Background:

Indigo Art are one of the UK's leading providers of custom artworks for hotels, offices, hospitality & leisure groups. Privately owned and with a colourful trading heritage of over thirty years, they are the partner of choice for some of the most iconic hoteliers and pub groups in the UK and Europe. Looking to expand the business and establish options for future succession, they needed to recruit a highly experienced Sales & Marketing Director capable of developing and executing a strategic plan for business development over the next five years. Unsure of where to find such a candidate and exactly what background and experience would support the business goals best, they needed the support of a capable talent partner.

In the summer of 2018, owner and MD James Bertram consulted a number of executive search businesses in the North West region to understand the differing approaches to supporting Indigo Art with this appointment.

The Brief:

Following a detailed consultation with James, his co-director and several key members of the Indigo staff, Sherrington provided a proposal that outlined a combined executive search and executive coaching package. It was evident that whilst the art industry could well hold the key to finding the perfect candidate, there were other adjacent sectors where strong candidates with fresh ideas would likely be found, so the search took a multi-sector approach to engage candidates from multiple market sectors, but who all had an understanding of interiors and would also have experience of dealing with Indigo's key customer base in leisure and hospitality.

Firstly we helped to define Indigo's employer value proposition and developed a compelling recruitment pack to showcase the opportunity to potential candidates. Together with Indigo's SMT, we then compiled a target list of competitor companies and complimentary businesses operating in a similar space then went to work executing a candidate engagement exercise to gain the interest of suitable candidates.

The Search:

Recruiting for privately-owned SMEs where the company culture means employees need a real 'can-do' attitude and aren't afraid to roll their sleeves up and step outside their defined job-description once in a while, takes a lot of experience from the recruiter and knowing what to look for takes real know-how. Our experience of supporting SME clients with succession planning and director level search projects meant we were able to carefully gauge each candidates' propensity to move along with their work ethic and ability to be hands-on when required.

A shortlist of candidates was presented from different industry backgrounds including the art industry in order to give James and his co-director a number of options to compare, rather than a one-dimensional list of candidates from the immediate industry. This meant they could really consider the potential value of hiring a director with direct sector knowledge versus a candidate from outside the sector bringing value from other angles.

Coaching Programme:

In the end, following an extensive selection process, a candidate from a direct competitor was offered the role and joined the business in late summer, bringing with them a wealth of industry knowledge and experience. Having left a business with a very different organisational culture, an executive coaching programme began shortly after starting. Sherrington delivered coaching on a one-to-one basis with the candidate to support them through the crucial onboarding period and make the transition into the new role as smooth as possible. Following the appointment, James commented...