Situation
A state government department required a Divisional Director for an extremely niche role with a highly limited candidate pool. The position had been vacant for six months, with complex selection criteria encompassing technical skills, relevant experience, cultural fit, and emotional intelligence. The client faced additional challenges including a remuneration package at the lowest end of the market pay scale and an unsuccessful previous advertising campaign. With such specific requirements and a constrained budget, a bespoke search approach was critical to success.
The organization engaged PeopleScout’s Apex professional search solution to overcome these recruitment challenges.
Solution
The Apex team implemented a comprehensive, multi-faceted search strategy designed to address the unique challenges of this niche government role:
Comprehensive Market Approach: Conducted broad, national market intelligence across the entire sector to identify potential candidates who might not be actively seeking new opportunities.
Strategic Advertising Campaign: Launched an anonymous advertising campaign to protect candidate confidentiality while maximizing response rates.
Flexible Search Methodology: Deployed multiple search approaches simultaneously to cast the widest possible net for suitable candidates.
Collaborative Process: Provided transparent, timely end-to-end service across all recruitment steps, including shared market feedback with the client.
Criteria Re-evaluation: Worked closely with the client to re-evaluate selection criteria based on market realities and candidate availability.
Compliance Management: Ensured all processes met strict government recruitment standards and compliance requirements.t, the professional search team presented a tight shortlist of four strong candidates to the client.
Results
The strategic approach delivered exceptional outcomes for this challenging assignment:
- Identified 50 qualified candidates through targeted national search activities
- Conducted market-based review leading to improved advertising response rates
- Successfully shortlisted 6 strong candidates who met the refined selection criteria
- Completed recruitment in 10 weeks from vacancy brief to candidate’s verbal acceptance
- Delivered full compliance including comprehensive background, reference, and compliance checks
The preferred candidate accepted the offer within the government’s budget constraints, successfully filling a critical leadership role that had proven difficult to recruit through traditional methods.
