Winslow & Company is a progressive executive search firm. The company has created an exclusive process founded on open communication and transparency, focusing on what matters most in recruitment—the people.

Winslow & Company prides itself on providing a highly personalized experience to both the clients and the candidates they partner with. Every step of its process is driven by genuine care, transparent communication, and a desire to better the lives of the individuals they consider themselves lucky to work with. Winslow & Company has coined the term “humanized search,” a best-in-class experience wherein the company is relentless about providing dedicated, customized, and meaningful support.

Below is the conversation that Manage HR Magazine had with Winslow & Company’s Managing Partner, Adrianna Rooke.

The New Working World: Associated Challenges

One of the main challenges over the last two years has been the navigation of and adjustment to ‘the new working world.’ Since the pandemic, the way we work has drastically changed, and organizations have had to adapt in order to secure talent. A key component in ensuring our clients’ success is candid communication. We are very transparent with them about market trends, candidate expectations and the impact of their work-style on search viability.

This can often lead to direct and sometimes difficult conversations throughout the search process however, by taking this approach, we are able to effectively help our clients navigate the ever-changing talent landscape and ensure they are successful in growing their respective businesses by hiring the right people.

Creating an Honest, Transparent and Meaningful Recruitment Experience

We understand the weight of what we do and the impact it has on our clients’ and our candidates’ lives, and as such, we strive to create an environment of authenticity, respect, and trust. To create and nurture such an environment, communicating with transparency, honesty and integrity are non-negotiable for us.

Our most successful placements have stemmed from our clients and candidates being completely open about their expectations, offerings and challenges. It allows both parties to enter into a completely transparent working relationship and gives them both the best chance at long-term success. I would also like to add that it is incredibly important to us that our clients are well represented throughout the search process. We are meticulous about conducting a deep dive into their business, building relationships with key stakeholders and establishing critical communication touchpoints. This allows us to operate with a business ownership mentality and make recommendations and decisions that are in the best interest of our clients.

Creating a Win-Win Situation

We have many success stories however, one in particular truly stands out as a win. We partnered with a new client on their vital search for a highly specialized Vice President of Operations and knew entering into the partnership, there were only a handful of qualified candidates. We were also faced with budgetary constraints, a newly appointed executive and the challenges of navigating a startup environment. To ensure success, we designed a bespoke search strategy and placed emphasis on building strong relationships and establishing a deep levelof trust with not only our client but with the candidates we connected with as well.

Once a top candidate was identified, we navigated our client and our candidate through a rigorous interview process which required a certain level of finesse, as they both had their own reservations towards each other, mainly influenced by past experiences and a fear of making the wrong decision for their respective futures. Thankfully, through our commitment to transparent communication and ‘humanized search,’ we were able to empathize with both parties, meet their wants and needs and ultimately connect two individuals that have since made incredible things happen.


Demonstrating Agility and Flexibility

Being a boutique firm, we are able to tailor our standard search process to each and every client we work with, which allows us to not only provide customized support but also enables us to seamlessly integrate with their organization and act as an extension of their team.

We consistently ask our clients how, through their vantage point, we can evolve our recruitment process and thanks in large part to their feedback, we continually develop and implement new and innovative practices. We exist to support our clients in solving their talent challenges, and we appreciate that each client’s challenges are nuanced. Being able to demonstrate agility and flexibility to partner with our clients in the way that suits them best is what gives us our edge. This all stems from our promise of “humanized search” and our belief that hiring can and should have a lasting positive impact on both our clients and candidates.

The aim is to recruit with kindness, empathy and compassion. To quote the eminent Maya Angelou, “people will forget what you said or did, but they will never forget the way you made them feel.” Let’s always remember, recruitment is a people business and humanizing the experience is essential in ensuring lasting success.