Your instinct told you that Joe would be a great hire. His resume looked flawless, he had years of relevant experience in your industry, and it seemed like his personality was a perfect fit with your existing employees. Unfortunately, once he got the job, Joe seemed lost. He was arrogant, irritable, and completely unable to do the kind of work you needed him to do. It was a complete waste of your time and money.
To help avoid these incidents, many business owners find it helpful to hire a headhunter. This is especially true if the position in question has a highly specific set of qualifications. You could spend weeks looking through hundreds of resumes on your own, or you could spend a day or two selecting a headhunter and let him take care of your current and future employment needs.
Unfortunately, the worst part of hiring a headhunter is that you still have to go through the hiring process. There are a ton of different headhunters, and they operate on widely fluctuating terms and prices. It’s important to understand those terms before you embark on what could be a very costly project.
Above all, make sure that you understand the price when you’re hiring a headhunter. The cost could range anywhere from 10-40% of your new hire’s salary, so it can be an expensive endeavor, depending on the salary of the position you’re trying to fill.
In addition to the rate, consider the incentives that are created by the cost structure of the firm you choose. Some headhunters are only paid when they fill the position. That kind of setup can tempt an otherwise ethical firm to endorse a candidate that is less than qualified in order to fill the position and collect your fee.
In other cases, the headhunter is paid whether he or she fills the position or not. This kind of payment structure could very easily lead to slacking on the part of the headhunter, so it’s important to stay in close touch with an agency that uses this kind of plan.
You may find that the most effective payment structure is one that combines both alternatives, offering a small deposit payment regardless of success, along with another payment when the position is filled. Some agencies also offer plans that grant them full payment only after the new hire has been on the job for a pre-determined amount of time. Such plans are nearly always to the benefit of the employer, but they may come with a slightly higher price tag.
In addition to price, you should also consider the reputation of the firm you’ll be hiring. For your 30% fee, you could be buying a seasoned human resources professional with a huge Rolodex and a great eye for talent, or you could be hiring some guy whose efforts consist of placing a free ad on Craigslist and waiting for results. Ask a lot of questions about success rate, business practices, and length of time in business. That’s not to say that you should pass up a determined newbie, but you should be aware of what you’re paying for.
Any reputable headhunting firm should be able to give you a list of past clients, along with a detailed explanation of how they do business. Don’t ignore this valuable information. Find out if their hires have a habit of sticking around for a while. Ask who will be doing your search. Don’t let them fool you into believing that the company president will do the search if they’re actually planning on handing it off to a junior associate.
It’s also important to know what criteria your headhunter will use to determine who is a suitable candidate. Many use a variety of personality and problem-solving tests. If you have a favorite method (or if there’s a method that you feel may undervalue the best candidates), be sure that your headhunter is willing to work with those preferences.
Finally, don’t be afraid to ask a headhunter if they work with any of your competitors. In most cases, their own ethics will prevent them from taking you on as a client if they do, but you should always check. If you hope to recruit from the ranks of your top competitor, a firm that works with that competitor won’t be able to help you.
If you run a business, you probably have better things to do than spend all your time dealing with hiring issues. With a bit of caution and preparation, you may find that hiring a headhunter lets you spend more time on the things you’re good at, while maintaining a consistent level of quality in human resources.
Reference:
- Ask the Headhunter
