Peter had been engaged by OpenMoney CEO Antony Morrow to start the search and selection process for a Managing Director. WorkLife, an innovative employee benefits offering from the fintech brand, needed someone commercially astute with the ambition and experience to sustain and amplify the already significant growth seen across the Group.
During a relationship spanning 6 years and counting, We Are Adam have assisted OpenMoney with information on people and recruitment throughout their growth across Marketing, Digital, HR and, most extensively, Executive search. We consider them a partnered client, and act as an extension of their internal team.
Since Peter had successfully headhunted both a Chief Technology Officer and Chief Financial Officer for OpenMoney previously, for Antony it made perfect sense to instruct Peter to begin a new search.
Despite being established for a decade, Peter knew that the mindset of OpenMoney would require someone to approach this role like a start-up, albeit backed by an established support team. Getting the balance right between operational excellence and entrepreneurial spirit would be vital to success as Managing Director for WorkLife, with a strong background in sales and marketing being crucial.
First Peter ran a ‘deep dive’ session with the existing team at WorkLife around this role. Here he was looking for specific details and differences that the Managing Director role may require compared to the Executive positions he had recruited before. This, along with his previous knowledge of the business, helped him craft a compelling narrative of their vision, proposition, culture and values to pique the interest of passive candidates. We consider this a crucial part of the hiring process, as especially at C-Suite level, it is very rare to unearth the right person for the role who is actively seeking new opportunities.
Peter sums up WorkLife by OpenMoney perfectly:
“A forward thinking and progressive business, who are always looking to evolve and embrace change.”
The next step was to map out the market of key players in the industry. This takes extensive research, tapping into both Peter’s existing network and establishing who else he should be speaking to. A lot of time is invested into teeing up meetings, undergoing a comprehensive and in-depth interview with each interested party to outline the current opportunity, business vision and scope for development. During this process, Peter came across Niamh.
“I was kept informed and felt supported at every stage of the process... I was supported and given guidance to put me in the best position for the role.” - Niamh
Niamh McLaughlin originally came to know We Are Adam as a candidate, though she’s long been a client since. She was referred to Peter by another C-Suite executive that he was working closely with at the time. Positioned as a very strong, talented candidate, Peter knew she was someone he should be speaking to. It didn’t take long for him to discover that Niamh was very commercially minded, direct and detailed; exactly what WorkLife by OpenMoney needed.
As a candidate, Niamh and Peter worked together to make sure that she was as prepared as possible throughout the entire recruitment process.
“We had several conversations about the role, what the business was looking for, and how my experience was relevant. I was advised on tailoring my CV to highlight experience which was particularly relevant to the role. We had several discussions about the business, its challenges and plans for the future so I was well prepared for meeting with the CEO and other Directors.“ - Niamh
Peter recalls the professional approach Niamh took to each meeting and interview, and how he enjoyed developing their relationship throughout the extensive hiring process. As is standard, Peter acted as liaison between the two parties throughout, and negotiated her final package once it progressed to offer stage.
But Peter’s job did not end there. Once Niamh had settled into her new role, she had hiring plans of her own. Thanks to Peter’s extensive support throughout her own interview process, Niamh had no qualms about using We Are Adam again.
“I felt comfortable using We Are Adam for 2 Marketing Manager roles and there was already an existing relationship in place between OpenMoney and We Are Adam. [They are] much more responsive and work more closely with me on roles than agencies I have used in the past. We Are Adam is really easy to work with, they provide the support required through the recruitment process and work with me to find the best candidate for the role.” - Niamh
Since being in post, We Are Adam have supported with hiring across the Marketing and HR teams on a number of roles. We asked Niamh if anything has stood out throughout her experience working with us.
Her response?
“A willingness to find the right candidate for the role, and not just a desire to fill it.”
We couldn’t put it better ourselves.
With thanks to the team at WorkLife by OpenMoney and Niamh McLaughlin for giving up her time to share this case study.
If you are looking to hire, whether it be an Executive Search and Selection process or something to strengthen your team, give us a call on 0161 359 3789. Peter would love to get together and see what solutions he can come up with.
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