CASE STUDY #4

International Electronic Retailer Secures Global Director HRIS

Opportunity
One of the largest electronic retail companies in the world needed a Global Director of HRIS due to its exponential growth. This was a created position, requiring very strong technical as well as human capital strengths. BeechTree Partners was retained after the client had spent a year seeking this individual on their own as well as utilizing other avenues. This was a critical position reporting to a new Senior Vice President of Human Resources who needed this person on the ground immediately. New international markets were opening on a regular basis but lacked continuity from a human capital information systems perspective. It would be this individual’s responsibility to get the entire operation on the same platform as quickly as possible.

Solution

• BeechTree first needed to determine if this was a human capital driven position or an information technology driven position.
• BeechTree Partners built a strategy targeting the Global Directors of HRIS from the top 50 Fortune 100 companies.
• BeechTree’s “boutique” status enabled them to recruit out of key companies and competitors which it’s larger search competitors were unable to do.
• Identify alternatives to finding candidates within similarly sized retail and technology operations.
• Identify expectations and sources of candidates and referrals with internal corporate executives.

Implementation

• BeechTree met with all of the key stakeholders of the position to determine what was needed vs. what was lacking in the previous candidates presented throughout the prior year.
• Develop and refine a tiered search strategy: (1) Direct targeting of Global Directors of HRIS in peer or larger companies (2) Target consulting companies who specialize in HRIS implementations, (3) Call vendors of HRIS systems, (4) Network with senior level IT and HR leadership.
• BeechTree spoke with internal subordinates to find out what they were seeking in new leadership.
• BeechTree Partners presented an SLA back to the stakeholders, gaining agreement on core competencies, cultural and leadership attributes as well as what was expected of this individual within his/her first six months and one year of employment.
• Implemented weekly update calls with the stakeholders in order to maintain tight control of the search.
• Create a written profile featuring expectations, challenges, cultural dynamics and a position responsibilities and qualifications.

Results

• The candidate was hired within 85 days of the signed search engagement.
• The new Global Director was hired away from a well-known, Fortune 50 company with an outstanding reputation for technology innovation in a competitive market.
• The new global director possessed the technological experience to work closely with the IT department but also had the high level, strategic human capital strengths to work effectively with key corporate leadership.

Lessons Learned

• It was imperative to first determine why the position was left unfilled for so long. The client is a well respected, name brand, company that was offering a generous compensation package and located in a highly desirable geographic setting.
• Creating the SLA and reaching consensus with all of the key stakeholders prior to launching the search was a critical success factor.
• The multi-tiered search approach, implemented simultaneously, reduced search time and tremendously increased position exposure.
• Understanding the expectations and needs of leadership as well as subordinates greatly increased the chances of success within a consensus hiring process.
• Seeking the advice of consultants and vendors to these individuals was critical to the success of the search.