How we run a mandate.
Six steps, one principle. Every engagement is retained, exclusive and confidential. Everything else follows from those three words.
Why retained, and why we don't advertise.
In the recruitment profession, our methodology is known as “Search.” We do not publicly advertise our mandates on job boards. For every client mandate we discreetly analyse the talent pool to find the best candidates, and we contact them directly to explore their interest.
This matters because the best candidates are rarely the ones actively looking. Public advertising brings in the active market; retained search reaches the prospective candidates who are not looking but who would welcome the opportunity to hear about the right position. Most of our placements come from this second group.
Secrecy is vital in all of our searches. We ensure absolute privacy and confidentiality throughout the entire process of approach, assessment and negotiation. Candidates are told who we are representing only with their permission to be named. Clients see candidates only when the candidate has agreed to be introduced.
Six steps, in sequence.
Each step informs the next. We move as quickly as the mandate allows without cutting across any of them.
Brief intake
Every search begins with us listening. A partner spends whatever time is required to understand the business context, the specific criteria for the vacant position, the drivers behind the hire, and the realistic boundary conditions: notice periods, compensation parameters, location, visa, team dynamics, and any conflicts or sensitivities. We would rather spend a day on the brief than guess in week two.
- Business context and strategic driver
- Role scope, seniority, reporting lines
- Must-have and nice-to-have criteria
- Timeline, notice and compensation realism
- Stakeholders and decision-makers
- Confidentiality and conflicts parameters
Talent mapping
We then map the broadest and most diverse talent pool possible using our proprietary market intelligence and networks. Initial discussions frame a detailed talent-market analysis, which we share with the client as a written report: calibre, drivers and availability of the individuals in the target pool. This early candour gives the brief, and sometimes the expectations, somewhere real to anchor.
Longlist to shortlist
With the client's involvement, we narrow the broad mapping to a shortlist of best-fit candidates. Every combination of capability, competence and diversity parameter is tested against the brief. The goal is a shortlist where every name is defensible on the merits, not simply the ones that were easiest to reach.
Approach and structured engagement
We approach shortlisted candidates directly and confidentially. Discussions are structured and substantive, and they transition into informal meetings with the client where appropriate. Alongside the formal process, we discreetly gather anecdotal feedback from staff, peers and clients, and where possible we secure and analyse the available financial or statistical data that informs our view of the candidate.
Assessment and liaison
Throughout the client's formal assessment process we maintain control and regular liaison with both parties. We check with stakeholders to ensure no change to the criteria or the organisational drivers of the hiring need. If something shifts, we say so. The alternative is a shortlist that quietly drifts away from the brief.
Offer and onboarding
We negotiate all offer terms and conditions transparently, working in partnership with both parties. From the candidate's acceptance of the offer, through resignation and start date, onboarding and the first hundred days, we continue to monitor progress and assist with any related matters. The mandate closes when the hire is settled, not when the contract is signed.
Three things we insist on.
Candour, early.
An honest assessment of brief, market, talent pool and expectations. Candidate calibre, salary realism, notice complications - said in week one, not week eight. Clients who are told the truth make better hires.
Exclusivity, both sides.
One mandate in a market at a time. Each approach is exclusive to the hiring client for the life of the search. Candidates are represented to one client at a time. The mandate is honoured on both sides.
Network, not database.
A database is a snapshot; a network is a relationship. Because we hold the trust of senior practitioners across investigations, disputes and intelligence, we hear what a generalist never will.
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