Seven steps. One line of accountability.
The H&S Method is how Aligned Acquisition is carried out. The discipline is in running it the same way every time, so that intelligence, assessment and integration stay connected from the first briefing to the end of the integration reviews.
The seven steps
Discover
The search begins with the people who own the appointment: the board or the hiring leader, who carries the mandate, and HR, who understands how the organisation hires, develops and retains its leaders. Together they give us the full picture: the strategy, the culture as it is lived, the mandate and the measures by which the appointment will be judged a year from now.
You receive
An agreed brief and success measures
Design
The ideal candidate profile and the competency framework are written and agreed, and the universe of organisations and leaders from which the appointment is most likely to come is mapped in full.
You receive
A Talent Landscape Report before the first approach
Outreach
Leaders are approached directly and in confidence, including those who are not in the market and would not respond to an advertisement, and those in our invitation only Leadership Vanguard.
You receive
Competitor intelligence, and live status in our shared tracking workspace
Assess
Structured interviews against the framework, behavioural and leadership assessment, domain deep dives and independent references that the candidate does not nominate.
You receive
Assessment evidence on each candidate
Shortlist
A calibrated shortlist, with each candidate framed by fit, risk and likely impact in the first twelve months. Our recommendation is explicit: who we would appoint, and why.
You receive
A written shortlist report
Close
Offer design, notice and counter offer management, depth referencing and a transition plan, including the new leader's first conversations with the team.
You receive
Offer architecture and a transition plan
Onboard
Structured integration reviews with the executive and the hiring leader continue after the join, so any friction is surfaced and resolved early.
You receive
Structured integration reviews
What you receive, and when.
Every search produces the same core documents, so a board can see the evidence behind each recommendation.
The agreed brief
After Discover: the mandate as it truly is, the capability the role demands, the culture the leader will work through and the measures by which the appointment will be judged a year on.
The Talent Landscape Report
Before the first approach: the size and shape of the market for the role, the organisations and leaders it is most likely to come from, live compensation and a realistic time to appoint.
The shortlist recommendation
At Shortlist: each candidate set against the brief, with the evidence from interviews, assessment and independent references, the risks to manage, the likely impact in the first year and our own recommendation.
The transition plan
At Close: the offer, the handling of notice and counter offers, and the first conversations of the new leader with the team.
Integration reviews
After the join: structured reviews with the new leader and the hiring leader at agreed points through the first year.
References on request
Where a client asks, we can arrange conversations with clients whose mandates are relevant, with their consent.
Critical appointments require evidence beyond the CV.
Market truth
The talent pool, competitor structures, live compensation and the attractiveness of your offer, established before the first approach.
Behaviour under pressure
Established, independently published behavioural instruments to examine performance style, derailment risk and values alignment across the shortlist.
Independent evidence
Structured references beyond the contacts a candidate nominates, to triangulate the real track record, always with consent and within the law.
The model should match the consequence of the appointment.
Higher consequence, deeper assessment, more commercial risk shared.
- FoundationalTraditional SearchManagement roles
- ProgressiveEnhanced SearchFunctional leadership
- StrategicShared AccountabilityExecutive roles
- ApexOutcome PartnershipChief executive and board
Every model runs on the same method and to the same standard. What deepens with the consequence of the role is the depth of assessment, the intelligence delivered and the share of our fee held until the outcome is proven. The Outcome Partnership applies in full at Apex.
Considering a leadership appointment that matters?
Discovery conversations are confidential, led by the Founder and carry no obligation. Every enquiry receives a guaranteed personal response.