What does a search consultant do?

There are many myths surrounding the Executive Search process and particularly while budgets are tight you may wonder whether the cost is really worthwhile. Or in fact, how exactly a search consultant can help your organisation.

Fortunately, we’ve moved away from the days of old-school networks, boozy lunches and outdated ideas about ‘fit’ and now, search consultants work in partnership with you to source top-tier talent to lead successful, high-impact outcomes for your organisation and your beneficiaries.

At Prospectus, we create change by connecting talented people with purpose-driven and not-for-profit organisations to achieve outstanding impact. Based on 15 years of experience in executive search in the not-for-profit sector, I wanted to explain away some of the misconceptions of a search consultant’s role.

We provide a partnership – with healthy challenge

The first role of an executive search consultant is to understand you and your organisation. The better we can get to know you, your history, your challenges and your culture, the better we can advise you, and provide a healthy challenge. Does your new leader really need to be onsite five days a week when your staff are usually in for only three? Do they need to be an expert in delivery if you have a rising star who is keen to take on more responsibility? Are those previous bad experiences in recruitment ones that we can bear in mind to mitigate any risks?

At Prospectus, we work closely with charities and organisations to appoint over 150 executive roles a year and we understand the impact your challenges can have not just on your organisation, but on your beneficiaries, too. We help you to unravel the type of person who’ll be best placed to lead you through it. This ensures we create a positive narrative about the role and your organisation. Balanced with an honest approach, we keep in mind the key skills and approaches during our candidate discussions.

We bring tailored, strategic solutions

Your new leader will play a pivotal role in the success of your organization, therefore it’s crucial that the recruitment process is clear, with accurate and relevant criteria. We have countless experiences of helping our clients to shape these key roles; to be right for your organisation, right now. Not only do we bring advice and evidence from hundreds of successful appointments a year, we’re able to guide you based on current market trends. For example, in the last few years, salaries for Finance Directors and People Directors have spiked for a variety of reasons, when previously it was a given that the highest-paid member of a senior team other than the CEO would be the Fundraising Director.

We also work with our clients to understand structures and advise on what may need to change. A long-term client of mine had recently experienced fast-paced growth and needed to review their operational leadership. We were able to advise them on reshaping their original recruitment plans, resulting in two excellent placements that accounted for their continued growth.

We unveil hidden talent

A true story – two recent clients came to us having tried to recruit themselves. One was confident they’d already contacted all the great people in their geographical area, the other confident they’d contacted all the great people in their sector.

Working in unison with our search consultants, our designated researchers spend days and weeks mapping the market for talented people specifically skilled to undertake your role. They will search different sectors, have countless conversations and follow numerous leads to ensure no stone is left unturned.

In the case of the two clients above, both were amazed and delighted by the great candidates they’d not been aware of before – resulting in two great placements of brilliantly skilled leaders!

We hold multiple briefs looking for candidates with protected characteristics, intersectional experiences or those who bring lived experience. Not only do we work closely with a wide range of networks, but we understand what is important for these candidates to know to reassure that their candidacy is not merely tokenistic.

We save you precious time

Your time is precious. But you also want to secure a great candidate. As part of the search process, not only do we map the market to identify new talent that matches your needs, we’re engaging with, talking to, following up with great candidates – to ensure they apply! Often this takes several conversations. In a search process, the consultant and researcher have these conversations for you. We also talk to many candidates who aren’t suitable, taking the time to provide transparent feedback. Add to this the time we spend sifting applications using a robust scoring approach, as well as arranging first and second-round interviews and you can see that this all adds up to a lot of your, and your colleague’s working hours.

A recent contact (and placed candidate) of mine shared that their organisation decided not to use a search firm for some new trustee recruitment. As a result, she spent hours talking to people interested in the role as well as sifting applications. She has vowed never to do that again!

We help you navigate recruiting challenges

Sometimes the best-laid plans don’t work out as they should. Maybe there’s a huge, unexpected change in your organisation that no one could have foreseen, which requires us to revise the recruitment approach to make the timeframe even more urgent. Perhaps the challenge we were all aware of from the start is too great for people to overcome and no one wants to apply. Perhaps the preferred candidate is counter-offered by their current organisation with a package they just can’t refuse.

All of these scenarios have occurred in the last six months. Executive search is not a science; it involves people and organisations, and both are liable to change. But that’s where a search consultant is worth their weight in gold. We adapt, pivot and ensure that whatever challenges arise, we secure you a great candidate, as we did in all of the examples above.

In addition, at Prospectus, we have a mid-way review of the recruitment process to share our progress and our strongest candidates so we can discuss whether we need to change our approach in any way. This can be the first time you think about a real person in the role – and it may make you think a little differently about what you need. We are used to adapting as needed, to ensure that your candidates are just what you are looking for, even as your thoughts develop.

It’s also critical to ensure that it’s a pleasant process for all. Good communication is key and particularly so for those people who have invested hours of their time writing an application, attending interviews and getting to know your organisation. If they’re not successfully appointed, there will always be disappointment, but an executive search consultant will provide honest, in-depth feedback that creates a learning opportunity and ensures they walk away wishing your organisation all the best – you never know when your paths might cross again.

We provide continued support, beyond recruitment

Throughout the recruitment process, we form a close working relationship with you and get to know all about your organisation. We also create a strong relationship with your successful candidate and look forward to seeing all the great work they do.

We stay in touch with you both ahead of a start date and as the new leader begins their new role. Over the months and years to come we’re always excited to learn of the great work your new team member and organisation is doing. After all, you’re doing inspiring work within the not-for-profit sector, and we want to hear all about it!

Whether you or your organisation are thinking about executive or leadership recruitment this year, we’re always happy to have a confidential chat. Thanks to our B-Corp status, we are genuinely happy to provide free support and advice, so do let us know if we can use our recruitment and search expertise to guide you on your recruiting journey.