The challenge.

A client approached us with a unique and complex challenge. They needed to hire a sales professional in a specific location within the US. However, they were unsure if such talent existed in that area. This lack of information extended to several critical factors:

• Market knowledge: The client had little to no knowledge about the local market, including the calibre of available candidates and their salary expectations.
  
  
• Feasibility: They needed to determine whether recruiting from this area was feasible and cost-effective, as they had no prior data to guide their decision.
  
  
• Cost concerns: The client was hesitant about engaging an agency on an exclusive basis due to the potential financial risk if they decided against hiring from that area. They were worried about the costs associated with a failed search and needed assurance that their investment would be protected.

The solution.

To address these challenges and mitigate the client’s concerns, we developed a customised approach that combined flexibility, thorough market analysis, and risk-sharing:

• Retained basis agreement: We proposed working on a retained basis, which involved taking only a small portion of the fee upfront. The remainder of the fee would be invoiced only upon the successful placement of a candidate. This approach minimised the client’s financial risk and provided them with assurance that they would not incur significant costs without results.
  
  
• Flexible fee transfer: Understanding the client’s hesitance, we offered to transfer the upfront fee to another role if they decided against hiring from the initial area. This ensured that there was no financial loss, regardless of the outcome.
  
  
• Comprehensive market analysis: We conducted an extensive analysis of the local market to provide the client with a detailed breakdown of the following:
  • Candidate pool: We identified the availability and calibre of potential candidates in the specified location.
  • Salary expectations: We provided insights into the salary ranges and expectations of candidates in that area.
  • Candidate motivations: We explored the reasons why candidates might be interested or disinterested in the role, helping the client understand the dynamics of the local talent pool.

The result.

The tailored and strategic approach yielded significant benefits for the client:

1. Informed decision-making: Armed with comprehensive market insights, the client was able to make an informed decision. They concluded that hiring from the specific location was not the best option and decided to recruit from another region in the US.
   
   
2. Seamless fee transfer: As per our agreement, the upfront fee was seamlessly transferred to another role within the company. This flexibility reassured the client and solidified their trust in our services.
   
   
3. Successful placement: We successfully placed a candidate in the newly identified region, demonstrating our ability to adapt and deliver results despite initial challenges.
   
   
4. Strengthened partnership: The successful placement and our risk-mitigated strategy enhanced our relationship with the client, leading to additional roles and successful placements.

This case study showcases our ability to navigate complex and unfamiliar markets while providing value-driven solutions that align with our clients’ needs. By leveraging a strategic, flexible approach, we ensured client satisfaction and established a long-term partnership based on trust and successful outcomes.

The challenge.

Our candidate, a seasoned Vice President of Sales, approached us with a unique career aspiration. With a specialised skillset in developing and opening the Mexican market for businesses within the secondary packaging industry, he was seeking his next career move. This presented us with a distinctive challenge:

• Identify companies that could benefit from the candidate’s niche expertise in Mexican market expansion
• Navigate the specialised secondary packaging market to find suitable opportunities
• Ensure the candidate’s unique value proposition was effectively communicated to potential employers
• Find roles that would allow the candidate to fully utilise his skills in market development and business expansion

 Our search needed to be precisely targeted and discreet and roles that specifically required expertise in Mexican market expansion were not readily advertised, necessitating a proactive and strategic approach.

The solution.

To address these challenges and find the ideal opportunity for our candidate, we devised a tailored, targeted approach:

• Collaborative strategy development: We worked closely with the candidate to identify a select group of companies he was particularly interested in joining. This ensured our search was aligned with his career aspirations and industry preferences
• Precision targeting: Based on the identified companies, we conducted thorough research to pinpoint the right decision-makers within each organisation. This targeted approach ensured our outreach would reach those with the authority to create or approve a role suited to our candidate’s unique skillset
• Customised outreach: We crafted personalised messages for each identified contact, highlighting our candidate’s unique value proposition in developing the Mexican market. This approach emphasised how his expertise could drive growth and expansion for their businesses
• Market education: In cases where companies hadn’t previously considered expansion into Mexico, we provided insights into the potential benefits, positioning our candidate as a key asset in realising these opportunities
• Confidential process management: Throughout the process, we maintained strict confidentiality
• Comprehensive support: We provided end-to-end support, from initial outreach to interview preparation and offer negotiation, ensuring a smooth and professional process for both the candidate and potential employers

The result.

Our targeted and strategic approach yielded impressive results:

• Multiple opportunities: Three companies expressed strong interest in interviewing our candidate, validating both his unique skillset and our targeted approach
• Successful placement: We successfully placed the candidate with one of these companies, where he is now spearheading their business development efforts in Mexico
• Expanded role: Beyond the initial scope, the candidate has also supported the company in establishing their legal entity in Mexico, showcasing the additional value he brings to the role
• Market entry success: The placement has enabled the hiring company to effectively enter and develop their business within the Mexican market, leveraging our candidate’s expertise and network
• Long-term impact: This placement not only fulfilled our candidate’s career aspirations but also positioned the hiring company for significant growth in a new market
• Enhanced service offering: This success has strengthened our reputation in handling niche, high-impact placements in specialised markets

Through our tailored approach and deep understanding of both our candidate’s needs and the market dynamics, we were able to create a perfect match that benefited both the candidate and the hiring company. This case study demonstrates our ability to navigate complex, specialised markets and deliver high-impact results through strategic talent placement.

The challenge.

Chad Harrison International (CHI) was in exploratory discussions with a high-profile, US-based glass manufacturer around how we could support their talent acquisition efforts. The company was going through a period of significant growth, accelerated by multiple acquisitions and extensive geographical expansion, creating a range of challenging and business-critical vacancies. Scaling headcount at senior level during a rapid growth phase is complex and challenging, regardless of a company’s position as a market leader within their field.

To address this issue, a senior executive within the company’s HR function, who’d worked with CHI in a previous role, reached out to our packaging division to discuss how we could support their recruitment requirements. However, there was reluctance from other key decision makers to commit to an upfront/retained model having had a poor experience with several alternative (and reputable) global search firms; they’d found the process to be slow and lacking in sector-specific knowledge, culminating in an inability to identify and secure the right personnel.

The solution.

To allay concerns around a retained model, we proposed a two-stage trial. In the first instance, CHI would deliver talent into two of the most time-sensitive requirements, across their sales and finance leadership team on a contingency basis, with exclusivity for a short timeframe. Our aim was to demonstrate the strength of our network and understanding of their market. Within days, our team identified shortlists of candidates who had the relevant technical and management experience, as well as a proven track record in ensuring that all commercial and financial objectives are met. With the clients support to turn around feedback and the interview process quickly, these initial assignments were filled in the opening month – the equivalent period it took their last retained specialist to reach shortlist stage.

In stage two, we worked with the client to identify their next three most important hires, and agreed a bespoke two part retained process with a sizeable upfront commitment. In return, the client received a reduction in the overall fee, as well as the flexibility to move the commencement to a second role should their priority change in this fast-moving circumstance. With an upfront commitment in place, we were also able to conduct additional market research, including competitor reward benchmarking and market perception of the business in these new geographical areas; information key to the continuing success of the growth in these new locations. The reduction in overall fee alongside a significant decrease in time to hire also gave the business the confidence needed to roll the process out across their remaining operational and senior leadership requirements.

The result.

We now work with this client on a 100% retained model and have access to all senior, operational and commercial appointments across their extensive North America operations.

Our bespoke retained model has enjoyed a 96% success rate with this client in the months that followed. What’s more, our closest competitor proposed charging 30% of package over a three-stage process, lasting anywhere from 12-20 weeks from taking the brief to onboarding the hire*, whereas CHI’s process saved them an average of £15,000 per hire, and reduced the time to hire to an average of five weeks. Over the next 10 hires, this represented a saving of £150,000 on recruitment spend, and considerable additional savings from a combined six-month reduction in hiring time and effort.

The additional market intel CHI have been able to provide from this committed partnership has allowed the business to grow quickly and successfully in new geographical locations, ahead of time, and under budget.

*based on a £120,000 base salary/£150,000 package

The challenge.

Chad Harrison International (CHI) partnered with a global packaging distributor to recruit the new role of Sales Sustainability Manager. The company has been making good progress with regards to sustainability and ESG initiatives, but they lack a dedicated leader at a corporate level to further develop the strategy and take ownership for leading group-wide sustainability opportunities and requirements. Plus, this newly formed role would be responsible for conveying the value proposition of sustainable business practices to partners and clients in a time of accelerated emphasis and heightened scrutiny.  

Reporting to the Chief Sales Officer, the successful hire would need to be able to form a close working relationship, involving frequent consultation and collaboration, with the company’s CEO. The demand for analysts, strategists, and others knowledgeable about environmental, social, and governance across the corporate landscape has never been higher, making talent within this space hard to secure. What’s more, our client had short time-to-hire requirements and needed an individual in place within 10 weeks of retaining CHI for this assignment.

The solution.

CHI’s Packaging division proposed a retained search. Working in unison with the client, CHI reviewed a wide range of profiles from across the sustainability arena to establish key skills and capabilities required for the role. CHI then targeted organisations with mature and tenured sustainability functions and engaged the market by talking to Chief Sustainability Officers and business unit-level sustainability talent. Our sector specialists also spoke with commercial leaders to understand who they had enjoyed working with and felt would be capable of building strong, credible relationships quickly.

It was important to the client that they were able to see a breadth of profiles and we therefore presented candidates from a variety of backgrounds, all of which have expertise within the packaging sector. CHI delivered a strong final shortlist of four candidates within one week of commencement. All proposed candidates were deemed suitable (by the client) for interview. The multi-stage hiring process comprised three interviews, including a telephone interview, a panel interview, and an interview with the CEO. All interviews were conducted by senior management from the company’s HR and Sales functions. Two candidates successfully progressed to the final stage.

The result.

Following interviews, an offer was made to the first-choice candidate who accepted after a total of eight weeks, with a start date agreed for two months later (in line with the individual’s notice period). CHI handled the offer presentation and negotiation stage to facilitate the smooth onboarding of the desired candidate. Their experience fit all the relevant skill sets our client required as well as being an excellent cultural fit with the business. What’s more, the hired candidate was a passive job seeker, vindicating CHI’s retained search approach.

The search was a huge success which was made possible through various screenings on CHI’s side and close interactions with the client on market information and insights. This placement, amongst others, has led to a close-knit working relationship between CHI and the client; CHI has since received a number of new assignments, and our packaging division is actively seeking industry-leading talent from across the passive job seeker market to keep their business one step ahead of the competition in talent acquisition.

The challenge.

Our client, a global packaging manufacturer, required a Manufacturing Director to support the company’s exponential growth within their European operation. The company are key players within the metal packaging sector. This was a newly created position reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer. The successful candidate would oversee two manufacturing plants (in the UK and France) and would be responsible for leading a team of Plant Managers, whilst also acting as the director for the ends and closures business unit.

Based on previous success in this field, we were tasked to lead the search for the candidate. The key challenge was finding a candidate to suit the company’s exact brief; a manufacturing leader with the expertise, leadership skills, and broader knowledge of the manufacturing sector, which is a highly specialised field. This meant that our packaging division were searching within a highly concentrated talent pool, requiring expert utilisation of their networks within the sector and geographical market.

The solution.

Given the niche nature of the search requirements, Chad Harrison International (CHI) proposed a retained search model. It was determined that the successful candidate must possess some mandatory soft skills to be successful in the role which could only be assessed through a 1-1 screening process. However, the client wanted to take a more open approach (than first thought) on industry backgrounds. This allowed them to see a breadth of profiles and we therefore presented candidates from across the manufacturing sector. Approaching a search in this way often results in longer timescales but provides more agility for the client, allowing them to revise their brief based on the availability of relevant, sought-after candidates within their market.

The result.

After a thorough search comprising several months of identifying and screening a diverse range of candidates, an outstanding individual was identified, qualified, and proposed to the client. They successfully completed the company’s interview process and accepted the role upon offer. Their experience fit all the relevant skill sets our client required as well as being an excellent cultural fit with the business. What’s more, the hired candidate was a passive job seeker, vindicating CHI’s retained search approach.

The search was a huge success which was made possible through various screenings on CHI’s side and close interactions with the client on market information and insights.