Engagement snapshot

• Company type: Multi National digital agency formed through a recent merger
• Client type: Enterprise account with ~$100K/month in search marketing run-rate at risk
• Roles: Senior Search / SEO (delivery + reporting + client interface)
• Go-to-market: Day 2 of engagement
• Outcome: 2 hires closed, joined within 30 days of offer, in time for KT

Context

A newly merged digital agency was consolidating teams, workflows, and client delivery structures. As expected in M&A transitions, a few team members opted to exit during the integration phase.

Normally, that’s manageable.

Except this time, the exits hit a Search/SEO unit supporting an enterprise account worth ~$100K/month. The business needed replacement capacity immediately, not in “next quarter,” not after a process cleanup.

The problem

1) There was no JD, no assignment, and no stable workflow yet

Because the organization was newly formed, the hiring system wasn’t ready:

• no standardized job descriptions,
• no agreed evaluation method,
• no clean approval workflow.

2) Two legacy hiring styles, one urgent outcome

Both pre-merger teams were trying to hire for the same end goal, but:

• their workflows differed,
• their approval paths differed,
• and their definitions of “ready-to-deliver” weren’t identical.

That mismatch slows hiring down right when speed mattered most.

3) These weren’t “just SEO” roles

The requirement included:

• end-to-end delivery ownership,
• strong reporting capability,
• confidence to present in WBR/MBR style client meetings.

What we did

Step 1: Convert raw requirements into a usable JD (fast)

We met the hiring stakeholders and captured raw requirements directly including scope, outcomes, tools, reporting expectations, stakeholder map, constraints.

We converted that into a market-ready JD and routed it for internal approvals immediately, so sourcing could start without waiting for “perfect” documentation.

Step 2: Lock alignment using a Hiring Canvas within 3 hours

Because we couldn’t afford trial and error candidate submissions, we ran a structured Hiring Canvas workshop with the TA team + hiring panel and closed it within 3 hours on Day 2.

This defined:

• must-have skills vs trainable skills
• what “end-to-end ownership” meant in this context
• reporting depth required for WBR/MBR
• behavioural signals (ambiguity tolerance, client confidence, stakeholder handling)
• deal-breakers

Result: One shared definition of “good,” fast.

Step 3: Go-to-market on Day 2 with a specific target pool

We targeted Search/SEO professionals from mid-sized agencies, where:

• outcomes are less scripted,
• responsibilities shift per project,
• and people build muscle for end-to-end execution + reporting.

We intentionally prioritized candidates with strong reporting + articulation, because these were senior roles interfacing directly with client stakeholders.

Step 4: Compress evaluation time without compromising quality

With stakeholder availability tight, we helped the panel run a 30-minute live online task combined with the interview.

We also set expectations with candidates in advance to avoid resistance:

• framed as a real-work simulation,
• time-boxed,
• evaluated for structure + thinking, not polish.

Step 5: Treat offer-to-join like a delivery plan

Once the right finalists were identified, the key risk became joining timelines.

We managed this in parallel:

• negotiated notice periods / supported buyout approvals where needed
• ran pre-joining routine meetings so joiners built context and relationships early, reducing drop-off risk and speeding up onboarding

Results

• Shortlisted: 7 aligned candidates
• Finalists presented: 4
• Closed: 2 hires
• Timeline: 4 weeks end-to-end (main delay: enterprise stakeholder availability)
• Offer-to-join: ≤30 days
• Impact: Joiners arrived in time for KT, protecting continuity on a high-value account

Why this worked

We treated joining as a project with dependencies, not just a handoff.

We didn’t wait for the system to stabilize, we built the hiring assets on the fly.

The Hiring Canvas removed randomness, especially important post-merger.

We combined speed + structure: quick artifacts, fast alignment, precise sourcing, compressed evaluation.