This first phase is crucial for success. The foundation for the entire process is formed here. We believe that the time and resources invested here are more than well-spent.

Fundamentally, it's about understanding your situation, your business, and your organization, as well as which candidates would be the ideal match. We break down the analysis into the following themes:

Organization: History, business strategies, internal dynamics, organizational charts (current and future), tactical considerations, culture, diversity, etc.

The Role: Tasks in the role, responsibilities, interfaces (internal and external), KPIs, goals for the role, organizational reporting lines, etc.

The Candidate: Requirements for skills, personality, professional experience, soft values, etc. In the analysis phase, we also decide together how the process will proceed - we discuss the timeline and the daily collaboration between us and you.

Based on the analysis, we prepare a document that's approved by the client. This document is also used to present the role to the candidates identified through the process. In some cases, we also create an advertisement that's likewise marketed on selected job sites after approval. The description can, in some cases, span many pages and include organizational charts and detailed job descriptions - often, we also include a motivational section that highlights the future potential in a role.

The first part of this phase involves establishing a target list - which, in our terminology, is a list of hunting grounds - that is, places/organizations where potential candidates could be found.

Subsequently, we scour the target organization to identify the individuals we want to reach.

We continuously list all candidates on a roster - which in the industry's terminology is called a longlist.

Based on a longlist, we begin contacting candidates, eliminating those who don't match, and ensuring that those who do get the opportunity to engage in deeper dialogue with us, if they desire. This part often involves some nudging, and we keep the candidates in the loop for as long as necessary and when there's a match.

NB: In certain cases, we have an agreement with our clients that the process up to this point is anonymous for the candidate - we can work with various models of this.

In this phase, we establish a shortlist - a list of candidates who progress from the longlist. In some cases, we meet with our client and screen the longlist together. The screening is based on everything we discussed during the analysis phase. Here, we select and reject, often engaging in dialogue about which candidates are better suited than others.

We continually interview candidates using a structured model. We leverage the latest knowledge in the interviewing domain to gain insight into each candidate. We naturally assess both hard and soft skills. All materials from interviews, along with collected CVs and any applications/motivations, are shared with our client on an ongoing basis.

It's in this phase that we clarify the candidates' salary expectations.

If we've agreed that candidates need to be pre-tested or if personality/IQ tests or other tests need to be conducted, this may occur during this phase - although typically it's done later.

The presentation phase often involves interviews at the client's location. This can be done as a consolidated process with several candidates on the same day, or as candidates come in and become ready for this phase. We participate physically to the extent it makes sense for the process.

In some cases, clients and candidates meet multiple times, and there are often multiple layers of the organization involved.

We decide at the start of the process whether this step should come before or after the presentation. We test using tools that we believe are suitable for the level and background of the candidate. In many cases, we conduct both a personality test and a cognitive test. We have a wide range of tests available. In some cases, clients prefer to conduct tests themselves, and in such cases, we skip the testing phase.

It's also at this point that we collect references for the final candidates. Collecting references is an art in itself, and we agree at the beginning of the process whether 1-2 or more references should be obtained.

We have now reached the stage where tying up loose ends is necessary. Often, formal matters concerning salary levels and the overall package are in place, but it's also often where further dialogue can take place. Candidates have become aware of the role's complexity and may require more, or the client has discovered that there are other matching candidates who are not as costly. Like any other negotiation, this must be resolved to the satisfaction of all parties, and we often provide guidance during this phase.

It's always our clients who handle the actual onboarding, but we closely follow it. Additionally, we speak with the hired candidates several times after they've started - typically at the 1-month mark and again after 2-3 months. As we provide Denmark's longest guarantee of 2 1/2 years, we pay close attention to mutual expectation alignment. The new employee often has a few things that can be adjusted to make their everyday life easier, and similarly, there are often things that can be fine-tuned. We coach on both sides, thereby assisting the employment to last as long as possible.