IACPR, October 2000, compiled by David Lord - ©2000 International Association of Corporate and Professional Recruitment - A preliminary survey report was presented at FutureQuest 2000: Chaos vs. Structure - Executive Talent Rules in the 21st Century. David Lord, Executive Search Information Services, has been kind enough to compile the following report.
Sample: 66 search
consultants and
33 Human Resources executives
Key findings: Important, if not surprising: Going outside at the executive level is still a popular idea! HR execs report recruiting externally to fill 44% of executive vacancies (was 45% last year).
And when going outside, retained search remains the vehicle of choice, followed by employee referral, direct recruiting by the hiring executive, direct recruiting by the HR staff, contingency recruiting and recruitment through Internet services.
Following tradition, consultants and HR execs can’t agree on how often
searches fail:
Search consultants say they complete 92% of searches;
HR execs say it’s 77% (same as in ’99).
Furthermore, search consultants say failures are the client’s fault 82% of the time, and the search firm’s only 18%. HR execs are willing to take the heat for 65% of failed searches but say search firms are at fault almost twice as often as they think: 35%.
Living in different time zones: Consultants say searches average 3.7 mos.; clients say 4.35 mos.; And 96% of consultants say searches average of 5 months or less, while 35% of clients say searches take more than 5 months.
Relationships seen differently: 71% of HR execs say they have a
preferred provider program, but search consultants say only 25% of their clients
do.
Fixed fees may really be catching on: 65% of search consultants and 57%
of HR execs report having used them (Hey! They almost agree!) Meanwhile,
percentage fees are riding high: 96% of clients say average fees paid were
30% or more (nearly half say 33%). In the larger sample of search consultants,
65% of those responding charge a 33% fee, 16% are at 30% and 19% report charging
fees under 30%. The vast majority – 90% -- bases their fees on total cash
compensation.
How many searches does a search consultant typically handle? 4.4 at a time and 13 per year.
More do-it-yourself: 42% of HR execs anticipate launching an internal exec search capability.
Best companies in recruiting effectiveness: Citigroup, GE, IBM, Intel, Kraft, Monsanto, Motorola, Time Warner.
Top search firms -- in a vote too small to be scientific: Korn Ferry, Heidrick & Struggles, Spencer Stuart, TMP, Boyden and 27 smaller firms that each got a mention.
Double-teaming: Earlier this year, IACPR members debated the pros and cons of engaging more than one retained firm on a given assignment. While 88% of search consultants say they insist on exclusivity, one-third of clients say they’ve tried the tactic, for a variety of reasons: To fill multiple positions quickly; to cover blockages one firm might have; for “diversity shadowing”; to boost a failing search; and to attack multiple pools of candidates.
Growth of search activity seen continuing in 2001: 46% of HR execs foresee an increase, while only 6% expect a decrease; 64% of consultants expect business to rise; 9% say it will fall.
Learn more about IACPR at http://www.iacpr.org. To view this article on-line, visit the IACPR homepage and follow the link to "News."