Hiring new people is always a challenge for any company of any size. As a consequence, many businesses turn to executive search consultant service companies to help with the process. If you are looking to hire an executive placement agency, here are some tips to making that experience go as smoothly as possible.
- Get someone who knows your industry. You need to work with an executive placement agency that knows the ins and outs of what you do. They cannot begin to understand what you need if they are not totally familiar with your industry and all of its quirks. When you meet with the executive search firm, ask them how much they have worked with companies in your industry and how much they know about it overall. You should only work with agencies and consultants that know how to meet your needs.
- How successful are they? Before you hire an executive placement agency, you need to ask about their track record. You need to know how successful they are in placing people, who stay in those positions for the long haul and how many successful placements they have had in businesses that are similar to yours. The raw number is not as important as the percentage but you need to know that the firm you hire has experience putting people in positions in your industry. How well do their placements do in the positions they get? That is another factor you should consider when looking at the executive staffing agency’s track record.
- Make sure you understand their process. Many human resources consulting firms have very innovative ways to find and then evaluate prospective placements. All should have a lot of experience and a tried and true way to find the right people. This is more than just having a good database of talent that they can call. You need the executive placement agency to be able to find candidates for your openings who will thrive with your company. You are not just looking to fill a hole on your staff but to grow your company’s potential. Your executive placement agency can help you do that with innovation and creativity.
- Ask about how long the process will take. No matter how fast the executive placement agency is, this is still not going to happen overnight. It is in the best interests of the placement agency to get you the person you need as soon as they can. In the first place, the faster they are able to get your position filled, the faster they can move on to more projects. If it takes them years to place people, they will not stay in business. The other reason they want to get you a good person into that job as soon as they can is that will make you happy. If you are happy with the work that the placement firm does, you are more likely to use you again should they need to and they will recommend you to their connections who may need your services.
- Look into their reputation. You should always ask for references and verify any testimonials that they have on their website. You should also talk to the people in your industry to see if anyone has heard of them and if they have, what they thoughts. It never hurts to check with the Better Business Bureau. You can also do a search online and see what people have to say there. The reputation of the company is important for a number of reasons. If they have a reputation for being unprofessional with the candidates they work with, they are not going to attract the best people.
- Talk to them about their fees and the conditions of the contract. You need to know what happens if someone you hire through the executive placement service does not work out. Some companies will redo the process if a hire does not work out. You also need to be completely clear on the fees you will be responsible for.
Your hiring decisions are some of the most important you will make for your company. An executive placement agency can really help.
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