Viewpoint

All take and no give Contribute to your client’s industry to be seen as a partner

BY DANIELLE COHEN AND KATIE DUNBAR

As search consultants, we do our best work when we’re allowed to be partners – rather than just service providers – to our clients. We need to know what makes them tick and what their goals are so we can attract the people and personalities that will make them great.

We know this, our team knows this, and you probably know this too. So how do we convince our clients to take this step with us? It’s not enough to show them we’re great. We need to show them we care as well. To do this, we need to bring to life our personality, knowledge and provide a proper contribution to the industry they inhabit. People and personality

Show off your knowledge

DANIELLE COHEN is senior practice specialist at RBW Consulting KATIE DUNBAR is senior consultant at RBW Consulting

At RBW, we’ve built a team of people who care about the same things as us. Th is doesn’t mean we’re all the same (thank goodness!), but it means we’re on a shared mission. Th e same principle stands for recruiting. Good relationships are built by two things – people and personality. In our recruitment eff orts, we don’t just look at the top line of a CV, but the person instead. How will they fi t into the company? Do they have the right attitude? Are they on the same page? We ask these questions of the people we look to We spend every day around our brilliant recruitment teams. We place, and clients ask them of us. absorb nuggets of knowledge, experience and all the inside tips to keep us on top of our client’s industry. But how does the Putt ing it into practice client know this? From diversity initiatives to fundraising for

By identifying a gap, problem or potential issue in a client’s support groups, contributing to a client’s sector, we can get ahead of the game and be proactive in industry can take a variety of forms. Most recommending a solution, showing that we know them as well importantly a contribution to your client’s as they know themselves. If we’re able to think laterally when industry should be an authentic, genuine, solving problems in their industry, then we’re able to do the ideally mutual cause that you’re both same in bringing the right people to their business. passionate about. Th ere’s no ‘fake it till you make it’. It needs to mean something to your business. RBW Consulting is a specialist search consultancy in the life sciences sector. Th is year, we’re using a percentage of the money earned from our rare disease clients to fund research into the mental health impact of a rare disease diagnosis. We’re not doing this for commercial benefi t, but because, like our clients, we care about improving the lives of those dealing with this situation. It’s something important to us as a team, and it’s personal to a number of members of staff too. We want to be part of the solution. Th e possibilities for fostering a partnership are endless. But what is key is a real, authentic commitment to the things a client cares about most. ●