Exclusive search method

1. EXCLUSIVE SEARCH
METHOD
Find the people that are hard to find faster.

2. A partnership whereby the Recruiter has time to take a full brief and challenge it, talk
about what works for you, and ask what hasn’t and why.
Your Recruitment partner should be able to present candidates that fit your business,
not just the brief, and then tell you why.
You receive a brief on candidates, their story, why they’re looking, what they’re looking
for, why they would be a good fit (or not), not just a sent CV.
There should be constant updates on the progress of your search, working towards an
agreed plan, timescale, and measurables.
You get feedback on the market and hires, requirements and process; most companies
know what they do, a good recruiter knows what the market does. Honesty is key, let’s
set realistic expectations from the start.
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Ultimately, you can narrow down the reasons for using a recruiter exclusively down
to two words:
Working exclusively means selecting one recruiter to work with on your recruitment projects
on an ‘exclusive’ basis for an agreed period of time.
An exclusive relationship should mean that more time is spent on your roles, with greater
knowledge of your company and requirements, with more accountability for filling them,
resulting in a greater chance of the role being filled with the right person.
ACCOUNTABILITY & PARTNERSHIP.
SO WHAT DO WE MEAN WHEN WE DISCUSS EXCLUSIVITY SEARCH?

3. Their vacancy was a highly specialist role with a limited number of suitable candidates in
the market place
They had a very strict timeline to their recruitment process
Their vacancy was a Director level appointment
The hiring company was a smaller, niche employer struggling to attract applicants; often
losing candidates to larger and more recognised competitors in the market
I have worked with the employer for a sustained period of time and have a strong
rapport with the management team and they have confidence in me to exclusively sell
their business to prospective candidates
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WHEN IS A EXCLUSIVE SEARCH MOST APPROPRIATE?
In my experience retained searches are most commonly used when internal methods of
attracting candidates have been exhausted and recruiters used on a contingency have also
failed to deliver the desired results.
However, a retained search could and should be considered as your chosen method of
search in far more scenarios than this. For example, the below scenario’s have been reasons
that clients I have worked with previously have decided to successfully use a retained
search:

4. A retained search incorporates a meticulous, laser-focused
process that most in-house recruiters do not. When filling
executive level roles especially, all steps in the process
must be taken with great care. By working with a retained
search firm, you can eliminate a lot of the risk in your
hiring process. Instead of working on many projects, these
recruiters are focused on just a couple—giving your search
its proper attention. A retained search offers thorough
research, extensive talent pipelines and networks, and
meticulous reference checking and background checks.
Most importantly, a retained search firm provides a
guarantee for their placements and when hiring executives
this can work as a safety net for your organization.
A retained search firm utilizes their own extensive network
which includes active candidates as well as a pipeline of
potential or passive job seekers. This leads to hiring the
best possible candidate – not the best candidate who is
simply available. Often in-house recruiting efforts can only
rely on the candidates that apply: those who are
unemployed or actively looking for a job. Also, looking for
an executive-level candidate that has a particular skill set
can take a lot of time and effort. Retained recruiters have
excellent researching skills and know the best methods to
find these high-quality candidates.
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TOP 5 ADVANTAGES OF AN
EXCLUSIVE SEARCH
FOCUS AND PROCESS.
PIPELINE AND NETWORKS.

5. Retained search firms are staffed with experts in
recruiting. They not only provide recruiting process
guidelines, candidate pipelines and networks—they
provide an expertise in finding these individuals and know-
how to navigate the waters when handling delicate
situations and negotiations. These recruiters have
excellent people skills so they can determine both a
candidate’s qualifications from a skills and experience
perspective and if they will fit into your company’s culture.
A retained search can give you the benefit of the recruiter’s
expertise at each phase of the recruiting process and if a
problem arises with the process, candidate, or job itself,
the recruiter can quickly identify it and offer solutions.
They are experts at handling unusual situations and offer
negotiations (this is paramount, especially when dealing
with senior level executives). They create and nurture a
relationship of trust between the organization, candidates
and themselves. They can often gauge and/or predict
potential problems in the process and know best how to
address them to resolve issues. With this knowledge and
focus, it often accelerates the process and ensures your
chances of finding the best fit for your team.
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EXPERTS IN RECRUITING.
A RETAINED SEARCH RECRUITER HANDLES ALL OF THE
COMMUNICATION BETWEEN YOUR COMPANY AND CANDIDATES.

6. Finding highly qualified executive level candidates can be
time-consuming and costly. When in-house recruiters or
Human Resources professionals conduct these searches,
they have to balance time for the search in addition to their
primary work which often yields limited search results and
an extended timeframe to complete the search. The
longer a position goes unfilled, the more money it costs
your organization. When partnering with a retained search
firm, finding candidates for your role is their sole focus. A
retained search also allows you to avoid the hidden costs
of considering only a small sampling of qualified
candidates and most often, a retained search firm can
complete the search more quickly, therefore, saving you
money. It typically will cost your firm between 20-30% of
the hire’s first-year total compensation.
A recruiter can typically be working on 10 or more
vacancies on a contingency basis at any one time. With all
the will in the world they can only spend so much time on
any one client’s vacancy in a week. What a retained search
does in lock in the commitment from both parties to work
on a mutually collaborative way to ensure the vacancy is
filled in an agreed time period. The guarantee that the
recruiters invested time will result in a fee allows them to
prioritise a retained search over any contingency based
searches they are currently working on and dedicate vast
proportions of their time on the retained search.
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TIME AND COST.
GUARANTEED LEVEL OF COMMITMENT (BOTH PARTIES):

7. Targets and deadlines are often part of the agreement and
are set out between yourself and the recruiter at the start
of the process and stated in the contract. This ensures that
the client can adequately plan the interview and on
boarding process. This also ensures that the recruiter has
to dedicate adequate time to working on the role to deliver
the agreed results within the agreed timescales. Again,
something that is not guaranteed in contingency search
where if a search is proving difficult to attract suitable
candidates, the recruiter may switch focus in an attempt to
secure a fee from easier assignments.
Whilst most recruiters will have a standard contract for a
retained search, in my experience the final signed
agreement is often a bespoke contract relating to your
needs as the client and the anticipated work involved for
the recruiter. This can include the fee percentage, rebate
period, number of agreed payments applicable throughout
the process, the amount of time to provide a shortlist and
more. Both parties need to be completely happy that the
details of the agreement are reasonable, achievable and
benefit both parties.
You get the best person for your business, not the first person to apply for your role.
Get in touch today, if you want to benefit from working on this exclusive package.
07www.nucleus-pc.co.uk
AGREED TIMESCALES
GUARANTEED LEVEL OF COMMITMENT (BOTH PARTIES):
END RESULT?
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