Background

Acre focuses on executive search services for the sustainability profession. With offices in London, New York, Singapore and Amsterdam, the business has grown to just under 100 people.

Acre had been using Bullhorn, a system that served the business well as it grew. But as Acre developed a more sophisticated, retained search model, the platform's limits began to show.

The challenge

Acre was previously using Bullhorn, which had served the business well while it was growing. Over time, however, the organisation developed more sophisticated requirements, particularly around its retained search model.

• Outgrown flexibility: Bullhorn had served Acre well early on, but couldn't flex to match a more sophisticated retained search model.

• Limited configuration: Acre needed far greater control over how its database was configured.

• A gradual build-up: the need for change developed slowly, as the business's professional model continued to evolve.

Why Seven20?

Acre considered five or six different vendors, both inside and outside the Salesforce ecosystem. Ultimately, the business wanted a Salesforce vendor for the scale and capability that ecosystem could offer.

• Salesforce-first: Acre wanted the scale and capability only the Salesforce ecosystem could offer.

• Real commitment: Seven20's dedication to ongoing, close support stood out against every other vendor considered.

That ongoing partnership has remained an important part of Acre's experience with Seven20.

The implementation

For Acre, the priority was a tightly managed transition that kept the team's confidence intact. The business aimed for an 80–90% successful data transition — and got there, with around 90% of the data transferred correctly from day one.

• Smooth onboarding: despite the volume and complexity of the data, the process ran smoothly, with issues addressed quickly.

• Early involvement: an in-house team was involved from the start, helping Acre move quickly — though the real nuances of configuration became clear once the system was in daily use.

The results

Seven20 has given Acre greater control over how its database is configured and how the business uses its data helping the organisation understand its data, organise itself more effectively, and support business development. A particular area of impact has been the ability to measure business development output and manage opportunities that have not yet converted into jobs.

• Better BD visibility: Measuring business development output and managing opportunities that haven't yet converted into jobs.

• Stronger data quality: Greater rigour around data capture, with tools to measure team and consultant performance.

• Built for retained search: Billing, project organisation and process management built to support a higher-value, retained recruitment model.

Looking ahead

Acre sees data as fundamental to how the business will keep developing. Andy estimates Seven20 currently delivers around 90% of what Acre needs — with confidence the rest will grow alongside the platform.

Advice for others

For other global recruitment businesses considering a similar move, Andy recommends having candid conversations with the Seven20 team and asking direct questions about whether the platform can meet their needs.

For Acre, the ongoing access to the team and senior people within the organisation has been a significant difference from previous suppliers.

For businesses looking to get the most from the platform, Andy also recommends having someone who is both tech and process-minded and actively uses the system day to day involved in its development.