How to hire…a senior lettings specialist to spearhead

Case study - Executive Search

Head of Lettings

Ibiza/Mallorca

The challenge...

Charles Marlow, an independent estate agent ‘mastering the art of real estate’ set in the stunning village of Deia on the West Coast of Mallorca, required a property lettings expert to spearhead the business plans for expansion.

The agency had an existing world-class sales function and by providing a lettings arm to mirror its success, the agency was able to offer the same high level of service and properties for holidays and short-term let clientele.

Customer service and experience is at the forefront of Charles Marlow so it was imperative the candidate was synonymous with those values. The team understand the island – not just by geography, but the community and what makes it a brilliant place.

This is reflected in their prestigious portfolio as the agency chooses quality over quantity. Rather than listing a high stream of properties, the agents represent unique, beautiful properties which complement the island and lifestyle.

The solution…

deverellsmith recommended a holistic approach to the search which included:

Utilisation of deverellsmith’s Data and Research function
Microsite (career’s page which sits within deverellsmith’s website)
Paid advertising
Targeted and widespread email marketing campaigns
LinkedIn Recruiter

The search was led by Nicola Broomham, Director of Executive Search – Estate Agency, who developed a strategy which had a primary focus of leveraging deverellsmith’s existing network for referrals, introductions and building connections.

The D&R team serve two purposes on behalf of our clients, firstly, to map the market and utilise sources to identify the best talent and, secondly, to acquire accurate market feedback for our clients who are serious about their employees and the sector they work in.

In this specific assignment, the analysts got to grips with the geography of the island by researching target companies that didn’t just align with service but value for customer experience. By building relationships with people in the industry - not just who fitted the profile – the team were able to build out a credible network of relevance. The territory of search then expanded across Europe as the business were offering an attractive relocation package.

Any company which went the ‘extra-mile’ from the UK to Portugal to Greece was deemed a target for networking. We were looking for the best of the best.

A shortlist of 20 candidates was created and Nicola was then able to hold interviews with every prospective candidate to determine the final shortlist of 6, enabling Charles Marlow to be involved only at the final stages of the search.

The result…

The appointed Head of Lettings has now embraced their new role by remodeling the way the lettings arm operates. As a result, this has driven a further revenue stream and strengthened the agencies’ suite of services on offer for their customer base.

Charles Marlow instructed Nicola and the D&R team on further work including sourcing a new team member who could support the highly successful sales team with additional assignments in the pipeline.