Goodson Thomas, a bilingual executive search company founded in Wales is celebrating its best year to date. As of the end of March 2023, the company which has been running for eight years, saw 60% year on year revenue growth.
The small team of headhunters and researchers at Goodson Thomas work across multiple sectors and functional areas in the public, private and not-for-profit arenas in Wales and engage with UK and international markets.
Despite the economic uncertainty which continues to challenge businesses across the UK, Goodson Thomas who won a place on the Crown Commercial Services Framework in September 2022, undertook 82% more assignments over the last 12 months compared with the previous year and worked with 23 new clients.
"We pride ourselves on working as a trusted partner to our clients, not merely contractors," said Sian Goodson, Founder and Managing Director of Goodson Thomas.
"Over the last year we've worked with an increased number of partners who are engaging us to help them find employees who align with their culture and way of working, a solution you can only find through in depth conversations with individuals.
"We're finding that the breadth of organisations we work with, are attuned to the benefits of working with executive search teams like ours. By working with us, our partners are making a strategic investment to avoid incurring significant costs in the long term."
Responding to a marked hike in demand for its services, Goodson Thomas has appointed two new individuals to the team; both of whom commence in the summer, and is further investing in its technological capability.
Sian continued: "To ensure the continued success of Goodson Thomas, we know how important it is to familiarise ourselves and adopt key Welsh policies such as the Welsh Language Act and the Well-being of Future Generations Act. Our clients' priorities are also our priorities."
Understanding candidates' expectations is as important to Goodson Thomas as their clients' briefs. Company Director Ross O'Keefe, author of its inaugural White Paper claims the market remains a candidate's market, advice which has influenced organisations' decisions when recruiting:
"Although candidates want to be paid in line with the market, salary is not the main motivating factor for candidates right now," he said.
"Their decision to move roles include organisational purpose, values and company culture. We are consistently asked about flexible and hybrid working or the option to condense or reduce the number of days in the working week. Candidates are seeking to work in a culture that is output-focused so that they can also spend time away from work to reset and recover."
In addition to search, Goodson Thomas has been working with clients on benchmarking salaries. The company offers a service whereby it compares pay structures with the industry average to ensure the organisation's proposition to existing staff and new employees remains competitive.