"We were trying to locate a Head of Technology for our commercial global cards business when we learned Harris Woods had just completed a search in another area of the organisation. They came highly recommended, so we decided to give them a try. We retained Greg Harris on a very challenging brief and were impressed from the first update onwards. In a few weeks, he had competently mapped the market's key individuals both in Europe and the United States, and provided a likely target list. From there it was a case of 'hooking' (his term) a short list of the preferred names, before making our selection. I was very pleased with both the outcome and the experience throughout, and the candidate we ultimately selected spoke highly of the support Harris Woods provided. I'd highly recommend them for any challenging technical assignment."
"For the next stage of our journey we needed to look at our infrastructure capabilities and our approach to strategy and change, this required us to restructure an internal team, to be left with a core 'kernel' of functional heads. We needed to look externally for some of these individuals – and all needed to be exceptional not only when it came to leadership of their given area, but in terms of having the adaptability to play a larger part in the new structure, and provide insight and support to areas outside their specialist discipline. Locating and retaining senior candidates with this combination of subject matter excellence, and adaptability – not to mention drive and gravitas – is time-consuming, challenging, and ultimately not always successful. Having taken other references, we engaged Harris Woods in late 2011 with a complex brief. Greg Harris was able to give us some excellent advice both on initial targeting, and on an on-going basis throughout the process. With their help, we've since retained 3 key individuals to lead a critical piece of our new structure. Harris Woods lived up to their reputation, and I would recommend them highly for technology focused executive search work."
"Harris Woods are a rare commodity in the recruitment world – a company that deliver on their promises. They have found strong candidates for positions that have been especially difficult to fill and have tracked down the best people for me again and again. They utilise experience and common sense to fill roles - which means that I trust them to get the job done, rather than taking a call every couple of days to redirect a search. All in all – they are one of the good guys."
"We were in the middle of restructuring our IT team, looking to fill a key new role, and I was dissatisfied with the response from our traditional search company. I therefore engaged Harris Woods to fill the position, with a very specific brief. The interaction with Harris Woods was positive and responsive throughout; they took the time to ensure they understood not just the brief but our culture and the individuals involved. In a fairly short period of time they generated a screened short list for us, accompanied by a comprehensive report, with four different but very capable individuals all of whom could have brought their special talents to our role. We successfully hired a very strong and rounded individual, with Harris Woods again playing a key part in the final negotiations. Harris Woods are obviously well networked, honest and forthright and I would not hesitate to use them again."
"Identification and selection of the right candidates for senior IT positions – i.e. those with the ability to succeed in the chosen role but also the potential to grow and develop into broader or more senior positions in the future - is an extremely challenging and time consuming affair if done well. As a senior IT executive, I have spent many hours, days and weeks on individual searches to ensure I get the right person with the right skills for a particular role. To ensure success you need to partner with a high quality search organisation. You need dedicated attention, a mature and strong industry network across all IT and related disciplines, and a robust selection and filtering process to ensure only the best candidates are put forward for consideration.
Harris Woods fulfil all of these requirements, and have demonstrated a consistent ability to identify high calibre talent for the roles I have needed to fill. Their rigorous filtering and interviewing process (directed first at me as the client to ensure they have the correct brief, then at potential candidates), has ensured that on each occasion I have been able to fill the position with a top quality candidate. Their process ensures not only that the skills and potential are a good match but that the personal dynamic between individuals will work. I have found no other search company with this level and quality of approach and would recommend Harris Woods without reservation."