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Worldwide

Filling a Niche Need

By Albert Van Domselaar, Senior Consultant
Region: The Netherlands

Sector focus: Industry

HERE’S OUR RECIPE FOR SUCCESS: TRACK RECORD AND PERSONALITY ANALYSIS COMBINED WITH A DEDICATED INTERNATIONAL NETWORK. THAT’S WHAT GETS RESULTS. I SAW THIS FIRST-HAND IN A RECENT CASE, WITH AN EXECUTIVE SEARCH FOR AN INNOVATION MANAGER FOR A VERY NICHE INDUSTRY.
THIS WAS A ROLE FOR A DUTCH COMPANY. THE COMPANY INSISTED ON RECRUITING A PERSON WITH A VERY SPECIFIC MATERIAL TECHNOLOGY SKILL, COMBINED WITH PEOPLE MANAGEMENT PROFILES. IT WAS A CHALLENGING ROLE TO FILL.
THEY HAD A VERY GOAL-ORIENTED, SHORT-TERM FOCUS AND NEEDED A PERSON THAT FIT THE CULTURE OF BOTH THE NETHERLANDS AND THE US, WHERE THERE WAS FREQUENT COOPERATION. SO, WE HAD TO BRIDGE THE CULTURAL GAPS AND LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE WORDS.
ANOTHER ISSUE? THE COMPANY IS WELL KNOWN IN THE NETHERLANDS FOR ITS SPECIFIC TECHNOLOGY. HOWEVER, THAT PARTICULAR INDUSTRY IS DECREASING IN THE NETHERLANDS. PEOPLE ARE DIFFICULT TO FIND THERE, SO THEY NEEDED A MORE INTERNATIONAL FOCUS FOR THEIR RECRUITING AND NEEDED FAST RECRUITMENT.
WE INTERVIEWED ALL THE STAKEHOLDERS THOROUGHLY AND MADE AN IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF THEIR “COMMON GROUND”, CONSIDERING THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE COUNTRIES. CONSIDERING THE TIME DIFFERENCES, REPORTS AND FEEDBACK CALLS WERE MADE IN THE EVENING.
AFTER A LOT OF WORK, WE CAME UP WITH AN EXCELLENT PROFILE FOR THE POSITION. IT ALLOWED US TO EXPAND THE SCOPE OF THE SEARCH FOR THE SPECIFIC NICHE OF THE COMPANY. WE ALSO EXPLORED DIFFERENT ADJACENT SECTORS.
WE DIDN’T JUST ANALYSE THE IMMEDIATE NEED AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED; WE ALSO LOOKED AT THE DIFFERENCE THAT A PERSON COULD MAKE IN THE LONGER TERM. WE NEEDED TO LOOK AT LEADERSHIP RIGHT NOW AND FOR THE FUTURE. THE PROFILE DRAFTED BROUGHT ABOUT SOME VERY CLEAR CHOICES, LEADING TO A VERY EFFECTIVE SEARCH ACROSS VARIOUS COUNTRIES.

We made use of our international network, resulting in a number of different candidates. From there, we used our unique leadership assessment to find out what the results might be both in the long- and short-term. Using the assessment, we could help predict a person’s behaviour for both aspects. After our work, we selected one candidate that fits the profile the best, based on the personality assessment. Our work enabled us to choose the right leader for the organisation.

Albert van Domselaar, Senior Consultant
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