How to Select and get the Best from an Executive Search Firm
Hiring decisions are among the most difficult and important choices that an employer ever makes – particularly since the consequences of making the wrong choice can have devastating consequences for the company, its employees, turnover, productivity, market perception and customers.
Choosing the right executive search firm (or headhunter) to work with is therefore imperative if you want to make a successful hire and not become part of the executive hire failure statistics (nearly half of new executive hires resign or are fired within 18 months, according to the Corporate Leadership Council).
I’ve written this guide to help you evaluate and hire the best executive search firm. You’ll discover:
- Why hiring one of the ‘Big 6’ (for a substantial fee) is no guarantee of success.
- How to choose the right executive search firm
- How To Get The Best Out Of An Executive Search Firm
And if, by the end of this report, you think you may need some independent expert advice about selecting the ideal executive search firm, my company, Lauder Beaumont Associates (LBA) can help with that too.
Sample from the Executive Search Firms Guide
There’s an old adage that “No one ever got fired for buying IBM” – meaning if you buy a product (or service) from an established firm, your chances of making a mistake are low. That’s probably why so many hiring managers are tempted to use one of the ‘Big 6’ executive search firms.
Net Fee Income says those ‘Big 6’ firms are:
- Korn Ferry
- Heidrick & Struggles
- Spencer Stuart
- Egon Zehnder
- Odgers Berndtson
- Russell Reynolds
The ‘Big 6’ are all international operators with offices all over the globe. They tend to make much of their international status and infer that they have access to a wider range of candidates because of their global reach.
However, while they may have larger databases (from performing executive searches for many years), a physical presence in any given geography doesn’t necessarily mean they have better access. It’s not as if leaders are walking in off the street into their premises looking for their next role.
