FEATURE


search methods differ. Candidates must be competent and able to fulfil the role on offer, they should dovetail into the culture of the company and be a good fit organisationally and on a one-to-one basis.


However, sometimes to find these candidates, we must look beyond the usual sources and find the hidden treasures of talent elsewhere. It takes a little creative thinking, a solid network of contacts and a good eye for spotting expertise and transferable skills. It’s also about bringing out the best in a person who might just be the one that you are looking for.


When the FM client wants something different When searching for high quality leadership, there are rare occasions when our FM clients instruct us to seek exceptional talent outside the expected parameters. If they feel that their pool of contacts is exhausted, then they ask us to look outside the industry. My team generally supports this strategy to widen the field to other industries and give others a chance as potential candidates, providing they have the required transferable skill set.


“Finding the right person takes


dogged detective work and an eye to spot workable connections and talents whether at home or abroad.”


Clients often take this approach because they want to bring a new element into the business, a fresh perspective, a unique way of doing things. For ‘mature’ companies operating in specialised industries, with a good reputation and lengthy track-record, it becomes difficult as their industry community becomes ‘crowded’, almost incestuous, as professionals move from one company to the other in the industry pool.


More adventurous clients may be specific about what attributes this ‘outsider’ candidate should have; this may include an innovative approach to winning business or bringing new information on how other large organisations win their business. These days it often entails finding leaders who can adapt to constantly evolving digital capabilities and implement them seamlessly to maintain excellent service delivery.


Bringing in an ‘outsider’ challenges the status quo of the organisation in terms of how business development is undertaken, bringing a fresh perspective and changes to the strategic direction of the company.


Increasing the pool of talent A wider is net is achievable combined with diversity and gender equality. Embracing diversity means that organisations want to ensure that their workforce has the skills required to carry out their roles regardless of their sex, sexual orientation, age, gender reassignment, race, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief, physical ability or disability.


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This is still not as second-nature as it should be for many employers, but those who embrace diversity, along with the canny recruiter, can uncover a goldmine of professional talent waiting to be tapped. When you couple this with unique experiences and skill sets from another industry, it’s a powerful combination of positive potential to offer a company.


If there are very specific role criteria to fulfil, like having a solid track record of delivering on B2B business, then the recruiter must use all their skills to find candidates with this profile. This includes research, referral gathering, networking and interview skills to match the client’s needs. It requires looking in multiple industries for that one person who needs to be persuaded to move out of the familiar and possibly completely removed from their ‘comfort zone’.


Always adapting It may be that extending an international reach to find new candidates becomes the future of FM talent acquisition. As a part of embracing diversity, it’s important to remember that there are talented individuals from other countries with significant FM or related services output as part of their local economy. Why not look further afield for experienced candidates, with expertise, a fresh perspective on service delivery and new technologies?


Bringing people from outside the industry poses its challenges. When executing a search on a global level it helps us as recruiters to further improve the type of data acquired for the client. Not only are you searching cross-industry but cross-culturally, therefore the profiling information on the candidate needs to be expanded. It also hones client communications skills, especially when dealing with cross-culture working. It certainly teaches you how to resource ways to improve communication skills.


Finding the right person takes dogged detective work and an eye to spot workable connections and talents whether at home or abroad. If the FM sector is going to adapt to new demands, then FM companies are likely to expand their search for top talent. In a way, their recruiters will become more like business partners to help them meet this new requirement. They too must evolve and adapt especially when employers are prepared to step outside the box.


www.metzger.co.uk TOMORROW’S FM | 61


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