Deciding on an executive recruiter
When looking to fill a vacancy in your organization or to move on to a new stage in your career, you may need the help of an executive recruiter. It is also possible that you may not be familiar with what an executive recruiter is, or what they do.
As specialists in this profession, we have therefore taken the time to explain more about executive recruiting, what it typically involves, and how our focuses and work processes fit into this before you decide on executive recruitment services.
What is an executive recruiter?
An executive recruiter, who might also be called an “executive search consultant” or even an “executive headhunter” in less formal circles, is a type of recruitment specialist or service. Their focus is usually on providing third-party assistance. This means that they help organizations find and recruit highly qualified candidates for senior-level and top executive positions.
However, they may also help them seek out and recruit candidates for other highly specialized and skilled positions where there is strong competition in the job market, and some markets have seen a shift in recent years towards using executive search for lower positions because of a lack of candidates.
When are executive recruiters used?
Executive recruiters are typically only retained under certain circumstances. These circumstances include:
- The opportunity is an executive role at a fairly senior level (senior-level here includes, but is not exclusive to, c-suite and board positions).
- The successful candidate is likely to have a significant impact on the hiring organization (this can happen in lower-level positions, as well as executive positions).
- There is a shortage of talent available for the role and the top talent may not actively be job seeking.
- There is a confidential element to the search.
- Other approaches have failed to produce the best candidate.
The typical work steps in executive recruiting
Once a client business or organization has decided to work with an executive recruiter, the process of executive recruitment itself can then be written out in a fairly straightforward manner. Typically, it will involve the following steps:
- Making a detailed list of the requirements and requests made by clients, about the candidates they wish to hire.
- Researching and identifying potential candidates that clients may be interested in hiring.
- Performing screening interviews before presenting clients with a slate of candidates that they may be interested in hiring.
- Providing downstream services, such as contract and salary negotiation, as well as post-offer reference checks.
Best practices for executive recruitment strategies
Every specialist in the business of recruiting should aim to follow a set of best practices throughout their work processes. This includes their search services, which should begin with a defined search strategy. The best practices involved in the creation of a search strategy include:
Finding out job specifications
This is the most basic information that recruiting firms or individual recruitment consultants should know. The client should provide input on:
- Company details
- Role title
- Description of key tasks for the role and their purpose
- Reporting structure
- Compensation offered
Finding out job criteria
Job criteria should be outlined as soon as the job specifications have been outlined. This helps to complete a profile for the client’s ideal candidate, and can be split into “required” criteria and “desired” criteria. Required criteria are factors which the client considers non-negotiable, meaning the candidate must have them to be considered. These criteria often include:
- Education
- Years of experience
- Industry experience
- Skill set
Desired criteria, on the other hand, are the items which clients are willing to be flexible over. For example, they may accept experience from more than one industry. Executive search firms and consultants should help their clients to understand and make this distinction when setting out criteria.
Creating a target list
This involves the specialist assisting clients in creating a target list. A target list outlines where the specialist will search for potential candidates and helps to find the most relevant candidates based on factors such as:
- Industry
- Size or stage
- Location
- Competition
Carrying out administrative work
Clients should assist the firm or consultant they have chosen by providing certain details and feedback, as this helps the firm or consultant to find better candidates as a result. These details should be:
- When to conduct status call updates
- When to block off time in the calendar for candidate interviews
- Conference call details
- Overall goals of the search
Benchmarking profiles
This confirms that a specialist has a full understanding of the type of candidates the client is looking for in an ideal candidate. The step itself will involve:
- Finding 10 to 15 candidates to show the client
- Making note of their feedback
- Amending the search strategy and goals based on this feedback
- Documenting the data points that can be given to researchers as feedback
Carrying out this step allows specialists to spot and correct mistakes, as well as to figure out nuances in the search. Doing this as soon as possible prevents mistakes from being made later on in the process, when they may be more difficult to rectify.
Our focus as executive recruiters
In our capacity as executive recruitment consultants and from our base in NYC, we work across all industries to find and assess the top candidates and talent in Total Rewards. We have many years of experience in this specialism of HR, building superior leadership teams for our clients.
Through our services, you can expect to find clients and candidates looking to fill roles in:
- Benefits
- Business Analytics / Reward Project Management
- Carried Interest & Co-Investment
- Cash Compensation
- Executive Compensation
- Pensions & Retirement Plans
- Systems – HRIS
- Total Rewards
As specialists, we also understand that Total Rewards goes beyond pay; it is also integrated deeply within a company or organization’s culture and its objectives. It’s a long-term approach to engagement, and we value an equally long-term strategy and a long-term mindset for our search and selection decisions.
Oakleaf Total Rewards Search’s approach
On first viewing, it might appear that our approach covers the same basic steps as most other executive recruitment firms. While we do offer a fast and exact system for pairing clients and candidates, we also take pride in our ability to offer a more in-depth approach than many of our competitors. This approach is based on a series of promises and working solutions which demonstrate our abilities as specialists:
Access
We offer an unparalleled network of leaders working within Compensation, Benefits, and Total Rewards across the East Coast. We make it our business to build strong, effective, and long-lasting relationships, and there is no difference to us between clients and candidates. This prevents us from being burdened by “off-limits” issues, and we put no limits on candidate reach.
Knowledge
Our team has a deep knowledge and understanding of both Compensation and Benefits. This is a more thorough and extensive approach than one offered by a typical HR professional; we fully understand what it is our clients and candidates do and are looking for. As a result, we are able to look beyond keywords which may be written in a resumé to find out and understand a candidate’s actual ability. This results in us being able to find the best talent for our clients.
Selectivity
The work we take on is kept within a capped amount, which ensures that we are able to deliver for all of our clients. Team members at Oakleaf Total Rewards Search are permitted a maximum of four searches at any one time, maintaining our hands-on approach and meaning we never have to outsource any parts of the recruitment cycle. We also only take on assignments which we believe will make great career opportunities for our network.
A combination of world-class research capabilities, personalized search processes, and these exclusive selection processes ensures that we maintain our reputation as consultants at the top of our industry niche.
360 Degree Executive Search
We carry out the hands-on, strategic approach necessary to understand and deliver on the unique requirements of each brief in the field of Compensation & Benefits. Candidate management and client management aspects are not separated here, and our team members each manage the entire life cycle of the recruitment process to ensure utmost control.
Everything conducted through our search process is designed to guide and support Compensation & Benefits professionals where needed and necessary, helping them to take definitive steps forward in their careers. We do this whilst managing and educating our clients on the realities of a changing, challenging market, meaning we take a full 360-degree approach.
Working with us
A company seeking the best talent for their senior and executive-level positions and candidates looking to move forward in their careers in Total Rewards will both find the help they need through our services. We are based in NYC, but we will be ready and fully prepared to help organizations and individuals based across the East Coast.
Send us an email or resumé using the contact form below and take the next step towards finding your ideal candidate or career.