Since 2005, Talent Intelligence has partnered with a global Fortune 500 pharmaceutical manufacturer in the areas of external succession planning and talent pipelining at the senior level, resulting in numerous successful executive placements. In 2009 one member of the delivery team for that account interviewed an ideal candidate for the client’s commercial talent pipeline – John Smith*.
John was an experienced marketing professional with an MBA from a prestigious university. He had worked his way up from the director-level to VP-level in his current company, a direct competitor of our pharmaceutical client. Upon presentation in 2009, the client requested an exploratory conversation with John and initial feedback was positive.
In 2011, the client invited John to interview for an open role. The interviews went well and the client offered John a position in their company. Unfortunately, compelled by the golden handcuffs his employer had placed on him, John chose not to pursue the offer. It is not uncommon for companies to be turned off when a candidate rejects an offer, but the TI process encourages ongoing conversations to keep those candidates in the pipeline in consideration for future opportunities.
In the following months, Talent Intelligence kept in contact with John who was very open to exploring external opportunities once his stock had vested. In August 2013, four years after having met John, we identified a vacancy for which he would be the perfect replacement and conferred with our client. An offer was made immediately. Interviews weren’t necessary as multiple executives in the client organization had already met John and were eager to have him join their organization. Within 48 hours of the role becoming vacant, John accepted the offer and agreed upon a start date.
Reactive recruitment – that is, beginning the search for a senior level replacement just ahead of or immediately following an expected vacancy – has become unsustainable, particularly for large corporations with billions in revenue on the line. Breaking the cycle of reactive recruitment requires implementing a more dynamic process. Such a process should allow companies to continually map talent outside their organization, identify top performers and rising stars, network with select external talent, and develop informal relationships with high potential individuals who can be integrated into an existing succession strategy.
Talent Intelligence partners with one client per industry to develop the kind of conflict-free, long-term engagements that allow such a process to move forward smoothly. For a fraction of the cost that a year’s worth of executive placements might run them, clients are able to meet and learn about the very kinds of senior level talent they want in their organizations. Should they choose to hire any number of executives they meet, they don’t have to worry about spending another dime – there is no placement fee. When the time comes for a given client to renew their engagement with Talent Intelligence, they are equipped with numerous examples of positive return on investment, making their decision to continue forward a very easy one.
To learn more about the perils of leadership risk and the ways your company can avoid a disruption in business and talent continuity, download our free whitepaper “Understanding Risk Exposure.”
*Name changed to conceal client and candidate identity