E-retailer’s site operations role went unfilled for 12 months before we filled it in 3

The world’s largest e-commerce firm was looking for a Site Operations Head to oversee the firm’s entire call center and online customer support operations in the region.

The role had been open in the market for one year and worked by no fewer than 20 search agencies. The client’s minimum requirement was that the individual would have managed a team of 100 or more subordinates and ideally come from a call center background, as he/she would require a strong understanding of customer-oriented environments.

The candidate would also need to relocate to one of the most remote parts of the region which would considerably narrow the number of candidates who could be considered for the role. Because this tier 1 firm had a reputation for historically high turnover, a demanding work environment, and some of the strictest hiring standards in the market, the assignment would be one of our most challenging.

To find candidates who could meet the experience requirements and successfully adapt to the client culture, the client would need to expand targets beyond call center and customer service. We advised the client to consider candidates with similar experience in terms of management scale and corporate culture, but with a focus on sales operations, retail operations, and/or plant management.

Due to the market perception of the firm we also advised the client to adjust their standard interview protocol to include a preliminary briefing between candidate and hiring manager. This would reduce candidate resistance to enter the process and give them the opportunity to quickly learn more about the role without officially applying for the role.

Our research team expanded the search globally to broaden our pool. Due to the difficulties the client had with the search prior to bringing us on, they had a minimum requirement that we bring 3 shortlisted candidates to final stage of the interview process.

We significantly outperformed this expectation by bringing 7 qualified candidates, of which the client successfully and finally hired their preferred candidate, a US-based individual well-matched against the client’s original requirements for the role.