How Executive Search Firms Deliver Strategic, High-Impact Hiring Solutions

Clients who have never partnered with an executive search firm often ask how our processes are different from other types of recruiting, like contingency database, job ads, RPO, etc… This is a question I’m always keen to answer. I’m proud of sharing what we do and the value we add, of course. More importantly though, answering this question gets to the heart of whether I will add value to a client, and candidates, when I take on a mandate. Search consultants thrive on and differentiate us by seeking out and delivering on the most challenging, high-impact, and complex mandates. Confidential replacements and functional or P&L leadership roles where the wrong hire will impact entire business units and whole organizations – these are the mandates organizations derive the most value through partnering with a search firm. If filling a vacancy can be most efficiently handled through other recruitment models, it usually should be.

As a search firm, we are proactive, not reactive. We do not rely on luck. We don’t redistribute job descriptions on mass and wait for qualified people to respond, forwarding to a client whatever CVs come into our mailbox. A search firm identifies, seeks out and engages with a clearly defined target group of prospective candidates. Most often, these people are not actively scanning vacancies and looking for work. These are typically non-active job seekers. They are high performers in both their current roles and over their entire careers. Search firms use proprietary research techniques, our historic track record and individual reputation to engage these best-in-class prospective candidates for our clients’ clearly defined mandates.

When you work with a search firm, a client should expect that we are first:

• Understand an organization deeply, not only the commercial aspects but how culture and values contribute to strategic goals and defining leadership andorganizational success

• Refine the ideal candidate profile by collaborating to define competency and suitability scorecards, benchmark prospective candidates and compensation, and to align expectations with market realities

With a mandate defined, mutually understood and well-aligned with market reality, a search firm delivers a rigorous and targeted search process. Executive search is not about posting a job and waiting. It’s about proactively identifying and engaging the right talent by:
 

• Mapping the market to identify all prospective candidates based not only on their current function with market competitors, but within organizations and industries who have complimentary challenges, value chains, and operating models

• Conducting in-depth interviews and assessments, using proven (ideally proprietary) methodologies which ensure candidates meet both eligibility and suitability criteria

• Providing clear and detailed progress reports and updates which clearly communicate progress, challenges, and market feedback

Ultimately, a client will be presented with a final shortlist, and from that list a successful candidate will be hired. A search consultant will support all aspects of this process, too, which we can explore in the next post.

If you’re thinking about launching a search, let’s talk about how to identify the right strategy.

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