We talk to companies that have spent weeks and thousands of dollars posting job advertisements on Linkedin and Indeed without any good candidates as a result. The frustration, increased workload on team members, and the costs related to a vacancy can add up quickly, prompting the question: When should a company hire a headhunter?”
If the role is in leadership, like a Director of Business Development, or producing a role that satisfies the needs of high-value clients’, the quickest route to hiring top employees may be the best one. A director may be responsible for millions or hundreds of millions in revenue. A producing role might see a customer servicing employee responsible for tens of thousands in monthly revenue for customers that have a lifetime value in the hundreds of thousands.
If a company has a dedicated recruiter in-house, they could hypothetically spend up to 40 hours a week finding and contacting prospective candidates. The truth is that meetings, time off and the demand of multiple roles could mean that hunting for potential candidates is too challenging and does not happen.
An experienced headhunter who enters the fight with a networked team could reach out to hundreds of candidates. Dedicating 2-3 employees to a search is an expensive proposition but it can be effective. You may reach the 70% of potential employees who are not looking at job advertisements and are passive candidates.
While utilizing a structured approach, you should gather feedback and improve what is being offered and who is being targeted.
If the headhunter assists both the candidate and hiring team through the acceptance process, it can boost final offer acceptance. In this market, many offers are declined due to details being neglected in the process.
Ultimately the question of when shoud a company hire a headhunter comes down to resources. If vacancies are costing your company then it makes sense to have discussions with your headhunter earlier rather than later.
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