The true cost of a bad hire is surprising. The US Department of Labour estimates that hiring the wrong person costs your company upwards of 30% of their first year’s salary. It also shakes the confidence of other employees in the robustness of your hiring process and the decision-making of the company in general. A really bad hire can cost you good employees, as they burn out trying to compensate for the new starter’s errors.
The higher up the chain of command you go, the more dramatic the impact of a new hire can be, for good or bad. A good executive can inspire people to go further and be more productive well outside their direct reporting chain, while a bad one can demoralise a whole company if something isn’t done.
That’s what makes it so important to go the professionals. A Good Executive Search Firm has extensive networks of candidates: they know who’s looking for their next executive post, who’s available but not a good fit for your company, and who’s a great fit and may be worth waiting on.
If you look for Executive Search firms in London you could find yourself overwhelmed by the results. There are a lot of competitors in this market, and they aren’t all created equal. You need to find the one that’s a good fit for your company and that takes some work.
Talking to your professional network can be a good place to start when you’re first trying to fina recruitment company. Asking your peers for advice and recommendations won’t just produce a shortlist of firms to contact, it’ll also warn you off some that might not be a good fit for you and company’s ethos.
When you have a firm you’re interested in, try to make time to meet them in person at their offices. While you can get all the important information over a phone call, you need to see their offices as well. Don’t forget this is the first thing candidates will see when they’re interested in an vacancy with you, so you need to make sure they’re good representatives for you.
You also need to know the recruiter has the right expertise to find good candidates for you. While you can check their record on hires to a certain extent, you can also interview for these qualities. Try asking how long it would take them to fill a particular vacancy. They should be able to sketch out a broad view of the job market, explaining how long it would take and proving they know what they’re talking about.