Practice makes perfect, as the old saying goes. That’s why we devote so much effort to identifying experts and consultants with the ideal profile, skill set and experience for each engagement.

Our clients want tangible outputs, rather than theoretical outcomes, so we create bespoke cross-functional teams that blend technical expertise and practical know-how.

There is far more to our approach than merely scouring resumes, though. We apply a human touch to talent identification and selection while using tech as a means rather than an end.

So, how do we separate the best from the rest? Here, we explain how we approach this challenge every single time.

Unearthing knowledge gaps and value-adding opportunities

Initial scoping discussions are so important to building a strong foundation for the engagement.

These conversations between our team and client leaders give us crucial insights into how many contractors and what types are needed in line with any budgetary, time and other project-specific constraints.

Identifying where knowledge and experience gaps exist at this stage helps us deliver the highest bang for buck possible and keep these flexible engagements as lean as possible. They also help us understand how our clients work best and develop an idea of any cultural considerations that must be factored in.

Combining contacts, search and tech

Once armed with a clear sense of what our partners need, we then work on identifying the individual difference-makers they need to progress their priority projects.

Our Client Partnerships team collectively has decades of knowledge of the professional services and consulting landscape, while some of our senior leaders have contact books the size of encyclopaedias. This can be a useful starting point when looking for certain types of more generalist contractors, such as management consultants with cross-industry experience.

We also scour the globe to find subject matter experts who can provide genuinely unique insights based on their own practical experiences. This requires us to conduct multi-faceted research that can involve us:

• Investigating an industry as a whole to understand trends, potential issues and opportunities.
• Looking for projects with similarities to those of our clients to identify individuals with the skills needed.
• Speaking with recognised authorities on a particular topic to gain insights into which members of their professional community might be best suited for our project.

We have also recently added another tool to our arsenal that accelerates our approach: HyphenGPT. This AI-powered tool trawls through the resumes in our professional network in pursuit of the key skills identified in the initial fact-finding missions. This efficiency aid has already proved useful when it comes to finding the best possible professionals and getting them in front of clients swiftly.

Getting to know the candidates

Rather than presenting clients with a long list of prospective professional partners, we assess each professional identified during the search stage to give our clients only the very best for the job.

This involves speaking with contractors to gain a deeper understanding of the projects they have worked on elsewhere, their individual motivations, and their personalities. Checks for cultural fit and various compliance activities are also conducted at this stage to add an extra degree of confidence to our selections. When building cross-functional teams, it is also important to ensure prospective members will get along harmoniously to deliver the best possible experience for all stakeholders.

All of this preliminary work ensures the cross-functional teams we present to client leaders will be more than capable of addressing their unique business challenge in a time and cost-effective manner.

How can Hyphen’s approach help your organisation?

Cross-functional teams are only as effective as the experts in them. Trust Hyphen to provide your organisation with the real expertise it needs to achieve its goals – contact us now.