7 Essential Benefits of Hiring an Executive Headhunter Firm for Your Business
Did you know that a bad hire costs your company at least 30% of the individual’s earnings during their first year of employment? For top-level management positions, the true cost of a bad hire could spell doom for the company.
Recruiting for these positions should be approached with the seriousness they deserve. Executive headhunter firms exist for this very purpose.
If your next question is, “What is an executive recruiter?” Well, to put it simply, executive recruiters are human resource professionals. Their sole focus is finding top-level talent to fill executive positions that may arise in companies.
In this article, we explore 7 essential benefits of using an executive search firm to help you find the perfect candidate for your business. Read on.
1. The Role Is Beyond the Internal Expertise
Leadership roles are often the most difficult to recruit for. The internal team members in your business may not fully appreciate or understand the demanding nature of the role.
What’s more, the knowledge base required to fill the position may be inadequate. The internal recruiters might not be able to assess the candidates’ answers to determine whether they have what it takes to take up such a critical role. An executive headhunter firm can leverage its vast experience to find a suitable candidate for the position.
2. Internal Resources May Be Limited
Having a dedicated talent acquisition department is a luxury most companies can only dream of. Even if they have one, it’s a small compact team that’s nowhere near the manpower of an executive search firm.
Bear in mind that the role of HR goes beyond hiring for vacant positions that arise in the company. They are responsible for a number of things that contribute to the running of an organization.
These range from training and compliance, to benefits and employee relations. The additional responsibility of having to identify and interview suitable candidates to fill an executive position might leave them stretched too thin.
They can’t effectively dedicate the resources required for such a crucial undertaking. A search firm on the other hand deals solely with recruitment. They have a myriad of tools, resources and tested strategies to get you the best possible talent to fill any position.
3. The Opportunity Cost of Lost Time
Speaking of resources, the old adage reigns supreme. Time is money.
Where is the value-addition to a company if the business’ leaders have to use their precious time conducting job searches? Important as that maybe it would be more beneficial to a company to outsource that service to an executive headhunter firm.
That way the company’s business leaders’ time would be better spent performing at the peak of their abilities. This includes identifying new opportunities, building and solidifying partnerships with new business and running the day-to-day operations of the business.
4. A New Role Needs to Be Developed or Rebuilt
Head hunting for a new role in an organization can be difficult for internal recruitment structures. This is because they have no previous benchmark to serve as a point of reference.
They have no way of establishing the expertise required for the position. The same challenge presents itself if an existing role needs to be restructured or rebuilt from the ground up.
This often happens when the role has a long history of unsuccessful predecessors. In both scenarios, companies need to bring in the big guns – headhunter executives – to deal with these issues.
5. You Need to Uphold Confidentiality
More often than not, the most qualified candidates to fill a vacant executive position are already holding existing roles in similar organizations in the industry. They might even be a competitor. Only an individual pursuing a full-time career in executive search can act on behalf of the company to get in touch with potential candidates without divulging the identity of the organization in question. They can search for ideal candidates without alerting both internal staff and the industry at large that there’s impending change looming over the company.
6. An Executive Headhunter Is Better Placed to Recruit for an Influential Role
The greater the level of influence a particular role has in a company, the larger the potential for negative impact if the wrong person is hired for the position. Here’s why.
The person holding an influential role in an organization is charged with 3 major roles:
- Defining strategy
- Creating processes that will be in place long after they leave
- Working with other departments to bring meaningful change to the company
A bad hire would send negative ripple effects that would be felt throughout the company. Executive headhunters can help you avoid this.
They have a bird’s eye view of the entire industry. This means they can look for top-talent in way more places than you can.
7. Headhunter Firms and Client Companies Share Mutual Financial Goals
Executives in most companies usually receive a compensation package that is proportional to their real (or perceived) value addition to the organization. When these roles remain unoccupied for sustained periods the same value can quickly turn into a liability for the company.
It is therefore in the best interest of both the company and the headhunter firm to fill these positions expeditiously and reliably. So, what is an executive search firm, and your business’ shared goal?
Well, you get the best fit for the position and the recruitment firm can then issue their fee note. It’s a win-win for both parties.
The Bottom Line
If you want the most talented professionals working in your company to take your business to new heights, using an executive headhunter firm is your best bet. They have the resources, networks, and expertise at their disposal to find the perfect fit for your business.
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