If you need extra hiring help at your company, you may be considering enlisting the help of an executive search firm. While search firms are extremely helpful during this process, hiring one is a big decision for your company. If you’ve never worked with one before, here are some tips for how to approach an HR executive search firm.
Understand Your Goals
Before you start your search for the right HR search firm, you first need to identify your goals. Understand why you want to reach out to a search firm in the first place and what you hope to get out of the process. Identifying your goals early will help you decide later if a firm you’re reviewing can help you meet them. The right executive search firm will ask you about your objectives and tailor the hiring process to achieve those goals.
Get Recommendations
Do you know fellow business owners and companies who have thrived by working with a search firm in the past? Reach out to your connections for recommendations. Ask them what it was like working with a firm and what you should know before going into the process. From there, take those recommendations and add to your goals and objectives. Gather their search firm recommendations and do your own research from there.
Do Your Research
Now that you have your objectives and expectations, do your research into the various firm options you have gathered. When conducting your research, there are a few questions to ask: how experienced is the firm, do they have their own connections and resources, do they understand your company’s goals, and will they be a good fit for your business? You can also tell a lot about a search firm based on their credibility and trustworthiness, so make sure to do the appropriate fact-checking, too.
Understand the Firm’s Processes
Once you have selected a search firm, make sure you understand their processes. For example, here at The Christopher Group, we follow a step-by-step targeted search process that sets us apart as a human resources executive search firm. Your search firm should be able to give you a detailed explanation of their search process and how that will relate to your business. Plus, you’ll want to have this knowledge to form a timeline of the executive search process and when to expect results.
Overall, when it comes to how to approach an HR executive search firm, make sure you do your homework. If you are not sure where to start with any of your hiring or project needs, The Christopher Group is the ideal firm to partner with on identifying your business goals and objectives, organizational structures, compensation and benefits, and so much more!