What To Ask Executive Search Firms

Regular RFPs are a great way to find the best Executive Search firms. Your future self will thank you for this. But what do you ask them? Here is an Innovex guide and, more importantly, our answers.

10 QUESTIONS TO ASK AN EXECUTIVE SEARCH FIRM: 

1. Which services do you offer? Is Executive Search the right move for us?

2. Which sectors do you specialise in? The more niche, the better. You want your search to focus on gaining the best quality of results.

3. Do you operate in specific locations only? If your brief is location-specific, this will help.

4. Can you share current reviews and references? It helps if the company has already offered similar searches in terms of roles and location. Always reach out to their clients and ask for reviews.

5. What is your price + fee structure? Always good to be clear on this. Many agencies ask for a considerable upfront fee without any guarantees.

6. What is their Success Rate? How many clients come back and continue to work with you?

7. What are your company values? What is the process like candidate side?

8. How long has the business been around? Is the business reliable? How many are there in your team? Who will be doing the work?

9. Do you offer any guarantees? For example, what is the turnaround time?

10. How do you ensure diversity and inclusion?

—————–

AND OUR ANSWERS TO THE ABOVE QUESTIONS:

1. What services do you offer? We save you time, money, and stress by providing flexible hiring services to secure and retain effective and sustainable leadership talent. We offer four services:

    • Executive Search
    • Business Intelligence
    • Salary Benchmarking
    • Talent Acquisition Advisory

2. Which sectors do you specialise in? Fintech, SaaS, Cyber Security, and Technology.

3. Do you operate in specific locations only? We operate globally.

4. Can you share current reviews and references? We provide reviews from clients operating in similar sectors, hiring similar roles. We can also introduce you to them if you would like to discuss our services and how they rate their experience with us. We also have a review section on our website with our current and returning clients. Check it out HERE.

5. What is your price + fee structure? 25% of base salary. Made in three installments:

  • A third for the engagement fee
  • A third for the shortlist fee
  • A third for the placement fee

6. What is their Success Rate? Our success rate is 97%, with 94% of clients returning to us with an additional search after their first experience.

7. What are your company values? We pride ourselves on being:

  • Impactful
  • Results Driven
  • Confidential
  • Consistent

8. How long has the business been around?
1.5 years.
We currently have a team of 6 and are growing fast. Our researchers support our experienced consultants on company and candidate identification. Our experienced consultants, CEO, and Founder then conduct the initial briefings and longlist interviews to propose to clients and then administer the client interview process alongside our support staff.

9. Do you offer any guarantees?
On average, we shortlist searches within four weeks unless otherwise advised. If for some reason, the selected candidate does not work out within six months, Innovex replaces free of charge.

10. How do you ensure diversity and inclusion?
We advise clients on appropriate parameters from geographical and industry candidate research to achieve a diverse pool of candidates.

Enjoyed this blog? Sign up to our mailing list for trends and solutions for your executive search:

Lets work together