Shhhh...it's P&C

COREcruitment has been supporting the UK and global hospitality & service businesses since 2005.

It’s no surprise we are exposed to a diverse range of businesses and subsectors and it is always interesting to track trends and strategies used across the industry, to approach recruitment.

Private and Confidential recruitment has always played a role in the industry, however, in 2019/2020 we have seen a significant increase. With at least 40% of all specialist and management level recruitment in the industry being approached confidently. This rises significantly for executive-level positions.

Why do clients choose a P&C approach?

Under the radar, recruitment can be a result of many things. Perhaps the business is going through a sale or restructure, a period of investment and growth or perhaps someone crucial to the business is retiring. It may be necessary to recruit a position before these types of company changes to become public. This style of approach can also allow employers to review the market at their own pace without the pressure to appoint quickly to fill a visible gap in their team.

How does it work?

The process always includes non-disclosure agreements sometimes from both parties to secure the confidentiality of the role and exposure of the candidate’s details. As the role can’t be advertised, we proactively headhunt and approach candidates which in turn are shortlisted for the role and put forward to the available opportunity.

There are several different ways to structure a confidential search:

We can provide a market mapping to a company that they can review before we actively headhunt individuals at their request.

We can run a standard recruitment process with the addition of an NDA before briefing the candidate

A full confidential search would involve approaching a small section of the industry and discussing none company-specific details with individuals before creating a long list, with candidates' permission. The client can then review the long list and a shortened list of selected individuals will be engaged in the process. An NDA can then be used before the first interview or further throughout the process, depending on the circumstances.

A candidate perspective

As a candidate, looking for a new role can be an exciting time, as you begin to map out your next career move. It can also sometimes be daunting. Every position has a different brief and recruitment process so it’s always a good idea to find out at the beginning, what the process will be. In the service, events and hospitality industry, especially at a specialist or senior level, confidential recruitment has become very popular.

This can be difficult as a candidate as you will not have prior insight into the business or brand before putting yourself forward. However, by asking the recruiter a lot of questions about skill set and desired experience as well as future career progression and benefits, you will be able to build a good picture of the business, even though you don’t know the company name. Find out what the next steps in the process will be and when the confidential details can be shared. The benefit as a candidate is that more often than not, due to the confidential nature of the position, the shortlist will likely be much smaller and the process more in-depth, so you will have a higher chance of being considered.

If you are interested in finding out more about confidential recruitment and how it may benefit your business and teams, then please do get in touch!

Lucia Raru

Head of Venues and Events Recruitment

COREcruitment

+44(0)2077902666