Brochure_Talent_Services

Talent services
Supporting in-house talent management

Contents
Supporting in-house talent management 4
Talent mapping & intelligence 6
Talent acquisition 7
Strategic talent planning 8
Interviewing 9
Formal & informal referencing 10
Salary surveys 11
Psychometric assessment 12
International experience 14

Supporting in-house talent management
Approaches to talent planning, acquisition and management have
evolved rapidly, driven by a renewed focus on the value of talent and the
dramatic rise in its importance on the corporate agenda. Old and inflexible
recruitment models are being replaced with new talent management and
acquisition strategies, guided by companies’ business development plans.
Coupled with a strong desire for cost savings and the new abilities of
social media, these changes have resulted in the growth of in-house direct
sourcing and executive search teams offering greater responsiveness and
synergy with company objectives.
Research Europe has a solid track record of
supporting businesses in finding exceptional talent.
Along with our core services – talent mapping
& intelligence, talent acquisition and strategic
talent planning – we offer a number of
ancillary services: interviewing, formal & informal
referencing, salary surveys and psychometric
assessment.
We work across a diverse range of industries,
from media and online to professional and
business services, retail and consumer to
energy and transport.
We have developed experience in almost every
type of job function, from board executives and
non-executives to product marketing directors,
heads of investor relations, engineers and
strategy consultants.
Research Europe is highly international. We have
worked across more than a hundred countries
globally, and our team includes fluent linguists
to assist in penetrating markets where English
is not always widely-spoken, such as the former
Soviet Union or Brazil.
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Talent mapping & intelligence
Talent acquisition
Before investing in a talent search which can
be time-consuming and costly if done ‘blind’,
companies often wish to gather intelligence on
available talent in the market. Mapping of talent
is increasingly used as a strategic tool by human
resource departments who supplement short-term
headcount needs by ongoing talent intelligence.
Research Europe maps talent in companies by
identifying organisational structures and reporting
lines, names and job titles, key information about
individuals’ experience, skills, education and
contact details. With this information, Research
Europe can advise businesses on where the
most relevant talent lies in advance of any
recruitment activity.
Understanding how rival firms structure and
organise themselves is valuable to both business
planning and talent acquisition. Not only does
this intelligence provide firms with insight into
how competitors operate, but it allows them to
benchmark themselves against other firms in
terms of measures such as gender diversity.
Case study – hiring new talent for a private bank
An international private bank based in Geneva planned to diversify its client base of high-networth
individuals, to dramatically increase its total assets under management and to attract
bigger investors. To do this, they wanted to hire relationship managers from different jurisdictions
who could bring in richer and more diverse books of clients. In an extensive search lasting
several months, Research Europe hunted for appropriate relationship managers in private banks
in locations as diverse as Luxembourg, the Middle East, the Caribbean and the Channel Islands.
As a result of our work, the bank was able to hire private bankers who introduced significant new
assets and more profitable clients.
Case study – talent intelligence for a music label
A global music label headquartered in New York wanted to understand how its two major
competitors structured their digital music divisions, and how they allocated headcount to specific
functions. Research Europe researched and supplied a comprehensive map of the entire digital
divisions of the competitor businesses, which revealed in detail their divisional and functional
structures. Furthermore, we were able to map all the individuals working within these divisions,
show the reporting relationships between them and supply career profiles for key managers.
This valuable information was used by our client for competitor intelligence, resource planning
and talent acquisition.
Headhunting external talent relies on a strong
approach, engagement and advocacy, followed
by rigorous assessment and qualification.
We offer a proactive, structured and
thorough service which involves:
• Understanding the talent specification and
requirements via a detailed briefing
• Researching and compiling a company target list
• Mapping of potential candidates via telephone
and online research
• Sourcing industry networks to gain referrals
of other potential candidates
This is followed by:
• Proactive and discreet approach of
potential candidates
• Detailed qualification of candidates via
phone interviewing
• Compiling a longlist or shortlist
of qualified candidates
• Coordinating interviews with the appropriate
talent manager or line manager
Our output for a typical assignment
comprises of:
• A structured research report, detailing
candidates and sources identified, the outcome
of conversations with them and the status of all
potential candidates
• CVs/resumes for candidates who wish to be
considered and who are sufficiently qualified
to proceed
• Candidate reports for candidates we have
telephone interviewed, showing how their
skills, experience and qualifications align with
the selection criteria relating to the position
Research Europe offers a professional and
experienced team to support in-house talent
acquisition teams. We act as a discreet and
intelligent intermediary whilst providing a fully
flexible fee model.
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Strategic talent planning
Interviewing
Succession planning is an important strategic
activity for any company with a desire to secure
its future talent pipeline and reduce the risk and
disruption caused when key people resign, retire
or otherwise leave the organisation. Strategic
talent planning enables organisations to actively
reach out to and engage external talent, building
communities and brand understanding with the
best operatives in the industry.
These pools of talent become a go-to source for
new and replacement hires that can be planned
ahead of need. Not only does this reduce costs and
time to hire, but it improves business continuity and
can also be used in a targeted way to overcome
skills shortages or improve diversity. Research
Europe provides comprehensive ongoing talent
pooling, pipelining and talent services.
Research Europe offers professional, intelligent,
structured and thorough interviewing capabilities,
with the format of the interview – and its subsequent
report – agreed in advance with the client.
Our interview reports are objective, pertinent,
well-written and clearly argued and can assist
clients greatly in selecting candidates.
Research Europe consultants can interview
candidates anywhere in the world, and have
conducted interviews on behalf of clients throughout
the UK, Europe, North America, the Caribbean,
the Middle East and Asia.
We can interview on-site at our clients’ offices.
We also have excellent interviewing facilities at
our offices in Boundary Row and Heddon Street,
in central London.
Case study – future talent and succession
planning for a leading professional services firm
The senior partner running the UK tax advisory practice of a global professional services business
had a strategic plan to increase the number of partners and directors across the UK, and invest in
talent in UK regions in which the tax practice had not traditionally been dominant. Alongside this,
the senior partner wanted a succession plan for certain revenue winners within the practice who
were not performing as well as expected, or who were due to retire. Research Europe carried out
extensive mapping of competitor tax firms, and profiled individuals who were likely to be attractive
to our client for an ongoing talent acquisition plan. In addition, we conducted due diligence and
informal referencing in the marketplace, on both the customer and supplier side, to reveal who
was considered ‘top talent’. Working alongside her in-house executive search team, the senior
partner was able to use these ‘talent pools’ to bring forward high-calibre candidates to interview
for partnership roles for a newly-created office in the South-East of England.
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Formal and informal referencing
Salary surveys
Formal referencing is often required once an offer
has been made to and accepted by a candidate.
Research Europe offers structured, formal
referencing with named referees and can rapidly
produce clear, concise and pertinent reference
reports following an offer of employment.
Informal referencing is highly-valued by the
potential employer. It involves taking discreet
and usually confidential soundings from
industry peers or stakeholders of the employee.
The candidate does not nominate the referees,
and the confidential nature of the exercise normally
means the referee is more open and forthcoming
about the candidate. Informal referencing is
commonplace, and particularly valuable when
making very senior or sensitive hires.
When a company recruits in a new geographical
territory, for a newly-created function or hires
global talent, it is valuable to benchmark salary
levels to better inform salary negotiations.
Research Europe offers tailored salary surveys
across a wide range of functions and industries,
and with our international reach and experience
we can offer this as a worldwide service.
We use a combination of publicly-available
information and direct approaches to – and
interviews with – industry peers, employers
and industry experts.
Research Europe’s salary surveys are bespoke,
proactive, highly relevant and up-to-date. We rely
on fresh research, and do not use generic,
archive data.
Case study
A private equity group which owns an international retail business operating in more than thirty
countries planned to hire a new CEO and CFO for that business. At the same time, the investors
were reviewing the headquarters location of the retail operations. Four locations were under
consideration – the US, the UK, South Africa and Australia. Research Europe combined desk
research, networking and telephone interviewing to produce comparative CEO and CFO salary
data within similar businesses headquartered in those four territories. This research informed the
remuneration level set for the new executives, and influenced the decision on where to search for
and locate them.
Case study
An international diversified media group planned to promote an internal candidate to a divisional
chief executive post. Before doing so, the board wanted to gauge the potential reaction of the
market, yet avoid industry gossip. Research Europe took discreet soundings from senior executives
within suppliers, partners and customers of the group – and from industry peers. The confidential
referencing supported the promotion of the internal candidate and the appointment was made.
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Psychometric assessment
Psychometric assessments are tests, exercises or
questionnaires, designed by psychologists which
measure the cognitive, behavioural or personality
traits of an individual.
Using psychometric assessments can remove
bias from the recruitment process and facilitates
decision-making on the basis of psychological
evidence. For the best outcomes, psychometric
assessments should be combined with standard
recruitment tools, such as interviews and
referencing.
Research Europe offers a wide range of market
leading psychometric assessments to evaluate
both ability and personality.
We collaborate with clients to identify the most
appropriate assessment for any given situation.
Research Europe’s psychometric
assessors are:
• Trained to the British Psychological Society
(BPS) Level A & B standard, qualifying
them to administer both ability and
personality assessments
• Registered on the BPS’s Register of
Qualifications in Test Use (RQTU) –
the official record of all test users who
have been awarded qualifications in
occupational test use
Detailed descriptions of the assessments
offered by Research Europe can be found in our
separate brochure Psychometric Assessments.
Assessment facilities
Most assessments are administered online. However, certain timed ability tests require supervision
in a controlled environment. Research Europe off ers comfortable and quiet assessment rooms at
its offices in central London for such assessments.
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International experience
Language capabilities
Research Europe offers a global service. Since
we began trading, we have developed a vast
amount of international experience, across Europe
and beyond.
Examples of international projects we’ve
completed are:
• Helping a Scandinavian multimedia business
research and hire talent within Russia
• Gathering market and company intelligence
within Ghana for a power generation company
• Researching executive salary data in Europe,
South Africa and North America for a global
restaurant business
• Sourcing senior HR talent in Europe for a South
African listed company
• Identifying and qualifying high-flying Indian
national candidates on behalf of an Indian
corporation wanting to ‘repatriate’ talent
• Helping an Australian public sector organisation
identify and source digital product development
talent in Europe
• Sourcing Asian and Islamic art specialists in
North America, Europe, the Middle East and
Asia for an Irish cultural institution
Because we are often looking for niche skills,
it is not unusual for a project to include multiple
countries, sometimes across three or four
continents.
Our team includes linguists to assist in penetrating
markets where English is not always widely
spoken, such as the former Soviet Union,
francophone Africa or parts of Latin America.
We employ researchers fluent in the
following languages:
• French
• German
• Spanish
• Portuguese
• Italian
• Russian
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Research Europe Ltd.
2-6 Boundary Row
London
SE1 8HP
Tel: +44 (0)203 714 3880
Email: md@researcheurope.co.uk
researcheurope.co.uk