Built by one of the larger-than-life characters in the investment world this mid-tier wealth management business had recently completed an acquisition of another regional investment house to give them broader UK coverage. They were now struggling with post purchase integration, harmony and performance.
The business provided clients with advice across two areas of wealth management that being Investment Management and Financial Planning. Historically both functions had been managed via their own line management. However in the newly combined business operating in the modernised theatre of wealth management a more joined up approach was to be adopted bringing both parts of the business together under one management structure. The new regional director would need to have experience of both disciplines and be able to take the region forward strategically. A key deliverable being to get all staff to perform as one in the interests of client satisfaction.
Due to the unique set of challenges faced post-acquisition and the turbulence of bringing together financial planning and investment management from the two businesses it was clear that the candidate universe for this role was extremely small and would be difficult to pinpoint. In consultation with the senior leadership team, it was decided that the right method to use was to utilise the Talent Finder search methodology provided by signia. This would deliver very thorough mapping of all obvious and opaque talent available with the prerequisite skill set in what was a challenging regional geography.
Our project team was given the job of carefully selecting potential candidates from a group that included top regional leaders, office heads, and team managers with the right set of skills. We focused on professionals in the Private Client sector based in the region. We then began a thorough process of reaching out, refining our list through careful questioning, verifying their previous achievements, and having initial conversations. This thorough process helped us narrow down to two particularly promising candidates.
From there, we used a predetermined interview and assessment day process to further evaluate both candidates. Following a unanimous verdict on one candidate who perfectly fitted what our client was looking for, an offer was made. We negotiated and finalised the job offer, and supported the candidate during their transition out of their old job and into the new one.
