Robinson Keane Executive Search

Brief

We recognize that there is no simple route to successful recruitment. Finding the best candidates requires thorough research, a formidable contact base and insight gained from wide-ranging experience. Each assignment varies from those where you require candidates with detailed knowledge of a specific process or marketplace to those where you require high quality transferable skills or need to provide improved balance in the competencies of your board. Our approach is therefore tailored to your needs.

The client brief is absolutely critical. The more precisely we understand what you are looking for, both your 'hard' and 'soft' requirements, the more likely we are to find exactly the right solution. It is therefore imperative that taking your brief is a rigorous process which delves beneath the surface. We like to include all key stakeholders within the briefing process.

The Robinson Keane briefing process is therefore challenging. As a result we take away an in-depth insight into your organisation, its people and its culture, as well as the vital achievements you will expect from the appointment.

We do not passively write down what you tell us. Robinson Keane knows you are the expert in your own business but we will give you our perspective in terms of the senior level recruitment requirement and the business strategy. We believe it is our responsibility to ensure we have a remit that is comprehensive, honest and achieved through working in close partnership with our clients, guaranteeing the best possible and most enduring outcome.

Our Methodology

First and foremost we are a search business, and specialise in headhunting candidates. But we are not precious about it, and will recommend the additional use of advertising where we believe it will add real value. Whilst we never operate on the basis of advertising alone, we recognize that each methodology has its own advantages.

Search
We have focussed on developing our search capability over the years for the simple reason that, nine times out of ten, we find stronger candidates through search than we do through advertising. Our clients therefore benefit from a consistently higher quality of appointment.

Search is particularly effective for senior level appointments because it targets the exact profile required, usually a complex blend of many factors. It is also by far the preferred methodology for handling Chair and Non-Executive Director appointments, because most of the best candidates for these appointments don't read the appointments columns. They need to be accurately identified, intelligently approached, and have the opportunity "sold" to them. Finally, search has obvious advantages where confidentiality is a key requirement.

At Robinson Keane we have our own research team, which identifies appropriate candidates within agreed target sectors for our consultants to interview. An in-house research capability enables us to refine or refocus the search at any point during the recruitment process. There is no clock ticking - we keep going until we produce the required result.

Advertising
Advertising has its place where we are looking for high quality transferable skills that may come from a wide variety of backgrounds. We also use advertising for public sector appointments in order to meet the need for transparency. We will advise you on the most appropriate advertising media, and are experts at writing advertising copy to attract the right candidates.

We will never try to sell you more advertising than is strictly necessary. We are deeply conscious of the total cost of recruitment to our clients, and will only recommend the advertising that we believe genuinely adds value.

Which Methodology?
Once we have discussed with you what you are trying to achieve, we will make clear recommendations on the most suitable methodology. But as we are headhunters, search will always be a part of our approach.

Whatever the approach, we recognize that recruitment is not just about identifying the right candidates, but about attracting the right candidates, 'positioning' the role and maintaining candidate commitment.

Candidate Relations
We never forget that we are your ambassadors. Candidates might never have heard of you, and their impression of you will be determined in the first instance by their impressions of us.

Our relationships with candidates are invariably courteous. We interview rigorously but professionally. And we always ensure that candidates are fully informed about what is going on. They are never "left hanging". Everyone deserves professionalism and good manners.

It is therefore not surprising that many of our candidates subsequently become clients.