What is Executive Search?
Executive Search is used to identify talent for senior roles that are critical to business operations. The process is highly specialised in order to find and attract senior management professionals to strategically important positions such as Chief Risk Officer (CRO), Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and similar.
While recruitment of more junior vacancies typically happens on a contingency basis and generally relies on the active candidate market in order to find a suitable individual, with successful candidates often applying to a job advertisement, Executive Search taps into harder-to-reach pools of talent in order to find the most suitable person for the opportunity.
After all, a company’s senior leadership team needs to be made up of the very best talent, and those professionals are very rarely actively looking for a new job. This is where Executive Search comes in.
An Executive Search service strives to identify and attract the perfect match not just for the job role but the company as well, whether they’re on the lookout for a new role or not.
How does Executive Search work?
When your organisation is looking to make a critical senior appointment, you can engage with a specialist firm which offers an Executive Search service.
The Executive Search partner will endeavour to build a deep understanding of your business (if you don’t already work together), including the structure, strategic ambitions, culture, work environment and recruitment needs, before advising on the most effective strategy to ensure you hire the most suitable individual.
It’s all about developing that in-depth relationship between your business and the Executive Search provider, ensuring that they understand your needs and you understand their service and why it will be effective for you.
The Executive Search Process
Executive Search starts with information gathering. Your Executive Search partner will carry out detailed research and analysis of your hiring needs and the recruitment marketplace in order to advise on a range of elements, including:
Determining the skills, knowledge and abilities your company needs
Skill availability and gaps
Salary / remuneration trends and expectations
Best locations for hiring the talent you’re looking for
Benefits and perks that could give you the competitive advantage
Alternative industries with potentially suitable candidates
Competitor recruitment activity and how this will affect your hiring strategy
On the back of this exploration, the Executive Search provider will deliver the findings to you, which you can then discuss and work together to build the most efficient and effective recruitment strategy for your needs.
The research may suggest hiring an interim professional while you search for a long-term hire, relocating operations, exploring new geographical options, amending your flexible working policy, targeting certain businesses, or rethinking your salary ranges, any of which will put you in a better position to attract the perfect match for your senior management needs.
Most importantly, your Executive Search partner will begin to build a pool of exceptional industry talent that suits your hiring requirements.
Once you’ve finalised your recruitment needs and strategy, the Executive Search team will get to work creating a tailored role description and candidate specification, before approaching the best possible prospects in the market via their extensive networks of board and c-suite level professionals.
As the process continues, potential candidates will be assessed, evaluated and shortlisted, so that you are provided with a bespoke list of capable, experienced and knowledgeable individuals who are both well-suited to the vacancy and genuinely interested in the opportunity and your business.
From there, your Executive Search partner will liaise with you to conduct your interview process, supporting you and the candidates through each stage, offering advice and guidance where necessary and ultimately resulting in you making an offer to the perfect individual.
The service does not stop at offer however, as the Executive Search team provides you with all the knowledge and support you need to make the right offer to the right person, navigating negotiations and counter offers should they arise.
What does a good Executive Search partner look like?
Successful Executive Search is not just about addressing the here and now. Your Executive Search partner goes beyond tackling your company’s immediate needs and looks to the future, acting as a trusted, consultative partner that is committed to supporting your business in achieving its long-term goals.
The Executive Search provider you choose should know your organisation inside and out and demonstrate a true desire to deliver the full service successfully and beyond expectation. Only when you are fully confident in a firm’s ability to deliver and commitment to your business should you work with them on your critical senior management roles.
Does MERJE offer an Executive Search service?
Our Executive Talent solution is a unique service which can be tailored to your company’s needs. We deliver the exceptional results of an Executive Search firm with more flexibility, increased efficiency, and lower costs.
Read more about MERJE’s Executive Talent solution here.
