It is a commonly accepted fact in the business world that the employees of the company are the greatest asset that it possesses. The human hands who take part in making a company function are far more important than all of the technology and equipment the company owns. While this is absolutely true, it is particularly true at the executive level. Finding the right talent to oversee and steer an organization is critical for the success of the company. And the opposite is also true; if the wrong person is selected for an executive position of a company, it can have a negative impact on the entire direct and future of the company, as well as being an incredibly difficult and expensive problem to fix.
This is why, many organizations are opting to use executive HR search firms to help identify candidates to fill the leadership positions in their company. Executive HR search firms assist with the entire on-boarding process of the leadership of the company; from recruitment, to interviewing, to hiring, to transition. Identifying the right individual for critical roles in the company, convincing these candidate to throw their hat in the ring, hiring the best one, and making sure that their on-boarding goes smoothly is an asset that many organizations cannot provide themselves. A few of the key reasons that enterprises use executive HR search firms include:
- Many times, the best candidates for the position are not looking for a job.
Yes, it is possible that the perfect person for an executive position in a company will be out of work, or looking for new work, at the same time a company is seeking candidates and see the job opening and proactively apply. However, many times, the best talent is already thriving in the job they have (one reason they are the kind of talent you want on your teem), and do not know that they could be better placed within your organization.
When a company uses executive HR search firms to fill open executive positions, the human resources consultants who work on your behalf are able leverage their broad network of business contacts to find a candidate who is perfectly tailored to meet the company’s needs. These professional “match-making” opportunities are often not available when the company uses their in-house human resources to find a candidate. - Getting the right candidate in place faster. While the human resources department of a company serves a wide variety of functions, the sole purpose of an HR consulting firm is to find the best candidate for the position, and get them on board successfully. By using a service like this, companies are able to fill their vital leadership positions much faster, with a higher likelihood of finding good quality candidates for the position. Since the longer a company goes without its guiding leadership, the greater cost it is to the company and the detriment is puts on the future and direction they are going in, by filling these positions quickly, it saves a great deal of money and liability, and safeguards the stability of the company.
- End-to-end management of the process. Having one set of (expert) hands manage the entire process of filling executive roles helps the transition go smoothly. Additionally, because this is the only function that an executive recruiter does, they are very skilled at each step and can ensure an efficient implementation of the new leader in the company, far greater than is possible without their oversight.
- Insight into executive best practices. Many companies work in silos. Their business processes and standards might be working for them, but there may be more efficient ways to do things that they just don’t know about. Because executive consultants work with executive level management across a broad range of different organizations, they gain valuable wisdom for effective procedures and direction used across the industry, and even in other industries. Having this type of advisor on-hand can be a huge asset in the future of the company.
Can a company fill their own executive positions without the help of an professional HR recruiter? Absolutely. However, the access to great candidates, reduction in time, smooth transition, and the executive insight offered by a professional executive recruiter makes it worth every penny.
