|
SPECIAL
EDITION
Perception
vs. Reality in Executive Search
FACED SEVERAL YEARS AGO with declining revenues, Rolling Stone
magazine launched what became a famous advertising campaign
called "Perception vs. Reality." The perception?
Rolling Stone readers were a bunch of drugged-out hippies.
The reality? The Woodstock Generation had become responsible
adults with big incomes to spend on advertisers' products.
Like
Rolling Stone, the employment services industry is plagued
with misperceptions.
Many
employers, for example, believe that "retained search"
means large, extremely professional firms that custom-recruit
for high-end positions, while "contingency search"
means small firms of often marginal quality that supply résumés
for low-end jobs.
The reality
is that search firms of both varieties come in all shapes
and sizes and increasingly provide a range of billing options
that blur traditional definitions. For example, a retained
search firm may prove to be a one-person shop that is better
equipped to sell a search than to perform it, while another
firm with its roots in contingency search may turn out to
be a high-quality multinational operation that conducts many
top-level searches on a fully or partly retained basis.
In identifying
the "right" firm or firms to fill their need for
top talent, employers would be well advised to look beyond
the traditional labels of retained vs. contingency search
that have largely been promoted by recruiting directories.
"What
Is It You're Trying to Sell Me?"
Another
classic ad, this one by McGraw-Hill Business Publications,
showed a purchasing agent scowling at the camera. The copy
read (slightly shortened): "I don't know you. I don't
know your product. And I don't know your company. Now what
is it you're trying to sell me?"
Many
employers hurl a similar accusation at recruiters: "You
don't know me. You don't know my company. And you don't know
my industry. Now why is it you think you can find good people
for me?"
A few
companies by-pass this problem in curious fashion by tossing
a search assignment to any recruiter who calls – figuring
the more firms the merrier. Somebody, they suppose, is bound
to have the right résumé in their files. The
results these companies receive are in line with their low
level of expectation.
Savvier
employers identify the search consultant who can say, "I
understand your responsibilities, I'm an expert in your industry
and I know a fair amount about your company. But let's talk
more about your needs."
Sanford
Rose Associates would recommend that any company begin its
qualification of potential search firms by probing for their
industry and occupational expertise, since no single recruiter
can know all things about all jobs in all types of industry.
Beware, however, of the search consultant who doesn't want
to take the time to learn about your specific wants and needs.
What
Level of Service Do You Require?
A one-word
definition of pure retained search is "overkill."
A one-word definition of garden-variety contingency search
is "underkill."
For example,
a Park Avenue retained search firm is engaged to fill a high-level
vacancy. A partner in the firm, who serves as relationship
manager for the account, visits the client to discuss the
search requirements and interview key principals. The search
is sent to the firm's research department, which runs it through
a computer database. Candidate names are provided to a recruiting
associate, who makes preliminary screening calls and develops
additional leads through networking. The partner then schedules
face-to-face interviews with semi-finalists, cutting the final
selection list down to three or four names – which are
presented to the client.
This
phase of the process typically takes from three to six months
to complete. If the client fails to like any of the finalists,
the search resumes. The recruiting firm may even interview
internal candidates. The search continues until the position
is filled or the company calls off the search. Regardless
of the outcome, the search firm receives its full retainer
(normally 33-1/3 percent of first-year total compensation),
plus all out-of-pocket travel, lodging and associated costs.
The garden-variety
contingency search proceeds in different fashion. No matter
how large or small the firm, the search is typically handled
by a single recruiter, possibly assisted by a researcher.
Because
payment is based upon successful completion of the search,
the contingency recruiter will quickly make a hard-headed
determination of how much time and effort he or she will spend
on the assignment. Can the position be readily filled (ideally
by candidates already known to the recruiter)? Are other firms
working on the same search? Is the company showing interest
in candidates presented? And has the client tried to discount
the recruiter's standard fee? If the wrong answers emerge,
the recruiter will quickly downgrade or abandon the search.
Here's
the dilemma: There are occasions when overkill is viewed as
necessary (for example, when the Board of Directors is about
to replace the CEO and needs a pedigreed firm). And there
are times when underkill is all that's necessary (for example,
the position can be filled by almost anyone with a particular
set of skills). But what about the many occasions in between
when a critical (and possibly confidential) position opening
requires custom-search performance combined with timely, cost-efficient
response?
Need-based
Recruiting Offers New Flexibility
Sanford
Rose Associates and other search firms of the future have
one important characteristic lacking in the iron-bound traditions
of retained and contingency search. That characteristic is
flexibility in responding to client needs.
Therefore,
SRA search consultants avoid classifying all searches as the
same – focusing instead on providing the level of service
their clients need.
Before
proposing the most appropriate kind of search to a client,
SRA consultants analyze such factors as the importance of
the position to the client's bottom line, the urgency with
which the position needs to be filled, the difficulty in identifying
truly qualified candidates, and any pluses or minuses about
the company or the position that might influence a candidate's
interest.
A retained
search provides the highest level of priority, effort and
attention – and can be conducted with or without the
expense of face-to-face client meetings and candidate interviews.
Because of SRA's "Dimensional Search" process, market
specialization and advanced technology, highly qualified candidates
can be identified and presented in usually much less time
than the average retained-search firm requires.
In other
cases, where a position is important but falls below a company's
cut-off point for paying full retainers, SRA may recommend
a partially retained search, an innovative service which guarantees
commitment to the search (typically through a one-third up-front
payment) while delaying full collection until the search is
completed. This can give many clients the "best of both
worlds."
Even
for those levels of search requiring a contingent fee, Sanford
Rose Associates can explore with clients exclusivity agreements,
multiple-search contracts and other arrangements that result
in service far above the ordinary.
Results
Speak Louder than Labels
Perceptions,
in fact, do often differ significantly from reality. So instead
of judging recruiting firms by the plainness or fanciness
of their labels, focus instead on their performance. Does
a pair of Ralph Lauren socks fit better than the equivalent
pair from J.C. Penney? Or another pair with the Dockers label?
You'll never know until you try them on.
|
