English
Deutsch English
Suche
Worldwide
English
Deutsch English
Suche
Worldwide

Trust the scientific process, it will impact your business positively

By Stephen Finley, Partner

AT THE BEGINNING OF 2009, A MID-SIZED INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT FIRM APPROACHED US FOR HELP. THEIR COMPANY, WHICH CONSISTED OF 400 EMPLOYEES AND MANAGED 30 BILLION POUNDS IN ASSETS, NEEDED TO MAKE A CHANGE.
70% OF THEIR ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT (AUM) CAME FROM ONE CLIENT. TO DECREASE THAT RISK, THEY NEEDED TO MAKE SOME INTENSE CHANGES TO THEIR TEAM STRUCTURE AND BUSINESS MODEL.
FROM THE BEGINNING, OUR TEAM UNDERSTOOD THIS TO BE A LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP, AND IT TURNED OUT TO BE 50 PROJECTS OVER 10 YEARS. IN ORDER TO CHANGE THE BUSINESS MODEL WITHOUT REDUCING THEIR CURRENT REVENUE OR PROFITABILITY, WE NEEDED TO INCREASE THEIR SALES CAPABILITY AND MAKE CHANGES IN THEIR BACK-OFFICE OPERATIONS AND PRODUCT PORTFOLIO.
TO BEGIN WITH, WE IDENTIFIED THE ROLES THEY NEEDED TO FILL. THAT INCLUDED A RANGE OF POSITIONS, SUCH AS MARKETING DIRECTOR, HEAD OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT, AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT BUSINESS.
EACH TIME THE CLIENT BROUGHT UP A NEW ROLE, OUR TEAM MET WITH THEM TO UNDERSTAND HOW THIS ROLE FITS INTO THE LONGTERM BUSINESS GOALS. IN SOME CASES, WE CHALLENGED THEM TO THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT THE TYPE OF PEOPLE THEY WERE RECRUITING FOR THAT ROLE.
BECAUSE OUR CLIENT WAS NOT A MARKET LEADER, WE KNEW WE HAD TO DO EXTRA WORK TO ATTRACT THE RIGHT TALENT. MY TEAM WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE CLIENT TO SHOW CANDIDATES WHY THE COMPANY WAS UNIQUE AND EXCITING TO WORK FOR, WITHOUT RELYING ON BRAND REPUTATION OR SKYROCKETING SALARY OFFERS TO ATTRACT CANDIDATES.
WE POSITIONED OUR CLIENT AS AN EXCITING PLACE FOR PEOPLE INTERESTED IN JOINING A COMPANY GOING THROUGH CHANGE. CANDIDATES NEEDED TO BE WILLING TO ROLL UP THEIR SLEEVES AND DO WHAT NEEDED TO BE DONE WITHOUT WAITING AROUND FOR GUIDANCE OR EXPECTING SUPPORT FROM OTHER SPECIALIST DEPARTMENTS.
THAT MEANT THEY COULD HAVE A BIG IMPACT IN SHAPING THE COMPANY AS IT CHANGED ITS BUSINESS MODEL. ON TOP OF THAT, THE CEO WANTED EACH NEW HIRE TO BE ABLE TO DO A JOB PLUS ONE AND TO BE COMMITTED TO DEVELOPING A NEW, CONFIDENT COMPANY CULTURE. FOR EACH ROLE, OUR TEAM COLLECTED DATA ON THE CURRENT CAPABILITIES OF PEOPLE IN SIMILAR POSITIONS. PAIRED WITH MERCURI URVALS SCIENCE-BASED ASSESSMENT METHOD, AND TOOLS FOR JOB AND BUSINESS ANALYSIS, WE RECOMMENDED SPECIFIC SUCCESS PROFILES FOR EACH ROLE. SINCE THIS RELATIONSHIP WAS LONG-TERM AND INCLUDED OVER 100 ROLES, WE WERE NOT DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN RECRUITING EVERY ROLE. AT EACH STAGE, HOWEVER, WE DID REVIEW SHORTLISTS AND PROVIDED CANDIDATE ASSESSMENTS.
BY PRIORITISING THE LONG-TERM BUSINESS GOALS EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, THE CLIENT STATED THAT OUR OBJECTIVE AND SCIENCE-BASED ADVICE ALLOWED THEM TO FEEL CONFIDENT WHEN HIRING PEOPLE, EVEN FOR ROLES WHEN WE WERE NOT THE PRIMARY RECRUITERS.

Changing a company’s revenue source and culture cannot be done overnight. By creating a long-term plan, sticking to it at every decision point, and trusting in the proof of a scientific hiring process we were able to have a material impact on the business. After 6 years of working with Mercuri Urval the client said ‘thank you for helping us to transform our business.’ This was not done through one overarching project but through a series of interventions that were developed and adapted in line with the business’s changing needs.

Stephen Finley, Partner & Director (Team Leader)
View profile