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Business Management Review | Sunday, July 03, 2022
As a rule, search firms will continue to stay in touch to ensure the executive has a smooth transition into their new role.
FREMONT, CA: Here are the Steps of the Executive Search Process.
Stage 1: Engaging the Retained Firm
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Retained executives search firms are retained — they are paid ahead of time to do the work. The payment of that retainer is usually divided into thirds, with the first third due at launch. To ensure quality, retained search firms also insist on an exclusive contract.
The standard retained search contract stipulates that the firm serves as the exclusive representative of the search for external and internal candidates. It also defines engagement timing, off-limits agreements, and other issues relevant to the particular assignment.
Stage 2: Holding Launch Meetings
The retained search firm meets with the hiring executive and relevant stakeholders to discuss the requirements for the role. The meetings often include board members, senior executive team members, peers, and subordinates.
These meetings enable the search firm to gather important information about the role's requirements. More importantly, the search partner witnesses firsthand the management style and corporate culture, which are essential to learning what makes someone successful at the company.
Stage 3: Creating Position and Candidate Specification
The retained search firm drafts a description of the position, detailing its reporting relationships, responsibilities, and objectives. The candidate specification details core competencies, preferred experience, and soft skills — the personal qualities that are sought in the ideal candidate. The document serves as a touchstone, defining all the role requirements and preventing searches from veering off course. Once the client approves the document, it is also used as a marketing tool with candidates.
Stage 4: Setting Research Strategy
The search team develops a strategy of targeting companies most likely to yield a successful candidate, including the initial list of target companies. The strategy considers the level and scope of comparable roles and other key data points: office location, corporate culture, and each company's ranking. Off-limits companies are also delineated — companies out of which the firm will not recruit due to sensitive client relationships or because the firm has client blockage.
Stage 5: Conducting Original Research
Using the strategy as a blueprint, the search team conducts original research to identify and profile idea candidates, mapping the reporting relationships and often building out org charts of target teams.
Traditional search firms usually do most of the research online. However, the search firm will also query its candidate database, proprietary information services, and social networks like LinkedIn to yield prospective candidates.
Stage 6: Querying Sources
Search firms sound their network of sources for candidate referrals and calibrations. Sources include journalists, professional associations, and other relevant groups. Prospects that meet the role's requirements are added to the initial list of prospects.
Stage 7: Qualifying Prospects
The search team contacts prospective candidates to determine whether they meet the primary requirements of the role and gathers details on the candidate's motivations — what it would take for that candidate to move to a new company. The search team reviews the list of qualified, interested prospects to determine whether more research is necessary or if it is time to schedule in-depth interviews.
Stage 8: Interviewing and Pre-referencing Top Prospects
The search consultant interviews and evaluates top prospective candidates in a deep-dive interview that steps through the candidate's career history. The executive search partner evaluates the candidate against the candidate's specification through in-depth, in-person, or video-conference interviews. Taking much attention not to jeopardize candidate confidentiality, search firms pre-reference candidates whenever possible to verify past performance and essential soft skills. Those who are not fit are closed out.
Stage 9: Writing Candidate Profile
For those candidates the search firm presents to the client, they prepare a written Candidate Profile. A Candidate Profile is a report that information on the candidate's education, career history, honors, and awards.
The report also analyzes and appraises the candidate's strengths, weaknesses, and appropriateness for the position. Additionally, this is where the recruiter will highlight any key motivators, issues, and deal-making details important to closing the candidate.
Stage 10: Presenting Candidates and Tracking Progress
The search firm presents candidates at regular progress meetings. Then, working closely with the client, the list is cultured to a slate of 3 to 6 strong competitors for the client to meet. Client-candidate meetings are then scheduled.
Stage 11: Scheduling Client Interviews
Client interviews of the candidates planned to winnow selection down the two or three finalists. Those that are eliminated are closed out.
Stage 12: Checking References
The search team checks the candidate's references, contacting the contacts provided by the candidate as well as other sources available to the firm. The team makes every effort to ensure discretion and confidentiality. Third-party services often perform verification of employment and academic credentials. It is the consultant's responsibility to ensure that such checks have been conducted.
Stage 13: Extending the Offer
When a final candidate is selected, the search consultant works closely with the client and candidate to position the offer with the candidate and negotiate a package agreeable to both parties.
Stage 14: Closing the Candidate and Search
The search ends when the executive accepts the offer, agreeing to join the company. The search firm then closes out the engagement by thanking those involved for a successful outcome. Often, search firms will continue to stay in touch to ensure the executive has a smooth transition into their new role.
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