When you are trying to hire a person for an executive position, typically paying $150,000 or more, you don’t want to mess around. It’s important to hire the right person so you don’t experience a high rate of turnover. You want someone who is professional, capable, and who fits within the culture you already have established.
There are several reasons to use a retained search.
Save Time
You can save a lot of time by using a retained search for an executive position. A recruiter will do a significant amount of the work for you. It can take 50+ hours to read through the resumes that you receive for an open position. It can then take another 50+ hours for you to conduct interviews in order to find the most qualified person.
A recruiter is going to work with you to find out what position(s) you have open and then begin doing the work. The time you save can be better spent doing other tasks as required by your position to keep the operation up and running.
Save Money
It is possible to save a lot of money when you use a retained search. Even though there is an upfront expense with hiring a recruiter to find you the executive person, it is money well spent because you can save money on training, posting ads for receiving candidates, and more. You want to be confident that you hire the right person to avoid having to go through the entire process again in the near future. You want someone who is experienced and who can offer something new to the company.
Obtain More Candidates
When you utilize a retained search, you have the ability to obtain more candidates. You may be limited in where you receive candidates from. The more candidates you have, the easier it is to find a qualified person. You don’t want to limit the number of resumes that you get in. You need to look at it as “the more the merrier” simply because you will have more options in front of you.
It is not uncommon for recruiter to obtain multiple candidates for a position quickly because they have a pool of individuals to pull from all times.
Keep an Open Mind
It can be hard to keep an open mind when you are hiring an executive. You may want to hire someone from within, even if they don’t have the experience they need. You can have them submit their resume to the recruiter so they can compare him or her to all of the other candidates.
You will receive a list of the final candidates along with recommendations from the recruiter. This will allow you to read through the credentials and determine who the best fit is for your company. You can choose to schedule your own final interview with the final candidates to meet them, ask questions, and then provide a job offer to the one who you think has the best experience and will ultimately be the best fit.