An Executive recruiter, also known as executive headhunter, is a recruiting professional who focuses on locating qualified candidates for filling executive positions within companies in a variety of industries. The question becomes should companies hire an executive recruiter to help build their management team? Hiring the wrong executive to the team can be costly, timely and lower your team moral. Hiring the right executive for your team will propel the company forward.
An executive search firm can prioritize what is important to an organization’s success when identifying their next executive, and much like building the right office dynamic, choosing the right firm comes down to relationships, trust, and knowledge.
Having an impartial screening process for candidates has many benefits for the company. These include:
Confidentiality
There are many situations where the employer and employee would require confidentiality during the recruitment process. Utilizing an executive search team will keep the search active while maintaining privacy for the company while receiving top-notch, hand-selected individuals who have been properly vetted based on criteria set out during the initial meeting.
Additionally, in the case where a company is replacing an under preforming executive, an executive search firm will be able to discuss what traits and qualities were lacking and work to find a candidate that meets all of your requirements. Ensuring you get the right candidate for the position.
Confidence
Executive search recruiters will partner with the company as an extension of their team and take the time to learn and understand the key areas and deliverables the company is trying to achieve within their organization. Executive recruiters can vet out the culture fit in addition to uncovering the intangible assets a person has to offer is just as important as the skill fit.
Cost-effectiveness
Sourcing, interviewing, and qualifying candidates is really an 8+ hour a day job and when there are many other key responsibilities and deliverables on the internal team’s plates, recruiting most often is set on the back burner which in turn costs the company additional money by not having the positions filled. The time saved by partnering and entrusting an executive search partner is a value you really can’t put a number on.
Additionally, having employees who are inexperienced with hiring executives will be a waste of energy and time that can be spent more effectively working on other projects.
Having people who are inexperienced with recruiting executives will increase the chances of hiring the wrong person for the position. The costs associated with hiring the wrong person for an executive position are extremely high and turnover can even bring down employee morale and productivity. The cost of hiring an executive search firm is actually more cost-effective in the long run.
Save Time
Posting an ad for a senior level position on a job board or on the company website means that they will be bombarded with hundreds of applicants, mostly from candidates who are not qualified for the role. It can take a lot of time to sort through all of these applies only to find that none of the applicants is a fit for the position.
Executive search firms have the resources and processes to find candidates to fill difficult roles. They have databases built with pre-qualified candidates and know how to perform searches for technical positions that may require a mix of skills.
Executive search firms take the legwork out of recruiting and pre-qualifying candidates. Instead of sorting through and interviewing dozens of candidates, an executive search firm will narrow this candidate pool down to a more manageable number that only includes the best of the best. This process helps to streamline interviews and save time.
Guidance
Many growing, small businesses that need to add executive leadership may have only ever had the founders or owner on their leadership team. There are many things to consider when hiring for a newly created role such as compensation structure, experience, and how to handle this new hire internally. If a company has never had this role, it can be difficult to find answers for these questions.
When using an executive search firm, this relationship is very consultative and like a partnership. If you have questions about compensation, an executive recruiting firm can advise you on a reasonable compensation plan based on their knowledge of the job market and role expectations.
Whether the company is planning for succession, expanding leadership, or replacing a previous executive, using an executive search firm can help move the organization forward. Identifying the right leader is imperative when mitigating risk and navigating a complex economic environment. For more detailed information on our executive search recruiting partnership, please reach out to us today. We are here to help you build a great team with confidentiality, confidence, and cost-effectiveness while being a trusted and knowledgeable part of the growth of your company.
