Leadership expert Warren Bennis said, “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” The right leader can have a transformative impact, which puts considerable weight on executive hiring decisions. This article discusses the role of executive search in finding leaders who drive organizational success, how it works, and when it’s the best course of action.
Identifying and recruiting the right leader for an executive or board role often poses a formidable challenge. The stakes are high, and organizations must make this crucial selection from a limited pool of suitable candidates. Executive search exists to take on this challenge, providing the well-informed perspectives of leadership experts and proven processes focused on results.
Executive searches are conducted by specialists whose professional networks, functional expertise, understanding of industry dynamics, discretion, and other qualities set them apart from contingency recruiters. By helping to ensure that well-qualified and vetted executives lead companies, executive search plays an important role in the corporate world. This role is expanding as the commercial landscape grows more complex.
Organizations invest in executive search for key leadership roles because these individuals have an outsized impact, both in the immediate and long term. Enlisting professional support for a hiring decision that carries this much weight has many advantages:
- An efficient, well-structured executive search process
- A strategic approach aligned with business objectives
- Access to a wider pool of top-tier talent, including passive candidates
- Specialised expertise in the industry and function
- Knowledge of local, regional, and global markets
We will explore the benefits of executive search later in this article.
Retained Executive Search vs Contingency Recruiting
The difference between retained executive search and contingency recruiting comes down to a focus on high-ranking and other positions whose rigorous requirements demand a different approach. Below are some of the key features that distinguish executive search.
Retained executive search is specialised:
Executive search firms like Boyden specialise in senior leadership roles, typically from directors to C-level executives and board members, as well as highly specialised roles. Their capabilities are designed to address the unique requirements of clients who need to fill high-ranking and other hard-to-fill roles. Recruitment is much broader, covering various organizational levels and job types. The processes involved are not as rigorous and recruiters do not need in-depth expertise in the industries or job functions related to clients’ open positions.
Retained executive search is proactive:
There are also important differences in the approaches that retained executive search firms and contingency recruiters take. Retained executive search is proactive. Rather than looking for qualified candidates only when a specific job becomes available, retained search professionals continuously cultivate dynamic networks of executives who may or may not be actively looking for new opportunities. This gives their clients access to top-tier passive candidates.
Conventional recruitment takes a more reactive, response-driven approach. The mandate usually begins either when a company approaches them with a hiring need or when a candidate submits an application or CV. The focus is on job postings, resume databases, and active job seekers.
Retained executive search is strategic:
Due to the difficulty and the gravity of the task at hand, every search begins with the development of a customised search strategy taking the client’s industry, market trends, company culture, soft skills, and other factors into consideration. What results is a highly targeted approach, focusing only on the sources most likely to provide successful candidates. Contingency recruiters take a more standardised approach, searching resume databases and casting a relatively wide net across job boards and other platforms to attract active job seekers.
Confidentiality is critical:
Because senior leadership roles are more sensitive, maintaining a high level of confidentiality throughout the executive search process is a standard operating procedure. This applies to both candidates and clients. Candidate identities, job moves, and discussions are strictly private. Similar discretion applies to clients, particularly if the search is related to succession planning or an unannounced leadership transition, for example. In contingency recruitment, confidentiality is maintained on a case-by-case basis and is generally a lower priority than in retained executive search.
Finding the Ideal Fit: The Retained Executive Search Process
A structured approach based on the experience of decades of successful searches is essential to pinpoint the best possible candidate for the role. It streamlines and expedites what can be a long and complex undertaking. It also provides a solid framework for aspects of the search such as strategy, which require a custom approach.
The retained search process is naturally more in-depth than what is required for any other type of talent acquisition. The weight of responsibility with which these individuals are entrusted makes it critical to evaluate each candidacy with a discerning eye, looking not only at an individual’s qualifications on paper but also at their disposition, cultural fit, comportment, leadership style, and other less quantifiable attributes. While these can be subtle, they can greatly affect an executive’s ability to perform in the role and bring out the best in their team.
The retained executive search process includes the following steps:
- Initial consultation: This is a discovery process aimed at gaining a nuanced understanding of the client’s needs, company culture, and requirements for the role.
- Research and candidate sourcing: The process of identifying potential candidates involves in-depth market and candidate research as well as tapping into global talent networks.
- Candidate assessment: Candidates are carefully evaluated for their qualifications, experience, cultural fit, and other characteristics using market-leading and proprietary assessment tools.
- Interview process: Highly skilled interviewers with keen insight into the demands of leadership conduct and manage multiple rounds of interviews to home in on top candidates.
- Final selection and offer negotiation: Retained executive search firms assist clients in making the final decision, developing the offer, and facilitating offer discussions and negotiations.
- Onboarding and integration: The retained executive search firm’s mandate is complete only when the new executive has made a smooth transition into the company.
When a client has an urgent, short-term leadership need, Boyden offers an expedited retained search process as part of our interim management services.
The Benefits of Using a Retained Executive Search Firm
As experts in recruitment for executive, board, and other high-level positions, a retained executive search company can offer significant advantages. Key among them are greater access to top talent, in-depth expertise and industry knowledge, and processes that save clients time and resources.
Access to top talent:
Retained search professionals continuously cultivate networks that are rich in leadership talent. Their contacts include CEOs, board directors, and others who are distinguished in their field. Most are not active job seekers. Hypothetically, one of these leaders could be a perfect match for a client’s open position. But the perfect candidate and hiring company are unaware of one another and would probably stay that way.
The primary purpose of a retained executive search firm is to connect them, giving clients the advantage of access to a wider talent pool of top-tier candidates.
Specialised expertise and industry knowledge:
For executive roles, selecting the right candidate requires knowledge far beyond the company’s needs and the candidate's qualifications. It demands a broader contextual understanding of the function, industry, and other factors. Retained search firms provide this, giving clients the advantage of market intelligence and insights to make well-informed hiring decisions. Boyden’s partners typically have firsthand experience in leadership roles within their client’s sector, and their efforts are augmented by membership in our sector-specific practices.
Time and resource efficiency:
Retained executive search firms handle the entire recruitment process, which can be especially long and complex if handled in-house. Outsourcing it saves substantial time and resources. Retained search firms conduct searches more efficiently, having streamlined processes in place, seasoned search leaders, and teams dedicated to extensive sourcing and rigorous candidate assessment and vetting. Additionally, the likelihood of long-term success is higher with candidates sourced through retained executive search, which can translate to long-term savings and gains in other areas.
Five Scenarios Where Retained Executive Search Can Tip the Balance
Engaging a retained executive search firm can significantly increase an organization’s odds of building a strong leadership team. This is essential to the success of any organization in any scenario. But in some instances, like those listed below, using a retained search firm is most strongly advised.
- Critical hires: When hiring for C-level and other roles that are vital to the company’s success, getting it right the first time is imperative. Retained executive search is made expressly for this purpose.
- Confidentiality: When discretion is essential, for example during a reorganization or merger, or when replacing an incumbent, retained search decreases risk and minimizes disruption.
- Talent shortage: When qualified candidates are scarce, as is often the case with competitive markets or hard-to-fill roles, retained executive search offers a rich resource including passive candidates.
- Time is a factor: When a leadership position needs to be filled as quickly and efficiently as possible to avoid operational disruption, dedicated retained executive search professionals can deliver.
- Change: Growth, transformation, restructuring, new market entry and other potentially destabilizing changes often create the need to expediently hire new leadership.
The value of recruiting high-performing leadership talent cannot be overstated. Retained executive search firms have the expertise and resources to find leaders who not only meet all of the role’s requirements, but who can integrate seamlessly into the culture, share similar values and goals for the company, and become a major asset to the company in the long term.
Boyden’s Approach to Retained Executive Search
Boyden sees every search as a unique opportunity to build value for our clients by finding their ideal candidate. This may seem simple at first glance. However, it requires a deep understanding of the role, the company, and the client’s goals. It also requires insight into market trends, industry challenges and opportunities, the regulatory landscape, geopolitical influences, economic policies, and other external factors.
We are committed to ensuring clients make executive hiring decisions from a well-informed, strategic, and proactive position. Our approach to retained executive search emphasizes close collaboration and custom talent solutions. Our partners bring extensive leadership, industry, and functional expertise to the table. They also bring fresh perspectives and challenge conventional thinking.
Our global resources ensure that clients have access to talent worldwide and to the local expertise of Boyden Partners in over 75 offices across more than 45 countries. This provides an exceptionally broad talent pool, accommodates the local talent needs of international firms, and supports global expansion.
Transformational leaders at the right time make organizations stronger, more resilient, prepared and poised to achieve their objectives. We encourage you to get in touch to discuss how Boyden’s retained executive search services can move your organization forward.
