If you're a business operating within the civil engineering industry who are looking to recruit, you may have considered an engineering headhunting service. Hiring a headhunting agency such as Executive Headhunters is a great way of finding top talent. We are experienced in finding high-calibre talent across all sectors, but in particular we have considerable involvement within the engineering and civil engineering sectors.
As just one example of some of our previous success headhunting in the civil engineering industry, we’ve provided you with a case study detailing our experiences with architectural company Woods Hardwick.
Introduction to Woods Hardwick
Woods Hardwick, established in 1960, are a multidisciplinary practice providing architectural, engineering, and development consultancy. They are one of the UK’s leading architectural practices, and are experienced and skilled in the architectural design of residential and commercial developments, as well as possessing a great deal of consultation and technical knowledge and expertise.
The business holds an ever-expanding portfolio of industrial, commercial, and residential clients, and is constantly setting new standards of quality through their outstanding service. The high quality of this service is reflected in Woods Hardwick’s business, a high percentage of which is made up of positive referrals. Their main objective as a business is to provide a solution which exceeds the client’s expectations and to do so whilst meeting both time and budget constraints.
The Approach
Initially, Woods Hardwick approached us at Executive Headhunters as they were looking for a headhunting agency who could help them to hire an individual who could become part of their senior management team as their new Associate Director based in their office in Bedford. Thanks to our extensive experience headhunting in the civil engineering sector, we gladly took on this challenge, confident that with our knowledge and expertise within the sector we could find the right individual for this opportunity.
Woods Hardwick needed an engineering headhunting service able to source an individual who had a civil engineering background, with particular focus on experience in residential developments, due to this making up the vast majority of the business’ work (roughly 90%). The chosen candidate would also need adequate experience dealing with large clients within the industry, due to the company’s various past and active projects involving developments with major house builders. They must also be able to operate in line with the company’s heavily involved nature, as they offer input from the pre-acquisition stage, through the planning and design stage, to the detailed final design.
The candidate would have to be willing to be directly involved and hands-on, including being willing and able to attend meetings and produce design ideas and solutions at short notice when discussing projects with clients. They would be involved in managing Woods Hardwick’s existing portfolio of projects in addition to attracting new business. The individual would also be expected to contribute ideas on how to expand the company further and develop their business. The candidate would have to be able to work in a team of 17, and share responsibility amongst the group.
The Challenge
During the headhunting process, it became clear to us that there were a few challenges arising which we would have to overcome in order to produce good quality results. The first of these challenges was the hard task of finding individuals with the right skills and experience, who were willing to move to another company.
This is often an issue in engineering recruitment, as certain skillsets, such as the ones desired by our client, are heavily in demand.
The second challenge we encountered was difficulty attracting people to the location in Bedford. Due to Bedford’s proximity to London, many suitable candidates are more inclined to take roles there, one reason being travel being more convenient than to Bedford, which is comparatively quite isolated.
The Solution
To tackle this issue, we at Executive Headhunters suggested that the client should consider opening a second office in Birmingham or Leeds. This was because, through our resources and industry knowledge, we knew that there was a much higher density of engineers in these areas who are more likely to be open to their opportunity, essentially this would open up a new pool of candidates. Woods Hardwick agreed and decided to open a new office in Birmingham. This allowed us to search for candidates in this area, which opened up a lot of new possibilities and prospects for the role.
At Executive Headhunters we are always prepared to bring new ideas to the table in order to encourage a more successful headhunt. We have considerable knowledge and experience in executive search and recruitment, meaning we can often provide valuable input into the best practises for finding the right people, even when this involves thinking ‘outside of the box’.
The Search
In the search for the perfect candidate for this Associate Director role, we deployed all of our resources. We applied our knowledge of Woods Hardwick and their requirements, as well as our knowledge and experience of the industry and market to identify the highest quality and most ideal candidates for the position. The decision to open a new office in Birmingham allowed us to expand our search outside of the Bedford and London area, which resulted in a much greater number of viable candidates, due to the more expansive civil engineering headhunters talent pool in the Birmingham area.
In the process, we learnt even more about the industry and the distribution of candidates in different areas of the country.
The Candidate
As a result of our engineering headhunting service, we found not one but two ideal candidates for our client. One of the candidates that we found was a very experienced Senior Engineer who had worked at a high level for over 20 years. The candidate more than met every requirement outlined by the client, but perhaps most importantly they possessed a number of years’ experience working on residential projects, which allowed them to further expand their skillset with design experience. Meeting the specifications of the client, this candidate was very hands-on in regards to interacting with clients, as well as managing client demands, and had experience successfully leading teams on a number of projects.
We understood that Woods Hardwick had built their success around their established respectability and strong reputation. One of the key aspects in achieving and maintaining this good reputation was their project delivery and the professional manner in which the project leaders dealt and interacted with their clients.
As such, we submitted to them candidates who were outgoing, had the ability and willingness to communicate with clients, and had an impressive level of industry knowledge to draw upon.
The Results
So what were the results of this civil engineering headhunt? Our clients decided to hire both candidates, one as an Associate Director, the role originally advertised, and one as an Associate. The two candidates that Woods Hardwick decided to hire have since performed very well and met the client’s expectations for the role. In fact, the individual who was hired as Associate Director has since advanced to the role of Director, whilst the candidate hired for the Associate position is in line for promotion to Associate Director. Not only that, but the Birmingham office, which was newly opened as a result of this headhunt and was operated by the two new hires, has since grown to be seven employees large, showing significant advancement in a relatively short space of time.
Our relationship with Woods Hardwick has also strengthened, both parties were so happy with the progress and result of this headhunt that the client hired us again to recruit more roles for them in order to assist the expansion of their already-growing Birmingham office.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this experience sums up exactly what we do here at Executive Headhunters. As an executive-level headhunting company we were able to identify a good selection of suitable candidates that matched the wants and needs of our client. As a result of this, our client found two ideal candidates who have each excelled in their roles and advanced to higher positions, and opened a new office in Birmingham which has since expanded a great amount and looks to develop further with our assistance. The result was another successful headhunt, and a very rewarding experience for both ourselves and Woods Hardwick.
Executive Headhunters are a headhunting agency who provide a bespoke executive search service that has successfully found high-calibre talent for businesses across a range of sectors and industries. If you have a high level or senior position that you’d like to fill, please contact us and let us know what you’re looking for. We will be happy to find the perfect individual for you and your business.
