Employer's dilemma: Hire an executive search firm or do your own headhunting?

Many businesses are taking the option of headhunting through their own HR departments to fill various positions without the help of executive search firms. 

“Disintermediation” is the removal of the middle-man in the process of finding the right executive for the job in a business. Is this process really beneficial to the business in all aspects – or are there disadvantages?

Executive search firms or headhunters, as they are commonly known, have an integral role in many business and multinational companies. The global reach of some of these firms is an advantage that most businesses like to tap into whenever they need an executive with particular skills and qualifications. However, some businesses and large companies have opted to do their own headhunting in the last few years. Though it might look like a good idea at first, is it really so?

 

Call in the expert headhunters

Executive search firms are experts in the field of recruitment and headhunting. There is an advantage in seeking the services of an expert instead of using the HR department in your business to adapt to a new set of skills. Executive search firms have access to a wide array of potential candidates in their network and will be able to find a suitable candidate in a short time. Not only do they have access to candidates in a specific field but also in other fields and industries.

 

Attract the right candidate

In a competitive marketplace, it is more important to focus on attracting the right candidate and then keeping them. In today’s world, companies have to treat job candidates as if they were customers. It is no use finding the right candidate for the job and then losing them to another company because they are not happy in their position. Hiring an executive search firm will help companies to focus on employee retention rather than wasting time finding candidates to fill positions due to high attrition.

 

Developing a leadership pipeline

It is important to hire an executive search firm to find candidates to fill high level executive and leadership positions for your teams. However, it is more important to develop a leadership pipeline once you have found the right candidate. As Noel M Tichy, author of “The Cycle of Leadership: How great leaders teach their organisations to win”, says:

“The 21st century will be all about the teaching organisation as opposed to a learning organisation. Leaders at all levels of a teaching organisation take responsibility for making their people and themselves smarter, as well as for training the next generation leaders.”

Any company, large or small, must focus on developing a leadership pipeline rather than using its resources to continually fill leadership positions from other companies. It is better to hire an executive search firm to help find the right candidates and then focus on retaining their loyalty to your own company.

The best employees are already employed and will not be searching for job positions. An executive search firm can help to find such candidates for your company. A company would be better off focusing on retaining their employees and developing a leadership pipeline rather than wasting time sifting through hundreds of job applications replying to the vacancies advertised. Calling in the experts is the best thing to do, rather than spending time and resources on self-headhunting.

 

Randeep Bhattacharya is CEO and group managing director of Saitech Solution Co Ltd