Success metric graphicIs your organization looking to hire at the senior or executive level? Outsourcing hiring can be a daunting process. How do you find the best executive recruiting firm to handle the job? How do you know if you’re getting the best return on your investment? What types of questions should you ask during the evaluation process? Is there any qualitative or quantitative success metrics that could be useful to you during the decision-making process?

The executive search firms with the highest success rates are using qualitative tools. Options include competency-based behavioral interviewing techniques like DDI and Lominger, and online behavioral assessments. And fortunately, the data-driven culture that has become the norm in business has begun to migrate into the recruiting industry.

How do you know if your recruiting firm is measuring up? Following are examples of key metrics to consider when determining if your executive recruiter is measuring up.

Source Environment

Today’s recruiting environment utilizes many sourcing channels. Everything from referrals and career sites to social networks. At the executive level, passive candidate research is a key sourcing tactic that focuses heavily on identifying and recruiting candidates (that aren’t actively looking for a new job) with the right mix of expertise.

Research Quantity and Quality

Research is a key step when it comes to identifying the right candidate. There are tools successful executive recruitment firms use to locate candidates with the right mix of technical expertise and cultural fit. Understanding the research process and gaining some insight into quantity versus quality of found candidates is vital to selecting the best executive recruiter.

Best Executive Recruiting Firm Response Rates

How long does it take for your executive recruiting firm to identify and recruit the right candidates? Hiring companies are generally looking to fill an executive role once it becomes available. But finding the right candidate does take time.

Ask your executive recruiter what timeline they work against. Request specifics on how they have met that time table for past clients. Filling an C-suite or senior-level role will not happen overnight but successful search firms generally have a specific process in place with milestones, each working against that timeline.

Time to Fill

Executive recruiting firms often have a standard process and timeline they follow to identify, recruit and hire the right candidate. Hiring companies can look at the proposed versus actual timeline for recent jobs to gain some perspective into effectiveness of the search firm.

Completion Rates

It’s critical to understand how a search firm’s completion rates—how many open jobs are filled— stack up against the industry standard. To get a true sense of completion rates, it is important to understand the completion percentage of a firm over time to ensure your chances of finding the best hire.

Retention and Guarantees

Beyond completion rates, what percentage of hires have stayed with the company long-term? Analyzing retention rates can help determine how effective a search firm is at identifying and recruiting candidates with the right mix of expertise. Often, technical expertise must be accompanied by the right cultural fit for long-term success.

Offer Acceptance Ratio

Once the right candidate is recruited, how often do they accept the job? Successful executive search firms do their due diligence with candidates throughout the recruitment process and should have a solid understanding of their level of interest and what they require (salary, benefits, work/life balance, etc.). And, when the offer is made, there should be no surprises.

Behavioral Interviewing – Cultural Fit

This recruiting metric can be challenging to calculate as the quality of a person’s performance is often subjective. The right fit is a key factor in long-term retention and success. Contact us today to learn more about finding the best executive recruiter for your company.

Ron Torch is president and CEO of Torch Group. Reach him at rontorch@torchgroup.com or 440-519-1822 x101.