Workin’ on the Railroad

By Vicenzo Di Pietro, Partner & Team Director
Region: Switzerland

Sector focus: Industry

WE TRUST IN OUR METHODS AND OUR ASSESSMENTS. AT MERCURI URVAL, THEY’RE AT THE HEART OF EVERYTHING WE DO. WE APPLY THEM TO EVERY CLIENT, AND WE’RE CONFIDENT THAT WE GIVE THEM THE RIGHT CHOICE.
MOST OF THE TIME, OUR CLIENTS AGREE WITH OUR ASSESSMENTS, AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEM AND US IS SMOOTH. SOMETIMES, HOWEVER, THEY DISAGREE. THAT’S FINE. AFTER ALL, WE CAN ONLY “STRONGLY” RECOMMEND A PERSON THROUGH OUR METHODS AND ASSESSMENTS. IT’S OUR CLIENTS THAT ULTIMATELY MAKE THE FINAL, ABSOLUTE DECISION. HOWEVER, WE DO SOMETIMES SEE THAT THEY END UP REGRETTING THAT DECISION — AND WISHING THEY’D GONE FOR OUR RECOMMENDATION.
THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED IN ONE OF MY STANDOUT CASES. WE DID AN ASSESSMENT FOR A CLIENT; IT WAS A SMALL - TO MEDIUM - SIZE COMPANY PRODUCING RAILWAY PRODUCTS. IN THE END, THE COMPANY WENT WITH THE PERSON WE DID NOT PUT IN FRONT OF THEM — MUCH TO THEIR DETRIMENT.
TO FIND THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE JOB, WE WENT THROUGH OUR USUAL PROCESS. WE SAT DOWN WITH THE CLIENT AND THE STAKEHOLDERS THROUGHOUT THE ORGANISATION AND TRIED TO UNDERSTAND THE POSITION. WE TALKED ABOUT THEIR FUTURE GOALS, THE FINANCIAL NECESSITIES, HOW THEY WOULD MANAGE THE ORGANISATION, AND MUCH MORE.
FROM THERE, WE WENT TO WORK FINDING SUITABLE CANDIDATES FOR THE POSITION. AFTER A WHILE, WE BROUGHT TWO DIFFERENT CANDIDATES IN FRONT OF THE ORGANISATION. ONE OF THEM WAS PERFECT FOR THE ROLE. FIRST, THEY HAD EXCELLENT KNOWLEDGE OF THE RAILWAY INDUSTRY. SECOND, THEY HAD THE EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE TO MAKE THEM AN OUTSTANDING LEADER WITHIN THE ORGANISATION. THAT WAS THE PERSON WE RECOMMENDED FOR THE ROLE.