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Finding Common Purpose
Our clients, employees, shareholders, the entire community as a whole, have started to ask for higher goals from companies, other than their products and services in themselves. This is the search for meaning and significance in work, the new motivation 3.0 (Daniel Pink), a territory where maximizing purpose takes place together with maximizing profit. People are no longer looking for just a job, they are looking for a vocation and a purpose (human fulfillment).
As Artisans of Common Purpose, our mission is to harmonize people (with their individual talents, values and aspirations) and organizations (with their systems, culture, values and business objectives), for maximizing both purpose and profit in the same time.
For companies in search of middle and top managers, AIMS is the partner who first understands people and motivations in order to contribute afterwards to the identification and retention of the best matches.
As part of the recruitment process, AIMS has developed the onboarding services. Thus, we contribute to the successful integration of the selected candidate – from the role of candidate to that of employee within the new organization – and his/her retention in the organization. The transition is not always smooth – the newcomer needs to build and/or integrate into a new team, understand the new culture, establish strategic alliances, quickly absorb relevant history.
The onboarding sessions align the expectations of the candidate with those of the organization, expectations that are translated into objectives – transparently discussed, negotiated and prioritized with the help of the AIMS consultant as facilitator.
“It is not real work unless you would rather be doing something else.” – J.M. Barrie
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| Case Studies |
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Client: Multinational company, newly-entered in Romania through the acquisition of a local company
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Field: FMCG
Situation
The client company took over a local business, along with its entire team; however, it required a few trustworthy key people to build/change current structures and redefine processes. The key persons were going to be the Finance Manager and Commercial Manager.
AIMS Approach
The search started with the Finance Manager position, in the context of a very formal relationship between the client and the assigned AIMS consultants. After the first project was successfully completed, the relationship changed significantly: the AIMS consultants and the client’s representatives started to collaborate in a more relaxed manner, which allowed the recommendations to have a more significant impact on the client’s activity. The second recruitment, namely the one for Commercial Manager, was also completed successfully.
In the case of the Commercial Manager position, the difficulty level of the recruitment project was high, as the client was going to activate in a field where competition was almost nonexistent. Therefore, there were no candidates with the exact set of required knowledge and skills. For the AIMS team, this project meant identifying a limited set of critical success factors, eliminating the nonessential ones and recruiting a candidate that corresponded to this profile.
Result
The placed candidates were exactly what the client was looking for, and managed to bring in the necessary experience and align the local company to the standards of a multinational company.
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Client: Local company, one of the largest importers
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Field: Automotive
Situation
The client activated in a very difficult industry, which continued to plummet with 14.7% in the first half of 2011, versus the same period of the previous year. The client’s main objectives were to maintain sales at the level of 2010, increase the number of dealers and achieve business growth in 2012.
In the past years, the company did not have a person in charge of the sales activity and the dealer network. The set objectives called for the recruitment of a suitable professional to fill this position. After a period of searching on their own without finding a suitable candidate, the client company decided to request the services of a consultant.
AIMS Approach
The AIMS consultant started the project with defining the results that the client wanted to achieve, in order to understand the performance level required from candidates for the respective position. The recruitment strategy meant the direct approach of potential candidates who had similar functions in other companies from the respective industry. The decision was based on the fact that managers from the automotive market were very cautious regarding job changes and were not actively searching for other opportunities. Moreover, the target list of companies was also agreed-upon with the client.
Result
AIMS presented a short-list of candidates and, following a series of interviews and assessments, the most suitable candidate was chosen. The selected candidate had an extensive market-specific experience – successfully coordinated a dealer network, achieved remarkable results in sales – and possessed the personality and necessary skills that matched the organization and his direct manager. For the candidate, the new position was a step forward in his career and matched his own professional development objectives.
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Client: International manufacturing company
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Field: Electronics industry (EMS)
Situation
The company contracted AIMS services for the recruitment of a Plant Manager. The recruitment and selection process carried out by AIMS was successfully concluded with the employment of one of the short-listed candidates. The onboarding intervention started after the candidate’s first two weeks of employment.
AIMS Approach
The onboarding intervention consisted in organizing and facilitating ‘’three-cornered’’ meetings between the assigned AIMS consultant, the employed candidate and her direct manager.
During the first meeting, several SMART objectives were negotiated and established for the new employee: learning objectives (job, role, team, organization), relationship-building objectives (internal and external networking, support network) and performance objectives (achieving actual results) – across the entire so-called “trial” period.
The consultant acted as a facilitator of the discussions, challenging both parties to think about the main criteria on which the candidate’s integration in the organization was considered successful, about the drawbacks that could arise in achieving the agreed objectives and about the responsibilities that each party would take on in this process.
The next two sessions, carried out over a time span of approximately 9 months, were follow-up sessions meant to keep track of the degree of target achievement, as well as the challenges faced and the solutions identified; the AIMS consultant acted as moderator of the feedback received from both directions – employee and direct manager.
To be more exact, in the third and final session, conclusions were drawn based on questions addressed by the consultant, in turn, to each of the parties:
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Where is the employee now as compared to the (learning, relationship-building and performance) objectives agreed-upon at the beginning?
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What should the employee do in order to be more successful in her position?
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What could each of them (employee and direct manager) have done differently or additionally for an even more effective integration process?
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What is each of the parties willing to do from now on for this relationship to work?
All these conclusions were translated into an action plan.
Result
The onboarding sessions brought more clarity as to the expectations of the two parties: the organization (represented by the direct manager of the new employee) and the employed candidate undergoing the integration stage in the organization. These expectations (defined in terms of objectives, actions, behaviours) were transparently communicated and discussed, negotiated and prioritized by both parties.
The discussions moderated by the AIMS consultant made both parties (direct manager and employed person) shift their attention from the short-term operational plan, and focus on the medium and long-term objectives.
Another result was that the two parties succeeded in building a lot more quickly a trustworthy, open and transparent relationship, based on communication and constant feedback.
The onboarding process culminated with an action plan aimed at improvement and assumed by both parties, which provided a new frame of reference for the manager and employee.
“The on-boarding sessions were very much about managing expectations. It forces you to think about expectations, to prioritize and to communicate them; and also to learn about what the other party is expecting. The consultant helped to make time for this, but also to bring these expectations away from the operational short-term level, to a more functional mid-term level. These discussions helped us to build up an open relationship in a very short time.”
Operations Manager Europe – Direct Manager
“The on-boarding sessions that I had were in the beginning strange to me. It was a first experience for me. But they were very helpful in establishing together with my boss the first steps I should take, what I should focus on, targets I should reach. With the questions asked by the moderator it was also clearer how to think, on which points we have to concentrate more. I also had the chance to ask if and where I need help. Very good was also that I got feedback on a regular basis about what I did. It helped my integration in the organisation and in terms of better understanding what is expected from me. As a candidate I was in very good hands at AIMS. They understood how I am and my needs and tried to find positions where I fit best.”
Plant Manager Romania – Hired Candidate
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Client: Multinational Company
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Field: Production
Situation
The company was in a difficult situation because it was operating without a General Manager for the past few months. Moreover, the management team had a very strong personality and was only willing to accept a new boss if that person clearly proved his competence. In fact, the former General Manager had previously been dismissed exactly on account of the employees’ complaints about him.
AIMS Approach
Given the initial information, the objective of the assigned AIMS consultants was to recruit a candidate with very good leadership skills and a good technical understanding. The respective approach complicated the recruitment process and meant extending the search beyond the client’s specific field of activity.
Result
Although the search lasted more than initially estimated, the right candidate was employed. After approximately two years as General Manager in Romania, the candidate was promoted on an international level, on strategic positions, with extended responsibility over several countries.
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Client: Multinational company
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Field: Energy
Situation
The client needed to recruit an entire management team, with the necessary expertise to coordinate the company start- in Romania.
The context in which the company was expanding on the Central-East European market was marked by numerous changes: from the development of the public energy infrastructure, the introduction of new European regulations (that attracted the interest of foreign investors about the potential of the local market), to the decentralization of energy services and market liberalisation.
Candidates with the required management, as well as technical skills, were very hard to find and recruit on the Romanian market.
AIMS Approach
AIMS adopted a strategy meant to ensure a large range of candidates possessing the essential success factors in the respective positions. The strategy was based on direct approach, as well as networking, in order to identify potential candidates in similar companies or in multinational industrial groups (equipment for the energy sector).
During the selection process, AIMS tested the professional skills, as well as the personality traits of the candidates. In the end, the client received a short-list of three recommended candidates for each position.
Following the interviews, AIMS organized Assessment and Development Centers for the first two candidates for each position. The objective was to assess their current competency level and establish their development needs.
Result
The client built a homogenous and dynamic start-up team, with the drive to start and rapidly develop the local business.
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