Executive Search
Securing the right talent in today’s changing world is critical and defining a clear talent strategy that is suitably dextrous, rigorous and structured in approach, is essential. As specialists in attracting talent that shapes a different approach, we help to ensure that today’s more progressive organisations have access to the most diverse and considered choice of candidates.
Working extensively across the Private, Public and Third Sectors our reach is significant and this, coupled with our substantial functional expertise within Finance, means we can help transform organisations that are either facing change or seeking to grow. Our mindset is different and focused on delivering the skills that are needed for change be that at Board, Executive or senior leadership levels.
We have spent the past 25 years helping the Public and Third sectors to identify and attract talent from the Private sector to make a tangible difference to our client organisations. Much of this has concentrated on delivering a broader commercial mindset, clearer focus on profitability and financial prudence as well as diversifying revenue. Importantly, those individuals that make an effective transition are those that are culturally aligned with complimentary values to those of the organisation we represent. Equally, we target those in typically regulated environments of complexity that are highly customer centric in their work and have experienced change as a standard operating practice.
Our investment at the outset to learn our clients’ needs, culture and values forms the basis for our success and allows us the clarity to deliver on the most challenging of assignments and deliver outcomes that change organisations for the better.
Board Practice
The role of the Non-Executive has changed beyond all recognition in the past ten years, with Boards needing to be more strategic, accountable, challenging, customer-centric and speedy in their decision making, whilst having the intellectual rigour to interpret changing market dynamics more than ever before.
We work in partnership with Chairs to understand the needs of a Board and its overall effectiveness to help shape dynamics and manage need. We have supported the development of boards across the Public and Private sectors for many years and we take time to understand each candidate’s motivation, experience, capacity and fit to the organisation’s culture to ensure they will deliver against the needs of the role. As part of this work, we specialise in working with Executives seeking to embark on a portfolio career and advise how to make such a transition.
Boards also need help in understanding their effectiveness and capacity to challenge the needs of an organisation on a regular basis. Nothing in today’s world stands still and it is important that boards have the skills, knowledge and confidence to change accordingly to meet the demands of evolving economic and technological advances. As such, we support boards that are self-critical and constantly challenge themselves to move forward in terms of governance support, skills evaluation and facilitation.
Interim Management
Our clients’ requirements are often complex and sometimes urgent in terms of need, especially at times of change, growth or even crisis. Access to the right skills to drive a new direction that is timebound, deliver transformational change at pace or simply provide cover at times of leadership disparity is an essential part of any organisation. We support our clients with access to a broad pool of interim leaders as well as independent consultants and mentors with the relevant skills to make a difference or simply hold the fort.
With a particular focus in terms of the Further Education sector, we also build transformative teams of ready-made change agents at both an Executive and Non-Executive level, who can support an organisation at times of need from a leadership, finance and/or quality development perspective.
Assessment
To secure the best talent with the skills, attributes and behaviours to deliver against organisational objectives, it is paramount that you support your decision making with a rigorous and robust leadership assessment and talent insights programme. We use a range of carefully selected assessment tools supported by qualified administrators to provide insights that shape decision making, supports onboarding and facilitates long term leadership development both from an individual and team perspective.
Succession Planning
Losing a leader when you are least expecting it is one of the most difficult challenges an organisation can face and planning to manage such situations is often left to chance. Developing a reliable succession strategy is essential and reduces risk across all leadership areas. Working with Dodd Partners to map the market and engage selected individuals or mentoring internal talent to develop the skills to meet the future demands, can make a real difference. Our succession planning strategies are designed to help our clients manage this risk seamlessly and efficiently.
Mentoring, Coaching and Advisory Work
Unsurprisingly, we are seeing a significant increase in the amount of coaching and mentoring work delivered over the past few years, as we continue to see a dramatic realignment of the skills required across the sectors with which we partner. We have an enviable track record of success in attracting, assessing and recruiting Private sector expertise into the Public and Third sectors and understand the challenges of the transition more than most. More broadly, sector needs have also changed, and whilst investment in staff development has not been a mainstay for public sector organisations over recent years, this has led to the emergence of significant skills gaps from a strategic, commercial and leadership perspective when promoting into a senior leadership post.
This is where the need for coaching and particularly mentoring has taken hold. Our work is very much focused on providing support to newly appointed leaders who have stepped into or up to a role of greater responsibility at a time of change. In such circumstances we work with individuals or teams to shape their thinking against the dynamics of the new role or environment.
Such topics may include developing strategic capability, stakeholder management, commercial engagement, managing change and cultural engagement, to building teams for success, amongst many others.
This service is the natural progression for a completed search assignment and is designed to help facilitate a successful appointment outcome. Appointments don’t always work out as well as they might, and much of this is down to the onboarding process and how individuals approach their new environment. The correct support from the outset from one of our experienced sector mentors can make a real impact.