Five Key Questions To Ask While Hiring Executive Search Firms In India

When it comes to hiring executive search firms, most business organizations tend to focus more on the background and expertise of such agencies. Even though these aspects play an equally important role in ensuring that the client organizations make the right hiring decisions, there are other key questions that the companies need to get answers to before they can finalize a recruitment firm most appropriate for fulfilling their hiring needs. Discussed below are five such key questions that the business organizations need to ask of the executive search firms before hiring them for attracting and recruiting top talent.

What Methods Are Used By The Firm To Reach Out To Potential Candidates?

It is extremely important for an executive search firm to be transparent with their clients about the methods they use to reach out to potential candidates. Given that most such agencies claim to have access to highly qualified candidates from diverse fields, understanding this basic fact can help simplify the entire recruitment process. In this respect it is advisable for the business organizations to choose firms that integrate the advances in technology with traditional methods used in the job search industry for gaining access to vast talent pools. This will enable the search firms to broadly advertise the opening in their client organizations in a cost effective manner while investing percentage of the advertisement budget on niche markets.

What Is The Process Followed By The Firms To Assess The Applicants?

It is highly advisable for the business organizations to avoid working with search firms that use only the information provided in the candidate resumes to assess their suitability for a job post. A professional search firm uses both quantitative and qualitative assessment methodologies along with extensive reference checks to establish the suitability of the candidates. In addition they closely monitor the attitude, body language and overall behaviour of the candidates during the preliminary interviews to further verify the information they have already accumulated.

What Is The Level Of Technology Integration Into The Search Process?

Most top executive search firms have fully integrated technology into the various aspects of the search process. They accept only online applications and resumes from potential candidates and also have a well managed database containing all the information related to various candidates from different niches. This helps them to get the required information about a specific candidate in a matter of minutes at the click of a button. Moreover, it helps in minimizing any errors with respect to the identity of candidates having similar names, experience and even career records. Most importantly it helps in streamlining the entire process and making it hassle free.

What Are Some Of The Previous Clients That The Firm Has Served?

Even though the business organizations should not miss out asking this question, they should not really expect to get an answer to it. This is basically a trick question to help assess the level of discretion that the recruitment firms maintain with respect to their clients. Naming their previous clients, amounts to breaking the bond of trust that the recruitment firms have established with them. That is why firms that are unwilling to provide even the smallest details about their previous clients are often the best choice.

What Type Of Industry Focus Does The Search Firm Have?

It is essential to choose an executive search firm that is focused on the specific industry niche of the client organization. This does not necessarily mean that they should not take on clients from other niches. However, it is better for to choose a recruitment firm that is focused on no more than a 4-5 industry niches. This is essential for getting the right candidates for all the clients without feeling distracted or neglecting one niche while promoting others.