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Worldwide

Filling a Need in a Short Time

By Ole Simensen, Group Director
Region: Norway

Sector focus: Consumer Industry

HERE’S THE BOTTOM LINE OF ALMOST EVERYTHING WE DO, NO MATTER HOW HARD THE ASK IS: NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE IF WE CONSULT AND ATTACK THE CLIENT’S PROBLEMS IN AN EFFICIENT, ENGAGING WAY. THAT’S SOMETHING THAT WE REMEMBER, EVEN WHEN THE TASK THAT THE CLIENT ASSIGNS TO US SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE.
I THOUGHT OF THIS “IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING” SITUATION A FEW YEARSAGO. THIS WAS A CRITICAL PROJECT FOR THE CLIENT. THEY HAD A REORGANISATION GOING ON, AND WE HAD TO MOVE QUITE A LOT OF PEOPLE FROM ONE LOCATION TO ANOTHER LOCATION TO FILL THIRTY (30) DIFFERENT POSITIONS—WITHOUT A LOT OF TIME ON THE CLOCK.
ADDING TO THE COMPLICATED SEARCH? THEY NEEDED BOTH EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL CANDIDATES EVALUATED FOR THESE POSITIONS, WHICH MEANS A LARGE POOL OF TALENT TO SORT THROUGH—AND NOT A LOT OF TIME TO FILL THESE POSITIONS.
I QUICKLY REALISED SOMETHING WITH THIS SPECIFIC JOB SEARCH: OUR TEAM NEEDED TO SHOW THE CLIENT A CONTEXT THEY NEVER QUITE THOUGHT ABOUT. WE WANTED TO USE AN ASSESSMENT CENTRE AND INVOLVE MANY PEOPLE AND TEAMS FROM OUR SIDE.
SO, OUR TEAM LAUNCHED AN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN AND ENLISTED A TEAM FROM OUR COMPANY FOR SCREENING, PRE-INTERVIEWS, AND MUCH MORE. OUR CONSULTANTS WORKED IN THE ASSESSMENT CENTRE FOR DIFFERENT PARTS AND POSITIONS. IN AN ASSESSMENT CENTRE LIKE THIS, THE CLIENT IS ALSO PART OF THE TEAM. ONCE THAT GOT SET, OUR TEAM MADE A TIME SCHEDULE FOR A TWO-WEEK MEDIA CAMPAIGN AND THEN FOR A RESEARCHER TO DO THE CV EVALUATIONS AND SCREEN THE CANDIDATES FOR THE ASSESSMENT. AFTER THAT, OUR TEAM DID THE PROFILING TO SELECT THE PERFECT CANDIDATES. WE DID THE REFERENCE CHECK WITHIN 24 HOURS AFTER THE MEETING WITH THE CANDIDATES.

This was a very thorough and intelligent structure, with a highly detailed process. We also developed many role-play exercises and different case studies for the candidates. The client came to give their feedback, look through the CVs, and bring our consulting powers to bear on the different people we brought in. Finding the right employee among 320 candidates was not an easy task. However, we got the job done. The client needed great talent in a very short time, and we managed to find the needed candidates in six weeks, and it didn’t slow down the overall reorganizational process.

Ole K. Simensen, Group Director
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