Getting the Most From Your Retained Executive Search Firm
Your retained executive search firm will need your time and attention. They are a business partner in a very important, time sensitive project. Return their calls promptly. Make yourself readily available for interviews, even if you have to rearrange your schedule. Follow up with feedback after candidate interviews within 12-24 hours. Share any breaking news about your industry or company as soon as it happens—especially if it impacts the search.
Get Off to a Good Start
Time invested at the beginning of a retained executive search project provides a huge payoff later. Your retained executive search team must be able to articulate the opportunity in a compelling manner to attract the very best candidates. Consequently the retained executive search team must have access to your entire key management team and rapidly gain a fairly intimate knowledge of your business.
Based on your conversations, the retained executive consultant will create a job specification stating what the candidate must accomplish and what attributes you seek: past experience, skills, and personal characteristics. Candidates will see this document, so it is vital that it is able to make a strong case for why your company and this opportunity are truly compelling. It should not simply be a regurgitation of facts about your business. All key participants in the interviewing process must agree to the key selection criteria for the candidate. Uncertainty or disagreements on the “must haves” constitute the primary cause of project confusion and delays. Finally, the consultant should prepare a list of companies that will be targeted for candidates. Again, make sure the key participants in the interviewing process agree upon this list.
Before your retained executive search team begins recruiting, make sure they understand your company well enough to do an effective selling job for you. This includes understanding not only your business, but also your culture and the personalities of your management team.
It is highly desirable that you interview a candidate early in the project to clarify communication between you and your retained executive search team on what you really want. A lot can be learned from such “benchmark” candidates, especially regarding requirements you may not yet have articulated with the retained executive search team.
Progress Monitoring
Insist that your search firm provide a weekly progress report specifying:
- Market feedback (Are the right people interested? Does the anticipated salary range appear to be viable?)
- Additional prospects added to the search universe
- Screened candidates added to the candidate pool
- Interviews conducted, with assessments thereof
- Status of candidates already interviewed as they receive competing offers
Interviewing
Before you interview a candidate, reread the position spec. It clearly identifies both the specific skills and personal characteristics you are seeking in a successful candidate. Get together with the other executives on your team and divide up the key attributes you wish to explore. Have each executive’s interview focus on a separate attribute. For example, one interview might focus on demonstrated leadership accomplishments. Another could focus on instances in which rapidly adapting to change was vital. Get together later and put the entire picture together.
Reference Checking
Reference checking is the search firm’s job, but be sure to do at least a couple yourself. You should know what this person is like straight from the source. Also, always do background and criminal checks.
Offer Preparation & Negotiation
The search firm will help you as much or as little as you wish in preparing an offer and negotiating to closure. Some clients prefer to handle discussions themselves, with the search firm providing market data on similar packages. Others prefer the search firm serve as an intermediary.
Companies that recruit well consider an offer from the recruit’s perspective rather than “this is how we do it,” “take it or leave it,” or “we want him to show us how committed he is.” They are creative in putting together win-win offers addressing all necessary components, including base salary, bonus, long-term incentives, consideration for what the candidate might forfeit by walking away from his or her current position (e.g. unvested, in-the-money options) and relocation. It is rare to recruit a high caliber, currently employed executive for a reduction in base salary. Emerging companies will usually have to at least match current cash compensation, with equity upside. Established companies need to provide an increase in base salary.
Assimilation
A top search firm provides assistance with ongoing assimilation once the candidate has joined your company. The consultant should follow up at steady intervals with both the placed executive and other management to ensure the transition is as smooth as possible.