Finding quality candidates and attracting them with competitive offers is a major pain point for many companies. Often companies try to recruit and make offers on their own, but end up with lackluster offer-to-acceptance rates. That is where ThinkingAhead, a member of our Southwestern Family of Companies, steps in.
A top-rated executive search firm established in 1982, ThinkingAhead has been excelling at their mission to connect the “Right people with the Right organizations at the Right time.” Their vision is to be recognized as the leader in recruiting executives by delivering outstanding results to clients and candidates in their chosen specialties.
As it is in many markets, the key to success in recruiting is in relationships. This is where ThinkingAhead holds an advantage over the competition. Their talented team of executive recruiters has acquired and built the unique skills necessary to find high-quality professionals that are in the passive talent market. This gives ThinkingAhead access to a pool of high performing executives that are not actively looking for a change but can be attracted to the right opportunity.
Through these connections, ThinkingAhead adds tremendous value for smaller, emerging, and middle market companies looking to grow but lacking the resources needed to do their own recruiting effectively. They excel in nine different industry niches and solve the overwhelming problems caused by having key positions to fill and limited human resources personnel to meet those needs. As a result, ThinkingAhead’s clients are freed up to focus on what they do best allowing them to thrive and expand their businesses.
Just like their clients, ThinkingAhead is growing. They are strategically expanding their reach into new markets through mergers and acquisitions, specifically with firms that fit the Southwestern Family of Companies corporate culture. This is extremely important as some search firm models are set up where one side handles the client and one side the candidate. At ThinkingAhead everyone involved is like a partner at a law firm, driving new business to the firm while servicing its clients and maintaining key relationships.
Tim Knight, Vice President and Senior Managing Partner, shares, “The shifts that are happening in the workforce are making executive search an industry that is in high demand. We’re poised to continue to grow our business with the changes in the demographics of the workforce working in our favor.”
Depending on the business unit and market highlighted, a typical search is somewhere between 46 to 60 days from start to finish. During this process, 72% of the candidate recommendations are brought in for first interviews and 50% of that pool invited back for second-round interviews, ThinkingAhead is laser-focused on matching the right candidate with the right client. Additionally, ThinkingAhead closes on the offers before they are extended. This means that once the official offer is submitted, the candidate is ready to go, resulting in a 90% acceptance rate.
During September 2019, ThinkingAhead had its largest placement in company history by way of a successful team lift out placing nine people at one time for one of its banking clients. Year to date, the Nonprofit, Financial Services, Life Sciences, and Career Services practice areas have had their best years ever. The firm is up 13% over the same period last year and will have its best year since 2007.
“2019 has been an outstanding year for our firm. We have seen 12-year old company records broken, team members exceed their own expectations, and the appointment of several new Partners. Our firm continues to set high goals, expand our outreach, and build our teams. I am looking forward to 2020 and the prosperity it will bring for the firm as we continue to build on our successes from this year.” says Greg Boucher, President of ThinkingAhead.
ThinkingAhead is growing and continues to be the top choice of companies trying to attract the most sought-after mid-level executives. Their 2020 vision is to be at $10 million in revenue, returning 15% profitability, and growing the business by 10%. To achieve this, continuing to find the right talent is integral.
The ThinkingAhead family is looking for skilled full desk recruiters to join their growing team of top performers. They want to partner with professionals who are able to excel in a structure of accountability set up for optimal success. They believe in building people, giving them training on how to run and operate a business inside of the business, and the autonomy to do that while offering full support in the process.
