How BVOH’s Multi-State Search Led to the Right Bay Area Hire and More
Challenge:
Michelle Quejado stepped in as the VP, Global Controller for a global fintech company, with over $2 billion in annual revenues, just four months after the company had gone private. The switch left Michelle with high turnover and in desperate need to fill a Senior Director of Accounting role. She knew it would be hard to hire a team without a leader, so her plan was to hire the Senior Director first and then let them build their own team.
Michelle faced immediate hurdles: a lack of candidate experience with private equity backed companies, the unique industry, and a location that was too intense of a commute for many qualified Bay Area candidates.
Despite using recruiters who Michelle’s firm had previously worked with, she wasn’t satisfied with the unqualified leads whose resumés made it to her desk. Unwilling to compromise on what was best for the firm, it was time to move to a retained search.
“BVOH really listened to what I wanted and needed, they were willing to challenge it, and then also willing—when I said I was unwilling to change—to accept it and just keep plugging away.”
— Michelle Quejado
Solution:
An investor suggested Michelle to seek out the help of BVOH Search & Consulting, which was a welcome surprise as she had worked with the team on several occasions, years earlier.
BVOH guided Michelle on the best way to leverage the position, and utilized their own resources to accelerate results. From the beginning, they were intentional about listening to Michelle’s specific needs and being personable, which made a tedious process more enjoyable.
BVOH’s thorough canvassing of the market provided insight and transparency for Michelle, so necessary changes could be made to the candidate profile.
This process not only enables clients to make decisions with confidence because they’re equipped with information they wouldn’t have otherwise, but it allowed BVOH to work in multiple directions, which led to securing more hires.
And when the audit committee board requested a formal update, BVOH was more than willing to present the status and progress made in the search.
“If someone asked why I use BVOH: One, they attract good candidates. And two, they listen to what you need. They are willing to go out there and do the hard work to get what you're looking for.”
— Michelle Quejado
Results:
After hitting a wall and exhausting the local candidate pool, Michelle and BVOH refocused the search to Phoenix where they have another office. BVOH pivoted and found several qualified candidates who could make the Phoenix location work. At the exact time, their former top Bay Area candidate returned with reignited interest in the position.
Michelle filled the retained role with the Bay Area candidate, and was able to leverage the Phoenix sourced candidates to fill a new Director role that opened up in that office. Additionally, BVOH filled a finance manager role in the company’s headquarters, along with multiple interim hires. BVOH is currently engaged in two other searches on another team at HQ.
The willingness of Michelle to take BVOH’s advice was essential in placing the right people in a changing work environment. Likewise, BVOH’s ability to truly hear what Michelle wanted and challenge that, when necessary, created a more effective and collaborative search process. Finding the ideal candidates can seem like finding a needle in a haystack, but with the dedication and resources of BVOH, the process gets a lot easier.
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