Established in 2004, Jason Associates held a staunch belief in the mantra - happy people do more, better, and longer. After leaving a solid footprint in the HR industry for over a decade, the firm was eventually acquired. However, a few employees persevered to continue Jason Associates’ legacy, leading to the origin of Argo in 2017 – a consultancy firm that helps organisations choose prospects that synergise with their values, perpetuating positive company culture to achieve financial success. This perspective led to the creation of an innovative paradigm in the Portuguese HR industry that develops people management strategies to identify and retain executive talent sharing clients' similar values.

Argo assists organisations in seeking executive candidates that help them stand apart from their competitors. It empowers clients to develop people management strategies, promote employee value propositions, and ensure superior employee and candidate experience to attract highly-skilled and knowledgeable prospects.

Businesses are also offered guidance on upskilling their executive workforce and efficiently increasing their employability to embrace technology-centred jobs. Argo’s in-depth market knowledge, partnership with cross-sector clients, and approach that ensures positive top-line impact facilitates the firm to fulfil its mission.

“Instead of practising a transactional approach with our stakeholders, we adopt a humanistic approach that places equal importance on relationships with candidates and clients,” says Pedro Hipolito, partner at Argo.

The firm’s humanistic approach also allows it to pay significant attention to being considered a reliable reference for the Portuguese HR industry. It continuously expands its scope of action, beyond executive search, to three other primary areas related to strategic people management—market intelligence, evolution journey, and people experience.

Argo delivers market intelligence by analysing internal (organisation’s) and external (market) talent pools, salary ranges, and best practices. Client’s top management utilises the outputs to better comprehend their organisation model efficiency and plan effective recruitment strategies when expanding into new verticals.

The firm also helps firms prepare for business continuity through succession planning by identifying a potential internal candidate. A proprietary assessment methodology, termed Argo Dive, is performed to ensure a seamless transition. It collects information from numerous sources and cross-references the data that determines the individual’s potential using pre-set organisational indicators.

Clients are also equipped to provide superior candidate and employee experiences to improve their employee value proposition. This includes defining recruitment and employee onboarding workflows and training hiring managers in best practices to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the organisation. Argo eliminates entry barriers for a DEI-filled workforce through its collaboration with “Leaders of Equality,” a nationwide platform for which it is the founding member. Throughout the recruitment process, the firm offers honest feedback to candidates, manages their expectations, and presents them with projects that align with their goals.

Instead of practising a transactional approach with our stakeholders, we adopt a humanistic approach that places equal importance on relationships with candidates and clients

The firm has helped numerous companies build a strong workforce that enables them to stay on top of changing technology-related market trends. For instance, a pharmaceutical MNC wanted to restructure its HR department per the modified organisational objective. Argo was tasked with reorganising the HR team and developing a strategy that involved upskilling and aligning talents with the new goal. Top-down interviews and discussion groups were conducted, and a market intelligence report was generated at the national and international levels to compare their best practices with those of reference companies. The analysis resulted in a department structure design that suited company requirements, after which leadership gaps were identified. It performed an Argo Dive to find the apt person to fill the holes and solidify the department. The firm also defined areas where recruitment and training were required and provided a realistic understanding of the investments required to tackle potential issues.

Argo mission of helping cross-sector clients acquire and manage talent that shares similar values is guided by its predecessor’s manifesto. It includes serving as an ambassador for its client’s culture and values and emphasizing establishing a strong and long-term relationship and partnership with them. Following the legacy of Jason Associates, Argo continues to lead and be the best human resource partner across sectors in Portugal.