4 Signs Your Startup Needs an Executive Search Firm

Hiring an executive is tough work — and it’s expensive, too! Did you know that hiring a C-Suite employee is more than three times the average hire?

Executive search firms might seem like a luxury relegated to Fortune 500 companies with huge advertising budgets, but that just is not the case! Nearly every industry has a network of recruitment firms dedicated to cultivating experienced executive recruits.

And better yet—they cater to businesses of every size, at every budget. There is a recruitment firm that can help meet your startup’s needs.

Here are 4 signs your startup is ready to hire an executive search firm!

Your Industry has High Turnover

Certain industries have a high percentage of turnover. Science, math, and technology fields like engineering or programming have high rates of employee turnover. Some of these industries experience turnover at rates nearing 15%. When you consider how expensive it is to find and hire new recruits, you can see why some employers are reluctant to spend any more money on hiring than they have to.

But while your business can’t change the hiring and retainment rates of an entire industry, an executive search firm can still reduce the amount of resources wasted in-house on recruiting talent.

And once you establish a relationship with a recruitment firm, that company will become intimately acquainted with your company’s culture and needs. So when the time comes to fill a position, you can outsource the hiring process with as little fanfare or time wasted as possible.

Your Existing Team is Small

If your existing executive team is only a handful of people, you cannot afford to vet every single qualified candidate. The time, attention, and energy of your team is more valuable than raw money alone.

And while your staff may be uniquely positioned to lead your company to success, that does not necessarily mean you or your fellow comrades are experts at executing a successful hiring campaign.

For example, when your sink breaks, you can feel good about calling a plumber without worrying about insulting your great uncle, a talented musician who also fancies himself a handyman. One is an expert, with years of experience doing the thing you are in need of under their belt, and the other is an expert in a completely unrelated field.

See the difference?

Do you know what to look for when vetting candidates from different work cultures? If not, you could be missing out on hundreds of qualified candidates available to get started today from around the world!

Hiring isn’t just about finding someone you get along with. You need to have a set of criteria for your ideal candidate, but that criteria probably looks a lot different than what you think it does. Oftentimes, you can benefit from an outside perspective when it comes to determining what your company needs.

You Don’t Have Connections

If your company is just establishing itself in your field, you might not have a ton of executives at your disposal. Or your network might be limited to your immediate area, which may or may not be your direct competition.

If you do not have connections, normally you could turn to traditional hiring methods like job boards and similar networks.

But executive positions are different. Their high rates of pay tend to attract more applicants, so you could be wasting more time sifting through underqualified candidates. That is a waste of manpower, time, and money.

Most founders of startups do not start making money for five years. So you will want to conserve your resources when you are early on in the process of establishing your business.

Not only can an outside executive firm dedicate one hundred percent of their resources to the hiring process.

You are Ready for Rapid Growth

When the only thing keeping your small business from blowing up is finding the right candidate to fill your vacant executive suite, you should make sure you are doing right by your team by hiring the right service to fill the spot for you.

Hiring the wrong person could not only put a sharp halt to any momentum your company has garnered, but it could actually reverse your progress. Think about how far your company has come: can you afford to waste all of the resources you have already invested in your business?

Of course not! So why gamble your hardwork by undertaking a task best left to professionals? If your company is waiting on one last springboard to success, you can expedite the process by outsourcing your executive hiring to a qualified firm.