PRE-HIRE ANALYSIS
Clarity before
the search begins.
Understand the business need. Define the performance required. Build a clear foundation for your next appointment.
WHY THIS ROLE. WHY NOW.
The Business Case
for the Appointment.
Whether replacing an existing team member, creating a new role or supporting organisational change, we examine why the appointment is needed and what has brought the business to this point.
A replacement appointment is an opportunity to revisit the requirement. The role, its priorities and its conditions for success may have changed since the previous person was appointed.
- What business challenge is the appointment intended to address?
- What prompted the vacancy or the decision to create the role?
- What has changed in the business, market or team?
- What should the next person build on, improve or establish?
- What support and authority will they need to deliver?
WHAT WE EXAMINE
Six perspectives.
A more complete brief.
Strategy and operating reality.
Growth stage, commercial priorities, culture, resources and constraints establish the environment in which the person will work.
A shared definition of the role.
Conversations with relevant stakeholders explore expectations, competing priorities and the decisions the appointment will own.
Lessons from what came before.
For replacement appointments, we examine how the role has worked in practice, including the departing role holder’s perspective where appropriate.
Success made specific.
We clarify early priorities for the first 90 days and the outcomes expected over 12 months, with measures suited to the business.
The work the person must be able to do.
Required outcomes inform the capabilities, judgement and behaviours to assess, together with the evidence needed to support a decision.
An appointment the business can support.
Reporting relationships, decision-making authority, resources and onboarding priorities help connect the brief with delivery.
REPLACEMENT APPOINTMENTS
Learn from the role
holder’s experience.
Where appropriate, Pre-Hire Analysis can include an exit interview with the departing role holder. It provides an opportunity to understand the realities of the role, what supported or constrained performance, and what could improve.
The interview’s scope is agreed with the client and participation is voluntary. Insights are considered alongside stakeholder perspectives and other available evidence to inform the next appointment.
This learning feeds into the Performance Blueprint, role requirements and onboarding priorities.
THE OUTPUT
A Performance Blueprint.
A shared basis for the decision.
The analysis is brought together in a brief that connects the business challenge, required outcomes, capability and conditions for success. It gives the search a clear direction and stakeholders a consistent basis for assessment.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE · SALES LEADERSHIP
Turning a growth ambition into an appointment brief.
Business context
A founder-led business needs a more consistent commercial operating model as it prepares for its next stage of growth.
First 90 days
Assess the team and pipeline, agree commercial priorities and establish a consistent forecasting rhythm.
12-month outcomes
Develop team capability and improve pipeline quality, forecast reliability and profitable growth against agreed baselines and targets.
Evidence to assess
Examples of building commercial discipline in a comparable environment, with specific personal contributions explored through assessment and referencing.
Conditions for success
Clear agreement with the founder on pricing authority, account ownership, investment and reporting responsibilities.
Onboarding priorities
Align stakeholders, provide access to the relevant data and agree early reviews against the Performance Blueprint.
FOUR SPECIALISMS. ONE PERFORMANCE-LED APPROACH.
Start with the business
you are building.
Pre-Hire Analysis informs our Professional Search across Sales Leadership, Legal, HR and Procurement & Supply Chain.