Executive Search Or DIY – What Are The Benefits?

Regardless of the country’s economic status, companies are always looking for ways to reduce their overheads. Eliminating expenses that just aren’t necessary, makes good business sense and could be the difference between surviving or not.

Recruitment is often one of the areas organisations question whether to hire an executive search firm of navigate the hiring process alone.

There are benefits to the DIY process of course. You can head over to LinkedIn right now and have instant access to an endless supply of professionals. Being the only point of contact between you and candidates means you know exactly who you’re dealing with and if you like them and then of course, the big bonus is that you don’t have to pay a recruitment firm.

In hindsight, this sounds great. All too often however, we’re approached by companies who have tried to recruit themselves but have been left feeling frustrated, confused and without the new hire they so desperately need. Even worse, too many companies end up making a bad hire which puts a strain on their time, resources, finances and other employees within the organisation.

When you’re attempting to fill a key leadership role that’s critical to your business, it pays to bring in experts who can excel in tasks that are outside your core skill-set. You wouldn’t ask your finance director to put together a social media campaign for your new product launch for example. You know that in order to run a great social media campaign that’s going to get the engagement you want, you need a marketing expert.

This is where executive search comes in. When you hire a recruitment firm to take control of the hiring process for you, there are many benefits to be enjoyed.

Speed of hiring

It’s natural to assume you can get on with the task in hand much quicker yourself. You don’t have to find a recruiter, brief them on the job spec, explain the type of candidate you’re looking for or go back and forth with communications.

A DIY approach often takes longer however because companies don’t quite know where to look, how to identify good quality candidates and with nobody focussed on keeping it on track, you’re likely to lose momentum and dip in and out of the process as and when you have time.

A professional firm will run a process they’ve tried, tested and honed to perfection. What’s more, they have a database of candidates they already know and trust.

Better quality candidates

Through assessment tools such as The Acuity Measure, organisations can ensure they’re hiring the right candidate for the job.

Candidates are assessed on critical skills required to be a competent finance leader. Data is collated to produce a report which highlights each candidates’ skills and the attributes they have which make them suitable for the role. Skills and abilities are compared to existing employees or other candidates you’re considering to identify those who are in the top quartile.

Cost

The perceived cost of DIY hiring is that it’s free. But what’s the real cost and risk to your business if you don’t have the right people in place, at the right time?

If your business is in a sticky situation and you need a finance expert to save you from having to make redundancies or even face closure, any delay can negatively impact the future of your business.

To find out more about our executive search service and how we can help you find the right senior finance professional for your business, get in touch with Acuity Associates.