Don’t ever hire an executive search firm without asking them, first, what is their success rate and how long do their candidates stay there and meet their goals?
You’re going to pay a lot of money to hire these folks, so why would you want to hire someone unless you know what their track record is and their success factor, right?
Contingency firms. They have less than a 20% success factor. In fact, most of them are in single-digit numbers, and they’re generally uncomfortable with firm commitments and even don’t like to be tied down to results or timeliness.
Some of the well-known retained search firms even have over a 40% failure rate. At JK Consultants, we have a 98% success factor and the other 2% is only when clients have changed their strategic plan. And 97% of our candidates have been with their company for 4+ years and have met their first year’s objective.
Make sure that the company you’re interviewing is willing to give you a long list of credentials and people that they have provides the services for successfully.
And by the way, if you’re considering a contingency firm, or any firm, ask them if they have any firms that they have been unsuccessful in filling the position for. Now, for the contingency firms, you should definitely be able to get a few of those names. At JK Consultants, we have a litany of people you can speak with, both clients and candidates.