- April 9, 2021
- Executive Search, Latest News
- executive search, retained company, retainer
7 Reasons To Reach Out An Executive Search Company
Why work with an executive search company?
It’s far from easy to find talent with the right skills, experience and values to fill very important senior executive positions. Some roles are simply so important that you have to invest time, money and resources in identifying and recruiting the absolute best professionals. Making a bad hire in your C-level can have bad consequences for your business. That means bringing in an executive search firm.
What is an executive search firm?
An executive search firm is a recruitment company that specialises in sourcing high quality candidates for executive roles. They differ from contingency search firms in both their approach to candidate sourcing and how closely they work with the client.
Because they are ‘retained’, executive search firms work exclusively with the client. They take the time to assess existing talent within the business and to understand the company culture and aspects of the role.
Retained executive search firms typically use very sophisticated techniques. They class a successful placement on the longevity of the employee within a role and how large a contribution that employee makes to the company as a whole.
Let’s pinpoint 7 factors to consider when hiring a top executive search company.
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High-quality network of executive professionals
Many retained executive search companies have an international network of contacts across various industries. This means that the talent pool they have access to is far enourmous, far more exclusive and of a far higher quality.
Consultants at top executive search consultants have carefully cultivated a wide network of senior-level contacts, and have a global reach too. That means rich access to the best talent, wherever it is.
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Limited internal resources
Conducting an effective search takes a significant amount of time. It includes defining the role, sourcing, evaluating candidates, and facilitating the evaluation and hiring process. Unfortunately there is a misunderstanding with many hiring managers. They underestimate the actual time it takes to do a search and implicit requirements of their organization. For example, executive search companies deal with CV assessment every day. So they know what to seek for in a strong CV, including personality characteristics, soft and hard skills.
If your company don’t have sufficient resources for recruiting it often makes more sense to reach out an executive management company. The fee paid to a top executive search company will be compensate by a more thorough and productive search. You will have a potential right fit for the position in a shorter time frame than if done internally.
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Fill the knowledge gap
If you’re recruiting for a role that has been new or isn’t within your area of your expertise, top headhunters have the right skillset to support fill that knowledge gap.
According to the Leaders 2020 study conducted by SAP and Oxford Economics, diversity is an issue with senior executives and corporate boards. Executive search companies will conduct original research on all candidates for greater diversity.
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Defining the requirements of the ideal applicant
The job description is really just the starting point for defining the characteristics of the ideal applicant. An top executive search firm provides high value in giving a framework for defining the requirements of the ideal candidate. This same framework can then be used by the organization to evaluate and compare candidates and eventually make the hire that is the best fit. Usually there are a few general fileds when defining requirements of candidates. They are such as competency and cultural fit, intelligence and job specific considerations.
An accurate process to define requirements beside a job description enables more efficient sourcing. Moreover it creates a framework for objective candidates evaluation.
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Selling the position and employer branding
Organizations can sometimes forget that the best candidates have choices. Without the proper messaging to attract these top candidates, organizations are left with less optimal candidates to choose from. Some companies are not very effective at describing the job opportunity within their organization. If this messaging is not effectively done, it severely limits success in the sourcing process. Executive search consultants are constantly interacting and “selling” to candidates. They have a good understanding of what professionals are seeking for from a company.
Also, employees of the company are generally not as credible to sell the organization as a third-party. It’s often more believable to candidates to have an executive recruiter share with them what a wonderful company and role it is than if the hiring manager did the same. Executive search companies can provide significant value here throughout the search as they develop trust with the candidates.
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Need for sensitivity and discretion
Hiring through an executive search firm is a good way to avoid damaging relationships with businesses that you often work with. Hiring from the same pool of talent becomes far less complex when working through a discreet, impartial third party.
There are occasions in which ultimate confidentiality is needed, such as hiring a replacement when an executive is still in the role. By outsourcing the task, you’re relieved of workplace secrecy but still have all the control, trust and transparency. Approaching executives who are still in roles elsewhere, particularly if they work for a direct competitor or a company with whom you do business, calls for sensitivity and discretion. The best executive search consultants exercise these traits every day.
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Negotiation and close the deal
Having a consultant to help negotiating the compensation and benefits with a prospect can be very valuable. Top headhunters work typically develop strong relationships with the candidates. They have supported the candidate through the hiring process. The executive search company should know what the professionals are doing in their current role and what it will take to get them to accept the challamge of change. This information is critical in constructing the right offer from the client’s side.
The executive recruiter also should know any internal constraints the client has in terms of their salary and benefit structure. When the candidate is considering countering proposals, they will often ask advice from the Executive Recruiter. Without a mediator like this in the process things can break down. Either side can be offended leading to losing the hire or the candidate starting the role with some worries.
Get in touch with Horizons Executive Search today and let us support you find quality talent quickly and efficiently.
Read more: Benefits of partnering with executive search firm
List of Top Executive Job Titles
Photo credit: Freepik.com
Cited Sources:
- https://www.roberthalf.com.au/
- https://maexecsearch.com/