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Executive Search

Summit has a proven track record of sourcing and attracting Real Estate candidates for a variety of senior, executive and specialised positions. Starting with a detailed client brief, we pro-actively target (‘headhunt’) relevant ‘off-market’ candidates in competitor and/or related businesses on a retained and exclusive basis.

Using our extensive Real Estate knowledge and expertise, potential candidates are identified, approached and assessed through our rigorous research process. Each candidate is thoroughly appraised, ensuring a close match on both the culture fit as well as the technical content of the role. A competency-based interview is supported by an online Personal Profile Analysis (PPA) report, which objectively summarises the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.

Clients receive regular updates throughout the Search process, including up-to-date market intelligence, and a detailed report on each short-listed candidate. As skilled negotiators, we are on-hand to delicately manage the offer process with your chosen candidate and to undertake references (both formal and informal). Every placement is monitored on a 3-month, 6-month and yearly basis, to ensure the appointed candidate has integrated successfully within his/her team.

We take great care and personal pride in every assignment, knowing that we are responsible for finding and hiring the person who will have a direct impact on your team and business. We appreciate the sensitivities of such a process; our continued success in the Real Estate market is a direct result of our integrity, professionalism and discretion.

How?

Executive Research

Our Executive Research service is flexible on a project-by-project basis. We work seamlessly with our clients to support their direct Executive Search process, using our extensive Real Estate knowledge, experience and network of contacts.

This is particularly helpful when a client wants to manage the recruitment process ‘in-house’ but needs assistance within an unknown/specialist market.

We offer a bespoke service across all stages of the research and identification/sourcing process, including:

  • Target Company List Construction
  • Target Company Structure and Hierarchy Mapping
  • Design and Creation of Candidate Assignment Briefs
  • Candidate Identification and Long List Production
  • Direct Candidate Approaches and CV Request
  • Candidate Profiling and Qualification Screening
  • Provision of High-Quality Research and Progress Reports
  • Presentation of Market Intelligence and Competitor Analysis
  • Candidate Talent Pool Creation and Management (longer term).

Our Approach

We guarantee objective candidate assessment through a combination of Search and Science.

Seeking to blend the art of Executive Search with the science of Psychometric Assessment, we offer candidate DISC profiling (on a complementary basis) as part of every assignment. This adds scientific rigour to the hiring process, enabling our clients to make confident and well-informed decisions at the appointment stage.

We still strongly believe in the traditional interview process to meticulously assess an individual’s skills, experience, personality and ‘culture fit’. We are professionally trained and have spent more than 20 years perfecting this fine art of assessment exclusively within the Real Estate industry! However, as effective as an in-depth interview can be, we want to make absolutely sure that you have the most accurate, rounded and objective assessment of your prospective employee. This is where an online psychometric assessment can provide invaluable, comparable insights into a candidate’s behaviour, aptitude and characteristics (within a working environment).

DISC is a behaviour assessment tool based on the theory of psychologist William Moulton Marston, which centres on four personality traits: Dominance (D), Influence (I), Steadiness (S) and Compliance (C). While most people will show all four of these behaviour patterns at different times, an individual will display one or more of them consistently in the workplace.

Registered with the British Psychological Society and audited against technical criteria established by the European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations, PPA is the highest rated DISC-based assessment in the market.

The PPA (presented in a report format) gives you an indication of how a person behaves at work based on their fears, motivators, values and behavioural style.

To be clear, a candidate’s PPA assessment is never submitted in isolation; it is a valuable tool when used in conjunction with the traditional face-to-face interview, to objectively determine factors such as:

  • What motivates this person?
  • What are their strengths and limitations?
  • What is their preferred communication style?
  • How do they interact with their peers and team?
  • How do they behave under pressure?
  • Are they showing any frustrations in their current situation?
  • How much support would they need if required to work remotely?

Summit’s Consultants have trained with Thomas International to become certified in Personal Profile Analysis (PPA). We take our PPA responsibilities very seriously and provide each candidate with comprehensive feedback, whether or not they are successful in the Executive Search process.

Clients may choose whether to take advantage of this complementary PPA service.

“Having head-hunted me for a position earlier in my career and maintained contact, Summit was my first port of call when considering a career move. I was confident that the consultant I met had a good understanding of my background and aspirations, and that she knew the type of company I would fit into on a personal level. I was also encouraged by the fact that Summit is a retained search firm and, as such, all correspondence is discreet and in the strictest of confidence. This level of trust was vital at such a critical point in my career, and I am delighted with the outcome of Summit’s efforts.”

Investment Director – Boutique Fund Management Firm