Issues and solutions

Executive talent optimisation

Recruiting new senior managers is expensive in time and money, even when things go well. When appointments go wrong, the costs grow even further, especially due to the opportunity costs of having an ineffective person in role and then another period of uncertainty when they are replaced.

Total costs of failed hires have been estimated at up to 13 times salary, roughly half of senior hires don’t work out as hoped and the time from an original decision to hire to having a second person in place and up to speed can be 18 months.

 That context makes this a high stakes activity, yet few CEOs have confidence in their ability to hire for senior roles, which is understandable since it is rarely something done frequently and involves a series of non-core skills. What connects all those issues is a comfortable - but ultimately self-defeating - soft focus approach to a high stakes issue.

What we do

The Catalysis team has worked hard over more than two decades to hone our approaches and tooling to generate superior results for senior decision-makers in mid-size companies with a minimum of fuss.

 We work with investors and boards to support growth and scaling by improving decision-making around high stakes appointments through:

Role specification

We provide tools and guidance on identifying the highest requirements for key appointments and ensuring that all stakeholders are aligned before recruitment processes kick off – and then follow on tools to screen shortlisted candidates.

Pre-selection and light touch assessment

Analysis from our tools can help better understand or prepare for recruitment processes with shortlisted candidates, such as providing a compare and contrast between candidates to inform final interviews or topics for further exploration in referencing.

High stakes assessment

There can be various reasons why growth companies may want deeper assessment support but in most cases the main issue we discuss with clients is that of fit to role. Appointing a great person to the wrong role can be just as problematic as hiring a rascal. We help to calibrate and clarify a candidate’s track record, skills and abilities with the expectations and needs of the new role.

Referencing

Referencing can be a perfunctory and uninformative activity when done without proper attention. We provide deep and insightful referencing on individuals and teams as part of transaction support or recruitment processes. Our approach is not only more robust but is also designed to be respectful to candidates who, after all, may soon become members of the client’s team.

‘Assessment Plus’

We created this solution for situations where it might be undesirable or impossible for Catalysis to join up insights in target companies as part of transactions, for example if there are confidentiality issues or a leadership team is just small, or budgets are constrained. This approach provides robust insight into the individual(s) primarily being backed while fitting within the time, money or access constraints.

Explore our insights on executive talent optimisation

  • Just one of those things – or an avoidable mistake?

    Imagine the following scenario. A year ago, the board decided to make a senior appointment to add capacity and capability to the senior team. Head-hunters were appointed, candidates screened, references taken, and an appointment made.

  • Women in growth companies - some data to illuminate the situation

    Data on the characteristics and dynamics of small and mid-sized companies can be a bit thin. So, on International Women’s Day, we thought it might be interesting to share analysis from across two Catalysis databases.

  • Do formal qualifications matter in predicting management team performance?

    Half the second founder-entrepreneurs we get to interview seem to start the description of their background by explaining that they didn’t thrive at school, were focused instead on sport or their social life, and so started work in mundane or improbable jobs.

Our frameworks and tools

Over more than 20 years, we have developed proprietary analytical frameworks and tools that underpin our work with clients and management teams. Read more about the frameworks and tools that we use to help inform client decision-making and align teams and investors.

We have a long track record supporting investors and management teams with executive talent optimisation. If you would like to discuss your needs or situation, please get in touch. 

How we can help