When businesses are faced with challenges, it’s often people that are the key to addressing them, which naturally leads to a strategy based around recruitment. Counter-intuitively, focusing on defining a particular job role may not be the right solution. There can be more creative approaches, such as using a consultant, mixing temporary and permanent staff, or developing inhouse talent.
Whether it’s replacing an employee that’s moving on, organisational restructure or business growth, in our experience, it can be helpful to not just specify employment basis, qualifications, skills and experience, but also think about personality traits and attitudes that you feel would help you focus on the future. This can increase the chances of making a successful, long-lasting appointment, as they’re more likely to fit in with the existing team, adapt to the corporate culture and feel empowered to make a positive contribution to the organisation.
We’ve created a few categories that can help when thinking about your next member of the team:
Filler
Filling in and cracking on
Fillers are generally interim appointments, designed to plug a gap in business resource. This might be for maternity cover, long-term sickness, or perhaps you’re still on the hunt for your perfect permanent person. Fillers will get the job done, slotting in with your team and making sure important tasks don’t go uncompleted. Interim roles ease the load on the rest of the team, and ensure the business as a whole doesn’t suffer in absence of an FTE. They can also help to ease a permanent recruit into their role, making sure they’re not met with a mountain of work from the second they join or rejoin the business. Fillers are also permanent staff who aren’t going to change the world. They are doers. They follow processes even in a fast-paced environment. They aren’t going to change the world, but they are reliable people who get on with the job and ensure business life goes on.
Fixer
The fourth emergency services
Fixers are problem solvers, providing businesses with life support, including turnaround and crisis management. For example, in response to regulatory action being taken against a business. They will have a proven track record of delivering effective change quickly, building relationships with key stakeholders and improving overall business delivery. Fixers will fly in and fly out, working fast over a short period of time until the mission is complete before moving on to the next emergency when their work here is done.
Foundations
Building businesses
Sometimes you need someone who can take your business to the next level. That might be for a specific aspect or a broader management role, but either way you’re looking for someone that’s in this for the long haul and is committed to creating a bedrock to build future success upon. They’ll make some quick improvements, but work towards long term goals, and align their professional objectives to the right direction for the business. If you know where you want to go, but you’re not exactly sure of the best way to get there, we can help you find an experienced professional to create and implement a plan to move your organisation forward, and take everyone with you.
When a business is facing a period of transition, such as a new venture, acquisition or investment, it’s important that the right foundations are put in place to enable sustainable growth. Choosing the right professional to manage this change effectively can assure the successful transformation of your business into its next stage. Successful organisations evolve over time, and they have the right people in place to support and manage this evolution.
Guru
Nurturing talent
Sometimes the solution is closer to home than you think. The knowledge and commitment of someone already on your team might just need a little bit of help to take it to the next level. Gurus can mentor existing colleagues to step up into a more senior role, giving them the support and guidance to equip them to believe and achieve. Gurus bridge the gap for an employee who isn’t quite ready to progress, but with a short period of sustained support from an experienced professional they could become the ideal candidate. Developing internal staff acts as a shortcut, as they already know the business and its people well, and avoids the expense of external recruitment.
Disrupter
Changing culture and challenging practices
These are people who are brought in to deal with specific challenges to make the business more efficient and effective, e.g. workplace productivity, enhance business performance, attract and retain great people. For example, difficult trading conditions might mean the organisation’s staffing and resources need to be restructured, and a skilled pair of hands and fresh pair of eyes are required to manage the culture and organisational shift. Change can be difficult, and is sometimes better accepted when introduced by somebody new to the business. Disrupters are also better placed to make objective decisions, as they’re not usually aware of organisational history or office politics. As they’re brought in with a particular brief to accomplish specific business goals over a set period of time, they’re not influenced by peripheral issues, and can focus on delivering the targets they’ve agreed to. They can critically analyse existing ways of working, effectively communicate the need for change and develop initiatives to tangibly improve operations.
We don’t just recruit, we help our clients solve problems by finding the right people for their business. Get in touch if you need a hand!
