New Delhi: The vexing question uppermost in the minds of those in the executive search industry would surely be the future of the industry in the face of most client organisations going in increasingly for internal hiring owing to cost considerations and technology; putting the talent pool at large directly in touch with the internal recruiters.
The share of assignments being mandated to 3rd party recruiters is shrinking and getting restricted to key and critical positions.
It seems search firms are increasingly being viewed as competitors rather than partners. Does that spell the impending doom for search firms in the coming future? My answer is an emphatic NO.
Executive search of the future will definitely flourish but in a new avatar. Those who are able to change tracks quickly will definitely do extremely well. But it will be the survival of the smartest.
I am not being optimistic. I am being realistic. Searching for “A” grade players in a shallow talent pool requires innovative recruitment skills, ability to sell a client’s brand, effective influencing capabilities & speed.
Key talent will always need to be acquired through extensive engagement, an art that only specialist search consultants possess. In fact they are the ones who are best connected to the passive talent pool & the rising “super-stars” of the industry.
Recent research shows that most candidates are loathe to being treated like on-line commodities. They prefer to have a dialogue with those who they perceive as neutral, more responsive and trustworthy basis their long term relationships, rather than directly with an organisation.
Also every job ad placed by clients on social media is flooded with response from the huge community of unemployed candidates. The task of sifting through this is humongous with greater chances of picking up from what’s easily available than selecting the best through professional search.
I don’t know if any research has been done on the actual effectiveness of talent recruited directly versus through specialist search firms. I am sure the results will be an eye-opener in favour of the latter.
It is a matter of time before industry realises that the cost saved in hiring key talent directly is actually a huge cost-incurred in not hiring the best through specialists in the business. These aspects are critical factors that will shape the future of our industry.
But the paradigm will change, as will the challenges of the business.
Clients will become extremely selective in choosing the search firm they want to do business with. They will look for clear value in terms of deliverables before they decide on their partners & assign a search.
The factors that will drive their choice are—proven industry knowledge & specialisation, ability to understand their requirement clearly & conversion rate.
Senior level Candidates will become increasingly distrustful of applying online or responding to a direct client call—both of which gives them restrictive response & little room for negotiations.
Key talent will prefer to deal with search firms for the sheer experience & support that only a quality search firm can provide. But they will prefer dealing with Consultants they can trust.
They will need to be successfully engaged that is after an initial interaction, a candidate should feel so positively about the candidate/consultant relationship that they will willingly and enthusiastically listen to the Consultant.
Trust & respect for a Consultant will need to be developed for effective influencing. Long term relationship will drive candidate engagement more effectively
The Search Industry is currently in consolidation phase, gradually moving from unorganised to the organised sector. It is becoming candidate centric, driven by an acute shortage of right talent.
Like most other industries in the country, executive search firms will need to rethink their business models based on the evolving customer expectations and candidate aspirations.
The Transactional model of the business will cease to exist. Only the Consultative model will work. I have absolutely no doubt that those who adapt fastest to this change will have a great future.
From a Search Consultant’s perspective, a thorough knowledge base and the ability to effectively engage with candidates will be the two key attributes for success.
Knowledge would include an in-depth understanding of the specific industry, its functions and the client organisation. You cannot become consultative without a solid knowledge base.
And while candidate sourcing will be the easier aspect of search, it is getting the right candidate on-board through effective influencing that will be the biggest challenge, hence the need to master the art of effective candidate engagement.
As important it would be to know the candidate, it would be important that the candidate knows you. The entire terms of interaction between a Consultant and a Candidate will be redefined.
(The author Rajeev Thakur is Director and CEO of Grassik Search Private Limited)
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