Direct Competitor Recruiting: a Food & Beverage Executive Search Case Study

October 13, 2014 in Recruiting Case Studies

 

 

Kinsa’s goal is to make direct competitor recruiting the best food & beverage professionals simpler and more effective for you.

Even when your recruiting challenges are specific or complex, we can provide the expertise and resources you need in all parts of the recruiting cycle – from position specification through onboarding – to ensure a precise and successful match.

The following case study demonstrates the efficacy of our direct competitor recruiting:

Client Profile:

This food & beverage organization specializes in producing hand-made, artisan meats and charcuterie for specialty retailers. Looking to break into national retail chains like Safeway and Whole Foods, they needed to bring in a seasoned Vice President of Retail Sales.

Direct Competitor Recruiting Challenges:

  • Their product is specialized, so it is purchased by a select member of a retail deli operation; therefore, a typical bulk deli salesperson would not do.
  • They provided a list of eight major competitors that they wanted to see candidates from and were hesitant to consider applicants from anywhere else. This small list of acceptable previous employers precluded us from using active candidate attraction methods.
  • Their company is relatively small, so they were forced to rely on equity and other non-salary compensation features to attract a high-caliber candidate.

Our Solution:

Undaunted by these challenges, we began recruiting immediately, focusing on passive candidates already working for the client’s direct competitors. Within eight days, we attracted two qualified candidates from different firms using social networking, company cold-calling, and our existing professional database network.

Direct Competitor Recruiting Results:

Kinsa sourced the candidate ultimately selected to fill this role. Though previously compensated at a significantly higher level, we were able to negotiate an offer with this professional within our client’s financial constraints, while still supplying the caliber of candidate they required.

Key Metrics:

  • The winning candidate’s resume was sent within 3 1/2 weeks of launch (even including a major holiday break).
  • The offer was made by the client 11 weeks after we launched the search.
  • Our candidate accepted the offer just 99 days after launch.

Want recruiting results like these? Trust your next executive food & beverage search to Kinsa.