Recruiting staff at any level of your business should be considered as an investment not a cost (as so many companies do). As you would look for a new machine for your manufacturing facility, you need to consider the best source to find the most valuable asset for your organisation. 

There are many types of recruitment companies offering a wide range of different services to help you. Here are 12 reasons why you should select a retained executive search partner to appoint your critical senior or leadership role.

1. Good is just not good enough

You could find a decent candidate through your own network, linked in or an advert but will they be ok or the best individual that will transform your business and its profits? 

Executive search is research-based and will find the best candidate and it is likely that they weren't considering moving jobs until they were proactively approached and enticed.

2. The search is incredibly important at the senior executive level

Making a mistake or a bad hire in your boardroom could be catastrophic for your business. We are called in regularly to replace a leader who was highly recommended by the board's network but wasn't taken through a robust assessment process nor benchmarked against a strong candidate pool.

3. You are seeking a candidate with a rare mix of skills

You might think that it will be too difficult to find your "needle in a haystack" and decide to settle for second best, please don't! An executive search partner will conduct full research into the market and provide you with recommendations on the skills mix that is possible for you to attract. They are resilient, determined and committed to solving your problem.

4.You have a search for a senior executive position that you just created

With all their market and recruitment expertise, a retained search partner can help you to create a role, tell you what is possible and set you up for success before you go to market.

5. You have to replace an underperforming executive while he is still in the role

Quite often companies need to replace a senior leader due to performance issues but they don't want to do it until they have secured their replacement. Confidentiality is really tough unless you use an external expert.

6. You have to recruit from a target company with which your company has good relationships

This is a really tricky one and you certainly don't want to blow your cover and damage your relationship if there isn't even a high calibre candidate that you could be interested in. Taking a confidential research approach is the solution here.

7. Your senior leadership team lacks diversity

This is becoming an increasingly in demand project. For us, it means that we ensure we research the whole market including candidates from all sorts of different backgrounds, age profiles, genders, races etc... which is impossible to do if you rely on an advert, a limited database or network referrals.  

8. You lack internal bench strength and have few successors to your senior executives

Far too much recruitment is done re-actively and never solves succession weaknesses in organisations. Executive search can help you build a robust talent pool that will take care of all your succession planning woes.

9. You don't have the time or the resources to take on an executive search

Search firms are expert project managers and can manage the whole process to a successful conclusion.

10. You have tapped out your personal and company networks for candidate referrals

You will run out of freebies eventually!

11. You have an important executive search that is taking too long

All searches should have a planned milestone project plan and so you will know and can plan exactly when an appointment will be made.

12. You want to give your company a strategic advantage through better hires

It is not just your products and services that differentiate you from your competitors. People can bring all sorts of new ideas and expertise you just need to go out and find them.

All in all, investing in an executive search partner should provide you with a measured ROI that will accelerate the performance of your business.

Here are the 7 key elements of an executive search process to bring you success.

http://www.collingwoodsearch.co.uk/our-insights/board-insights/7-key-elements-of-an-effective-search-and-selection-process