When organisations begin a senior appointment, it's natural to picture the ideal candidate. Someone who has already done the same role, in the same sector, for a similar organisation, with every skill, qualification and competency on the wish list.

Sometimes, that person exists.

The challenge is that they also need to be interested in your opportunity.

Across the transport, infrastructure and energy sectors, organisations are competing for a relatively small pool of experienced leaders. Major investment in programmes such as AMP8, electricity transmission, airports, rail and the wider infrastructure pipeline mean demand continues to outstrip supply in many specialist leadership disciplines.

Waiting for the "perfect" candidate can leave critical roles unfilled for months. In many cases, the organisations that make the strongest appointments are those willing to challenge their assumptions about what the right candidate really looks like.

So, before deciding the market can't provide what you're looking for, ask yourself one simple question:

Would you move for this role?

1. Job Spec

The first thing is to look through the job specification, particularly the person specification to see what it’s asking for. How realistic is it? is it what they really need? Or just some compilation of the individual wish lists of several of the stakeholders that hasn’t been sense checked.

More importantly, is the job spec attractive to the people you are hoping to attract?

We often see briefs asking for candidates who have delivered identical programmes, worked for direct competitors, possess every technical specialism and have extensive commercial, operational and strategic leadership experience. Individually, each requirement may be reasonable. Collectively, they can narrow the market to only a handful of people.

Even then, those individuals may have little reason to move.

Rather than asking who is doing the job today, consider who could do it next.

For example, we recently supported a client looking to appoint a Director to establish and grow a new regional business. Their initial focus was on leaders already running competing businesses.

The reality was that these individuals had spent years building successful teams, strong client relationships and established reputations. Starting again elsewhere held limited appeal.

By broadening the search to include senior leaders one step below, who were ready for their first Director position, the opportunity became considerably more attractive while still delivering the capability the client needed.

Increasingly, the best appointments aren't always people who have done exactly the same job before. They're leaders who have demonstrated they can operate successfully at the same level of complexity.

2. Benchmark

Compare with the market – look at the salary, benefits package, location, appeal of the role, employment brand of the company and current competition/availability for someone with the required skills and experience. Can it be done for that salary and in that location? If so, how can it be done and if not what needs to be flexed in order to recruit the role?

While money is rarely the most important factor for senior candidates when considering a job move, it has to be right. If you are offering well below the market rate for the experience and capability you’re seeking, filling the job is never going to happen. We help by providing market-based evidence of the going rate that you need to offer to attract their target candidate.

3. Location

If pay isn’t the issue, then greater flexibility on location may help. A company may be asking for current competitor experience but be based nowhere near the majority of firms in their sector. What are the allied sectors that are more local to you? Another option is to look at the extent to which you could accommodate someone working from home or another regional office for part of the week, which may make the role more manageable for some candidates.

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If you'd like to discuss how we can help you find the right senior leader for your organisation, get in touch at enquiries@newsomconsulting.co.uk.