Executive Search Firms

Executive searches can be performed by in-house human resource departments, but employing the services of an executive search firm is ultimately more expedient, efficient and effective. Executive recruiters provide strict confidentiality, an extensive network of contacts, objectivity in candidate evaluation, and negotiation experience and expertise.

WC Characteristics of an Executive Search Firm

1. The Firm consistently, over time, places high performing employees with our company, as measured by performance appraisal scores, promotions, projects completed and performance based bonuses, (as a % of salary). Employees hired via the firm out perform those hired from other sources.
2. The Firm fulfills searches on time, under budget, and identifies only quality candidates within the specifications of the job requisition, allowing us to hire the best candidates faster and cheaper than our competitors and our own internal recruiting system.
3. Using the Firm results in a positive ROI over using our regular internal recruiters. Its rates are competitive within the industry.
4. The Firm’s pre-screening process identifies "turkeys" early, resulting in a rejection rate that is 10% lower than all other recruitment resources.
5. The Firm screens both clients and candidates for culture and performs a critical values analysis. Candidates referred by the firm have a higher acceptance rate and lower turnover rate than candidates referred by other hiring sources. Candidates placed by the firm fit into our corporate culture more rapidly than the norm.
6. The Firm offers a guarantee on all placements but (almost) never needs to use it. 98% of all candidates referred by the firm stay beyond the guarantee period.
7. The Firm continually monitors and builds upon relationships with its candidates over time, (Relationship Recruiting). Its candidate database is continually updated to provide the most up to date contact, personal and career information on each candidate.
8. The Firm builds relationships within our company, encouraging Hiring Managers and Executives to own the hiring process and reducing the amount of involvement with HR.
9. Managers rate the quality of the firm’s consultants and the candidates provided as excellent. Surveys show managers rate the firm’s performance 10% above all other recruitment sources.
10. The Firm’s processes are clear and well documented, reducing the amount of time managers and HR must spend on recruitment. Our internal processes are improved 10% by adopting procedures used by the firm.
11. The Firm maintains contact with both the hiring manager and the candidate following placement to ensure success. Candidates placed by the firm have a higher satisfaction rate(25%) than those placed by other sources, including our internal recruiters.
12. The Firm has a wide contact base within the industry and within our targeted benchmark firms and competitors.
13. The Firm has a diverse database of candidates with international capabilities.
14. The Firm utilizes technology (on-line databases, Web tools, etc) to identify passive job seekers and speed time to hire, resulting in our ability to hire "star" candidates before our competitors.
15. The Firm continually monitors and adjusts its own processes and procedures to meet the changing needs of our industry. It understands our business, products, customers and competitors.
16. The firm has a proven track record. References from benchmark firms rate the firm at 95% or higher for adherence to ethical standards. They have and adhere to a "no raid" policy. The percentage of complaints and lawsuits is lower than our own internal rates. They consistently follow Federal and state employment laws, (EEOC, ADA, Title VII, ADEA, etc).

Advantages of Using an Executive Search Firm

1. Increased resources - large databases of candidates and recruiting networks.
2. Cost Savings: According to Gerald McCreary of SAP, the cost of an advertisement in an industry publication alone is $15,000. This does not include costs of screening, interviewing and hiring.
3. Increased speed: Recruiters devote all of their time to identifying acceptable candidates. Many search firms work directly with Hiring Managers to ID candidates, reducing time by cutting out HR altogether.
4. Guaranteed Placements: Most Firms will offer a guarantee on candidates placed by their firm. If the candidate quits or proves to be unacceptable to the employer within the guarantee period (up to 1 year, depending on the firm and position recruited), the firm will find a new candidate, free of charge to the client.
5. Continual Sourcing and Networking: Executive Search Firms continually search for qualified candidates and build networks within across industries, providing a wider candidate base than may be possible with internal resources.
6. Relationship Recruiting: Ability of executive recruiters to establish and maintain relationships with candidates over time. Executive recruiters gain in depth knowledge of individual candidates and learn "triggers" for each which can be utilized to capture candidates’ interest. By maintaining contact and monitoring candidates’ careers, passive candidates can be identified early when they are ready to make a move to a new job.
7. Cultural Screening: Executive Search Firms can do an in-depth screening for values and culture to provide a more accurate match between client and candidate. Candidates will be more honest about what they want when talking to a third party than when trying to impress a potential employer during an onsite interview.
8. Emergency Search: Executive firms can perform "Emergency" Searches for candidates and devote more hours to a single search than internal recruiters who have multiple responsibilities.

Disadvantages of Executive Search Firms

1. Commissions can be costly, up to 50% of annual salary for high level (executive) positions.
2. Potential that your own employees may contact a recruiter they have worked with in the past when they are ready to make a change. Most firms have a "no raid" policy and will not actively recruit out of a client firm but may represent an individual who approaches them first.
3. Potential that the firm may employ a recruiter who uses unethical methods to source candidates.
4. The executive recruiter may misrepresent the attributes of the candidate and/or the firm in an effort to fill the requisition, resulting in a poor match. This is more likely to happen when recruiters work on commission and only get paid if the candidate is hired.
5. The executive recruiter may not have a thorough understanding of our industry, products, competitors and customers, resulting in less qualified candidates, particularly if the search firm is large and recruits across several different industries.
6. The recruiter may place a candidate and then "leave" without checking in with either the client firm or the placed candidate to see how the new arrangement is going. Our firm stands to lose valuable feedback as to how to improve the recruiting process or about which tactics are most successful. Candidates may feel "abandoned" and subsequently dissatisfied with the recruitment process. Both candidates and hiring managers will have lower customer satisfaction rates with the recruitment process.

Measurements

1. Quality of hires, as measured by job performance scores, # new products developed or projects completed, amount of bonuses (as a % of salary), # of promotions, 360 degree evaluations.
2. # of offers made.
3. # of offers accepted.
4. Time to fill (in days).
5. Length of tenure of hires. (months/years)
6. Cost per hire.
7. Time (in months) for employees to become productive ("billable").
8. ROI of the use of an executive search firm as compared to internal services.
9. # of legal complaints, lawsuits as compared to internal services.
10. Customer satisfaction ratings of both candidates and hiring managers, as compared to satisfaction ratings for internal services.

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