How to vet an Executive Search Consultant for your Business

The perennial question underlying the vetting should be: how much value will you add to my business, if any? I stress should because (paraphrasing Alan Weiss) 50% of those calling themselves "consultants" do not seem to know what they are doing, and 90% of the hiring organizations do not seem to know how to tell the difference. How should these organizations choose and vet their search consultant, who should win the business ?

Before any mandate is given, presentation, credentials, personal chemistry, and price (fee) should be reviewed by the buyer. It is a platitude, but it does take 2 to tango: this pre-mandate phase will set the tone of the music to dance on, and is the basis for any future success.

A. You will not hire a search consultant wearing a suit or dress that come straight out of an outlet store serving wall-mart, has dirty finger nails, a smelly breath and decaying teeth, or greasy, long hair. I know you get the idea, but you will meet often consultants possessing, to varying degrees, milder forms of the attributes just described. A consultant must have an impeccable presentation. I pay attention buying my suits.

B. The credentials check. References from peers are probably the most widespread technique of selection. Does the consultant have any familiarity with the sector, country, level of seniority ? Has the firm worked with the hiring organization in the past ? Has the consultant the actual experience to deliver the goods - can I put him in my shoes ?

C. Chemistry and relationship. The goal of the relationship is to be partners in realizing an added value to the business. The consultant will not sell something, but will partner in order to share a know-how. Mutual respect, peer sentiment and liking are a solid foundation for an effective and transforming relationship. Shy away of what you even remotely feel is someone trying to sell you snake oil, or feels more like a vendor than a partner.

D. Price. The great consultant will always steer the conversation in the direction of value. Value matters, value is everything. Talk ROI, ROE, ROA,.... Good consultants will never give any price just to get the project, because they won't just add any value either. Define the true value you want from the service, and if you cannot formulate it precisely, the consultant will help you. If he or she can't, run away, or seek cover!

If this would be a lecture, this is the moment fingers would go up all over the classroom. What value is delivered by executive search? Here we go:

Higher ROI through the placement of a great manager

I know, completly unexpected:

Higher ROI through the placement of a great manager

For those still scratching their head

Higher ROI through the placement of a great manager

The reason for the confusion is because a lot of consultants and even more buyers will confuse ROI , or direct value, with the steps needed to deliver it. It is like a surgeon, describing his value add as anesthesia, cutting you open, extracting the swelling, and sewing the cut. It is like a lawyer mentioning his value add as writing and filing briefs, and going to court. What about curing your ailment, or winning your case? These surgeons and lawyers would be out of business soon. Then why do executive search consultants still stick to defining their value add in the steps described below? Why do they confuse, as do the buyers, method with value-add ? Aaarrrrrgh !

Search service will unfold through several steps to deliver the added value of higher ROI through the placement of a great manager:

1. Pre-mandate consultancy of the company and the position. In my opinion the crucial and decisive element of the search process, but so often overlooked. Ideally HR will not be a screen between consultant and hiring manager. They should actively facilitate (quite often overlooked). The pre-mandate discussions will give the hiring organization a good idea on the content and the level of interaction they can expect during the project. Pre-mandate screening includes the A-B-C-D paragraphs above. To the best of my experience, a large amount of mandates are awarded on "here is the job description - what will be your price".
2. Finding the right candidate - the most time consuming part, and erroneously seen by outsiders as 95% of the value provided! This is, as I already stressed, completely bogus - the value of the service is situated elsewhere. Higher ROI through .... alright, I stop. The inane search company (usually one working on success base), will waste weeks searching for a profile they do not, and probably will never understand - with the buyer only realizing when it's too late.
3. Assessing interested and relevant candidates - the most critical and intangible element. Assessing properly and effectively relevance and fit can only be done by consultants that understand the business inside out.
4. Selling the opportunity to the right professional - the step least recognized. A company culture can be biased, like in the case, where, say, the board sees the company as shining star while a candidate perceives the work environment as a mix of risk, lack of opportunity, and annoying micro management because of family ownership.
5. Closure of the assignment; managing expectations from both client and candidate so they come to an agreement - the most difficult and underrated part of the process.
6. Post-mandate onboarding, which most clients not even taken into consideration. Does the search firm stay in touch with both candidate and buyer, what is done to ensure the success of the placement - does the placement meet the ROI expectation ?

It is the above steps or elements of the project, that, when well executed, will lead to a placement creating tremendous value. The majority of the search firms I know will present their excellence or "value add" based on 2 and 3, some of the better ones will include 1; but very few will stress or can explain the ROI to be delivered.

In much of the hiring companies initial pre-screening is done by HR, and quite a large majority, unfortunately, does not look at business value. Alan Weiss is spot on the subject, when he laments the "visceral chemistry check" HR buyers are mostly relying on. Yes, vetting the search consultant = a visceral chemistry check. When one cannot talk about value and business, hope your nice expensive suit and flashy tie (or short skirt and make up) will close the deal.

All of the above clearly and unambiguously implies that also the hiring company needs to do its homework. But that's for another post.