Jose Ruiz

By Ralph Protsik, Managing Director | BSG TeamVentures / Boston Search Group, Inc.

At some point in your career — probably sooner rather than later — you will be dealing with recruiters (a/k/a headhunters). You may be looking for a new position (actively or passively) or you may be hiring; in some cases you may be doing both at the same time. In any event you’ll find a basic knowledge of recruiters valuable as you manage your career.

The first thing to note is that recruiters come in different flavors. Some work on retainer only — they take money (retainers) from clients to fill specific positions. This means their commitment and loyalty are to the client and not the candidate. In effect, they care less about which candidate is hired than about making sure he or she is the best person for the job. They also realize, however, that a candidate spurned by one client for one position could become the lead candidate for another search assignment for another client.

Typically firms working on retainer recruit from a target list of competitors and assemble a “short list” of prospective candidates who are interested, affordable, and (if relevant) relocatable. Each candidate has been evaluated on the basis of such criteria as industry/market knowledge, leadership skills, and record of performance. This short list may be as few as three candidates or as many as six. The client then interviews these recommended candidates over a week or two period and selects the one who best fits the position requirements and company culture. In many cases interviewing takes place linearly — as candidates are evaluated and recommended by the search firm — and not in one intense, multi-candidate time frame.

Other recruiters work on a contingency basis — they get paid only if they are successful placing a candidate. The better contingency recruiters take time to understand a client’s needs and a candidate’s match for a position, then bring the two parties together. They may present one candidate only…or they may present several. In many cases the client is also interviewing candidates from other sources-other recruiters, the client’s internal network and HR department, referrals, and job boards. If the recruiter loses out to one of these internal candidates, he or she loses the placement fee. The incentive therefore is to get their candidate placed.

A basic difference between retainer and contingency recruiters then is that the former always represents the client; the latter often represents the candidate. This is especially true when a contingency recruiter is actively and aggressively marketing a candidate to multiple clients simultaneously (a successful but unhappy stock broker, for example, or someone relocating for personal reasons).

An exception to this generalization is where a contingency recruiter secures an exclusive (but still contingency) contract to fill a position, i.e., that recruiter is the only recruiter working on the position. In this situation the recruiter may act like a retained recruiter — presenting the position as his or hers and offering several candidates to the client — even if the client also may be generating candidates from its own network. The placement fee is still contingent on hiring, however.

Another difference among recruiters is that some are generalists (they work in many industry sectors and functional areas) while others are specialists (they work in one or a small number of industry sectors or functional areas). By devoting his or her practice to a sector as specific as toys or semiconductor manufacturing, the specialist brings industry knowledge and contacts to each search…but at the price of vulnerability should that sector experience a downturn. The generalist, on the other hand, while being better protected during times of economic uncertainty, runs the risk of losing searches to other recruiters with a deeper database and a fundamental understanding of the players and practices in that industry.

Recruiters also may specialize by functional role — sales, technology, finance, etc. A sales specialist may work in many industry sectors and at different levels of sales management. By focusing on sales positions, these recruiters bring a different sort of expertise to search assignments, for example, an understanding of the “sales mentality” and knowledge of commission-based compensation plans.

Executive recruiters who do retained work tend to be better paid and more knowledgeable than do those who do mostly contingency recruiting. They also typically work on positions that pay more than $150,000 per year. At the highest levels, retainer recruiters and their firms may do only C-level searches on a national basis-those high-visibility searches for Fortune 500s.

Resumes, of course, are critical to both types of recruiters. Searches typically begin with a resume database search for “low-hanging fruit,” both those in the firm’s own database and in subscription databases such as Monster, Ladders, 6FigureJobs, Execunet, and others. In addition, many firms have a process that allows applicants to manually enter their resumes into the company’s applicant tracking system through the company website.

What does this mean to you and your career? A few guidelines:

• Always return a recruiter’s call or email. You never know where it may lead.
• Always help recruiters with referrals if you have referrals to make. They will remember you when that next great opportunity comes along.
• Find time to get to know a few retainer recruiters well. Give them an idea of your career aspirations and possible next steps. If you are in a position to give them some search work, do so-it will engender their gratitude and loyalty.
• When a recruiter calls, find out how he or she is operating — on retainer or contingency. If the latter, do they have an exclusive or are other recruiters also working on the position? Pay more attention to retained recruiters — in general you will be treated better and get better information from them.
• Ask recruiters who call you on a position if they have a list of their Best Practices they can send you. If they don’t, ask them to tell you exactly what you can expect from them if you decide to throw your hat into the ring.

If you are actively in the market, find a contingency recruiter willing to market you. First put the recruiter through some hoops — how well do they now your industry, how much time are they willing to spend to get to know you and your objectives, how well will they represent you and your reputation?

If you are actively searching, your best approach is to submit your resume via a referral or with background homework on the recruiter and his or her specialty, or both. And submit by email and not by fax or postal mail. In the absence of referral, check to see if you can enter your resume and cover letter through the company’s website.

Like other relationships you develop in the workplace, those with recruiters need care and feeding. Make it part of your job, do it often…or potentially find yourself with no place to turn when you most need help with your career.

Copyright 2008, Ralph Protsik, Managing Director,
Boston Search Group, Inc.

Mexico Executive Search Contingency Recruiter, Executive Recruiter, Mexico Executive Search, Retained Recruiter

By Jose Ruiz

What a difference context makes in our perceptions of leadership.  After 9/11 I once asked a group of friends from New York what they thought of Rudolph Giuliani. They unanimously replied that he was a great leader – decisive, assertive, and determined, with the ability to inspire a sense of security in a time of fear and crisis. When Mayor Giuliani later ran for President I asked the same group the same question.  They then said, again unanimously, that he was a poor leader – stubborn, hard-headed, and prone to making unilateral decisions. 

In a context of immediate crisis, Giuliani’s character and management style had made him appear to my friends to be an exemplary leader.  But when the context changed from an immediate crisis to the challenge of leading a nation of many voices and political differences over the long term what they had once seen as decisiveness and assertiveness struck them as inflexibility.  

Certainly, decisiveness, assertiveness, and determination are typically cited as key traits for a great leader.  So are integrity, intelligence, self-confidence, and – in the world of commerce – general and industry-specific business acumen.  But as the work of Heidrick & Struggles with boards and CEOs over many decades shows and as a series of recent conversations with leaders and others confirms, there are other, often overlooked traits of leadership that enable leaders to stand the test of time.  It is these traits, coupled with the other more obvious leadership qualities like decisiveness, that are particularly valuable in times of deep and prolonged crisis like the current recession.  

“The key is adaptability,” says Gilad Langer, Product Strategist and Technical Leader at Camstar Systems, a leading provider of enterprise manufacturing execution and quality systems.  He explains that people who are continuously perceived as great leaders adapt to what is required at each moment to remain effective influences on the teams they lead.  As business technology consultant Gary Clarke, puts it, “The qualities of leadership that are respected and admired by others shift with the demands of time and as the group’s needs and perceptions shift as well.”   About the current economic situation he says, “Right now, someone who can demonstrate empathy, clarity and sacrifice would be nice to see as opposed to greed and aloofness.”  George Dakos, Managing Director of Stedima Business Consultants, Athens agrees. “The great leader,” he says, “should be able to act as a beam of courage and optimism for others when they are hit by the crisis blues.”

However, that doesn’t mean that employees want to be shielded from the truth.  Most people when asked what they expect from their leaders in times of economic crisis say they want honest communication and transparency. Avi Singer, Director of Organizational Development at Undertone Networks, an online advertising network, calls it “sincerity.”  He points out that people would much rather hear bad news, prepare themselves, and act rather than live in anxiety. As an executive from a Fortune 100 company observed after she was laid off: “I’m concerned about my future, but I’m grateful to the organization for the way they went about doing things. The public announcement regarding cuts was made on Monday. They told us who was being laid off on Tuesday, and on Wednesday the CEO announced it was over.”

Many people agree that empathy, transparency, and other traits that provide comfort and stability are what employees want in their leaders now. However, a leader’s responsibility goes beyond what people want now.  Leaders must also bear the burden of balancing current needs against the needs of the future, a balancing act that requires courage, especially in times of economic crisis.  Says Kevin Kelly, CEO of Heidrick & Struggles, “Courage in leadership is about making decisions that are for the benefit of the organization over oneself.” 

As these conversations indicate, these uncertain times call for leaders with a subtle mix of characteristics.   They must provide comfort and stability, show empathy, exude optimism, proceed transparently and sincerely – all while making difficult decisions, taking courageous action, and decisively guiding their teams.  That’s a tall order, but we’ve seen it fulfilled time and again by great leaders in times of crisis.

Jose Ruiz is a Principal in Heidrick & Struggles’ Monterrey office. As an Executive Recruiter / Executive Search Consultant he has served multinational clients in industrial sectors and consumer markets. He can be reached at +52 (811) 1771-4507 or jruiz@heidrick.com

About Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.
Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. is the world’s premier provider of senior-level executive search and leadership consulting services, including talent management, board building, executive on-boarding and M&A effectiveness. For more than 50 years, we have focused on quality service and built strong leadership teams through our relationships with clients and individuals worldwide. Today, Heidrick & Struggles executive recruiters and leadership experts operate from principal business centers in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific. In Mexico, Heidrick & Struggles operates offices in Mexico City and Monterrey. For more information about Heidrick & Struggles please visit www.heidrick.com

Leadership Executive Recruiter, Leadership, LinkedIn, Mexico Executive Search

How Kevin Kelly grew Heidrick & Struggles by focusing on business fundamentals

By Mike Cottrill
Smart Business Chicago | February 2009

Kevin Kelly isn’t a know-it-all. It would be easy to assume that Kelly, CEO for senior-level executive search and leadership consulting services firm Heidrick & Struggles International Inc., could tell you some intricate strategy about running just about any business. After all, he spent a good portion of his career as a senior executive overseas, he wrote a book on being a CEO, and he makes a living talking with some of the world’s most important people about who they should hire.

Despite all that, Kelly likes to keep things pretty simple. He does-n’t want to hit you too hard with numbers or strategy. Instead, he often shares stories about some of the gaps in hiring, retaining and growing senior talent that people just don’t think about. He has one story about the importance of knowing what your senior employees want.

“I was working in recruiting in investment banking,” Kelly says, “and there was a head of a hedge fund business who resigned, and when he resigned, his managing director said, ‘Why are you resigning?’ He said, ‘I wanted to be head of the desk, and I’m nominally head of the desk, but I’m not the real head of the desk,’ and the manager said, ‘Well, we can make you the real head of the desk,’ but it was too late. This other firm had already offered this other position, and a week later, they found themselves without an $85 million business, which is a huge gap to have.”

Kelly thinks about stories like that all the time — both for external customers of the executive search industry firm and his own direct reports. So while he probably could have come up with some mind-boggling strategies when he transitioned from president of Asia Pacific and Europe to CEO in 2006, a year Heidrick & Struggles did nearly $502 million in revenue, he instead focused on the blocking and tackling so many companies ignore. Rather than trying to give daily help to all 1,800 employees, his strategy was about touch points he could hit to influence the whole company, doing more work on recruiting and hiring senior talent, and creating processes to build a company culture that understood and satiated those employees to ensure that he never had any first-person, $85 million gap horror stories.

Explain the job

The first simple step in building up a company culture starts with you focusing on the people you bring in.

“It’s critical during the recruitment process that culturally and through a thorough process of referencing you find individuals that will continue to thrive in an organization that has the same values,” he says. “There is a fascinating statistic that 40 percent of senior executives leave organizations or are fired or pushed out within 18 months. It’s not because they’re dumb; it’s because a lot of times culturally they may not fit in with the organization or it’s not clearly articulated to them as they joined.”

At Heidrick & Struggles, Kelly makes it a point to help with the recruiting and hiring process of any senior employee.

“For me, bringing the right people into the organization is critical,” he says. “I probably spend 30 percent of my time on that.”

That doesn’t mean you need to sit down in HR all day and wait for people to come in for job interviews or spend your Fridays at college job fairs. A large part of what Kelly does is about articulating the company’s goals. So while he continues to let the normal chains of command vet candidates, he does the interview where the candidate can get a full view of the company’s expectations.

“I can articulate what we want to do as a firm, how we can become a breath of fresh air in a stale industry and how we want to differentiate ourselves,” he says. “Being able to articulate that is critical in getting the right talent in place.”

Kelly notes that more than half of his direct reports have worked with him for more than five years, so it’s not that he micromanages or overturns their hiring decisions. But he takes time with candidates because it sets an example about how important the process is, and he likes to get involved when it comes to making sure a candidate can fit in.

“It’s only for getting people over the line, if you will, or talking about company culture, talking about what we’re doing, that I’ll step in,” he says. “I can’t interview all 1,800 [employees], but if they are significant hires, then I’ll step in and do that. It’s about having a great team, and you’ve probably heard this a 100 times, but it’s amazing how many organizations don’t actually do it. One of the things I learned early on is it’s critical to have the right people in place to create a unified stance in where the organization is going.”

Give attention to direct reports

Once he helps get the right people at the top of Heidrick & Struggles, Kelly knows that part of his job is to keep them there so they can build the business. The touch to keeping people happy is both art and science.

“There are a lot of individuals out there across the globe who are extremely intelligent,” he says. “But in today’s world, particularly as a CEO or an executive, if you don’t have the emotional side of the equation, then you’re not going to bring people along with you.”

That requires what Kelly has termed “cultural quotient,” which is about understanding how important company culture is to success. The first part that most CEOs don’t get is you have to realize your direct reports don’t feel like you’re giving them enough credit.

“Usually, the biggest mistakes people make are not appreciating their employees — which leads to retention issues — and how simple it is just to convey to people that you appreciate what they’re doing,” he says. “(That effort) is more important than money and will keep an individual from having a situation where a key employee resigns, they have a hole, and it takes three to six months to fill that hole so they’re missing that opportunity in the market.”

Kelly says letting things get to that point would be silly, because it’s easy, and often free, to show your appreciation.

“It’s as simple as a handwritten note,” he says. “It’s communicating to them that they’re important to the firm, articulating to those individuals that they potentially have a career path if they’re happy in what they’re doing. It’s taking time to assess them and asking how they want to develop their career. I’ve had a number of experiences where I’ve talked to executives or executive teams and just having a third-party dialogue about what they’re interested in doing, how they see their career and how they can develop has gone a long way.

“This younger generation, they crave feedback, and you need to be direct. Feedback is one thing that most organizations aren’t very good at, and lack of feedback, just telling people you’re doing this right or this wrong, can lead to an individual leaving. Not giving appropriate feedback can hurt the organization in terms of morale and culture.”

Putting too much fluff in your comments can also take you away from important jobs like having those conversations with people about their aspirations.

“I found that I’d have conversations with people and I’d say, ‘Have you ever looked at this way or maybe you want to think about this next time?’ and nothing changed, and then I’d try it again and nothing changed,” Kelly says. “So what got frustrating is it took me three times as long to convey a message to somebody before they got it, because I wasn’t direct, and in today’s world, and this is one thing I know from spending a lot of time with CEOs, we all want more time. So it’s going to save you a hell of a lot of time if you can give direct feedback.”

Give employees room to grow

There’s one final step beyond just talking with and giving feedback to people about their career aspirations: using that to give them room to grow.

“There are three critical components to any job,” Kelly says. “First and foremost is interest in what you’re doing, second is compensation — and when I talk about compensation it’s being treated fairly — statistics show only 30 percent of people leave for higher compensation. The third and the most important is learning.”

Kelly has people come to the firm all the time looking for a new job, but they don’t realize it’s not their job that’s bothering them, it’s their stalled learning process.

“Individuals come to us at the senior level, when their learning curve flattens out, and they’re bored,” he says. “They usually blame the company, so they move jobs, and they find it’s great for six months, but then they’re doing the exact same thing. So how do you create a learning culture in an organization and how do you continue to push people’s intellect to have them nurture that piece of the equation?”

The answer is taking a proactive approach to the problem by adding new learning pieces to people’s existing roles.

“We implemented a training and development organization, which focuses on development,” Kelly says. “We assess people, we give them new opportunities for moving around the globe, we take some of our best people and put them around the globe to continue with their learning curve.”

That has given several people at the company a new lease on their careers.

“We just sent three people to Asia Pacific to capture the market there, and they helped carry the baton in terms of corporate culture,” he says. “They develop themselves as individuals, plus the cultural component that I talked about because they get a chance to show they could be future leaders in the firm.”

That international element works at Heidrick & Struggles, but not every company has that capability. Kelly’s main point is that, as CEO, you have to figure out what new elements people can add to their job by taking points from those conversations on what they want to do to give them a bit of growth. Those little extras can help drive retention, set a management example and grow your company.

Heidrick & Struggles has certainly seen the boom from having happy employees, pushing revenue to more than $648 million in 2007, up more than $146 million from 2006. And, again, Kelly’s not being a know-it-all, but he thinks his company culture played a role in that.

“Culture is critical to the success of an organization, particularly a culture where you want to have fun and learning, and statistics show that organizations where corporate culture is high are 20 percent more productive than their direct competitors,” he says. “So there’s a correlation between having a great corporate culture and revenue and profit, and that’s why I’m a huge advocate of it.”

Company Information

Leadership, Mexico Executive Search Executive Recruiter, Mexico Executive Search

I remember asking a group of friends from New York after 9/11 what they thought of Rudolph Giuliani. The response was that they believed he was a great leader. They described him as decisive, assertive and determined, able to inspire a sense of security in a time of fear and crisis. When Giuliani was running for President I asked the same group what they thought and they said they believed Giuliani was not a good leader. He was stubborn, hard headed and made unilateral decision. It was obviously not the answer I was expecting but made me realize that at the time, in crisis, Giuliani’s character and management style made him a good leader but his style was not perceived flexible enough and at least this group of individuals felt that he did not evolve as circumstances and the environment changed.

What makes a good leader? His character and style? My hypothesis is that that it is his/her ability to adapt to what is required at the time to successfully guide the people that he/she leads. What makes a good leader in times of economic crisis?

Please comment!

HR Management in Mexico, Mexico Executive Search Executive Recruiter, Leadership, LinkedIn, Mexico Executive Search