Jackie Bandish, CEO and FounderIn an interview with Manage HR magazine, Jackie Bandish, CEO and Founder of the Bandish Group, shares her insights on the company and the direction of the life sciences executive search sector as a whole.
How has the past year been like for the Bandish Group? Could you give us a bit of background on what the company has been working on in the last 12-18 months?
In 2020, we became engaged with a leader in the modular clean room industry. As a result, we recruited several of their Executive Leadership Team including their COO. We expanded our scope to include searches for EH&S, Facilities Management, Global Logistics, Procurement, Engineers, Estimators, and Project Managers. We assisted our clients’ growth with talent that aided in their consecutive 20 percent increase in business over the last two years annually.
COVID opened another opportunity for us to be retained by a health solutions client whose goal is to bring a “clinic on the wrist” consumer product to the market. They were attracted to our years of service and knowledge within the life sciences sector. We have partnered with them in hiring the right technical and commercial experts. Those hired have been in the marketing, global logistics, procurement, biosensing R&D and engineering departments.
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We find your best fit not just any fit
We remain niched and continue to focus our expertise recruiting for the C-Suite and Executive Leadership teams building Clinical/Scientific Affairs, Development, Marketing and Operations, Market Access, Medical Affairs and Commercial organizations. We have over 83 years of combined recruiting experience, and our oldest tenured employee has been with us for 20 years. That experience, combined with the ‘boutiqueness’ that we bring to the industry, makes us unique.
Our culture is one of providing a personal touch. We do not make assumptions by reviewing a resume. We make the call that gets to know the candidate, their experience and career goals.
What are some of the pain points affecting your clients today?
We are in a candidate-driven marketplace. Many employers believe that candidates will respond to job postings on LinkedIn or other media outlets. However, most people are not actively looking to make a career change as they have been through COVID with their employers and have become more complacent. These are the passive candidates that we reach out to on behalf of our clients. This is where our team excels. Over the years, we have built a trusted network in the industry and have an organic database of experienced and talented candidates. We have never used job boards. We are true hunters.
We have heard from many candidates that they are frustrated with applying to sites. Candidates are getting screened out based on artificial intelligence alone. For instance, if your resume doesn’t have a certain number of keywords, you don’t register as qualified or they apply online and fall into the black hole database and are never acknowledged. Other stories are they interviewed with a company and never heard back, received feedback or even a return call. This is where we make an impact. We don’t screen on keywords and we don’t make assumptions on the first glance of a resume. Our goal is to interview the candidates, learn of their strengths, their weaknesses, career interests, their personalities and align them with the right fit. We pride ourselves on providing feedback. Each week we touch base with our candidates in the process and keep them informed and updated on their status with our clients. We are the ultimate liaison between the candidate and client.
How do you engage with clients? What makes you special as far as executive search consultants go?
Our business has been built through honest and open communication that has lend itself to establishing true partnerships with our clients. When they engage our services, we sign a contract with our client and invoice an initial engagement fee. This establishes a commitment between both parties, indicating their willingness to be an active partner in the recruitment process and to attend our bi-weekly feedback meetings. We conduct an intake video meeting with the hiring manager and the HR business partner. Prior to COVID, we visited our client sites to get an understanding of their culture and work environment.
We represent the company and their science. We tell the story. We share with each potential candidate the company culture, the career opportunity, the hiring managers style and personality. We guide the candidate on their path forward to advancing their career. Our candidates go through a dual-screening process with our team. If they are qualified, we represent them to our client providing a detailed summary. We typically submit a small pool of qualified candidates that have been dual-screened and then begin our bi-weekly calls to collect feedback from the hiring manager. Our goal is to have candidates in front of the hiring manager within 20 business days. We work in partnership with our clients so that each project is a success and completed effectively and efficiently.
We are very team-oriented and work in a very collaborative manner. Our goal is to find for both the candidate and the client “the best fit, not just any fit.” We pride ourselves on representing quality over quantity. At the same time, we provide industry and marketplace data to our clients based on our recruitment efforts. This year has been named The Year of the Great Resignation. As a result, it has impacted many industries. We have been able to provide our clients with intel on how competing companies are retaining their talent. We are the ear to the ground for our clients. Our goal is to help educate them and to keep them informed so they can continue to attract the best talent.
In addition, we like to eliminate surprises for the candidate as well as the client, and to make sure both parties are extremely prepared for the interview process. That is why we implemented the dual-screening process and why we meet our candidates and clients virtually.
What is the driving principle behind The Bandish Group? What defines you?
We are defined by our personal approach and commitment to the recruitment process. We treat each person as we would want to be treated. We are very committed to building professional yet personal relationships. We always stay in contact with the candidates and clients after a hire. My team and I like to meet our clients and candidates for lunch or dinner and then do a six month and one year follow up with both parties.
Simply put, we are just that boutique and personal. We are all very passionate about what we do for a living and we make it our goal to help guide and mentor others. We take great pride in our services!
