How To Work With Retained Executive Search Consultants

How To Work With Retained Executive Search Consultants

Text

SUMMARY: Replacing or hiring new executives to a company is challenging many are unwilling to undertake. Retained executive search consultants can help with any concerns regarding finding the right talents for your firm.

Hiring executive talent for your company is a vital decision that can impact your entire business. Hiring a new executive employee is costly, especially for managerial positions.

This process should consider hiring costs, compensations, and employee maintenance costs. If the hiring decision is poor, you lose employee morale and money on your investment. Leadership roles are essential for directing, motivating, and leading teams.

Working with retained executive search consultants could save you the hassle of recruiting new talent.

What is a retained executive search firm?

Suppose your HR department wants to hire an executive recruiter who can find and close top talent. In that case, high-end executive search firms get a retainer to conduct a specialized search for corporate executive positions. In addition, top retained executive search firms also place competitive positions with top talent in highly technical fields like data analysis and programming. These searches are reserved for positions with a promised salary of $150,000 and above. Higher positions in companies and organizations depend on the best talent because their decisions are influential across various company factors.

How does it works

In a retained executive search, the recruiter or headhunter charges an upfront fee to search. In addition, these recruiters operate exclusively to the specific retained executive search firm. This path has its pros and cons, and it is crucial to understand various payment options before committing to one that you could regret later. These recruiters always work for organizations that want to fill positions, not candidates. They come in multiple shapes and sizes, ranging from large international firms to smaller ones that focus on particular industries.

Working with a retained executive search consultant 

Learn about the search firm and what it does. Search firms either specialize by position or by industry. Some individuals have specific backgrounds that may help the companies for the not specialized firms.



Treat the retained executive consultants professionally as you would want to be treated. The search community is smaller, and members heavily interact with each other. You cannot fail to return calls from a search firm and expect the search consultant to call you back when making a change at work.



Be patient with the executive retained search consultants because they are not advocates for the candidates. They always want the best muscle for their client, and many people think that constantly calling search firms will force the client to act fast. Therefore, the search firm must follow up with the client after the interview.

Fee schedule for retained recruiters It would help to consider the fee schedule when dealing with a retained executive search consultant. You can either pay a fixed fee when signing the agreement with a retained executive search firm. The flexible payment structure includes a third of the sum during the search. The other third is after thirty days, and the final third is paid after the placement of the candidate is concluded. You should first understand what payment schedule your company can stick to. Once you are prepared, it will be easier to navigate through and find the retained search firm.