Leading with Competitive Edge
The Situation
The Medical Director with one of our clients, a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical
company took flight in March 2001. While other pharmaceuticals were
busy on the M&A trail, and expanding their markets, our client
was left in the lurch to look for a highly competitive and experienced
substitute. The earlier executive search company hired by our client
in March 2001 had been silent for more than a year. The requirements
naturally, are stringent and the process was like looking for the
needle in the haystack. There are only a handful in Malaysia, with
the best already hired by their competitors.
In June 2002, we were approached.
The Approach
Given the scale and scope of responsibilities, and coupled by the
disadvantage that our client was without a Medical Director, we had
to refrain from media advertisement. We employed the Executive Search
process immediately. The Targeted search focused on successful players
in agreed peer organizations and we combed the market from leading
private hospitals, to research laboratories and every nook and corner
in the industry. The whole exercise was done with high extent of discreetness
that we had not ruffled the feather of our client’s competitors
or the industry generally.
What We Delivered
Our ability to process the assignment within very tight timescales
was essential. Within a span of 4 weeks, we presented our client with
8 profiles of candidates. The top brass was almost relieved and met
up with all eight candidates. Three of them were shortlisted for a
second interview with the regional team, and after much negotiation
and convincing, the right candidate was hired. The whole exercise
took only about slightly more than 2 months. With our special attention
to specific cases, the client realized it was worth the switch and
swift move.
Winning The Race for the Best Talent
The Situation
Our client, a large construction conglomerate is gearing towards getting
listed in the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange in the year 2003. They were
one of the six Malaysian companies, who had been awarded large-scale
highway projects in India in the year 2001. The situation and challenges
in India are strikingly rough for Malaysians to endure. Each company
folded up their sleeves and lined up only the best of Project Managers
and team members for this venture. The most common obstacle was the
location. It was an undeniable fact that the selected employees denied
the opportunity in fear of the working conditions. Our client was
not left out.
We were summoned.
How We Approached
We sat together with our client to identify the potential factors
that pose a setback to this secondment. Undeniably, attractive and
fair compensation package was highly imperative to encourage a Project
Manager to be relocated for more than 2 years to India. We realized
that the current team will not be able to endure these challenges
and may risk losing them should this secondment demotivate them.
The consultant specializing in construction and engineering industry was put to task for this situation. We identified the main players and placed advertisements in the local media and the Internet concurrently. Within 36 hours, we presented our client with potential candidates. Our approach had to be different. We motivated each potential candidate with the future developments in the region of East Asia, to begin with and presented them with facts on the current local situation. In other words, we provided career advise before proposing a career upgrade. While some were unmoved, we attracted a handful who were up to the challenge of being instrumental in developing infrastructural projects in under developed countries.
The Solution
By the fourth week, our client had 8 candidates to consider.
