CASE STUDY: Finding Senior Guidewire Talent

Client: Canadian Property & Casualty Insurance Company

Mandate: Two senior Guidewire roles critical to core systems delivery:

– Product Owner (Guidewire)

– Guidewire Solution Lead

The client needed to fill two senior Guidewire roles critical to core system execution and long-term platform stability. Both positions required deep technical credibility, market awareness, and the confidence of internal stakeholders.

Previous experience with traditional recruiting firms had delivered mixed results at high cost, with limited transparency and little insight into real market conditions. Confidentiality was essential, and a conventional job posting was not considered viable.

They engaged Fractional Recruiting to lead a discreet, senior-level search grounded in market intelligence rather than volume.

Hiring Challenges

A tight and visible talent market
Senior Guidewire professionals in Canadian P&C are well-known and cautious. Direct employer outreach or public postings risked limiting participation rather than expanding it.

“It’s not easy to recruit confidentially for roles this important. In our industry, word travels fast. Having you as an intermediary made candidates feel safe.”

Candidate hesitancy without a trusted intermediary
Experienced candidates were reluctant to engage unless early conversations were clearly exploratory and insulated from their current employers.

Limited effectiveness of postings alone
The client recognized that even a confidential posting would not surface the right talent.

“A confidential posting wouldn’t get the right candidates. You brought market insights and vetted people thoroughly before they ever reached us.”
 

Rather than running a broad search, the engagement was structured around clarity, targeted outreach, and continuous market feedback.

Initial discussions focused on clarifying what success in each role truly required — not just technically, but in terms of decision authority, collaboration, and long-term expectations.

“The briefing process was incredibly thorough. Jorrit really understood what we needed and tailored his approach accordingly.”
 

Senior Guidewire professionals were identified and approached directly using a combination of calls, LinkedIn, email, and text. Outreach was selective and deliberate, prioritizing fit and readiness over activity volume.

“The precision in sourcing was impressive. He didn’t just send resumes — he found candidates who were actually a strong fit.”
 

Search Visibility and Market Signal

 

Throughout the engagement, the client had continuous visibility into search progress and market response — without compromising candidate boundaries or introducing unnecessary detail.

Reporting was designed to support decision-making, not data overload. Insight focused on where the search stood, how the market was responding, and what trade-offs were emerging, rather than on personal candidate information.

Shared insight included:

• Progress by search stage (engaged → assessed → shortlisted → interviewed) 
• Aggregate patterns in experience and capability across the market 
• Common motivation themes influencing candidate interest 
• Observations on availability, timing, and competitive dynamics 
• Role-fit assessments grounded in requirements, not resumes
   

“Having a live view of the search — without risking confidentiality — was a game-changer. We always knew exactly where things stood.”
 

Updates emphasized quality, alignment, and judgment, rather than activity metrics. Conversations focused on what was being learned from the market and how that should inform next steps.

“Your process was completely different: transparent, detailed, and clearly driven by expertise.”
 

The contrast with prior recruiting experiences was clear.

“I’ve had recruiters send candidates they barely know. Every candidate Jorrit brought had been properly vetted — they were serious, prepared, and aligned.”

• Both senior Guidewire roles successfully filled 
• Time-to-fill: 5 weeks 
• No restart, no scope reset, no additional search fees
   

The roles were filled without market disruption and with strong alignment between candidate expectations and the client’s operating reality.
 

Cost Perspective
 

Under a traditional contingency model, this engagement would typically have resulted in fees of approximately $44,000, based on standard market rates.

Using a fractional, hourly approach, the client achieved materially lower total recruiting cost while maintaining full search rigor, senior oversight, and direct market access.

This structure allowed the organization to control spend, avoid escalation, and focus resources on execution rather than placement fees.

Client Quote:
“We’ll never go back to contingency fees. This model just makes more sense.”