Retained Search & Talent Advisory
Some hiring decisions
start before the role
is ready.
Retained search and talent advisory for important hiring decisions across Canada and the U.S.
How we work
- Since 2013, OctanePeople has worked with leaders on hiring decisions where the role carries real consequences and the usual process is not enough.
- In many of those situations, the search begins while the work, the level, and the conditions for success are still taking shape. The process moves forward, but the decision is already carrying assumptions that have not been fully tested.
- That is where we tend to enter. Sometimes the work is to run the search. Sometimes it is to step back and understand what the role and the decision need to carry before the market is involved.
WHAT WE DO
Retained search is for roles where the decision is ready and the role can support a disciplined search. Talent advisory is for situations where the decision still needs work and the right move may not yet be a search at all.
Run the search
When the role is defined and the decision is ready to move, we run a retained search built around the work the role actually needs to do — with targeted outreach, disciplined evaluation, and decision support that holds up under real operating conditions.
Strengthen the decision
When the role, the brief, or the next step is still taking shape, we help define what the work actually requires, test assumptions, and determine whether the right move is search, internal change, or a different sequence.
WHAT CLIENTS GET
The work is meant to improve what happens next, whether that leads directly to search or not.
A better-defined role
The role is shaped against the work, context, and expectations it needs to carry.
A more durable decision
The brief, evaluation, and trade-offs are clearer before the process gathers momentum.
Less to unwind later
Fewer assumptions are left unresolved, which reduces rework during the search and after the hire.
Structured search, when search is the right move
For senior, sensitive, or high-consequence roles, we run a retained process with serious evaluation and a one-year guarantee on every placement. We work with a limited number of organizations at a time — if an important hiring decision needs more definition, stronger judgement, or a more rigorous search process, we should talk.