Market Mapping: How we use data to fuel human to human connections
Data, as you well know, plays a massive role in pretty much every organisation. Each company within an industry has access to near enough identical data. The differentiating factor is how that data is interpreted and applied.
When it comes to executive search the process needs to be incredibly well-informed, meaning throughout the duration of the search, data must be consistently collected and stored. Now, realistically any recruitment firm worth their salt will have a reliable CRM, in which any data collected during a process is stored, but depending on the system and its search functions, it’s not always presented in a clear and consumable format for clients. Additionally, most recruiters and researchers are not trained in the art of data, so sometimes you will find a database has missing data, low quality data, or incorrect data (what database doesn’t?). This leads to a database with confusing, misleading and out of date data, which in turn can create more work and promote unreliable decisions at C-level, where arguably the stakes are extremely high.
So how do we fix this problem?
How do we present our clients’ boards with reliable, accurate and informative data insights from the market? Well, if you want an informed data strategy, you need someone who understands your business and how to leverage the data you have into a comprehensible format for the client.
Here at InX, we have evolved what ‘research’ means in executive search. We are driving customer insights which add a significant layer of complexity to the traditional research model. We are tackling this is by creating functional ‘market maps’, and we mean this in a literal format. We are plotting relevant leaders into maps (under non-related names) to show clients what their target market looks like, what’s available in terms of gender and diversity and new aspirational leaders. Everything we do here is specific to region and to sector, so we have the capability to create incredibly detailed, diverse and extensive market maps.
For the client this means we can tell you exactly how many leaders are within 50 miles of your head office, we can tell you how many of those work within the same industry and we can tell you if they have the relevant skills for the job. With the return of ‘hybrid working’, typically meaning three days per week in the office, location has become a more important factor in a client’s decision making process. When you add more requirements, such as diversity, this is where it gets more complex.
It is important to note that we are not replacing any of the ‘human-to-human’ elements of our roles by utilising data, we are just enhancing our ability to be more human-to-human by using data to be targeted and more informed.
Market mapping is only one portion of the entirety of the search process, but it really builds the blocks on which the entire process is carried out. The better your initial map, the better outreach you have, which naturally will pull through high quality results and, subsequently, conversations. It could be argued that the search functions on LinkedIn or a CRM have the same ability. However, the data they provide is not easily extracted to create a functional ‘market map’ to give clients valuable insights.
What we are doing allows us to fill roles that have niche requirements, or are in areas that have potentially lower numbers of C-level executives, with greater accuracy and confidence. Now, for a proper search to be conducted around 400 plus candidates are considered, spoken with and met with, which obviously takes up a large amount of time. However, doing this within the first few weeks of the search allows us to enter the calibration meeting with our client fully informed with up-to-date market information to help guide their process.
With our own regional and industry focused market maps we are consistently creating a carefully specialised dataset that will be reusable and easily adapted to each client. This will not remove the search process, but it will let us go into far more detail. Something we will never lose, though, is the human element to this process. We are not relying on 0s and 1s to make any decisions for us, we are using our industry expertise to make informed choices based on what data is telling us.
There will be occasions where you will go against the data and follow your own instincts too! (We like to call these anomalous events). Organisations need people leaders, and data can’t choose those leaders for us. We do think for that reason that people will always require specialists like us - experts who can understand the data and use it to enable more human-to-human interaction.
By Helen Vlachou, Researcher and Dan Manton, Partner
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If you would like to find a future C-tech leader for your business, or you’re a tech or digital leader who’s looking for their next step, please contact one of the InX technology team, here.