Cornerstone Kansas City, a local Talent Management firm, provides insight for business leaders on recruiting executives and why utilizing an executive search firm provides a better return on investment than hiring through an internal or other external resources.
Can you recruit and hire talented performers yourself? Aren’t all talented executives easy to find on the Internet? When should you hire a professional, executive recruiter — and which kind – Retained or Contingency?
This series of articles will help you decide.
Through our 4:4 Article Series on Executive Search Recruiting – Retained vs. Contingency, written by Executive Search Recruiting specialist, Dan Heiman offers solutions to challenges that hiring managers and our client companies face when looking at their options for recruiting top talent for key positions.
Article 3 of 4: Benefits of Using a Retained Search Firm
The contingency recruiting process is quite simple. Recruiters learn the basic facts about the job vacancy, scan known candidates, and submit their resumes as quickly as possible.
The retained search process has many more steps. If your situation advocates the more in-depth process of a retained search – in other words, a specific mandate to find the best candidate for a specific position — then here is what you can expect from your chosen agency.
- The consultant will conduct detailed interviews with the client organization’s management team to develop a full understanding of the position to be filled and the qualifications of the executive to be recruited.
- A summary of this understanding, including a detailed profile of the qualifications and experience of the desired candidate, will be communicated to the hiring executive at the outset of the engagement.
- This engagement letter will also include a complete description of how the search will be conducted and will outline the firm’s policies on fees, expenses, guarantees and assurances against recruiting executives away from the client organization in the future.
- The consultant will conduct original research, targeting organizations identified as likely employers of potential candidates, and be accessing proprietary and commercially available databases for sources of potential candidates.
- Through this research, the consultant develops a “long list” of potentially qualified candidates and then conducts telephone interviews to develop candidates for possible in-person interviews.
- During one or more in-person interviews the consultant conducts a thorough evaluation of each candidate’s suitability for, and interest in, the position.
- At this point, the consultant may also apply formal assessment tools to create a profile of the candidate and his/her suitability in meeting the goals the client has outlined.
- The consultant presents several qualified candidates to the client for interviews, and throughout this process acts as a mediator to assure that all issues relevant to filling the position are being addressed.
- Once the client has selected one or more candidates it would like to hire, the consultant conducts final reference checks to confirm the accuracy of judgments about the candidate’s suitability and to assure that all relevant information about the candidate has been gathered.
- The consultant will help the client develop the job offer and will help the candidate prepare to accept it.
- After the hiring, the consultant will stay in touch with both the client and the successful candidate to assure an orderly transition.
- Finally, the hiring organization can expect two assurances from the search firm: first, the firm will pledge that, during a given period of time, if the hired candidate does not work out for reasons the search consultant should have foreseen, the firm will repeat the search at no extra charge (out-of-pocket expenses only); second, the search firm will pledge not to recruit from the hiring organization for a stated period of time following the engagement.
Was this article helpful? Do you feel more confident in your company’s need to hire a retained search firm? Do you see any disadvantages, if so, what are they and why would your company not benefit from this service? Our firm is dedicated to educating as well as learning from our client companies on the benefits of utilizing retained executive search firms. If you have questions, opinions, or would like to learn more, comment or call our Kansas City talent management firm to talk to our retained executive search specialists – 913-344-7655.
