“Executive search is a type of recruitment aimed at getting leading executive and senior management talent to a company. This is a vital process in any organization as people are the lifeblood of any business. Missing out on the best talent can prove to create an immense disadvantage.”
I recently read an article published by AESC, titled Retained Executive Search vs Contingency: What’s the Difference?
As an executive search professional myself – being in the business of carefully finding and meticulously placing the right high-level talent at the right organizations, it resonated with me.
The article carefully highlights the difference between retained executive search and contingency recruitment. To ensure you choose the right type of consultancy firm for your organization’s pursuit, it’s critical you understand the differences between the two.
As someone who has been in this industry for a long time, I highly prefer and recommend the approach of retained executive search. At the end of the day, it’s all about finding the right fit, both on the side of the candidate and the client. This means you have to really know, and understand both parties. That requires research, time, conversations, and analysis. You’re helping your clients make very important, and expensive decisions, making thoroughness a prerequisite to success.
There are several other advantages to retained executive search firms. For one, they have the means to interact with top-tier candidates – hence enticing the best talent for your organization. They also work with organizations exclusively, ensuring all their attention is on you and they can work toward your needs specifically. The aspect of personal commitment and exclusivity should not be underestimated, resulting even in a guarantee to conduct a renewed search in the rare case that a recommended candidate has failed the expectations.
Here is a short and concise explanation of both approaches.
Contingency Recruiting
Contingency recruiting is completed by agencies that receive service payments after a candidate has been identified and hired. Due to the method of payment, most contingent recruiters take on as many searches as possible, ensuring they have multiple opportunities to get paid. This may mean the recruiter will be unable to give their full attention to your organization’s search or may walk away if they receive a more lucrative assignment.
Of course, this type of business also means that contingent recruiters cannot and will not invest a lot of time and effort into research and a mindful approach of potential candidates, but rather focus on readily available candidates and existing data pools, looking more or less for matches on paper.
Another side effect in the utilization of contingency recruiting is that by scattering the assignment across various consultancies, potential candidates might be contacted by competing recruiters thus deflating the value of the open position as well as the employer.
However, due to the high number of incoming unsolicited applications in contingency recruitment firms, there is a chance for a quick win – but only from the limited pool of readily available candidates.
Retained Executive Search
“Unlike contingent recruiting, which recruits talent for roles ranging from entry to senior, retained executive search focuses strictly on placing candidates in executive and senior-level positions. When hiring a retained executive search firm, your organization is leveraging the firm’s extensive knowledge of and experience in the industry, service, or function. Retained executive search consultants specialize in high-impact, high-level placements – positions where the right leader provides a company with a competitive advantage.”
In summary: getting consultancy from a retained executive search firm is not the purchase of a matching employee, but the purchase of the best possible contributor to your company from the entire pool of candidates – justifying the expense and the effort to exclusively work with a professional retained search firm. Engaging an executive search consultancy means engaging professionals who work for specifically for you, acting as an extension and ambassador for your company when approaching and assessing candidates who may not be actively looking for a new position, but still are the perfect match for your company.
You can read the original article here.