I’ve been in the headhunting business since 2009. In 2013 InHunt Group joined Hunting Heads International Headhunting Network, and a year after that I left for Spain. We opened two offices, one in Madrid and another in Barcelona using the Hunting Heads brand, but nothing really ever worked with them.
In 2013 when we were searching for options and looking to join an international headhunting network, we had a chance to talk with chains such as Korn Ferry, Michael Page etc. Korn Ferry even paid us a visit in Helsinki and it was really interesting to take part in that meeting and have the possibility to talk with, listen to and understand how these big international headhunting companies work.
A lot happened afterwards and last summer I began to get really sick and tired of belonging to someone that obviously didn’t work and did not have a future. If I would need to summarize what was wrong, it was senior people, old processes and ancient ways of thinking. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m definitely not an age racist, and I’ve personally faced that kind of attitude many times being a relatively young person in the real business world when trying to make big things happen. In various situations I’ve needed to overcome a huge amount of obstacles to convince others of my knowledge, abilities and especially new ways of doing things and making things better. However, I have a huge respect for some senior headhunters and companies inside our industry, and I’ve always tried to find and connect the best parts from both old and new.
“So during the past few years I had seen how you shouldn’t lead and build an international headhunting network.”
So during the past few years I had seen how you shouldn’t lead and build an international headhunting network. At the same I had been in talks with many companies who would be willing to go abroad but had the same headache every time – how to find the key players and especially how to find a partner who they could really trust. When taking these things into account and not forgetting how globalization and digitalization have affected this business world and also our headhunting industry, I kind of hit me that the headhunting world is really missing something.
Soon I had come up with a totally new concept for an international headhunting network which was essentially based on these five (5) key principles:
1. Hiring abroad shouldn’t be a headache. It really shouldn’t, and it really shouldn’t be the main obstacle as to why one company cannot expand their services to new markets.
2. Finding a trustworthy and cost-effective headhunting partner shouldn’t be that difficult. Many international headhunting networks have minimum fees of €30,000 for one recruitment, which I personally think is just absurd. Yes, a headhunting service has its value, but still, why should someone pay €30,000 or more for something that can often be relatively fast and easy to execute if you have good local market knowledge and the right tools?
3. The world has changed and so should we. The headhunting industry is still dominated by old-fashioned and traditional companies. Although they try to say another thing, unfortunately many of them haven’t really kept up with the change.
4. Transparency and good communication with every stakeholder. We promise to answer our customers’ message every time within 24 hours. We also require weekly reporting and we are also constantly in contact with the candidates. It might sound like something that should be the default, but unfortunately in our business it’s not.
5. Digitalization in the middle of everything. From how we make business to how we execute cases and find people, digitalization is in the middle of everything what we do.
The story of InHunt World has just started, but we have already found great Partners and we cover nearly 20 countries. Many of those Partners have said out loud that someone has finally created something new and fresh, and that was the main reason to join. Before next summer our target is to have Partners in 30 countries, which takes us closer to our ultimate target of having Partners in 50 countries and on 7 continents.
If you want to know more about our services, don’t hesitate to contact us! In addition, if you are running a local headhunting company and what you just read was music to your ears, give me a call or send me a message and let’s talk about whether this could be something interesting for us both. The list of the countries we are in at this moment can be found here: https://inhuntworld.com/our-network/
Written,
Teemu Ruuska
Director
InHunt World
www.linkedin.com/in/teemuruuska
Teemu is the director of InHunt World and has been working in recruitment and headhunting industry since 2009. Teemu is from Finland and came to Spain in 2014 to set up and open new headhunting offices in Madrid and later in Barcelona. Since last year Teemu has been focusing to design, create and put together the new InHunt World International Headhunting Network which already covers nearly 20 countries.
Teemu Ruuska, Director of InHunt World
This article was written by Sonali