Vienna, Austria
At fortalent, your senior consultant will support you from the very beginning with expert advice and proactive project management, all the way to your hiring decision and beyond. No internal interfaces, no loss of information. Just utmost commitment and uncompromising quality.
We see ourselves as a partner at the decision-making level who knows your organization, your business model and your markets. Together we will find the right personalities for your teams, improve your time-to-hire and take your strategic recruiting to the next level.
Strategic Recruiting
We are experts in personnel search and selection for medium-sized companies, scale-ups, holdings & family offices as well as institutional clients in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
Recruiting advisory
for decision-makers
We fill leadership, expert, and key roles with experience, know-how, and discretion. Therefore, we rely on headhunting, individual selection processes, and a strategic consulting approach.
Executive Search
When filling a top management role, experience, trust, timing, and intuition are crucial. With a proven track record of success in countless selection processes, we guide you from defining the job requirements to contracting the right candidate. You'll receive not only a comprehensive market overview and a vetted shortlist, but also project management, communication, and consulting services all from a single source. Especially when filling positions that are critical to the overall success of the company, and where hard facts become basic requirements, the wheat is separated from the chaff.
Recruitment & Direct Search
Whether you're looking for support in filling a specific role or a long-term partner for your recruiting pipeline: talent acquisition is our specialty . We immerse ourselves in candidate markets and know the best practices in direct sourcing. And we dig deep, even when things get tough. For competitive job profiles, we often recommend a combination of headhunting, social network search, media search, pool search, and our fortalent network .
When special discretion is required and a position must not be advertised publicly, a confidential search and selection process, conducted by an experienced headhunter is the most effective option.
Personnel selection
Whether it's a success-critical leadership position, a staff key player, executive assistance, or the establishment of a new role: the challenge in selecting and filling key positions often lies in the combination of hard skills and personality. When particular demands are placed on stable and long-term career orientation, experience and a well-designed process are key. And don't worry, we also give your intuition the necessary consideration. With years of experience in designing meaningful yet pragmatic selection processes, we support you in making the best possible personnel decisions. We select a combination of proven elements and address your individual support needs.
Personal interviews are irreplaceable in personnel selection. To support decisions made under increased risk or in challenging situations, we also offer extended management audits and assessments .
The modules are tailored to the initial situation, framework conditions, and team specifics, and comprise digital testing, individual assessments, business cases, and hearings. At the same time, we carefully consider the acceptance of the shortlisted candidates when designing the selection process. Of course, we support you in obtaining references, as well as in contract negotiations and closing with your preferred candidate.
Strategic Recruiting Advisory
Strategic HR consulting can make all the difference: With a clear employer profile, realistic candidate personas, and a streamlined, modern recruiting process, you not only strengthen your employer brand but, more importantly, attract the candidates who are a truly good fit. Uniqueness and authenticity are key. We support you in positioning your unique employer propositions and thus securing your reputation for the long term. Ultimately, this leads to smoother recruiting processes.
To attract and develop the right talent in the long term, every organization needs to do its homework. This raises questions, particularly in medium-sized businesses, about the right organizational structure, realistic and competitive salary ranges, and effective talent management without overwhelming the organization.
Talent & Skill Insights
As part of strategic recruiting planning, in addition to knowledge of external compensation levels, a deep understanding of candidate markets, the level of willingness to change jobs, and the availability of specific skills is becoming increasingly important. Numerous tools and data sources exist for this purpose, but their analysis usually requires professional aggregation and evaluation by an experienced recruiting professional. We work with leading providers of current market data and deliver executive summaries that serve as a liable basis for your further personnel planning.
Our client focus
Our clients are leading medium-sized companies, hidden champions, family businesses, scale-ups, holdings & family offices as well as institutions in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
Medium-sized businesses
Small and medium-sized enterprises are the heart and backbone of our economy and also of central importance to society. Accordingly, the demands placed on their workforce by SMEs are unique and often differ significantly from those of large corporations. This is due to factors such as size, structure, ownership, strong sense of identity, regional ties, and the close relationship between management and individual employees. Therefore, it is only logical for us, as a recruiting partner, to focus on the relevant candidate markets.
Scale-ups
The transition from start-up to market player is exciting and challenging. Iterative structures, trial and error, dynamic growth phases, setbacks, and celebrating shared successes are a balancing act – for investors, management, and employees alike. In the hustle and bustle of day-to-day business, there's hardly any time for strategic recruiting, yet experience shows us that the right personnel decisions are crucial in this setting. As a long-term partner, we work closely with our clients and have a deep understanding of their specific requirements.
Family businesses
Slightly over 50% of companies in German-speaking countries are considered family businesses in the strictest sense. In these companies, economic success and social responsibility go hand in hand. In many cases, and especially in rural areas, family businesses are also key sources of identity and major employers with deep roots in the region. In times of disruptive digital developments and a rapidly changing labor market, the particular challenge lies in finding the balance between long-standing knowledge holders and external innovators. We provide support with a special sensitivity to the needs of family businesses that navigate the balancing act between tradition and innovation every day.
Holdings & Family Offices
Investment holding companies and family offices are, by their very nature, highly strategically oriented. Personnel decisions are a key element in managing their investments. With extensive experience in these settings, we support the search for suitable individuals, both for high-performing holding structures and for strategic appointments in portfolio companies, always acting in the best interests of the owners.
Institutional clients
Key hirings in publicly controlled companies or institutions rightly demand objective evaluation to ensure equal opportunities and a neutral basis for decision-making. We have demonstrated for years that these requirements do not necessarily entail lengthy processes and a top-down approach. Here, too, professionalism and a service-oriented feedback culture are key. We handle all steps, from defining selection criteria and legally compliant tender management to pre-selecting long and short lists, moderating committee hearings, and providing continuous candidate support.
Munich, Germany
Project examples
Years of expertise and up-to-date market know-how are standard to us. What truly sets us apart is our commitment to understanding your business model and designing a customized search and selection process. Above all, we implement solutions pragmatically and with dedication. And we are passionate about your business. Our collaboration with long-standing clients and new developments in the HR field motivate us to go the extra mile.
Our focus is on the cross-industry and cross-functional recruitment of specialists, management, C-level executives and key personnel for medium-sized companies, scale-ups, family businesses, investment holding companies, institutional clients and family offices.
Digital tools and personal support
Consulting strength without interfaces
Quality focus and long-term perspective
Decision- and solution-oriented
We know our playing field
Candidate search behavior and the rules of the game in job interviews have changed substantially in recent years. In competitive candidate markets, simply posting job advertisements is no longer sufficient. Direct sourcing has become the gold standard for attracting suitable candidates. Headhunting is no longer just for the elite and makes sense for many job profiles.
The same applies to personnel search, executive search and online recruiting: In-depth market knowledge, individual search strategies and a positive approach to people are the essential success factors for succeeding in personnel searches even in demanding candidate markets and securing your employer reputation in the long term.
Partnerships at the decision-making level
We are experienced in collaborating with entrepreneurs, executives, HR managers, and personnel decision-makers at all levels. We immerse ourselves in your industry segment, work discreetly, and stay technologically up-to-date. Nevertheless, alongside modern recruiting tools, we often employ classic, discreet direct sourcing, as we have successfully used this method for many years. With in-depth insights into diverse industries and corporate structures, we can often deliver simple and effective best practices.
As an owner, managing director, HR manager, or recruiting manager, you can expect professionalism, commitment, and priority for your project from us. We work as quickly as possible, but with a focus on quality.
The process follows the goal
Following a realistic assessment of the market situation and the calibration of the job description, personality profile, and requirements, we combine the most suitable channels and search methods as the basis for your personnel search, tailored to your specific needs. The jointly agreed-upon objective is central to our process, which is aligned accordingly. For confidential search projects, you benefit from our many years of experience in direct search, the highest level of confidentiality, and our extensive network.
Since no two companies or requirement profiles are alike, we don't offer standard projects . We look forward to discussing your individual needs and will quickly develop a suitable offer for you.
What is important to us
Our experience from over 600 successful placements reveals clear patterns and the prerequisites for truly successful collaboration between clients and recruitment consultants:
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Mutual commitment
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Strong consulting skills and, vice versa, openness to expert input
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Clearly defined decision-making processes and timelines
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A shared understanding of market conditions
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Communication on equal terms and a good flow of information
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Decision-oriented working style
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Focus on the solution, the result before the process constraints
What about AI?
We firmly believe that both personnel decisions on the employer side and individual career choices should be made by people. At the same time, we strive to keep our administrative and overhead costs as low as possible in order to offer our clients attractive terms. And, of course, we utilize automation and AI to support this process.
Where we use AI: Talent Intelligence, Research, Scheduling, Administration
Where we don't use AI: CV screenings, direct approach, interviews, consulting, decision-making
Zurich, Switzerland
Uncompromisingly solution-oriented
All business is people business, and the stakes are high: Finding, selecting and onboarding the right key personnel is a crucial success factor.
Personality matters
Ultimately, what matters in human resources is access to different types of people. We combine 20 years of experience in recruitment and selection with an innovative mindset to secure our targets.
We are fortalent
With a small, well-connected, and highly dedicated team of experts, we deliver successful placements and support in the area of strategic recruiting advisory for medium-sized businesses, scale-ups, family-owned companies, institutional clients, and investment holding companies. Our consulting approach is characterized by pragmatism, and we strive for long-term relationships with our clients and candidates.
We combine 20 years of experience in recruitment and selection with an affinity for innovative tools and methodologies. This results in a sound understanding of the needs of diverse target groups and generations, as well as a successful approach to candidates of all experience levels. We are comfortable searching for individuals with a long track record – at the same time, we are very keen to focus on young professionals with high potential for internal development.
In our business, access to people is key – to customers, partners, and candidates. Our values are shaped by a positive view of humanity. We analyze thoroughly and sometimes conduct several rounds of interviews, but we are aware of the difficulty of judging people based on relatively short encounters. Just as the foundations of assessments evolve, so too do the rules of the game in job interviews. Partnership, respect, and transparency have made us a long-standing and respected partner for many candidates.
As open-minded and inquisitive individuals, we are enthusiastic about the possibilities of the digital world and actively utilize the advantages of new technologies in our daily lives. We also enjoy exploring new approaches to application processes, screening tools, and target group segmentation in direct marketing, testing various tools and third-party services. However, in our client projects, we only use those components that deliver added value, because not everything that is technically possible makes sense in practice.
Let's discuss your needs
It is important to us to fully understand your demand that we can provide you with a customized project strategy. We look forward to hearing from you and are happy to schedule personal meetings, even at short notice!
Contact form
fortalent GmbH
Postgasse 8b
1010 Vienna
Austria
Seidlstraße 5
80335 Munich
Germany