Over the last few weeks, there has been lots of interesting posts highlighting how the covid-19 crisis has greatly influenced the digital transformation of business.
One post frequently doing the rounds across LinkedIn, Twitter and so on was this:
It’s rather eye opening that this was and still is, very much the case for plenty of businesses transitioning to a digital age. For sure, many companies have for years now been working hard to future proof their business but certainly for others, those slow to react and stuck in the 80’s, the crisis has left them with no choice. Move with the times or risk being left behind.
As Sandy Shen, Senior Director at Gartner put it in a recent article from Magazine UK powered by Regus: ‘This is a wake-up call for organisations that have placed too much focus on daily operational needs at the expense of investing in digital business and long-term resilience.’
The good news – ‘Businesses that can shift technology capacity and investments to digital platforms will mitigate the impact of the outbreak and keep their companies running smoothly now, and over the long term’.
And in simple terms, as Toon Bouten, CEO of Tado puts it here on the latest Leaders in Cleantech podcast: ‘you have to change otherwise you can never scale’.
At Hyperion, we work with the most innovative cleantech companies to find exceptional senior level talent. Together with our clients we are transforming business and growing a strong and prosperous cleantech economy
We deal with people. We hire great people and build great teams for awesome companies, helping tackle climate change and enabling the clean energy and mobility transition.
Not only that, we meet, speak at, sponsor, host and attend lots of industry events across the globe. However, with the arrival of covid-19, like many we anticipated a challenging few months ahead.
With lots of people out of work, lots of uncertainty in the market, new ways and desires of working (remote Vs office), not to mention the inability to travel or hold face to face interviews, how would companies go about hiring the very best talent during a global pandemic? Especially those stuck in the analog era?
Of course, there were lots of positives; greater business flexibility, an increase in videoconferences, hilarious zoom backgrounds, webinars, virtual events and come to think of it, as a head-hunter it was much easier to get hold of great talent. In large, most people were (and still are) sat from the comfort of their own homes, available to speak more freely without their colleagues or boss listening in.
Still though, lots of uncertainty for companies wanting to hire great talent but not knowing how to, or simply not having the digital capacity to do so especially whilst operating remotely.
Thankfully at Hyperion, we’ve been doing things differently since 2014.
We’re experts in the markets we operate, and we are constantly innovating to make sure we have the tools to do our job in any environment and under any circumstance.
We recognise the importance of working with a search partner who truly understands the market in which our clients operate. We understand our client’s business, their requirements and through deep insights we’re able to get under the skin of our candidates to articulate the value they can bring.
To be frank, we give our clients confidence. If we say we’re going to do something for you, our client then we will. If we tell you we’re going to find your new Sales Director or CTO we will – regardless of the obstacles.
Combine this level of expertise with our digital capabilities, we bring added value through innovation and that’s why so many choose to work with us. For any hiring company reading this, we are well placed to enable you to make the very best hiring decisions, attracting the very best candidates for your business. A far cry from the scatter-gun, CV flinging, opportunist recruiters out there looking to make a quick buck. That’s not us.
Take Alfen for example. A European market-leading manufacturer of smart grid solutions. With transformer substations, energy storage systems, charging stations for electric vehicles (EV) and a large portfolio of other products. Back in April, during a time when the virus was spreading rapidly across the world, Alfen approached Hyperion to recruit their new Sales Manager for Italy. This would be their first person in country tasked with growing their EV charging business nationwide.
The problem: Italy was amongst the worst affected countries in the world and as a result of the virus had entered a full-lockdown. With Alfen extremely keen on capitalising on the exciting EV opportunities the Italian market had to offer but unsure how to proceed and considering postponing the search, we assured confidence we could deliver and agreed to proceed.
The solution: As we knew the market, we were able to provide a high quality shortlist before facilitating various interviews and meetings using our online systems and video platforms. Not to mention, we had previously hired several leaders for Alfen across UK, France, Norway and Sweden so our understanding of the business, not least our track record was without question. More on this here: Alfen Case Study
The outcome: Fast forward a few weeks, Italy’s restrictions had lifted somewhat and we were able to arrange a final meeting later resulting in an exceptional hire for the business.
And this isn’t a one-off, since the start of the global pandemic, we have hired several extraordinary leaders in more than 7 countries, implementing a number of new technologies and digital tools to give our clients and candidates the very best opportunity and experience to learn more about and meet one another, albeit virtually!
Importantly, we ensured our clients could keep on track with their hiring plan whilst focusing fully on their core business. As we all know, coping under a new set of operating conditions not to mention managing the complexities of an internationally remote workforce is challenging enough, let alone trying to juggle hiring.
Even with all the covid-induced stresses, we were able to ensure a stress-free hiring process for several clients resulting in the building of better teams, leading to better results, bigger growth, better exits and a better planet.
So, my message to every CEO, Founder and business leader reading this, there’s no question it has been a difficult period for all of us but there’s plenty to be positive about. Our latest Survey which interviewed over 45 CEOs and founders in the cleantech industry, found that 65% of cleantech businesses are expecting to continue to grow in 2020.
Importantly though, to continue to grow, my advice to you is to waste no time in kickstarting your digital transformation. Address it now and whilst you’re at it, if you haven’t already, start thinking about your current hiring strategy. Are you getting the results you want? Are you hiring the best possible talent in the market? Or is your inbox simply inundated with mediocre and unqualified CVs with no added value in the service you’re paying for?
For more on how we’ve helped scale and accelerate the growth of our clients click here
More importantly, to learn how we can help your business, drop me a message directly via Stephen.robinson@hyperionsearch.com or visit our contact page to register for a free consultation.
