How Business of Software CEO Mark Littlewood found a world-class executive assistant with Pearl Talent’s white-glove recruiting

Challenge

Business of Software was looking for a recruiting partner that offered a highly personalized service, custom-built for their needs

While kickstarting a search for a remote Chief of Staff, Mark Littlewood – Business of Software’s CEO – knew he needed someone who could think on their feet, and in turn free up his time to focus entirely on his company’s rapidly growing conference business. But he found it challenging to find an agency that truly cared about his needs rather than simply filling a role.

He felt most agencies ultimately weren’t up to the task – the whole recruiting process felt frustratingly impersonal and inefficient from end to end. For example:

1. Most hiring agencies were lightly screening mid-tier candidates, not focusing on placing a truly successful hire. In contrast, Pearl’s success rate stood at 86%.
2. The large majority of agencies consistently underpaid their employees, who would then quickly jump at the chance to join a new company with a slight salary bump.
3. Some agencies were slow to respond to Mark’s messages, leaving him wondering about the status of the search – adding even more stress to the process.
4. None of the agencies he spoke with offered the bespoke service Pearl offered that would remove the bulk of hiring and onboarding tasks from Mark’s to-do list, yielding even more lost time.

From his lens, these delays and lack of white-glove service were unacceptable. Mark needed someone who could take on the tasks that were consuming too much of his time, but he didn’t want to spend a lot of time messaging the agency or paying extra for fast service. 

Finally, Mark found Pearl – an agency that fully addressed all of his custom requirements — with a more personalized and hands-on recruiting approach.

“I was incredibly disappointed with other recruiting agencies. They weren't remotely interested in what we do as a business. One agency put us through a half-hour call and only at the end told us: ‘We can't hire anyone for six months unless you pay an additional $9,000 to jump the queue.”

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Solution

Pearl’s personalized approach to recruiting fast-tracked the hiring process and delivered best-in-class candidates

Mark points out that Pearl’s unique approach to hiring instantly sold him on their platform. When he initially met with his point of contact, Juanita, Mark says it was clear that she was focused on deeply understanding his hiring criteria instead of looking to quickly check a box. Juanita helped define the skills, job description as well as the qualities and values that would be important to him in the role. In short, after months of trying to find the right recruiting partner – he knew he had found the perfect solution.

Thanks to Pearl’s meticulous diligence process, Mark interviewed only the most relevant candidates for the position. He was impressed with the quality of the prospects Pearl presented, especially Jann, whom he ultimately hired as his new hire.

Pearl’s hiring process included four distinct phases:

1. Understanding his company’s culture 

Throughout the initial onboarding and diligence process, Juanita consistently asked pointed questions about Mark’s needs so they could connect him with the perfect candidates.

2. Uncovering workflow bottlenecks 

This second step helped Pearl identify the skills Mark needed in a Chief of Staff, and in turn write a highly specific job description that matches his distinct requirements.

3. Providing a shortlist of candidates 

The profiles Pearl sent to Mark were perfectly aligned with his needs, which allowed Mark to focus on running his business — instead of worrying about the hiring process.

4. Offering one-on-one support 

Pearl continued to provide support for the first three months with post-matching sessions and evaluations with Jann to confirm that both she and Mark found exactly the right fit.

Since onboarding Jann, Mark has seen a boost in his own productivity and work efficiency. Jann has taken care of the administrative tasks previously dominating Mark’s time, allowing him to focus more on important matters for his rapidly growing events company. More importantly, Jann has proven herself, has proactively developed and grown her role to include a much wider brief, and is a critical part of the team. 

“Our Pearl contact, Juanita, gave a very clear impression that she actually cared about what I was building. That curiosity and interest made a huge difference.”

Results

Mark saved 20+ hours onboarding his new Chief of Staff thanks to Pearl’s extensive recruiting and diligence process

Because Pearl deeply understands the remote talent landscape, Mark was able to quickly find a world-class Chief of Staff – while saving valuable resources by offshoring his new hire. In terms of specific quantitative results, Mark points to three distinct benefits of Pearl:

• 92% reduction in onboarding time
• 20 hours saved during onboarding 
• $12,700 saved by hiring with Pearl 

Mark is quick to recommend Pearl and says he would definitely use the service again. He advises other founders who have concerns about hiring offshore to consider the benefits of a hands-on, white-glove recruiting partner that goes the extra mile for every single customer. In his words, “Working with Pearl costs less, and it's a much lower risk than hiring someone directly.”