I have been hearing about and am now seeing first hand a developing trend that has me quite concerned.  Having started in this business back in the 1980s, I’ve managed through multiple down cycles; working through the need to maintain my company’s viability and meet client’s perceived need to match price with both value and market considerations.  However, the ‘cram down’ on fees that I’ve seen during this downturn is different.  If what I’m seeing is generalized at all, then I fear it could have lasting consequences on future quality of service.

I am aware that for years, corporate clients have been suspect of just how profitable and therefore, warranted recruiting and retained search fee-levels are.  This debate has ranged from unspoken/seething to healthy debate around metrics and value-add to open cynicism and cyclical rejection of external vendors altogether.  In downturns it is certainly more difficult to rationalize spending fees to hire talent when the perception, and to varying degree, reality, is that on-target and high quality availability of candidates should preclude the need for external search consultants.

On one hand, this is true and after all, we in the search industry fully understand that our services will only be required on a small percentage of all hiring activity going on across enterprises. This said, any perception that when tapped, our services are of less value and warrant significantly lower fees in down markets is both a misnomer and a dangerous precedent. (more…)

It was late in the afternoon on a Friday.  The food-coma from a company luncheon was finally wearing off and I needed a rally to help bolster the research before the day was over.  The goal was to find Plant/Site Managers at sawmills or paper product producers in northwestern United States.  After a few hours had been spent on this project we were running short on places to research.  Obviously there are only so many sawmills within any given geography.  By searching the depths of the internet I found an article posted on the website of a local association for sawmills and other related businesses.  Doug Fir from ABC Paper & Wood Products received an award from this association for a reason I can’t recall.  It was perfect; ABC Paper & Wood had not been targeted yet…   
 
“ABC Paper & Wood, how can I help you?” a friendly sounding receptionist greeted.
“Hi, I’m looking to get in contact with Douglas Fir please.” I said.

“Hmmmm… Douglas Fir, Douglas Fir” she replied as if she was thinking.  “OH OK!” the lady said as she began to laugh into the phone.  To avoid an awkward moment of silence, and in an effort to seem friendly I began to giggle.  In reality I was actually rather confused.  The laughter quickly subsided.  After a brief moment of silence she asked, “Who else can I put you in touch with?”

“Well, just Doug would be fine for now, if he feels there is someone better for me to speak with then I’ll just call back,”  I replied cluelessly.  I remember thinking “what is with this lady and what the hell is so funny?” 

“He doesn’t take calls sir” she said in a giggly tone.

“OK – Is he out in the field or something?”  I responded skeptically.

“Yeah, he’s in the field alright” The lady said again as her laughter was building.

“Does he have an assistant?” I asked as I was still totally confused.  At this point I figured she was maybe laughing at a co-worker or there was something distracting her.

“Nope, no assistant” The lady said, only this time she was basically hysterical with laughter.  My eyebrows began to tense as I was too confused to even speak.  I waited in silence for her to finish laughing.  The laugher quickly subsided and she said, “Do you seriously need to speak with someone, or did you just call for that?”

“Ma’am, I have no idea what you are talking about and I’m a little confused.” I told her.  “Is there a Doug Fir there or not?” I said in a tone that probably hinted at my frustration.   

“Yeah there is a Doug Fir back there; in fact there is a bunch of Doug Fir back there.”  She said as she again began to laugh.  “We sell it too – It’s a type of wood.”

This is my inaugural blog post.  I’m late to this game but look forward to lending some useful perspective to the online dialogue around senior level recruiting/search.  Hopefully most of what I end up writing will be worth reading and at least some of it worth contemplating after you leave this blog.

While my plan is to offer substantive insight, I’m going to allow my first post to be a ‘venting session’ about one of my pet peeves.  First, if I may let me quickly establish that I have some basis on which to offer my opinions.  I’ve invested over 20 years in this crazy business and have been blessed to have worked at levels that should qualify me as at least enough of a ‘player’ to have experiences and perspective worthy of commentary (sector leader for a top 4 global firm; completed over 75 board and/or CEO searches; 10+ searches for those ‘horrible’ examples of capitalistic excess…compensation over $10 million, dozens in the mere-7-figures and hundreds of equally critical players that make up the six-figure masses).

Now that ‘pet peeve #1’ (not necessarily the #1 pet peeve cuz I’m not sure I could choose that ‘one’).

How has the practice of ‘plugging in’ new talent continued for as long as it has without greater codification of processes that assess the ‘alignment’ of existing and new leaders sufficient to ensure that we will actually achieve improved results sufficient to warrant the change?  A mouthful, I know.  Stated another way, the effective definition and assessment of prospective candidate’s critical success factors in recruiting has remained the purview of a few ‘artists’ vs. the science on which an industry can be expected to deliver persistent value.

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Ever wonder why archaeologists (Definition: The systematic study of past human life and culture by the recovery and examination of remaining material evidence, such as graves, buildings, tools, and pottery) and paleontologists (Definition – The study of the forms of life existing in prehistoric or geologic times, as represented by the fossils of plants, animals, and other organisms) keep digging in the dirt, studying all the fragments they find?

Because surprises never cease, because there’s always more to be found and the puzzle is never done. Simply put, many fragments make a whole picture. We want to know our past, so we can understand our present and build for our future generations.
As an online sourcer I have this innate curiosity to see what else is out there when I am on a search. Oh wait, here’s one more place to look, one more hyperlink to click on, just in case I can pick up a new clue.  It’s pretty exhausting and tedious when you try to be meticulous and detailed, (talk about stiff necks, aching backs & cramped fingers because I don’t like to stop in the middle of the digging) but it’s priceless when you collect all the pieces and can present that final picture to your client – in house or external.

Did you know the internet is like an iceberg? 

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