Process vs. Product: The Executive Search Dilemma

Over the past twenty years, executive search has established itself in the minds - if not the hearts - of everyone in the business world. Identifying oneself as an Executive Search Consultant brings recognition. It also typically brings a tale of woe. That tale is one where the neatly packaged, sophisticated executive search process, which is the basis upon which the search firm won the business, did not produce the anticipated end result.

To make executive search more efficient, search firms have developed detailed, logically constructed approaches to the task of specifying a job and recruiting the best candidates. Today, automated database technology is employed to identify a long list of prospects, evaluation interviews are more thorough, referencing is more comprehensive, and the search consultant is well versed in executive compensation.

However, with such structures in place, why do search projects frequently not turn out as expected? The answer is The Executive Search Dilemma. In executive recruiting, Process is not Product. Sophisticated search processes only provide a foundation for conducting an executive search. Executive search remains as much an "art" as it is a "science." Even with a refined process at work, the desired Product (i.e., a selected candidate who succeeds in the job) is still derived through the individual search consultant's ability to manage and resolve the conflicting "human" elements inherent in bringing together two previously unacquainted parties.

For the company about to retain a search consultant, the lesson is clear. You want a search consultant who employs a comprehensive search process. However, avoid the pitfall of being sold executive search consulting services only on the basis of a firm's search process. There are other factors - personal interaction, workload, past record of success, true personal commitment to your search needs - that are of equal, if not greater, importance. Do not be dazzled by fancy salesmanship. Make sure to look under the surface.