As any good agency knows, building a great relationship with clients is essential to a lucrative and thriving business model.
In 2016, SoDA & Forrester reported that 53% of respondents agreed that the dynamic of how clients and agencies are working together is improving overall. At first glance, this looks to be positive news. But when you consider that the previous year’s results to the same question were 70%, this can be alarming.
Kimberly Bohle, Associate Director at Cogs Berlin, is all too aware of the importance of building a trustful relationship and has made it something of a mission to create ‘partner-like’ relationships with clients. We spoke to Kimberly to gain some insight from her expertise on how to create great, lasting client relationships.
Cogs Berlin has been active in the market for 5 years and Kimberly herself has been a part of the group for 4 years, overseeing some impressive changes in that time.
Having previously worked in digital and creative agencies in client services and HR, Kimberly came to Cogs Berlin with a refreshing new outlook and solid skillset that continues to benefit the team. “I came from a digital and creative agency background, but the second I arrived at Cogs, I knew I had a calling as a head-hunter. I love bringing the pieces together and finding top talent.”
The best way to build client relationships
“The experienced team at Cogs Berlin is dedicated to developing a broader human capital offering, providing access to a world class global talent network.” She says “we’ve worked diligently on building trusting relationships so that we can continue to develop our company. Now that we have built successful relationships with many of our clients, they come to us not only for recruitment support, but also for consulting, coaching, team building and cultural change.
We believe in a meritocratic model, meaning leading by action. We grow trust through successful placements, industry knowledge and our authentic style. We aspire to building reputation through results.”
Because Jan Pautsch (Associate Director Experience Design at Cogs Berlin) and Kimberly Bohle are known in the industry and have extensive experience, they’re able to understand client’s cultures and needs well enough to be able to recommend ideal candidates.
Kimberly explains “because we understand our clients´ business and our candidates´ skill sets, we’re really great at matching the two together. Jan and I are proactive and will introduce high calibre candidates to clients (especially for executive and leadership roles), who we think fit culturally and intellectually.
This is only possible when Cogs has gained a deep insight into the clients´ strategies, culture and growth plans, meeting with top management regularly to stay up to speed with their plans.”
One of the key things that sets Cogs Berlin apart is their directors’ extensive industry experience. “Some members of the team have worked directly in the industry, whilst others come more from a recruitment background, bringing each other up to speed. To have this blend of expert employees from varied backgrounds makes Cogs Berlin really stand out from the competition.” Backed up by a senior board and founders, Kimberly states, “we have a very senior team who take their desks very seriously, attributing to Cogs Berlin’s continuous evolution.”
Cogs Berlin continues to evolve
“Berlin’s start-up scene is massive and is continuing to grow with more investment flowing into Berlin in 2016 than into London. With Germany’s digital industry having grown so strong, Cogs is able to service clients nationwide. They are looking to see where else they can grow in the European market, so watch this space.
In the immediate future, Cogs Berlin’s team is set to expand from 7 people to 10 by the beginning of 2018. This will mostly be in the areas of support for tech, data science and gaming.
Furthermore, the Berlin office is going to be Cogs’ first location to offer systemic business coaching for teams and individuals on topics such as career decisions, business strategy, conflict management, leadership skills or profile development for executives.
What’s been really encouraging about Cogs Berlin and itscommitment to their industry is that it’s reflected in the agency’s revenue; there has been continued revenue growth every single year.”
Kimberly enthused, “It proves how much we’re really being taken seriously by our clients and candidates and how much our services are needed, allowing us to further build and grow our business.”
If you’d like to find out more about the Cogs Berlin team, please get in touch.