Executive Search - What is it Worth?
by Bob Corlett Friday, December 05, 2008
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We just completed a Deputy CFO search for a nonprofit client. They liked the candidate pool so much, they actually hired two people – and paid us one fee. A traditional search firm would have charged at least three times more than we did – for just one placement. As you might imagine, saving about $70k in search fees felt pretty good to our client. Our client was thrilled, the two candidates were thrilled and we were thrilled.
My competitors in the search world are astonished that we don’t charge extra fees when our clients make multiple hires on a search. Instead we celebrate. Actually, it happens to us all the time. Our all-time record is when someone hired four people from a field of 8 candidates – and paid us one search fee.
Let me be clear, I know and respect the owners of many boutique high end retained search firms and I think many of them are worth every penny they charge for very senior level hires - they bring alot of business acumen and expertise to the table, and their candidate research is usually first rate. They are not what I’m talking about here.
The mistake is when employers pony up 25 and 30% fees to fill middle management jobs. Midrange search is fundamentally different than executive search. By and large the midrange staffing firms (the people who staff positions from $70k to $150k) are not worth their fees - I rarely encounter firms with solid process, great candidate research, rock solid integrity and genuine business acumen. And without that, 25 or 30% of salary is simply not a reasonable price to pay.
When I started Staffing Advisors I knew most employers were not only disappointed in mid-range search firms, they were actually hostile. They felt like they were lied to, ripped off, and constantly under siege from agency telemarketers. Actually many job seekers feel the same way.
We set out to be different. First we banished commissions, then we banished all the fluff that did not add value to the process. Then we distilled the hiring process down to its bare essense, so our searches complete very quickly - enabling us to do more with less.
So we’ll keep celebrating when our clients make multiple hires, we’re happy to let them go spend their budgets on other things.
What do you think? Are seach firms worth the money?
My competitors in the search world are astonished that we don’t charge extra fees when our clients make multiple hires on a search. Instead we celebrate. Actually, it happens to us all the time. Our all-time record is when someone hired four people from a field of 8 candidates – and paid us one search fee.
Let me be clear, I know and respect the owners of many boutique high end retained search firms and I think many of them are worth every penny they charge for very senior level hires - they bring alot of business acumen and expertise to the table, and their candidate research is usually first rate. They are not what I’m talking about here.
The mistake is when employers pony up 25 and 30% fees to fill middle management jobs. Midrange search is fundamentally different than executive search. By and large the midrange staffing firms (the people who staff positions from $70k to $150k) are not worth their fees - I rarely encounter firms with solid process, great candidate research, rock solid integrity and genuine business acumen. And without that, 25 or 30% of salary is simply not a reasonable price to pay.
When I started Staffing Advisors I knew most employers were not only disappointed in mid-range search firms, they were actually hostile. They felt like they were lied to, ripped off, and constantly under siege from agency telemarketers. Actually many job seekers feel the same way.
We set out to be different. First we banished commissions, then we banished all the fluff that did not add value to the process. Then we distilled the hiring process down to its bare essense, so our searches complete very quickly - enabling us to do more with less.
So we’ll keep celebrating when our clients make multiple hires, we’re happy to let them go spend their budgets on other things.
What do you think? Are seach firms worth the money?
