In this episode, I sit down with Nicola Wensley, MD of Drayton, and Sophie Edwards, partner in research and assessment at Drayton, to demystify the executive search process. Nicola and Sophie share the role of personality profiling assessments in executive search processes. And we also discuss practical tips for establishing fruitful relationships with top search firms.

Speaker Links:

Website: https://www.draytonpartners.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/drayton-partners/

Dig a little deeper:

If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy my Life Satisfaction Assessment. It's a 30-minute program where I guide you through a deep dive into 10 areas of your life to assess what's bringing you joy and what's bringing you down. I call it Derailed and it's a fabulous place to begin a joy-at-work redesign.

https://www.midlifeunstuck.com/derailed

When I was considering speakers who could enlighten you

on the inner workings of executive search businesses, Nicola Wensley.

London, MD of Drayton sprung to mind about a decade ago in my

former career, we worked together.

And to this day, she stands out as one of the most genuinely knowledgeable

yet humble people in her field.

In this conversation, Nicola demystifies the process of creating and maintaining

relationships with executive search firms.

And then we're joined by Sophie Edwards, partner.

In research and assessment also within Drayton, who shares examples of how

companies use personality assessment profiles to ensure that the right

person gets chosen for the right company within the right role, where both

business and individual can thrive.

Let's dive in.

so the company that Sophie and I work for is called Drayton.

Drayton is a consumer search firm based in the UK, but we recruit globally for roles

at boards, C suite and director level positions across the consumer sector.

So covering categories everything from food and drink, health and

beauty, apparel, footwear, luxury, through to health, travel and leisure.

I'm the managing director of the London office and we have offices in the group

in Edinburgh and Newcastle as well.

Fabulous.

And Sophie.

I'm Sophie.

I lead Drayton's assessment proposition, which we call Drayton Assess.

I have a psychology background and I've been with the business for three years

delivering leadership assessments and team development workshops to candidates

and clients across the business.

Okay.

My first question is to you, Sophie.

Can you tell me a little about why, how, and at which stage of the

executive search process you use personality profiling assessments?

Absolutely.

First things first, there are lots of personality profiles out there, so some

real household names such as Hogan, Insights Discovery or SHL's tools.

And when it comes to why we use them, fundamentally it's to

create a holistic view of any candidate that we're working with.

So we can learn about their style and their fit, as well as their experience.

Personality profiles create an unbiased assessment with a less subjective

view, meaning that when we use them in conjunction with a CV or an interview

process, as well as referencing, we're really covering all points

of the candidate's experience and assessing how relevant they are for

the role, adding value to both sides.

In terms of how We use them for individuals applying for a role or for the

team which the individual may be joining, or we use them for both scenarios.

So it can really be quite flexible actually with the

approach, which is great.

They're very powerful tools to assess the composition of an existing board or

an existing team, but equally useful to assess an individual style coming into a

business and working out whether they may fit or gel with the existing team members.

And in that space specifically, some things that clients

talk about are cultural ads.

So are they going to bring something different to the team?

And diversity of thought as well.

Do they go about things in a different way?

And those can be really beneficial additions.

Assessments are mostly online and candidates are sent links in advance,

complete them in their own time.

They take no longer than an hour and a half maximum usually, depending

on which providers are used.

We typically use them between first and second stage interviews, but occasionally

we also use them pre shortlist as well, so when we present the candidate to the

client they get an overview of their experience, but also a really in depth

summary of the style and the fit, so that they're not, Essentially wasting

time later down the line, and we've identified things that need picking up at

that really early point in the process.

Once candidates have completed assessments at Drayton, we always follow

up with an hour long debrief session.

So that's led by myself with the candidate in a one on one environment to discuss

the themes real areas of strength and identify potential blind spots as

well, which can be really valuable.

A comprehensive report is then written up by myself or an

equivalent in a different business.

And that is presented to the client when we discuss the shortlist or

in between the interview stages.

As too often, I feel that the candidates never see that.

So we make sure to follow up with them as well at the end of the

process so that they get a copy of that and can refer back to it.

You might also use personality profiling in a team scenario, so there doesn't

have to be a new addition, but it could be that perhaps you're experiencing

some conflict in the team or you're struggling to navigate a period of

change, in which case that's something Drayton can also support with.

So tools like Insights Discovery or Luminous Spark can add real

value at that point to explore team effectiveness or explore how to

communicate more efficiently as a group.

And that's something I've actually just led really recently, where a new

CEO had joined a business and they were having some trouble as a group,

just getting used to that change.

And those tools can be really powerful in those settings.

I hadn't thought of that, but something that you

said really piqued my interest.

Can you share some examples of specific personality or cultural fit requirements

that companies asked you to investigate?

Absolutely.

So clearly different roles require different things.

So what we're looking for in a chairperson or a non executive director is going

to be quite different to what we're looking for in a chief executive.

But that being said, I think there are a few themes that have come

through in the last couple of years that we've really noticed at Drayton.

So the first is clients often asking for somebody with an

empathetic leadership style.

I think the expectation is shifting slightly and that's really great to see.

So clients are very much prioritizing high levels of emotional intelligence

high levels of resilience.

And an ability to cope with pressure and setbacks.

And we're seeing that kind of universally across different roles and levels.

And also the ability to adapt and respond to change.

So tapping into that resilience piece but able to cope when things

aren't necessarily going to plan.

There's been a lot of instances of that over the last couple

years for our clients.

Given everything that's going on.

So, Being able to predict how people will respond in those scenarios has been

really powerful and something that's been requested of us a lot when it comes

to using the assessments in that way.

Wow, that's fascinating.

Thank you.

That sounds really valuable.

Nicola.

In your experience, how much emphasis do clients place on these personality

profiling assessments to help them select the best candidate for the right role?

Silence.

an essential component as part of the final

decision in appointing a candidate.

For an employee, it can give that level of reassurance that the

company is investing in finding and appointing the right individual.

But from the employer side, it really helps them to ensure that there's no blind

spots in the hiring decision as well.

And those companies that I think that use it religiously as part of their

recruitment process do make longer, more, so more successful longer term hires.

So when companies consider fit and style alongside technical expertise.

We typically see that individuals, and more so maybe within larger

business, can progress through numerous roles and have a longer lasting

impact and value to the business.

So one, for example, one business that has used, consistently used, Pearson Amity

Profile in that their head of and director level appointments, the average tenure is

closer to 10 years rather than 10 years.

For four or five, typically, which is clearly less disruptive for the employee

and the employer, because I can imagine if you are relocating your family for a

while, there's a huge level of comfort that every effort's been made to appoint

the best person for the longer term.

Yes.

And can you share one or two examples of when a personality profile

highlights that something important that was key to the final decision?

Mm

Candidate's not necessarily naturally data driven or

into the detail, which can be really important for a business or a board.

However, in the main, most businesses don't use it solely to make the

final decision, but use it as part of making a fully informed decision.

decision making process for that appointment.

Where we've seen big benefits also with personality profiling is post appointment.

In particular, just to support with people once they're six months or

the first six months within the role.

So a couple of examples that I've recently experienced one company that I've recently

recruited for you consistently use Hogan profiling as part of their process.

So once the director started in the role, she was given additional

support to support in particular areas during her induction process.

So it just enabled a quicker and more seamless integration in the business.

And then there was another appointment, a chief exec appointment that I made it as

part of the package that was offered from the hiring company and executive coach

was offered to help that individual manage a blind spots that had been identified

during that recruitment process.

Wow.

So it has a really longer term impact on their success in the right role.

Lovely.

Okay.

Final question, Nicola, for the listeners today, could you give them some practical

pointers to help them establish new relationships with executive search firms.

There's probably quite a few, but I'll try and

summarize maybe my top three.

First one I would say really get to know who are the reputable search

firms within your area of expertise.

So ask your trusted network for referrals and ask them for instructions too.

If we referred a good person from someone that we know that we've worked

with successfully in the past, we already have a great reference for you.

I think the second thing I would say is the first role that you interview.

for with a search firm may not be the role that you get or in fact want.

So give detailed feedback on what you like and didn't like, but

also expect to be given feedback.

So if you don't get this automatically from the search

firm, feel free to ask for it.

A good search firm will always spare time to try and help, in

particular with areas like CV feedback and interview feedback as well.

And then finally, I say really build a long lasting relationship

with a few good search firms.

They'll work with you across your career to build a mutually

beneficial relationships.

Many roles are confidential, so they're not necessarily advertised.

And often the dream role can come along when you're not

necessarily actively looking.

So if a good recruitment partner is aware of you and you keep this relationship

fluid and that dialogue going through your career, they'll be able to put the

best roles to you quickly and know why you are the best person for that role and

so get you straight onto the shortlist.

And also those that we've got strong relationships with, we always go the

extra mile to invite to networking events, offer market insights and

connecting to other great people.

people.

So the more time that you invest in that relationship, the more

that you will help will get back.

And our job is to help all the people we work with have more joy at work.

Thank you so much, Sophie and Nicola.

If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy my Life Satisfaction Assessment.

It's a 30 minute program where I guide you through a deep dive into 10 areas

of your life to assess what's bringing you joy and what's bringing you time.

I call it D.

It's a fabulous place to begin a joy at work redesign.