Is Investing In An Executive Search Firm Worth It?

Is Investing In An Executive Search Firm Worth It?

You want to get your hands on the finest and most suitable executives to work for your company, which is why you want to hire professional experts to assist you in the process. But, what’s bothering you is how pricey it can be to partner with such top executive search firms in India! Your apprehension is nothing unusual, as working with experts certainly means you have to pay a hefty price.

So, whenever you’re looking to fill a senior-level opening, the cost of working for it is certainly a concern. “How much will it cost me?” is the question you’ll ponder over.

But, the answer to the above question isn’t really easy. There’s no one certain answer to the question, as it all depends on how you prefer to recruit the candidate, and how important it is to get top talent for your corporate strategy.

Search firm pricing varies widely, depending upon the services and professionalism offered.

In-house or search firm assistance?

First and foremost, you need to decide as to whether you’re going to carry out the task of searching for candidates with your in-house team, or are you going to take assistance from top executive search firms in India. The latter option is often chosen when an executive search is important enough to warrant the cost of partnering with the search firm, or when the in-house team is not as proficient for the task, or does not have the time to be invested for such an important

search. If you choose to carry out the task in-house, there’s no additional cost involved other than the salary decided for your HR team, but the quality of search may or may not be completely reliable. On the other hand, if you hire an executive search firm, you’ll need to invest further, but the quality of candidates you’ll receive will certainly make the investment worth it.

Advertisements REPORT THIS AD Different fee-pricing models Percentage based pricing Many search firms charge a percentage of the chosen candidate’s annual salary or total compensation. So, the more the candidate is paid, the more the search firm is paid.

Flat fee pricing Some search firms charge a flat fixed fee for the task. This flat-fee pricing model enables the firm to be completely unbiased while making the recruitment, and facilitates hiring negotiations with no conflict of interest. Hence, any surprise higher fees is eliminated, with the costs being discussed beforehand.

Multi-search package deals Businesses with multiple executive openings all the year round may be in a position to have a reduced executive search cost. That’s because they can simply purchase a package of multiple searches for a fixed fee that is much lower than the regular flat-fee pricing model for a single search. This means, the company doesn’t have to transact individual contacts for every single search, and it also saves on a good amount of money.

Unbundled service fees There are other search firms who charge by the hour, by the project, or by the search. This kind of pricing model is suitable if the search firm has a reliable and trusted domain expertise, access to top talent, and consultative abilities. This type of search is collaborative and collegial, serving as a natural extension of the in-house executive recruiting team, boosting recruiting effectiveness and the time-to-hire speed. With different pricing models, it is up to you to choose whatever seems to be the best choice for your company. However, don’t look at the pricing model simply as the “cost” added to your expenses. Rather, take

a look at how that extra investment will bring to you a quality hire, and then calculate the “cost-effectiveness” of hiring a search firm. It is thus advisable to invest in quality search with a trusted executive search partner, one like WalkWater Talent Advisors, that has completed more than 600 leadership searches for more than 275 clients globally, making it one of the most trusted top executive search firms in India and abroad.