Associate - Knight Frank

Who was the company?

At Knight Frank, they build long-term relationships, which allow them to provide personalised, clear and considered advice on all areas of property, in all key markets. They believe personal interaction is a crucial part of ensuring every client is matched to the property that suits their needs best – be it commercial or residential. Operating in locations where their clients need them to be, they provide a worldwide service that has local expertise, but is also globally connected.

Knight Frank believe that inspired teams naturally provide excellent and dedicated client service. Therefore, they have created a workplace where opinions are respected, where everyone is invited to contribute to the success of the business and where they are rewarded for excellence. The result is that their people are more motivated, ensuring the customer’s experience with Knight Frank is the best that it can be.

What was the situation?

Knight Frank was facing a challenge to find highly skilled top billers in London who aligned with their brand. The internal team spoke to dozens of candidates in this market, and they felt that the talent did not meet the criteria.

As the team was expanded to meet market demands, Ryan Doyle, Principal Consultant – Estate Agency at deverellsmith, was appointed to source candidates who could bill in excess of £400k.

Were there any challenges?

Knight Frank’s standards are extremely high and a small pool of talent met the search criteria which included customer service standards, career ambition and pace of work.

It was also important to understand the profile of applicants who the team at Knight Frank had already seen and what hadn’t worked in their previous searches. It was crucial to take the time to understand what good looks like in their mind.

What was the process?

Using Ryan’s individual network and the wider deverellsmith database, Ryan was able to approach the market efficiently and effectively to finalise a longlist.

Ryan screened a shortlist of 15 highly successful billers in the space who met the criteria and could potentially be the right fit for Knight Frank, and who he knew the opportunity would appeal to the prospective candidates.

All the contenders showed interest, but the timing wasn’t right for a selection due to upcoming promotions or pay rises.

Three candidates were offered an interview and Knight Frank felt very positive towards all three of the interviewees, offering two of them a position – one was sent to an alternative office – and they are staying close to a third for when an upcoming opportunity is available.