When you’re searching for a headhunter, you’re not just filling a position – you’re investing in the future of your company.
But here’s something to consider: if a headhunter relies on a database, their candidates are already looking. And if they’re looking, so are your competitors, ready to snap them up just as easily.
The best talent? They’re not sitting in a database. They’re thriving in top roles at your competitors, busy delivering results, not circulating CVs.
That’s why retained headhunters stand apart. They don’t waste time recycling candidates – they actively uncover the exceptional talent that’s driving success elsewhere. When you compare headhunter fees between database-driven recruiters and retained headhunters, it’s like comparing apples to oranges. Yes, retained may cost more upfront, but the calibre of candidates they deliver makes all the difference.
It’s an investment in the best, not just the available.
Before you engage any headhunter, ask a simple question: Do you rely on a database? If the answer is yes, you’re not getting access to the best talent – you’re getting the same pool everyone else is fishing in.
The difference is clear: databases find the available. Retained headhunters find the exceptional. Which will you choose?
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Retained executive search headhunters don’t rely on a database and can produce a better class of candidate for this reason.
Organisations around the world depend on numerous factors to make better recruitment partner agreements and hiring choices. These factors are usually specific to their organisation and/or the department and include:
– Confidentiality
– Budget restraints
– Rivals
– Management style
– Market availability
– Skill set
The hiring manager is the person who is keyed in on the needs of the company more than anyone else, and they should know instinctively which methods should be employed to match the right person with the right job.
But a hiring manager does not work alone when it comes to filling a position. Instead, they team up with recruiters who provide them with candidates that are meant to be tailor made for a vacant role.
During the process of choosing a recruitment partner, the hiring manager can improve their decision-making by browsing alternatives, as well as analysing which methods will either boost or endanger their company.
When it comes to hiring senior level employees, business leaders will usually recommend their peers to employ the services of retained headhunters to help them get the best results. These Headhunters work quickly and effectively at sourcing outstanding candidates, and always guarantee the best results.
Retained headhunters – also known as executive search consultancies – are paid a proportion of the fee upfront by clients. Because of this, the client is ensured exclusivity and commitment to a discreet, professional service, where expert recruiters work on behalf of your company to approach the best people for your vacant role(s). These recruitment firms commit their time, resources and energies to finding your company the right candidate, and won’t waver until the project is complete.
Partnering up with the right firm is important. If you do, the long-term returns on your investment will be massive, as the new hire will slot right into your company, boosting productivity, growth and morale instantly.
It’s also important to understand what can go wrong if you pair up with the wrong recruitment company. Firms who speak about “success only” recruitment are not technically headhunters if they rely on a database.
A success-only recruiter would look at the recruitment process in this way: Let’s imagine they have twenty vacancies that they as a recruiter need to fill. Their client will only pay them anything if they suggest a candidate the client is actually interested in hiring. Realistically, how much effort and time is the recruiter going to put into finding a candidate when there might not even be a reward? How will they treat the candidates?
This type of recruitment – which is also known as contingency recruitment – is basically a type of sales work, with such recruiters seeking to make a commission on each vacancy they manage to fill. You as a client would have the kind of agreement with the success-only recruiter which stipulates that you only pay if you make a hire based on their candidates.
In such a case, what happens to the unsuccessful candidates? What happens to the job profile you handed over? And the confidential information?
If your project is confidential or not, it’s still important that the assignment is handled privately and securely, and that potential candidates see this. Any data provided to a success-only recruiter can be distributed to the market – and most likely will be.
More and more candidates are aware of this fact, and for many of them – quite rightly – are wary about their personal data ending up in the wrong hands. Success-only recruiters often add resumes to their database without any consent. What this means is that they will then suggest these candidates to other clients in the future (such as yourself), which essentially means you are viewing profiles of candidates who were rejected previously. You are not always getting access to the best.
Moreover, a recruitment company might throw up a handful of outstanding candidates to you. Because you can only make one hire, you have to turn the others down. The success-only recruiter will then file them in their database, which means that you have just armed your competition with strong information.
Why is this a bad thing? Because it looks utterly unprofessional. Furthermore, it shows the market that you as a client are not willing to invest in a more discreet and professional recruitment service.
If a vacant role is especially sensitive, it just isn’t worth the risk to pair up with a success-only recruiter. Worse still, the rest of your team could find out the wrong information, which could then impact morale, as well as the way they view you.
If you don’t opt for exclusivity but instead have a few firms working on the same project, each one knows that their chances of success are not that great. As such, they are unlikely to invest as much time or effort into the project as needed to guarantee the best results.
Success-only headhunters are busy working on numerous projects all at the same time. They’re playing a numbers game which means they don’t commit 100% to any project. Instead of taking the time to cherry pick the best fruit, they grab the lowest hanging apples.
You can look at it this way: You aren’t paying for expertise – instead, you’re merely paying for someone to rifle through resumes so you don’t have to. It saves you time, but what are the other positives? There aren’t really any.
Retained recruiters put in a lot of effort. They scour the entire market, and they call potentially over a hundred prospective candidates. They provide value for money, and they produce results.
A success-only recruitment company, on the other hand, flicks through a database and makes a few phone calls. And they don’t cost that much less than retained recruiters.
You have to ask yourself if it’s worth saving a fraction of the cost when you could gain access to a blue chip pool of talent.
Many prospects actually return as clients. Why? Because they have experienced little to zero results with success-only companies. What happens then is that a mindset affected by the negative experience needs to be changed – and this is a huge challenge.
Hiring managers certainly don’t have an easy job, and there is a challenge when it comes to deciding the type of recruiter to work with. Initial outlay should not be the sole determining factor here. Hiring retained headhunters is a more professional and secure way of giving a client access to the industry’s best talent. Although the total cost is more, the difference is marginal. The results, however, are significant.
Retained headhunters don’t rely on a database that they idly flick through when you need a candidate. Instead, they commit 100% to your project from the start, making sure you get access to only the outstanding talent your company needs and deceives. Everything is confidential and secure.
Dont compromise on candidate quality by partnering with a success only recruitment agency or inexperienced Executive Headhunters. MSC Headhunting have been successfully finding the highest achievers across the globe for over 25 years. Call us today on +44 (0)1565 757 877 or Contact us confidentially and securely to discuss your needs.
Our dynamic and enthusiastic team of international consultants have provided the very best international headhunting services to our clients for over 25 years.
MSC Headhunters have the skill, experience and reputation worldwide to deliver high calibre Directors, Managers and VP’s for innovative companies.
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