HEADHUNTING

Headhunting is a special form of recruitment. Even though today almost all recruitment agencies claim that they also headhunt, just a handful actually do.  As the name implies Headhunting means „HUNTING” for candidates. If you look at nature, hunting means that the hunter chooses whom to hunt. It also means that the hunted animal is not aware of that (and obviously does not want to be hunted). Transfer that to management and you know what we are talking about.

First we choose, whom we want to hunt for our clients. Second, these targeted managers are not aware of that and third „Yes” a high amount has no intention to change jobs. From our experience roughly 50% of those approached say „No, thanks!” The other 50% are open to talk and learn more. Like in nature only the best hunters can get hold of the most attractive targets. That is why our company name is TARGET Executive Search.

This whole active headhunting approach is fundamentally different from other forms of recruitment. Take an internet job posting for example. Staying with the nature comparison this is like FISHING. You put a bait into the ocean of the internet and you have to wait and see, who is swimming by, finds it attractive enough and bites. The recruitment role here is passive. Of course, it also leads to results, but to different ones.

In nature there is still another method to supply food, FARMING, of course. In a recruitment context farming means to work with a database. You have collected candidates and you take care of your database through regular updates, newsletters, job offers, and you can dig into your database and produce good results.

All 3 methods are useful and do produce results, but different ones. At TARGET we use all 3 methods together, thus optimizing the overall result. We are however, most proud about our hunting skills. This is where we have our competitive advantage, and thus impress our customers with unexpected and outstanding results. This is why you should choose TARGET!

TOP SECRET SEARCH

Headhunting is often confidential, but sometimes it is even strictly confidential. Nobody should know that a new manager is searched, because it could have a disastrous impact on the company, on colleagues, on the market share, the stock market etc. TARGET Executive Search has earned a unique reputation in the CEE markets for carrying out such Top Secret Searches.

Why is this special and different? It does require special know- how, experience and trust to steer such a Top Secret Search successfully. It all starts with closely limiting and watching the information flow between TARGET and the client. It then requires skilled consultants and trust from our candidates to conduct „blind” interviews. Remember that on the one hand a headhunted candidate does not actively seek a job and on the other hand we cannot really market the position, but still need to motivate the best managers for our client. We even have cases where the confidentiality is so high that even the client does not identify him/herself during final interviews. The chosen candidate only finds out the client, when he receives the flight ticket to meet the big boss in the headquarters for the final handshake and job offer.

 

Blind date for a CEO

"I do not know, where I am flying today. What an unusual trip. Ok, I know I am flying to Frankfurt, but I have no idea, whom I will meet there. Somebody organized this blind date for me." The plane is taking off smoothly from Liszt Ferenc airport. "This whole story started 6 weeks ago, with a phone call. It was a  young lady, who had somehow reached me despite my careful assistant, who is supposed to block all unknown calls. So here she was talking to me about a new General Manager position for me. She was a headhunter from TARGET, that rang a bell. Something was special and intriguing about this conversation, she was extremely secretive. She invited me to an interview with her boss, but she also said that the boss cannot tell me anything about the job. What kind of a job interview is this?, I wondered. I was curious and agreed to meet. A week later I met her with her boss in their downtown Budapest office, a tall Austrian guy, Klemens Wersonig, who said he also speaks Hungarian, but spoke only English and German with me. He apologized that he will not be able to disclose anything about the job, but still wants to know everything about me. Somehow I trusted him that there is a real story behind all this.

2 weeks later he called me back, "Good news! His secret client wants to meet me, but bad news, the client will not disclose his identity, the blind dating continues. So, I met the client, 2 men in the office of TARGET. I could tell by their accent that they were Germans. Once again they apologized for their unusual secrecy and then they interviewed me in the usual manner. Just, when I wanted to ask some questions they said, "Sorry, not possible!" 

Another 2 weeks later my headhunter called me again and said, "Great news, you have been selected to fly to their headquarter!” And here I am. Flying now to Frankfurt and I still do not know what company, not even industry I have been chosen for. The headhunter had arranged the flight and said I will be met by the ultimate big boss directly at the airport for a final interview.

I am excited and wondering, why so much secrecy and how can they really keep it? Yes, at the Frankfurt airport a gentleman is waiting for me with a sign with my name. He introduces himself, finally! And wow, it is the Group CEO himself and now I know which Group also. My mind is working fast. The puzzle falls into place! I know this company! Now I understand, why they had to be so careful.

“This is a true story from our candidate Istvan, whom we selected for a top secret headhunting project recently.”

 

Klemens Wersonig

CEO of TARGET Executive Search

Source: Budapest Business Journal - Who's who (2011)

Board Recruitment

Close to 30 years of headhunting experience in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Thousands of senior manager careers closely monitored. Immediate access to all key business people. Time to harvest all this know-how in the Corporate Board Recruitment service of the TARGET Executive Search Group. 

We at TARGET are dedicated to helping companies− small and large−structure, strengthen, diversify, and benchmark their statutory and advisory boards. 

TARGET Executive Search recruits top-level executives and directors who can make a strategic impact on our clients' future. To succeed in today’s ever-changing business environment, businesses need a board that is aware of its value-creating and strategic role. Effective Board (executive or non-executive) governance can define an organization's success and dictate the future. 

Should you be interested in talking to us on topics regarding Board Recruitment, please get in touch with the leader of our Board practise, Ms. Mariana Turanová at mariana.turanova@targetexecutivesearch.com

Interim Management

TARGET Executive Search has a database of interim managers who can support your company to deal with challenges in the areas of digital transformation, finance management, general management, human resources, operations, sales development, logistics & production.
We invite you to contact us, if you need a highly qualified interim manager for:

• Temporary replacement of an existing vacancy 
• Implementation of projects in the field of business process improvement
• Proposing effective solutions to emerging problems and crisis situations
• Building new structures in the organization
• Guiding the company through the process of changing the ownership structure
• Other situations when it is temporarily necessary to use experience and knowledge of highly professionally specialized managers

MARKET MAPPING

Classical Headhunting is a focused one time effort for one specific goal. We are screening the market to find the best talent for the specific needs of our clients. How can we use that unique recruitment method for building a Talent Pipeline for our clients?

For creating a Talent Pipeline we enter into a partnership with our client and define together target areas (for example sales). Then we screen the market on a regular basis for talent, which may be available to join our client in the future. This ongoing headhunting process has several advantages:

1) It gives a clear picture about the talent pool.

2) It gives fresh feedback about the employment branding of our client. „How attractive are we as an employer?”

3) It helps to benchmark salaries with competition. „Are we paying our people on the right level?”

4) Last but not least it allows the client to have a speedy recruitment solution whenever the need arises. The identified talent pool candidates can be activated and hired much quicker than in a normal headhunting process.

EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION SURVEY

“How motivated are my people? Are they satisfied with their salaries? How do they actually feel about the company, about the bosses? How do they perceive our company culture? What can be improved?”
These are some of the questions you may ask yourself as a decision maker. The answers will come out through the TARGET Employee Satisfaction Survey.

What is an Employee Satisfaction Survey for?
The aim of the TARGET Employee Satisfaction Survey is to collect opinions on the employees' perception of the company's organizational culture and the work performed, in several areas most important to employees: working conditions and environment resulting from the company organizational culture, personal status of an employee in the company, remuneration and other benefits.
Conclusions from the analysis of the obtained information allow the company's management to take actions that increase employee satisfaction, and thus reduce rotation and builds higher motivation, and potentially better business results of the company.

What are the main assumptions of the TARGET Employee Satisfaction Surveys?
The scope of the study covers primarily those areas in which the employer is interested in obtaining information. We propose an individual approach and precise questions form which is prepared by TARGET Consultants in cooperation with the company's dedicated management staff. We work out with aim to select for examination the realities of each company. In addition to standard survey areas, TARGET’s consultants, after interviewing the employer, identify potential sources of employee dissatisfaction and properly focus the scope of the survey to identify details.

Report and Advisory Support
Besides a detailed report about the current status, our Consultants offer to support you with an action plan for potential improvements.

How is the research process carried out?
The research is conducted in an anonymous form, in the form of an on-line questionnaire. A paper questionnaire is also available if required.

For more details, please contact the TARGET Survey Project Manager:
Joanna Dulniak, email:joanna.dulniak@targetexecutivesearch.com, phone + 48 605123166

Salary Surveys

Having a good reputation makes a big difference in all kinds of business. The organizations therefore, strive to create objective reward strategies that are both consistent and adaptable so that they appeal to a diverse talent base. The salary surveys create an integral part of any effective reward strategy. 

Would you like to know what your competition board’s remuneration package is? Are you interested in learning about the exact remuneration level of a CSO in your business sector? Are you thinking of hiring a Top Executive and you want to be sure the offered package level is well comparable to the existing market benchmark?

Then you are right here, at TARGET Executive Search. We are the headhunting experts, having a solid track record in recruiting senior executives and rare experts in the Central and Eastern European market. As the systematic direct search method that we use to find, approach, and attract the best market professionals is highly effective, we have the best access to the valuable remuneration data as well. 

The tailor-made salary survey aims at quality data and gives an authentic market remuneration level for any position required, still, we usually do this salary screening either for a board-level or some top executive positions. The systematic market screening and personal talks we conduct with the candidates in relevant roles help us to come up with accurate, reliable, and above all up-to-date remuneration data. Discrete handling, trust, and professionalism are the main attributes of our work. We support your recruitment decisions with up-to-date and precise data!

START UP BUSINESS

Start Up your business in Central and Eastern Europe.

Considering entering the Slovak market, the only EURO country from the emerging markets of CEE? Or should you rather start in the Czech Republic instead with its long industrial tradition? What about booming Poland or rising Romania? Or Bulgaria with its very low taxes? And where does Hungary stand these days with so many contradictory news about it? Bit unsure what is the people quality and whom you can trust? What is the right level of salary?

Use our deep market knowledge and let us select for you your start up team. Our long term built database of managers with the relevant skills enables you to reach out to trusted people with proven track record and references. We have over 20 years of experience in looking for those few really talented people. And we guarantee that our candidates are right and up to the challenge.

Please contact us!

 

Klemens Wersonig
Founder & CEO
TARGET Executive Search Group

CAREER CHECK

Would you like to be interviewed by us? Then this is the right service for you!

Unique benefit: We will share the headhunter way of thinking and deciding, which will give you a competitive edge in the future.

Headhunters normally only interview for specific running projects. However, we realized that many candidates have the wish to be interviewed and get valuable career advice. Therefore, we developed this "Career Check" service. What can you expect?

If you who would like to get an honest feedback and opinion about your CV, your career status, your options on the CEE labour market and your market value, then this "Career Check" is right for you.

What does it mean? You may book an appr. 1h Career Check meeting (either video or personal) with a Consultant of TARGET. It will be held like a “general interview” without a specific job offer in mind. In addition to a normal interview our consultant will give you his/her feedback about your CV, your presentation, your career. And we will discuss career options together.

This means you will get a clearer picture, how you are seen on the job market from a headhunter perspective. How good is your CV? What could you improve in terms of your presentation (CV, personal)? How good is your online presence (LinkedIn and XING)? In which areas do you have more or less chances to make a career move? Which companies or sectors may be interesting for you to consider. Do you get the “right” salary now compared to our up-to-date market knowledge? What should you maybe still study to reach your personal goals?

However, please be aware that this exercise only works if you are really interested in honest feedback. And also, be aware that feedback is not always good news. For example, it could be that we tell you that you are actually overpaid compared to the market. But overall, it should help you to make smarter career choices and at the end of the day become more successful.

It is also a great means to "practice an interview in English" and get feedback what to improve.

For this career check service, we charge a fee of EUR 150. Please contact your country TARGET office for the details regarding bank transfer and for the meeting arrangements. 

If you would like the career check from 1 specific TARGET Consultant of your choice, for example from our Group CEO, Dr. Klemens Wersonig, then the fee will be EUR 200. If this TARGET Consultant is based in another country, then your career check can be only online via Teams.

Please note that this service is in no way linked to your chances of becoming a TARGET candidate for any client project.
 

MBTI

TARGET Executive Search is known for its thorough direct search methodology and unique headhunting approach. However, we believe it is beneficial for our clients to offer further services that support the company talent management.

MBTI (Myers Briggs Type Indicator) is an efficient assessment tool that helps to learn about ourselves and at the same time learn to appreciate differences between people. It also allows us to understand how different types can work together in a complementary way. When talking about the workplace the MBTI finds application in improving working relationships, career development and exploration, organization development, developing own leadership style, improving communication, helping to manage change and understanding reactions to stress, team building, problem solving, training in diversity and multicultural awareness.

Ms Mariana Turanová, is MBTI Step 1 Certified Practitioner and will be happy to talk to you how to use this unique tool to increase your organization efficiency.