As The RSA Group has grown from a family boutique founded in 1981 to be a world leading executive search group, one thing has remained constant, the founding principles that drive the business.
Roger (Steve) Stephens was an HR Director in the pharmaceutical industry and was part of a network that met regularly to discuss trends and challenges facing the industry’s HR professionals. One recurring issue that they discussed was the mediocre level of service offered by “generalist” Executive Search firms to the Life Science industry. His network of contacts saw something special in him, a drive and determination to do things differently. They encouraged him to set up his own business and, in 1981, he launched Roger Stephens & Associates, now known as The RSA Group.
“What I planned to do was not going to be very different, but it was how I was going to do it that would be as different as I could make it. At the bottom of it all was the cultural assumption ‘do unto others as you would have done to you’. If I’m speaking for you as a candidate I am going to do it on the basis of understanding the context of your life, where you have been successful, where your aspirations lie, and only then, when I understand that this opportunity is the best one for you, and that you are the best fit for the organisation, will I introduce you to the role.”
Our business continues to thrive today because we are different. Nick Stephens joined RSA in 1986 as Director, and as an employee in 1995. He took over the helm in 2000 when his father retired and, since then has been working tirelessly to develop and shape the organisation. Today, everyone at RSA is committed to its unique concept of evidence-based insight, Proof-of-Candidate® methodology and deep domain expertise to form a seamless, end-to-end approach driven flawlessly, every time, for everyone, by a culture that cares.
