Situational Overview

An early-stage MedTech company needed to hire an experienced VP of Clinical/Regulatory. Clin/Reg leaders are in high demand, and the company needed an airtight approach in order to attract and hire the right leader.”

BACKGROUND

The CEO and his team were meeting people who looked good on paper but who lacked the characteristics and the background they needed.  And, what they really wanted was someone who was going to be a home run for them.

But, they had no clear candidate profile and a lot of questions: What were the qualities they need to round out their leadership team? What should the person have accomplished? Were there any subtle attributes or nuances they needed to look for in candidates? How would they find the time to get to this point of discovery with people? And, how they could find that person without it taking a lifetime?

The team pursued people with whom they worked in the past, but there were non-compete timing issues, geographical considerations and vesting challenges. Or, there was no response to InMails.  It was a tactical, resume-driven approach. The team was consumed with activity and it felt good for a little while.  As time went on, the activity lead nowhere, significant time was lost and a top candidate wasn’t on the horizon. They were frustrated and out of time.

The company was on the tip of the spear in terms of innovation, had a blue chip board and a syndicate of investors. Everything about the opportunity was pristine and premier, but none of that mattered because the approach wasn’t built to discover and attract the right candidates.

CHALLENGE

The CEO and his team spent three months reaching out to people on LinkedIn, gathering names from within their network, and meeting with candidates with varying degrees of interest, follow up, and focus. The CEO met with 10 candidates and no one was a good match. After wasting nearly three months, he was frustrated.

Meanwhile, the board was concerned and internal pressure was mounting because the need was so great. Things began to slip through the cracks and the team knew this couldn’t continue: the company faced near-term commercialization. The executive team talked about the skills they needed but couldn’t come to consensus due the work load.

SOLUTION

The company needed focus, attention, an intentional plan, and an invested partner who would invest enough time to present the company to a select audience of people who weren’t actively looking for a new opportunity.

Allen Partners invested significant time with the CEO, COO and the leadership team, got a full scale understanding of the company, discovered the key things that were most critical, and went to work after the team was aligned.

We built a Candidate Profile and designed a recruiting plan customized to their needs. We also developed a presentation in order to tell the “company story” in a deep, knowledgeable and compelling way, and we invested 6-7 hours with every candidate before we presented the opportunity. Insights and great conclusions were made because trust and credibility were present.

The search was so tough that we presented only two (not our typical three) solid candidates. We presented them verbally to the CEO – no resuming sending activity – and prepared a document that the entire leadership team could review before interviewing. Everyone was well-prepared, well-informed, and all parties were engaged and interested. The candidates heard the company in a clear, compelling way. The company had a clear picture of how each person could add value to the company, and the top candidate had a clear picture of the attractive nature of the opportunity.

RESULTS

The CEO and his team wanted to hire their top candidate immediately after the interview. Allen Partners guided them away from this idea and completed our due diligence. It resulted in an accepted offer two days later. To our surprise, we later learned that this candidate was on the top of the company’s list to pursue, but the candidate – who was not looking for another opportunity – never returned the call.  In this situation, a perfect hire might have been lost due to a flawed approach.

TAKEAWAY

The CEO, who had never hired anyone outside his network, became our advocate that day. He was initially concerned about relinquishing his ability to “tell the company story,” but realized that we did so with credibility, integrity, knowledge and enthusiasm. He realized that his initial investment of time – in which he helped us understand his company – led to a tremendous outcome. When he began working with Allen Partners, he didn’t review any resumes and wasn’t consumed with useless activity. We presented him with two solid candidates, one of which was his top candidate.

She accepted the offer and is delighted to be with the company. The company not only filled the position but did so with the superstar they initially attempted to pursue with failed attempts.