Recruiting Inside The Mile High City: Limited Candidate Pool Was Not A Hindrance To This National Boutique Search Firm

During Covid and for several years afterwards, our Denver client, a leader in its industry via organic growth and acquisitions, thrived under a quasi-remote top leadership environment. Yet as revenue growth flattened it was clear to the CEO and Board that scattered leaders hindered critical incremental collaboration, creativity and innovation, top line revenue, and EBITDA. 

Since the mixture of remote and in-office became a liability, they changed it to 100% in-office. Going forward, all new leaders hired within the top tiers must live near their Denver headquarters.

Every external search for a new leader required both relevant industry sector/channels expertise and local residency. The former was a challenge because relevant local companies from which to recruit were few. The latter...living locally...demanded a highly personal and targeted pursuit of what would be fewer candidates than could be available nationwide. 

Access Point Partners was introduced to leadership by the board Chairman who had a long-running recruiting relationship with the firm’s President, Eric Gustafson. Under a very narrow mandate the search was successful:

-       Access Point Partners, as a boutique firm, had no active client companies in Denver - contrasted to large and regional search firms whose many clients prevented access to up to 50% of potential candidates every employer would seek to have available to themselves.

-       Eric Gustafson, as the consultant, directly identified and contacted local executives who met their client’s industry and channels requirements. 

-       Enjoying 100% access to local executives enabled the use of a local commutation "red line" to focus on the best Denver executives within it.

The search was completed in under 80 days with a local executive placement produced by Access Point Partners.