Global MD Workforce Planning – Professional Services
Client's Challenge
Our client is the banking partner behind the most innovative and exciting companies globally, and their challenges are not only exciting but demanding. After unsuccessful attempts to complete the Global Workforce Planning position internally, they turned to experts to finish the project. When Level 5 Partners was approached, they explained that this position was elevated from Director to Managing Director and had been open for 6 months. The client explained how critical this WFM position was to the business and how it would impact every facet of the organization up to the C-Suite. As the world was exiting COVID and the business community was being affected by return to work mandates, the great resignation and social behaviors never witnessed before. It was even more critical to identify the right executive with the historical behaviors of building a successful business and the executive gravitas and vision to plan 24-36 months into the future to make suitable investments. These investments included urban planning, organizational change, M&A, investments in technology platforms for human resources, hiring trends, consumer product management, and global geopolitical influences.
Level 5's Solution
Level 5 Partners understood these mandates and developed a comprehensive strategy before launching the search. Their research was planned and mapped before launching the search, and they incorporated all of the data elements provided by the client. In coordination with the sponsor and leadership, they confirmed the facts, and within 78 days, they accomplished what the client could not complete in nearly 150 days of active searching. As the confidential search progressed, 383 candidates were researched and 11 were eventually downselected. Of the 11 candidates, 6 were considered as well qualified candidates, 3 were advanced to finals, and 2 were selected as "hire", thus making the clients' decision even more daunting.
In collaboration with the hiring team, Level 5 Partners provided expert consultation of strengths to both executives leading to an accepted offer with no negotiations, no counteroffer, and a well-coordinated exit from her former employer and day 1 within 6 weeks of the signed offer letter.
Impact on the Client
Knowing the client had unsuccessfully initiated this search two separate times in the past created enormous pressure for the level 5 team. As a tier 1 financial service provider to the world's largest technology companies and private equity firms, the position was highly visible, and the firm's future relied on the executive's successful placement. The impact and successful placement of this position were considered a figurehead for the future of work within the firm. The Workforce Planning position is the equivalent of the CHRO of tomorrow. In 78 days, Level 5 Partners not only identified one qualified candidate to hire but also a backup candidate in the wings.