Talent Intelligence & Insights

The challenge

In spite of billion dollar revenues, great pay, and a globally recognised brand, our client was struggling to attract senior talent in certain jurisdictions. They needed to find out why.

What we did

WhiteCrow Research spoke to over 300 professionals, canvassing their opinions not just on our client but on various other companies who were competing for the same talent pool. We learned about people’s assumptions, prejudices, priorities and career motivations. Then we analysed the data, identified the themes, and presented our client with a six-step talent acquisition strategy.

ROI

Time-to-hire in the relevant jurisdictions increased by 64% in the following year, saving cost and adding crucial capability.

The challenge

The client wanted to start a global centre of excellence focusing on R&D, but couldn’t choose between two possible locations in Germany.

What we did

WhiteCrow Research reached out to dozens of market professionals in the two locations – hiring managers, researchers, tech specialists, estate agents, recruiters, journalists, students, even a local councillor. We were able to scope out the nature, volume, cost and availability of talent in each city and thereby advise our client on the best location.

ROI

Our final report demonstrated that our client would make significant cost savings in one of the two cities while also accessing a broader, more sustainable pool of talent

The challenge

With some ambitious targets on diversity, our client needed to understand the gender composition of seven competitors across four countries and eight operating divisions.

What we did

First, we leveraged our world-class mapping skills to identify all the females in the relevant companies and regions. Next, we spoke to them, verifying the data and gaining valuable insight on employee experience. Thus, we were able to share not just headcount data but also excellent information on how to attract and retain the best gender-diverse talent.

ROI

With an established female talent pool in play, our client is both hitting diversity targets and operating a faster, more cost-effective hiring process.

The challenge

The client lacked capability across key service lines in Germany and France, a problem it wanted to address by acquiring a couple of smaller firms. The question was – which ones?

What we did

WhiteCrow Research easily identified the targets which fit our client’s broad requirements. Next, we conducted a ‘deep dive’ on each firm, speaking directly to current and former employees. Partners told us about ownership structure and internal politics. More junior lawyers shared valuable insight on culture and diversity. We also uncovered crucial data on headcount, revenues, skills gaps and pay. As a result, we were able to present a definitive ‘league table’ of recommended targets together with an indication of which firms were most likely to be open to an approach.

ROI

Our client opened talks with three firms; one dialogue stalled, one resulted in an acquisition, and the third is currently moving towards completion.

The challenge

This iconic global sports brand wanted to benchmark their Merchandising team against a range of competitors, testing for headcount and structure, and thus ensuring their own business was set up for optimal success.

What we did

WhiteCrow Research are world experts in team mapping. But for this client we also analysed the why. We spoke to 48 sources around the globe, understanding structure, rationale and process. We learned about other team’s successes and failures and established a blueprint for maximum operational efficiency.

ROI

Based on our report, the company devised a successful, full-scale reorganisation of their Merchandising team. They also leveraged our source pool to start conversations with dozens of ‘warm’ candidates.

The challenge

The client wanted to hire a number of senior leaders in New York – they knew the obvious candidates, they just didn’t know who was any good.

What we did

WhiteCrow Research used considerable tact and diplomacy to source market insight on a 50-strong candidate pool. We spoke to clients, peers, ex-bosses, ex-colleagues and anyone who’d left a LinkedIn review on any of the people in question. Then we used a scoring system to quantify the feedback and arrive at a rigorously benchmarked list of recommendations.

ROI

The cost of bad recruitment is measured not just in money but in time lost and opportunities missed. Fortunately, our client made three successful hires from our research, all of whom remain with the business to this day.