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How to Evaluate and Select an
Executive Search Firm
By: R. Gaines
Baty
INTRODUCTION
While the current demand for search projects is temporarily lower than
normal, some more important talent requisitions dictate that a
“professional search” is still the most appropriate tactic for the
circumstances and requirements at hand, and a wise investment. Further,
as the market starts to turn back in a positive direction, the frequency
and necessity for “searches” will surely rebound dramatically. In
either case, the challenge and critical nature of choosing the right
firm can make or break the ultimate success of the search project, and
ultimately your related business initiative. Any given firm is suited
for certain search projects and clients, more so than others. Absolute
care must be taken in evaluating and selecting a search organization
that best suits your needs and fiduciary responsibilities.
MISCONCEPTIONS /
MISTAKES
Oftentimes, corporations engage a
particular executive search firm based upon the wrong reasons…such as
size, “brand” name, number of offices, price, or numerous other tangible
reasons. These may be factors in some cases, but when working with a
search firm, the subtleties of that organization, and your relationship
with them, are the major factors of failure or success. In other words,
“the devil is in the details.” Therefore, any front-end due diligence
should evaluate the following more important attributes.
MOST IMPORTANT /
APPROPRIATE SELECTION CRITERIA
Selection criteria should include:
Expertise
in your industry / specialty need. Keep in mind that some industry
or functional “experts” may not be the best recruiters. Your
best choice may be the one that has a good exposure and working
knowledge of your market, has a network into that market, and asks
penetrating questions, and who also knows how to sell. Further,
what have the principals who will conduct the search done in your
field, as opposed to someone else in a faraway office…who will not
be involved in this project?
Do they work at
the level of this assignment?
You do NOT want a CEO- or Board-level search firm looking for a
Manager or a VP any more than you want a staff-level recruiter
attempting to evaluate a senior executive. The firm should be
excited about, committed to, and capable of completing this
assignment.
Success /
Completion ratio…What
percentage of the firm’s searches were filled successfully in the
past 3-4 years? Reliable sources indicate that 50-55% completion
ratios for “name” retained firms are accurate, and as low as 5-10%
for contingency agencies. Gaining this completion ratio information
may require forceful probing, and/or a lie detector test, if the
firm is not proud of their track record.
Off-limits
restrictions…If
the firm works with too many clients, or your competitors for
talent, your selection of candidates may be restricted as a result.
Also, will they shop your active candidates to other companies while
you are still evaluating? Will your company be off limits for their
future searches, and for how long? What are their policies in these
areas?
Search “partner”
involvement
in the process. Will s/he be involved in the research, search,
screening, evaluation, negotiation and closing of your candidates
for this search? Some search “partners” sell the deal, delegate the
project(s) to an overworked team for delivery, then go to sell the
next deal. Many are measured on revenues (searches sold) vs.
completions. You certainly want and deserve more.
Do you have
trust and respect for the key individual
and his/her team. These individuals will determine the success of your
search, more so than the firm’s “dozens of” offices. Will this
person/organization persevere with the project through completion if and
when the going gets tough? Further, will you be proud for this person
to represent your company. Professionalism is not as popular a
word as in the past, but the quality itself is as important as ever.
A “brand” name
does not necessarily mean that they represent the best
solution for you. Conversely, a boutique or “little known” firm (with
proper due diligence) might be your best bet. Again, it’s the
individuals involved, and the prioritization and commitment to your
project, that make a search successful.
Candidate Evaluation
capabilities and procedures
are often
overlooked. How do they evaluate a prospective candidate for possible
presentation to you? And how do they present these candidates? How do
they contribute to your decision process? Dig for details. Are they
really looking out for your best interests, or just trying to sell their
favorite candidate?
Comprehensive search
process.
Good candidates can come from many different sources. In order to
develop a healthy selection of finalists, a multi-pronged, comprehensive
search process should be employed. How do they do this? For example,
an “internet” recruiter will usually find only those candidates that
have posted on the resume boards, are “looking,” and who are not
necessarily the top performers for your competitors. Can and will the
search firm do the more difficult and tedious tasks required to
selectively source your competition and industry for top talent? Even
in a candidate-rich market, it's still important to tap the happy,
working, "non-looking" candidates. You want the best candidate(s) from
any and all sources, so a comprehensive search is important.
Tenure / Repeat
Business.
It’s best not to trust your career or business to a rookie, or based
upon the “contingency” that an ill-selected firm might find someone good
for you to hire. The right recruiter for you will have been successful
on the tough searches, will have strong repeat business, and will have
references to prove it. Check them out.
CONCLUSION
The products of
these searches, the newly hired executives themselves, are ultimately
critical to an organization’s success. The initiatives and/or decisions
in which these new executives partake can make or lose millions of
dollars. Don’t underestimate the importance of, or the details involved
in, a proper evaluation and selection of the right recruiting
organization for your search projects.
R.
Gaines Baty is President of R.
Gaines Baty Associates, Inc. (est.
1977), a Dallas-based retained
executive search firm.
Mr. Baty, who started his career
with IBM Corp., is formerly a two-term
President of both the Society of Executive Recruiting Consultants
(SERC) and the Dallas Independent
Recruiters Group (IRG), and is a well-known
author, trainer and practitioner in executive
team building, executive evaluation, executive search and
career management issues. Mr.
Baty can be reached at gbaty@rgba.com. |
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