Why using Executive Search in a Recession is Justified

By spelling out what a good executive research firm offers this article can provide the arguments to convince a prospective client why they should use the search services of Beaumont Wood.

The Executive Search business is often misunderstood and somewhat maligned as being expensive and unnecessary - especially in a downturn.

For a senior or specialist appointment, whether in a downturn or not, Executive Search is the way forward and the headhunter has to front and lead the assignment at every stage to add real value to the process.

Recent research states that over 60% of companies still use Executive search to recruit at the management level and here are some of the reasons why:

The qualification process

If you are in a senior role and you are approached by the researcher (quite normal) or headhunter, you are “qualified” professionally as to your interest in and suitability to the opportunity. You are subsequently sent a first rate briefing document about the company and the role, giving you a positive impression about the seriousness of the client and the professionalism of the search firm, before you have walked through the door of either. As a result you are potentially more interested in the opportunity.

The qualification process is an inexact science, even when supported with psychometric testing. I have seen candidates with first rate tests offered the job and fail in it and candidates with poor psychometric tests do exceptionally well in the role. Therefore, much is based on the skill, experience and intuition of the headhunter.

Understanding the client

Good headhunters understand their client and the company they are representing in some detail, from the products and services offered through to the cultural fit of the organisation as well as the personality of the future boss. Most good headhunters also have a strong intuition and can pick up on any aspect of strength or weakness and drill down accordingly. They can summarise the opportunity succinctly and sell candidates on the real benefits. They will be direct, honest and open with the candidates interviewed and keep them fully informed at every stage of the process. These people are, after all, our future clients too.

Keeping to timescales

Timeframes can be managed more effectively than an ongoing interview situation based on candidates from various sources.

Search firms like Beaumont Wood have specialist industry knowledge with principals and researchers having worked full time on each and every search until the shortlist is presented – often in as little as 4-6 weeks.

Companies using networks such as LinkedIn, Plaxo, Word-of-mouth etc may get lucky and find a suitable candidate quickly but it takes application and tenacity and it could be several months before you have anything near an acceptable shortlist. We are all in information overload with data coming at us from every angle and it is the search firm’s focus and persistence in drilling down on all of this information that creates a first rate shortlist of the best talent available at that time.

Managing a variety of sources to produce a first rate shortlist

Some headhunters claim that pure headhunting is “the only way” as companies do not make good people redundant and advertising only attracts people that are available and desperate for a job.
It should, however, be of no consequence where the shortlist emanates from, so long as it is always first rate.
In current times, redundancy is no longer a stigma. If a specific assignment exists where we are looking for a “square peg for a square hole” and that square peg happens to be redundant at that moment, then so be it.
Equally, with high level recruitment advertising, our “square peg“ candidate may have previously been in exactly the role we are looking for but as he/she is not currently in that capacity, they are unlikely to be headhunted. It does not devalue their ability to do an excellent job in the role in question. Advertising responses inevitably mean more data to work through but if the role is not confidential then utilising this medium ensures that the client has had the opportunity to meet the best available talent.
And, yes, search firms do also use LinkedIn and Plaxo and that has limitless possibilities but also takes a huge amount of time and application.
It is only by combining these methods that it is possible to bring together a fully researched and well balanced shortlist of highly qualified individuals in only 4-6 weeks.
Candidates there are many but a first-class shortlist is a much bigger challenge. Executive Search ensures the quality and speed of delivery that organisations need in current times.

Jerry Wood is Founder and Director of Beaumont Wood Executive Search - committed to performance, quality of delivery and results in the Interiors and Building Products sector. Jerry and his team provide clients with strong consultancy skills based on a sound methodology and have access to an enormous pool of several thousand sales & mid-to-senior management professionals.