How a strategic hiring engagement works
Three phases, each ending with something you can hold: the role on one page, a shortlist with scores, a 90-day plan. Here is the whole thing, including what it asks of you.
A strategic hiring engagement with Ahuva Fischer runs in three phases: define the role, find the person, onboard them. You can buy all three for one flat fee, or the one phase you are stuck on. Nothing is billed as a percentage of salary.
- Phase 1, define: one working session, then the role on one page. You approve it before any search starts.
- Phase 2, find: job post in English and Hebrew, sourcing, screening, structured interviews with a scorecard, two or three finalists for you.
- Phase 3, onboard: a 30-60-90 day plan, a first-week schedule, weekly check-ins, a decision point at 90 days.
- Your time: about 90 minutes to define, two or three interviews, 20 minutes a week during onboarding.
Phase 1: define the role on one page
Most open roles in a small business start as a feeling: "I need someone." The job post gets written from that feeling, and every CV that arrives is measured against a picture nobody wrote down. Phase 1 writes it down.
It starts with one working session with you, about 90 minutes, in person in Jerusalem or on a call. Ahuva asks what the business needs this person to produce in the first three months, what you have tried, what the last person in the seat got wrong, who the person reports to and what it pays.
The output is the role on one page: outcomes for 30, 60 and 90 days, must-haves, nice-to-haves, the pay band, the reporting line and how you will know it worked. You get a draft within days and approve it before anything goes out. The same page later becomes the scorecard and the onboarding plan, which is why the three phases fit together.
| Question the page answers | Why it matters before the search |
|---|---|
| What must this person produce by day 90? | Turns "a good operations person" into something you can interview for. |
| Which three things are must-haves? | Stops a strong CV in the wrong field from taking three weeks of your time. |
| What is the pay band, including employer costs? | A role priced below the market stays open; you find out before, not after. |
| Who does the person report to, and who decides? | In founder-led businesses the answer is often "everyone", which is why hires fail. |
| What did the last person in this seat get wrong? | The most honest source of must-haves there is. |
Phase 2: find the person
With the page approved, Ahuva writes the job post, in English and Hebrew if the role needs both, and runs the search. Sourcing is through her networks in Jerusalem and across Israel, the business groups she is active in, job boards where they fit the role, and direct outreach for roles where the right people are not looking.
Every applicant goes through the same steps: a screening call against the must-haves, a structured interview where each candidate gets the same questions and is scored on the same scorecard, a work sample where the role allows it, and reference calls. Structured interviews are not a style choice. In the largest recent re-analysis of selection research, they came out on top.
“Structured interviews emerged as the top-ranked selection procedure.”
You meet two or three people who passed. Ahuva sits in on the final interviews if you want her to, and prepares the offer, the terms and the written notice of employment conditions that Israeli law requires within 30 days of the start date. You make the decision. It is your team.
Phase 3: onboard them, the first 90 days
The role is not filled when the contract is signed. It is filled when the person is producing what the one-page definition said, without you in the loop. Phase 3 is built from that page: a first-week schedule, a 30-60-90 day plan the new hire and their manager both hold, a weekly 20-minute check-in with you, and a decision point at day 90.
Gallup's research puts the bar low for most employers: “12% of employees strongly agree that their organization does a great job of onboarding new employees”
What it asks of you
- Phase 1: one 90-minute session, then an hour to read and approve the page.
- Phase 2: two or three final interviews, each about an hour, and the decision.
- Phase 3: 20 minutes a week, plus the day-90 conversation.
- Throughout: honest answers. The page is only as good as what you tell her.
Buying one phase instead of three
Each phase can be bought alone. Owners who already have a candidate sometimes want only onboarding. Owners who hire often sometimes want only the definition and the scorecard, and run the search themselves. That works, and each phase costs more on its own than as part of the whole, because the handovers between phases are where the time goes. Ahuva's preference, and the price, both favour the full engagement.
How the flat fee works
After the first call, Ahuva quotes one fee for the phases you need, based on the role. It is agreed in writing before work starts and does not change with the salary of the person you hire. See pricing for what goes into the quote and what it never includes.
Questions about the process
How long does an engagement take?
It depends on the role and how fast you can interview. Ahuva does not promise a time to hire; she will give you her honest estimate for your role on the first call, and the one-page definition includes the dates you agree together.
What if none of the finalists is right?
Then the search continues against the same page, and you talk about whether the page itself was wrong. That conversation is part of the fee. What Ahuva will not do is lower the bar to close the search.
Who signs the employment contract?
You do. The new hire is your employee from day one. Ahuva prepares the offer and the written terms with you, and tells you where to confirm details with your accountant or an employment lawyer.
Can you run the search in Hebrew only?
Yes. Posts, screening and interviews can run in Hebrew, English or both. Many Jerusalem businesses have an English-speaking owner and a Hebrew-speaking team; the one-page definition is written so both sides read the same role.