Do YOU know who is conducting your search?
The times they are a changin' . . . . . (thank you Bob Dylan).
2015 - is there something in the water?
There are multiple retained (and contingent) search firms in the Twin Cities. Keeping the focus on retained-only firms, this appears to be a year of change. We have seen it coming - promises of retirements (some people promising for 10 or more years), talk of transitions, multiple approaches by outside firms to buy existing firms, etc. The difference is that this year it is actually happening.
I keep a list of local (boutique) retained-only search firms that (1) do GREAT work and (2) meet key standards. To make the list, you have to be 100% retained and not have one of the following three issues as I define them:
- You only perform retained search. (Can you ethically do assessment and search? Or, to put it in defined terms, can the same firm assess Coke and do a retained search for Pepsi? AND do you ever take on a contingent assignment?)
- You are ethical by our client's definition - strict adherence to off-limits policies, no sending of resumes without the candidate's knowledge, no pending criminal activity, etc.
- You have a stable staff - the Principals and key search and research staff have been with your firm for more than 36 months.
I also keep a list of the global firms with a local presence - there are four that make my list.
The global firms - three of the four have or will lose their best-known local Principal within 12 months. This may not change your usage since these firms use industry, functional specialty and research offices for searches that have no geographic boundaries.
The local (boutique) firms - over the past 24 months, my list has changed based on the above-listed criteria. That said, six of the 12 firms that were on the list (some of which still are) have or are undergoing major talent shifts (retirements, resignations, new/unproven talent, etc.).
Meet your search team
Before you go to market, make sure you know who is representing you when reaching out to candidates for research or by phone/e-mail. Search is about assessment of the candidates and the market throughout the life of the search, not simply about finding names to call.