Getting Familiar With The Different Aspects Of Retained Executive Search

Most business organizations in China today seek the help and support of executive search professionals for attracting and retaining top talent. In this context, businesses are often advised to hire the services of a retained executive search firm in China. While it is a common perception that hiring such firms is sure to offer better results, most organizations are unaware of the exact reasons for the same. Hence, it becomes essential for organizations to get familiar with the different aspects of retained executive search.

What Does Retained Executive Search Mean?

A retained executive search firm is a specialized HR consultancy firm that works with a client organization in an advisory capacity. This means that such firms are not hired just for specific hiring needs but work consistently with their client organizations to identify, assess and select the best candidates to fill various available and prospective job vacancies in the most satisfactory manner. These firms operate exclusively on a client-centered business model and hence handle only a limited number of recruitment assignments and that too one at a time. This enables them to handle the various aspects of the recruitment process in the most effective and professional manner.

Cost Of Hiring Such Firms

The retained executive search firms charge a consultation fee that matches the level of recruitment advisory services being offered by them. This means that the firms offering services of executive search and recruitment are likely to cost lesser than those offering services of board-advisory in China. That is why business organizations hire the services of such firms mostly for the recruitment of senior-level executives and board directors. The assignments handled by these firms are mostly for positions where finding the right candidates is extremely and persuading them to make the career move is even harder. Irrespective of the cost of hiring retained search firms, business organizations can benefit greatly from their commitment to building long-term relationships based on trust.

How Retained Search Firms Work?

The retained executive search firms conduct a thorough analysis of their client’s industry, business strategy, and their unique needs. They then use a highly sophisticated set of methodologies, including a competency-based interviewing and 360 degrees referencing to find the most suitable candidates that fit well with the client’s culture. These firms choose candidates from candidates and experience levels and also help their clients to gain access to candidates who might not be actively seeking a new job option. Whether it is the life science executive search firm in China or retained search firms operating in any other specific niche, their primary objective is to ensure the long-term commitment and a positive impact of the candidate on their client organization. For most firms, their success is defined by their ability to hire lasting and successful executives as per the specific needs of their clients and the associated roles and responsibilities.

Top Advantages Of Hiring A Retained Executive Search Firm In China

As the CEO of a top company, what is your biggest frustration while finding a top-level HR executive? According to our interaction with our clients, the major frustrations lie in the feeling that they end up wasting a lot of time and money while looking for the top talent with no concrete results in the end. The biggest stumbling block they feel is that their team is not able to reach top talent who are just right for the role.

What do we suggest to them? We tell them honestly that their team do not have enough time to give the search the attention it needed to be successful. And the solution to this is to hire a retained executive search firm in China. Having a board advisory in China has a lot of advantages. Here is a list of Top Advantages of hiring such a firm:

Focus And Process

A retained firm uses a meticulous, laser-focused process that the in-house team does not possess especially when it comes to hiring the executive level top talent. While filling crucial positions, all steps in the process must be performed with great care. Having a retained firm onboard, you can eliminate the risk element in your hiring process. The well-defined process and laser-focused experts help find you the right set of potential candidates. They perform a major part of the process themselves thus leaving you to take care of the interview and the selection stages. They understand your requirements in detail and thus help you find the right mix of work culture fit as well as the specific skill set needed to perform the job. Most importantly, a firm provides a guarantee for their placements which can work as a safety net for your organization.

Pipeline And Networks

Time is money when it comes to hiring the top talent for your company. A retained firm utilizes its own extensive network including active as well as passive candidates leading to a most comprehensive potential candidate list that you can use to find the right person for your company. Looking for an executive-level candidate is like finding a needle in the corporate haystack, something these firms master in thanks to a well-curated candidate database and years spending in network building. This targeted approach can help you find the right person in less time.

Experts In Recruiting

Not only these are experts in hiring but these are experts in particular industries as well. For example, Life science executive search firms in China can help you find the top talent in this highly competitive industry. With years of experience, Retained search firms provide expertise in finding the right candidates and display know-how to navigate the waters when handling delicate situations. With excellent people skills, they can easily determine and screen a candidate from both skills and experience perspective thus giving you just the right amount of candidates to choose from.

Not only screening but a retained search firm can help you the benefit from the recruiter’s expertise at each phase of the hiring process and in case of any unforeseen troubles, they can identify the problem and offer solutions.

4 Common Questions About Outplacement Coaching In China

Top ICF Executive Coaching firm in China usually get bountiful questions from companies who are searching for the perfect outplacement coaching in China for their organization. As one of the top firms providing executive coaching in China here is a list of few questions asked as well as their answers.

1. What Does An Outplacement Coaching Services Process Look Like?

The programs are tailor-made keeping in mind the specific needs of the company. The job coach would schedule an orientation in order to understand the specific requirements of the company before initiating the overall process.  A thorough assessment would be run so that a customized program can be created keeping in mind the needs of every individual. The overall program includes professional resume writing, interview prep, social media branding, and networking technology and much more depending upon the specific asks of the organization.

2. How Successful Outplacement Coaching Is In Helping Employees Find New Positions?

Our answer would be 100% successful. We extend coaching support until the participants successfully transition to their new role. Apart from this in the initial needs assessment, the coaches also try to understand in detail the new role and aspirations of each individual so that the entire program can be crafted keeping the end goal in mind.

3) How Can The Need For Outplacement Be Justified?

There is a definitive ROI for the organization in regards to outplacement services. Outplacement programs helps in maintaining better retention rates and increase the productivity of the remaining staff. It also elevates your brand in the eyes of the employees and is a great way to groom up the existing employees. This not only helps you save a lot of money in the recruitment processes but also gives rise to happy employees who knows that the company cares for them. This helps in increasing innovation and efficiency in the organisation thus setting it on the path of further progress. Another benefit is in case of change management that is whenever is undergoing an overhaul in terms of technology, processes, etc. This helps align the goals of the employee with that of the organization and thus helps improve the retention rate.

4. What Are The Things To Look For When Searching For The Service Provider?

Here you need to find answers to a few questions.

·       Is the process easy to implement?

·       What is the approach?

·         Are the services available until placement?

·        Is it cost-effective?

·        What all features are being offered?

·        Is the technology used state of the art?  

·       Does the whole coaching process work around identifying the needs of the participant?

The answers to these questions will help you decide which firm to go for. Apart from these, there are a few other factors such as long term cost benefits, quality, and long-time benefits. We have often noticed organizations going for the cheapest option but the approach should be going for the best possible features without compromising on quality at the best possible cost. In other words, try to find a middle ground and consider all the options before you finalize one.

4 Reasons Why Companies Should Retain An International Executive Search Firm In China

International Executive search firms in China are not just “recruiters” or “head hunters” but they are the credible ambassadors for their clients. The role of a top executive search firm in China has evolved over the years from finding the “right candidate” or “the right cultural fit” to that of a “chief advocate” that is communicating your company’s vision, values, growth potential and culture to a targeted community of functional leaders or the potential candidates. 

Going for one of the best executive search firms in China helps you in hiring the top leadership talent. With geographical boundaries becoming meaningless, the technology bringing the world closer and the fight for talent are making the need for hiring a search firm even stronger.

Here is a list of four prime reasons that shows outsourcing this ardent task is the only go-to option for leadership hiring:

Bringing Passive Candidates To The Table

The reason is old hat. In other words, experience in this field is the only way to hire top leadership talent with maximum precision and minimum time. The search firms follow a process of communicating the organization’s USP, value proposition, culture and so on to a wide variety of candidates. This process not only allows the best active candidates to step forward but also nudges the passive candidates to come to the fore and consider the mandate. Brining the passive candidate to an interview table is a talent that needs a lot of background work and years of experience, something that other traditional methods just cannot deliver.

Search Firms Are Specialists

Search firms bring a rich and wide variety of industry experience to the table. Leveraging upon their deep networks and strong relationships built over the years,  they have expertise which allows them access to vital information, industry insights and the wisdom of senior leaders. The right search firm is duly informed and resourceful coupled with energy and the right amount of wisdom. Using the years of experience, they have the ability to see through a candidate and identifying just the right fit for the company. 

Striking A Balance Between The Candidate And The Client

When organizations go for setting up internal hiring teams for recruiting their top talent, they need to keep a lot of factors in mind. One of the sole factors behind going for a search firm is that the leadership talent in Asia feel that their career aspirations and long-term goals are best represented via a third party. They, therefore, hesitate to engage directly with an organization. Bringing in a search firm helps balance the interests of the candidate and the client.

Rationalizing Cost And Effort

Executive search is an expensive and engaging process, that needs a lot of commitment from the company in terms of both time and money. The data over the past 30 years, clearly shows that the benefits of hiring an executive search firm in order to hire top talent outweigh the costs. It’s a rational, risk-free and intense process that needs to be run by specialists who have both the client’s interest as well as the candidate’s needs at the very core of the engagement.

Three Strengths Of Chinese Culture That Can Prove Beneficial For Western Companies

The number of western business organizations setting up operations in China has seen a phenomenal over the past decade. However, most such companies still face a wide range of challenges in terms of employment and training of local talent. Moreover, the significant differences in traditional Chinese work culture and the one followed by Western companies makes things even more complicated. Thankfully, like most other countries, China has some great cultural strengths, which are an integral part of the lives of its people. The recruitment experts from executive search firms in China advice their clients to focus on these cultural strengths to get the best results from their Chinese workforce. The three most important of these strengths are discussed in brief as follows.

Diligence Is A Way Of Life In China

The concept of diligence is imbibed into Chinese people from a very young age as otherwise, it becomes very difficult for them to learn the Chinese character. In addition, the ancient Chinese society developed functioned on a merit-based promotion system. This ensured that only people willing to work hard and put in their best efforts could advance on the social ladder. This concept is still followed religiously in Chinese society and can prove extremely advantageous for business organizations seeking self-motivated high performing professionals. This inherent skill ensures that Chinese professionals are more productive and efficient than their western counterparts, especially when it comes to handling difficult and monotonous tasks.

Chinese People Live An Ordered Life

This is considered to be one of the best quality of Chinese people according to the experts from the top 10 executive search firms in China. People value and respect authority and follow it in the strictest manner. In fact, Chinese people love and respect strong leaders, especially at their workplace as it helps them to follow a well-defined path of progress and professional growth. However, they detest leaders who do not respect them and try to get the work done by instilling fear among their subordinates. Most importantly, Chinese people understand the benefits of keeping everything in a well-organized manner in both their personal and professional lives. Combining this quality with their diligence makes Chinese professionals capable of achieving, even the most difficult and seemingly impossible objectives, in an efficient manner.

Teamwork Is Highly Appreciated And Promoted In Chinese Culture

Chinese people are not as individualistic as their western counterparts and this according to the recruitment firms in China is the key to their success in different fields. People here like to do things together as a team which makes it easier for them to work in a coordinated manner with their peers at work. Since it is an accepted fact that great teams build great organizations, this quality of Chinese people can help organizations to achieve greatness in a relatively simple and effortless manner. This is because the members of the Chinese workforce constantly help and support each other ensuring that team objectives are fulfilled in time and as per the desired quality and functionality parameters.

Focusing on the above three cultural strengths of Chinese professionals can help western business organizations operating in the country to get the best returns.