Member Article

Are you getting an executive recruitment service?

I recently asked a good friend of mine, who happens to be an Accountant, what they thought of the term ‘Executive Search’ and if they felt it applied to them; their answers were quite enlightening: “Well it’s searching for senior positions at a certain level in a business, I’m not sure it should apply to me, I mean I’m not an Executive or Director of the company, but from what I know I guess it probably would be what I needed based on my salary?”. So just what is an Executive Search?

Try a search today in Google for ‘Executive Search Yorkshire’ and you’ll see a summary of recruiters professing to be ‘global leaders’ dealing with the most sought after ‘C-suite appointments’.

But whether your business is looking to appoint a new Chief Executive or you’re the CFO looking for that elusive new challenge understanding what to expect from an Executive piece of recruitment has never been more important.

At the very heart of your search needs to be a personal service. An Executive recruiter will be engaged on a retained basis, so although not quite on chargeable hours they are now working as an extension of the recruiting business.

RESEARCH

Each executive search assignment should be delivered using a bespoke program created to suit the needs of your business. For us at Cooper Vance this usually starts with our Round Peg Audit, which ensures that you’re utilising all the talent within your business before embarking on the recruitment process. This audit also enables us to fully understand the type of person you’re looking for and what you need them to achieve within the business.

MARKET MAPPING

Do you know how many businesses do exactly the same thing as you? Or how many similar sized businesses in the same industry are within 10 miles of your office? What about how your salaries and benefits compare to your competitors? Or simply, do you know how many people actually have the requirements to fill your current skills-gap? All these factors, and many more, are considered, researched, investigated and reported on to provide real-time MI on your requirement.

BENCHMARKING

Throughout the executive search process we provide up to date information on the market’s response to your search, the quality of applicants being attracted and our progress in drawing up a suitable short list.

HEADHUNTING

Often looked upon as a taboo subject, the art of Headhunting has been around for many years. You might not know the CEO of your main competitor directly, but you’d sure like to know if they’re currently looking for a new challenge. Headhunting is a direct approach, undertaken by your recruitment partner, to establish exactly that. Think of it as dipping your toe in the water to check you won’t be burnt.

EXECUTIVE ONBOARDING

Okay, so we missed a couple of steps since headhunting, but you should all be pretty comfortable with what to expect from the CVs and interviews stages so I’ve jumped to one of the most overlooked aspects – Onboarding! Embedding your new ‘Executive’ into the business in as quick a time as possible not only helps a shorter period to ROI but also helps to significantly increase performance, job satisfaction and above all increases retention!

So why not embrace the ‘Executive Search’ before you, look for a personal touch that understands your requirements and let the experts get to work. Alternatively, why not book a convenient time and we’ll call you right back!

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Andrew Pickersgill .