Exceptional Execution
As you might guess, the dynamics of an executive search are markedly different from the hunt for, say, a management accountant or systems administrator. For one thing, the hiring manager may be the CEO or a committee of the board. High-stakes politics may be in play, and the search will almost certainly take more time and attention than would the hunt for your average department head.
For another thing, retained searches can cost more money. The industry’s standard fee is about 33 percent of the role’s annual salary, bonus and signing bonus. Consider your CEO’s pay to get an idea of how much a Retained Search might cost.
As for contingency recruiters, they usually earn a fee in the area of 20 percent to 25 percent of the role’s first-year cash compensation—again, salary, bonus and signing bonus, and only if they succeed in filling the job.
At large companies, managing an executive search usually falls to the chief human resources officer or vice president of HR, and staffers may find themselves in supporting roles as their boss labors to keep the effort on track. In smaller firms, HR directors or managers may have to step up, even if they represent an HR department of one. In either case, make no mistake: Leadership searches are big deals.
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