Michelle Peagam (nee Horrex) and Geraldine Cole possess a mutual vision and a tangible passion for recruitment. This coupled with a wealth and depth of expertise and experience, means it was inevitable that when their paths crossed and their minds met, great things would ignite.
Michelle and Geraldine met in 2011. Michelle was a Talent and Recruitment Manager of a top FTSE 100 (G4S Plc). Michelle’s strategy there was to implement, develop and deliver a strong direct sourcing strategy for G4S Secure Solutions. Geraldine was, as she is today, running a successful talent sourcing business. They met to put in place a cost effective recruitment solution to support the management and Executive recruitment challenges within Michelle’s organisation at the time.
Michelle’s position at the time meant that she had the pleasure of working within the HR team for a global brand. She learnt recruitment from the other side of the table and believes the insight gained has enabled her to become a stronger leader, understanding the bigger picture of the recruitment process. She also experienced first-hand the challenge of recruiting and retaining top talent.
Geraldine’s extensive expertise in providing recruitment services for over 25 years meant that she was totally in tune to the needs of a changing, increasingly competitive market. Her organisation was growing rapidly, breaking new ground in resourcing, looking at new and innovative ways to offer flexibility in recruitment.
In 2012, Colin Minto (Group Head of Resourcing, G4S Plc) approached Geraldine and explained he had innovated the use of an Executive Search consultant on an hourly basis. Colin’s recruitment strategy was to utilise technology and innovation to reduce costs, build talent pools and deliver a first class service to the business. He was interested to understand if she would consider developing the model into a stand-alone service that could be tailored for his organisation and utilised worldwide to reduce the use of traditional headhunters. This proved to be a highly successful initiative, which achieved cost savings in excess of one million pounds. As a result Colin has recommended the (what is now HorrexCole) hourly Executive Search service to other FTSE 100 clients that are active clients today.
In 2013 with the blessing of G4S, Michelle and Geraldine joined forces. Michelle became a part of Geraldine’s Executive service on a freelance basis to explore the needs of the Executive Search market and tease the appetite for the HorrexCole hourly charge Executive Search model on a global basis. The model developed and matured, differentiating itself from traditional headhunting methods and offering clients improved return on investment.
Throughout 2014/2015 the relentless effort to build on the fundamental differentiation has resulted in sustainable growth upon growth. This has driven the focus on selecting Executive Search Consultants who can support the model across a wide range of disciplines and countries. People who will continue to underpin the values of the model and support their client’s direct sourcing strategy. Like any service – it’s the people that make the difference.
They have continued to explore the needs of clients and have conducted research that shows that whilst in-house teams are successfully fulfilling their roles, Executive hires still remain to be a challenge. This is why the unique, flexible hourly Executive service has proven to be so attractive. It enables organisations to retain control of the high costs associated with finding high potential leaders and maximise the return on investment.
The passion, drive and commitment will now take HorrexCole to the next level. Would you like to be a part of the journey? In the words of one of their new clients, “High headhunting fees can be a thing of the past”
