Beyond the Surface

The real depth of Executive Search.

I was recently in conversation with one of my colleagues about the market and how there seem to be more Recruitment Consultants who call themselves, or use the term 'Search' vs Recruitment.

This was following a conversation with a CEO who had failed to hire the right person, they had gone to market, engaged a 'search consultant', who they said presented a couple of CV's a day or so later, and they hired one of them, happy days...until a few months later and performance was not as it should have been.

Choosing the wrong leader can have devastating consequences – financially, operationally, and for your company’s reputation.

The term "executive search" is often thrown around, but not all services labeled as such delve beyond the surface. True executive search is an art, requiring a deep understanding of the market, a sophisticated approach to talent assessment, and a nuanced grasp of a client's strategic and longer term needs. It is not a service that is delivered by a few CV's presented in a matter of days. That doesn't mean the process has to be slow but it is a much more thorough and informed process.

Alarmingly, I have also spoken with more than one individual in recent months who has recently started a new role at a C-suite, or, Director level. I rang to see how it was all going, expecting to hear about the challenges, opportunities, excitement of what lies ahead, to be met by, 'actually, I am glad you have called as I don't think this is the right move for me'.

These are not inexpensive resources and high salaried appointments. How is it that this is happening?

When companies around the world are facing a leadership crisis as reported by numerous sources and when over 60% of the workforce are potentially considering a move in the next 12 months, is it any wonder that talent-related challenges and the fragility of their workforce is now the top worry keeping CEOs up at night. Retaining and developing future leaders outranks economic and business concerns according to to the 2023 (Global Leadership Forecast)

In the quest for leadership that not only fills roles but fundamentally enhances corporate trajectories, many firms tout their capabilities in 'search and selection'. However, not all searches are created equal. True executive, or professional search—like the kind practiced at Douglas Jackson—goes far beyond matching resumes with job descriptions. It’s about understanding the DNA of a company and the subtle competencies of leadership that drive success in specific corporate cultures and industries.

At Douglas Jackson, going 'Beyond the Surface' approach involves our Impact 360 process, where we align deep market insights with a thorough understanding of both the client's and the candidate's long-term goals and values. This ensures that we don’t just find a leader who can do the job but one who will be more successful and who will stay for longer.

We don't just send those on the market, we explore who is in the market, to identify the best talent and understand the considerations for you.

By focusing on this level of detail, we provide our clients with not just employees, but true leaders—diverse, resilient, and ready to face the challenges of today and tomorrow.

These comments came from a 20 year experienced ExCo Director who we have recently worked with.

On the process and our ability to not just hire a skilled, experienced senior leader but one who could come into a strong, successful culture:

'It was really good. It was a lot more thorough than I expected, you asked me questions I hadn’t thought about and it forced me to be more specific about what I wanted, I liked that'.

'I also like that you took control over everything, I am busy and I really enjoyed that'

'We could have possibly done this process but considering my time, it was very effective. I wasn’t expecting the amount of detail you went into in terms of the candidate and by the time I went through the interviews, I had a very good background about not just their experience, but also how they wanted to be managed, it was a really meaningful process and helped in the decision making process immensely, it was an absolute pleasure. Thank you'

You can see more of our testimonials here.

I help CEOs, COOs, HRDs and business leaders improve the diversity, success and retention of their new leadership hires across Customer, CX, Operations, Transformation Insight and Planning, providing recruitment consultancy and Executive Search services. Helping you deliver a much improved performance and ROI. If you would like to talk more about your unique challenges and to see if I might be a future resource for you, Book a call today.