It is our belief that effective due diligence is the surest predictor of success, thus the talent acquisition process begins with a thorough preparation phase to ensure that we understand our client's business context and strategies, and therefore the requirements for the new executive. The first and critical phase of this "diagnostic" process includes meetings with the client's key executives, staff members, and, where appropriate, alumni, customers, competitors, board members, and industry analysts. This process ensures that we fully understand the company "context"; when we analyze disparate perspectives on the position to be filled and the culture in which it exists, we can begin crafting a strategic process which is true to the organization's needs and environment.

Out of this phase comes: (1) a mandate of "must achieves", a Dashboard of expectations and objectives that the new leader must embrace and be measured by; and (2) the company "story" needed to attract strong candidates — a story that comprises the challenge, the opportunity and the rewards in a compelling way. Out of these findings, we create for the project a Talent Acquisition Strategy (TAS). The TAS is our version of the "rules of engagement" and it defines the search strategy, the timeline and the deliverables. A collaborative effort with the client, the TAS ensures that we begin with a shared understanding of the organization, the objectives, and the strategies for meeting those objectives.

In conjunction with the TAS, we create a Position Specification which defines the role, the profile of the ideal candidate and the metrics for the position — including the 3-5 "must achieves" which are critical to the success in that position. The Position Specification serves as both a benchmark for our efforts and a tool for marketing the opportunity to candidates. The "must achieves," if well defined, will carry through every step of the search process as well as the Executive's first year in his/her new role.

The tools outlined above are the core foundation to HP's Talent Acquisition engagements. We believe it is these fundamentals coupled with our rigorous process and commitment to effective communication that ensure successful completion of projects and very satisfied clients throughout the engagement.

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