HR Generalist for LK Energy Group

The brief

LK Energy Group is an Odesa company that makes electrical switchgear at its own plant and builds turnkey solar power stations. The company was growing and needed HR support. The vacancy was for its only HR Generalist, a full-time office role in Odesa.

The role covered closing the company's own vacancies, building HR processes (onboarding, performance review and motivation), working with the team to find problem areas and resolve conflicts, building a talent pool through training programmes, shaping the corporate culture together with the management and setting up internal communication.

The client asked for at least three years in HR, a full recruiting cycle, one-to-one and review skills, experience introducing HR processes from scratch and the ability to handle crises and conflicts. English was a plus. The profile also called for analytical thinking, stress resistance, leadership qualities and the ability to work with people at every level of the company. The hiring process had two steps: an interview with a recruiter and an interview with the management.

Where we looked

We published the vacancy and wrote directly to HR specialists. In our messages we also asked HR professionals in our network to pass the vacancy to colleagues who might be interested.

The office in Odesa shaped the search. Many strong HR specialists had moved to other cities or countries, or were looking for remote work only, and many replies came back with exactly that reason.

The funnel in numbers

• 82 candidates found and added to the search

• 19 selected and contacted

• 18 went through screening

• 9 had a video interview with us

• 5 were presented to the client

• 1 went through the client interview, a test task, a final interview and a security check, then received the offer and accepted it

• 1 HR Generalist started work

Of the 41 candidates who left the search, 24 were not interested, 6 did not match the role, 3 were declined after a review, 3 did not reply, 3 were put on hold, 1 had found another job and 1 was not suitable.

A finalist who was not the right fit

Before the finalist who joined, we had another candidate with solid experience who interested both us and the company.

At the client's request the last finalists, and only they, take a DISC test. DISC is a behavioural questionnaire that shows how a person communicates, makes decisions, acts under pressure and works with others. It does not measure skills or intelligence. We use it as a way to talk about working style and to see how it sits next to the values of a team.

For a company's only HR specialist this matters a great deal. This person shapes how the company treats its people, so soft skills carry as much weight as experience.

The results showed soft skills that did not match the company's values and culture. We shared this with the client openly. The experience was strong, but the pieces did not fit, and we agreed that it was better to stop at that stage than to carry on.

The finalist who joined

The next finalist took the same test. The profile matched the culture and values of the company completely, and that was the most important point for this role.

The experience also fitted the brief: more than fifteen years in HR, including work at a manufacturing company and building processes from scratch. After the interview with the client the finalist did a test task, then had a final interview with the management and a security check, and accepted the offer.

Time has confirmed the choice. The HR Generalist is still with the team and doing well.

What to take from it

• A DISC test for the last finalists shows how a person communicates and works with others, which matters most for a company's only HR specialist.

• Stopping a promising search at a late stage is part of the work. We told the client the reason openly and agreed on the next step together.

• Put the company's values into the brief. For the only HR specialist in a company the culture is part of the requirements, next to the years of experience.

• Be open about the office from the first message and start with a wide pool. Here it took 82 candidates to reach one hire.