Sunday Tribune, 14th June 2009 - Accreate re-launches as Accreate Executive Search & Interim

Accreate, which is a well-known name in Irish recruitment circles, has just relaunched itself onto the market as Accreate Executive Search & Interim. Despite having dealt with many senior placements in the past, Accreate is now focusing exclusively on the higher end of the market, leveraging off the now-expanded group’s significant reach into both the Irish and overseas talent pools. Founded in 2001 by Ronan Colleran, Accreate became part of the AIM-listed Imprint group in 2005, before becoming part of the Premier Group following Premier’s acquisition of Imprint in May of 2008.

“We are looking to add value to the selection process, now that we are dealing in a high volume candidate market where there are fewer jobs available,” said Colleran. “Thanks to our acquisition by the Premier Group, we now have access to a group-wide database of more than a million candidates.”

Greater quantities leads to greater choice, but it can also lead to a significantly increased workload for the recruitment service provider. Contingency-based recruitment processes will work for certain types of role, but when it comes to the senior end of the market, it is important to have a forensic sifting tool so that the client is presented with only the best that is out there.

This is why Accreate has chosen to concentrate solely on executive search (with some interim solutions). And it is the scale of the group, coupled with the expertise that resides in the Accreate team, that will allow it to make good on its commitment to add value for its clients. “One upside of the downturn is that there has never been a better time than the present for Corporates to recruit Senior Management,” said Colleran. “And given the availability of talent in the market, the best way for companies to manage that is through Executive Search.”

Accreate’s stated ambition is to become the best professional executive search provider operating in the Irish market. It can provide retained recruitment solutions for permanent, temporary and contract roles across seven key specialist areas: pharmaceutical and healthcare; energy and natural resources; consumer; advisory; financial services; private equity; and technology, media and telecoms. And each of these areas will benefit from the unique advantages that Accreate can bring.

“Search companies in Ireland have tended in the past to have been set up as partnerships between individuals who have their own books of clients,” said Colleran. “And these have done very well, but the truth is that they will have a finite network, so they can only go to a certain level. But Accreate is the first executive search company to have been established as part of a large group, except for those which have been set up as part of the large accountancy firms. And because of this, we have a platform that no other Irish company has, with an overseas database all of our own.”

As part of its re-launch, Accreate has developed an all-new visual identity to go along with its new focus, which will allow it not only to differentiate itself from its competitors, but also to further establish the brand in the Irish and international markets. “This is an exciting time for us as we further develop our Accreate brand to enable us to consistently exceed clients’ expectations by partnering with them to attract the top talent in the market to meet their senior level resourcing requirements,” said Colleran. “In the ‘Adapt or Die’ market in which we all find ourselves, we have now positioned ourselves to survive and thrive in the downturn - and we are confident that our offering in the Executive Search & Interim Management is the best available in the market"

Sunday Tribune, 14th June 2009, Education Recruitment