, but will also bring the right attitude, motivation and vision to fully drive their impact on your business objectives.

How we present the role and your business, is the difference between attracting those ideal candidates who truly ‘fit’, or just trawling through ‘good enough’.

At Capability Consulting, we put a lot of thought and effort into creating the role profile and the information we will share with prospective candidates.

Why settle for a limited selection of potential candidates a ‘specialist’ recruiter already has in their database?

At Capability Consulting, we scour the entire market for all potential candidates - our existing contacts and connections, networking, referrals, online databases, social media and advertising.  

We consider both active job seekers and passive potential (headhunting).

Candidate Assessment

• Relevant skills and experience? (Can they 'do' the job?)
• Accuracy of CV and other published profiles?
• Current situation?
• Career aspirations/motivation? (Do they 'want' the job?)
• Reasons for aspirations and how they differ from current situation?
• How does this role compete with current situation and match aspirations?
• Character fit with role, team and business?
• Specific reason(s) why they want this role?
• What additional value can they bring?
• Factors dictating their decision to move role?
• What may happen when they give notice to current situation? (Counter-offer?)

The ‘long-list’

Our initial candidate 'long-list' is based primarily on the first criteria of our Candidate Assessment (relevance of skills and experience) - this can be a very large number, depending on the nature of the role.  

These people may be ‘competent’ or ‘good enough’.  Many recruiters will put forward a final short-list based on that criterium alone to save their time.  

For our clients, ‘good enough’ is not good enough.  So, we put in the necessary time and effort to whittle this list down.

Consultant’s ‘short-list’

Next, our discussions with selected 'long-list' candidates using all Role, Business, Team and Candidate Assessment criteria, enable us to select the 'consultant’s short-list' of candidates whom we then interview in detail.  

There are a range of subtle strategies we employ in this phase to accurately drill into the true motivations and capability of each potential candidate.  These are crucial in accurately sorting the ‘wheat from the chaff’ – we’ll be happy to share these ‘trade secrets’ when we meet you to discuss an opportunity.

As we filter down to the most exceptional candidates, we spend increasingly more face-to-face time with them.

That filter process leads to our 'client short-list' of candidates – ideally ‘The One’ - who we recommend to you for interview.

Client short-list – ‘The One’

Bearing in mind our ‘no-compromise’ approach to finding only the most exceptional candidate – that person who will make the most difference for your business - we make this 'client short-list' as short and specific as possible.  Ideally, we aim to recommend only ‘The One’.  

‘The One’ should be so obviously ‘right’ for the role, that your decision at interview will be easy.  Why waste your valuable time and decision-stress on less suitable candidates?

To make that decision even simpler for you, we help you to know as much as possible about the candidate upfront.  You’ll know about the candidate, and they will know about you and your business (warts and all) – before the interview, so when you meet nothing needs to be either hidden or over-sold.  This removes the usual ‘interview façade’ that occurs and can often lead to the wrong decision.  This is a hugely important factor in or 100% success rate with placements.

Effectively, you should be able to treat your first meeting with a short-listed candidate as '2nd interview' stage - trusting our prior research and saving you a lot of time and hassle.

We recommend the preferred candidate gets to meet a variety of people in your team.  We can also help you devise a relevant ‘work-based assessment’, so you get to see their way of thinking and their approach to ‘real’ tasks.  

Once you select your preferred candidate, we carefully manage the offer process to ensure everyone in the process is happy and to avoid 'surprises'.

• This includes negotiations (salary, benefits, start date etc), formal acceptance of your offer and details of on-boarding requirements.

By this stage we have sent significant time with this candidate – we know their motivations and purpose, plus we have communicated that to you.  So, everyone can be certain this is the right candidate and this is the right opportunity for them.  This is a Win:Win scenario, so both parties are fully committed to the decision.

What happens if something did go wrong?  

Your placement is GUARANTEED for a full 12 MONTHS (not just 12 weeks like other recruiters).

Why stop at anything less than the very best you can get?