Before We Get Too Far…
It’s safe to assume you’re reading the “For Clients” section of this web site because you’re considering getting some outside assistance for your airport or consulting firm. Further, it’s likely that you’ve either worked with a recruiter before or at least know someone who’s called you to pitch the idea of a recruiter helping your organization. Our experience with most clients is that THEIR experience with other recruiters might not have lived up to expectations for various reasons.
So let’s start by telling you…We’re different. Grice has a reputation among the leaders of the airport and aviation industry that sets him apart from 99% of those recruiters from whom you’ve gotten calls or been sent unsolicited resumes. Grice’s background in the airport industry (outlined in his bio) before even becoming a headhunter uniquely positions him to be more effective than anyone else in recruiting for airports and aviation.
Why Use a Recruiter?
Whether you refer to us as executive search consultants, recruiters, or headhunters, the fact remains that no matter the state of the economy or industry conditions, it is difficult to attract, hire, and retain good employees for airports and aviation consultants. You need to do more than write a job description, post it online, and hope that quality individuals start lining up to be considered for you to hire. You might get lucky once in a while to find someone who surfaces out of the blue, but chances are you’ve already tried that, it isn’t working reliably, and that’s why you’re thinking of getting outside help for your recruiting.
The role you want someone to fill in your organization isn’t likely to be filled by someone actively looking for a job, let alone putting their resume on the internet. Simply put, to get the best talent available, someone is going to have to tell your story to people who are probably currently employed for a competitor and who aren’t even looking to make a career change. That’s where we come in.
Grice’s Unfair Advantage: We Don’t ‘Dabble’ in Airports.
We’re Not New at This, & People in the Industry Know & Trust Grice
Grice Whiteley is active in the industry by participating in person at the key airport events, conferences, and meetings. Grice speaks often at airport industry functions and the key players know and trust Grice. This is the key differentiator: since people know or have heard of Grice, they take his calls and speak candidly to him about their plans, feelings, and personal situations. Grice has been told repeatedly by many that he’s the only recruiter whose call they’ll return. It’s not uncommon to hear, “Well this is something I wouldn’t tell anyone else, but because it’s you, Grice, let me share this with you…” This is the kind of insider information that is critical to have on your side as you undertake building your team. We have the luxury of focusing 100% of our resources on recruiting individuals for the airport industry.
By having Grice recruiting for your team you have a huge advantage. People will engage. They open up; they will candidly share what they are going through professionally and personally. We learn who would make a good fit and just as importantly who would not.
We’re not good because we have a “magic list.” Anyone can get a “list” and build a database. What separates Grice from others is twenty five plus years of airport industry relationships: inherent knowledge of company cultures, personalities, reputations, histories, strengths, and weaknesses. Knowing who will have chemistry and be a good fit. Why would you trust growing your team to someone who has little experience in our airport industry? Ask around; talk to Grice’s references on the Testimonials Page ; see what clients and candidates have said about working with Grice.
Bottom line
Our special niche isn’t a commodity. The results you receive will make you want us on your team again and again. In fact most of our business is repeat business and is initiated by companies or airports calling Grice and asking for help.
We can’t help everyone, and sometimes say “No” based on certain information of which we’re aware. When is the last time a recruiter told you “No?” Headhunters are famous for promising results while slashing their fees to get you to agree to do business, claiming they know everyone, and then never calling you back. We’d rather partner with select organizations with whom we feel we can make a positive impact rather than say “yes” to everyone who asks. Just like our recruitment process depends on relationships, our client services depend on us being on the same page, playing to each other’s strengths, and respecting each other’s processes.
How We Work
It’s important to understand your company’s situation before deciding on the type of search to conduct. Depending on your unique needs and urgency, as well as our understanding of the marketplace, we will together formulate a recruiting strategy that sets up the greatest likelihood for a successful project.
The vast majority of our searches are financially committed, including all of our positions at airports. We call these priority searches or retained searches because a retainer is paid to engage our services and begin the search. Other searches are sometimes done on a contingent basis for varying reasons such as positions that are more of a commodity and might not require our specialization.
Grice’s results speak for themselves: in all his years of recruiting individuals for clients, he’s never been unable to find someone his clients have retained him for, nor has he had someone he’s placed with a company “flake out” such that his guarantee has been an issue. This makes it easy to stand behind our services. We don’t want your search to be the one that breaks that record.
That Name is In Our Database…I want someone not on LinkedIn…They’ve told us “no” before.”
The airport industry is a small market. Once engaged on a search, you may receive a recommendation from Grice to interview individuals or groups of individuals you may have already heard of or a name seen on a list somewhere. Perhaps Grice will recommend someone you may know, or maybe even some you’ve spoken with previously who was unwilling before Grice asked this person to look at your organization. That’s not unusual at all, given the niche we operate in. Clients have often said, “If you are telling me someone I’ve never heard of before is some superstar, I’d be wondering how good they really are.”
Nowadays pretty much everyone has a social media presence of some sort. Having your name on Linkedin is no more of a signal that someone is open to a job change than they are by attending a conference, showing up on a roster, or being a member of a trade association and in a directory somewhere. People use these tools for networking to do business, not to advertise they’re “looking.” Airport consultants form teams and join ventures using relationships they’ve made and sometimes discovered online. Just because someone has an electronic profile doesn’t mean it’s easy to recruit them to join a new company or airport. So it’s very likely someone we bring to our client will have an “electronic footprint” of some sort.
And Grice has been known to get a “yes” after others have been told “no” for the same organization. Getting someone to consider (or reconsider) a role with a client is a matter of trust, relationship, and truly understanding what people are looking for in an opportunity, gained from almost 20 years of tracking people through their careers in the same industry
The Process
Working with a client, we’ll document what you are looking for: the qualifications, skills, how we’d recognize them, and so on. Armed with an agreed upon shopping list, we’ll conduct a thorough search, help coordinate interviews, transportation, references, relocation, and interview preparation. After you helping you develop the offer for the candidate you select, we’ll present it to the individual, get their commitment to accept it, and coach the candidate through resignation and any relocation issues so they can start their successful career with you.
Grice has spent so many years building relationships in the airport industry, that for this niche of recruiting, there is simply no way to match his effectiveness in identifying and engaging the industry’s most talented performers. Why wouldn’t you want the industry’s best working for you? Feel free to contact us for a confidential discussion on your needs and how we may be of service.
