Recruiting the best senior team is one of the most important strategic responsibilities of the CEO. A similar and perhaps equivalent strategic responsibility of the CEO would be ensuring the financial viability of the enterprise.
In far too many cases however, the responsibility for initiating and managing the search for the best senior level candidates is pushed too far down the organization and is treated like a mechanical exercise on a tight budget, the same way that customer service agents or junior sales reps might be recruited. Often this process is run internally or may be assisted by one or several contingency recruiters who are paid a commission if they bring forward a candidate who is ultimately hired.
Read More: Hiring A Senior Executive
Insufficient Research = Small Pool of Candidates
The problem with internally run processes run by middle management (or more junior staff), or run with the help of contingency recruiters, is that these approaches cannot generate a large enough pool of candidates from which to pick the very best. Middle or junior in-house staff do not have sufficient senior level experience themselves to generate the right candidates for Senior Management to interview and select from. They don’t have the research skills, network sources or impartial position to be totally effective in a job search (for example, they would be unlikely to contact direct competitors – a prime source of good contacts).
Contingency Recruiters Cannot Fully Commit
Contingency recruiters are paid a commission only on the successful hiring of one of their sponsored candidates. They are often competing with other contingency recruiters, and so are unsure of the likelihood of their financial success with a particular job search. Because they must operate on thin budgets and are at risk financially, they will typically invest only enough time to share their existing data base of candidates and perform some cursory research, however they cannot afford to invest the time and effort necessary to conduct an intensive research project designed to unearth the very best candidates in the marketplace.
Solution
Consider the advantages of trusting your senior level search to a single trusted retained recruiting firm. Due to the retained nature of their agreement with you, they will have the exclusive right to execute this job search for you and will continue to work on the project until you are satisfied, however long that may be. Because they are paid as the project progresses, they are financially more secure and are able to invest the full resources that are required to generate the best candidates in a reasonable amount of time.
Kathbern Management is an executive search consultancy based in Toronto, helping companies find the executives and senior managers who not only have the experience and credentials to fulfill their responsibilities, but also have the emotional and “fit” requirements that will enable them to be successful in a particular environment. We simplify the process and, through our deep research, are able to bring more and better candidates forward than would ever be possible through a do-it-yourself passive advertising campaign.
Contact us today for a free consultation about your key person search.