Executive Search VS Recruitment: Finding The Perfect Fit

Some terms are often known to be interchangeable. Yet they carry a clear distinction with them. Their use is different. So is their approach. Your business might be looking to hire an executive for one of those way above senior positions. And there might be a dilemma you are faced with: the difference between executive search and recruitment and how it affects you exactly.

In this article, we discuss the lines drawn between executive search and recruitment. We also share how the expertise of placement consultants in Dubai differ for the two categories.

Shared Goal, Different Approaches

Executive search and recruitment are simply very similar. They are used interchangeably even. Yet the needs and meaning are very far apart. Recruitment is for any role – entry level, middle management or even fresh talents. Executive search however indicates your business is in the lookout for high achievers who are best suited for positions in C suite, executives, directors and managers.

Recruitment often targets candidates who are already looking for jobs. Those who are active job seekers are the ones often approached by recruitment agencies. Executive search is carried out by firms specialized in this.

What is Executive Search?

The quest for finding the right fit for management level positions is executive search. Most times, these candidates are not active job seekers either. They are usually employed at a similar position – sometimes by a direct competitor of your business no less. Executive search involves strategies not used for recruitment. There is a whole different approach to carrying out executive search and recruitment could be no more different from it.

What is Recruitment?

Hiring for any general position is part of recruitment. Maybe a business needs to hire for specific teams or general employees. Or they might be going in a recruitment drive for a new branch. Recruitment is a general search for talents matching the requirements of vacant job positions in your organization.

Executive Search Vs Recruitment: What’s the Difference

There are slight differences between executive search and recruitment. These differences lie in the approach. They are evident in the contrast for search process for each one it is visible in the kinds of expertise and resources involved for each one. The way recruitment agency and executive search firms charge a company for their services also reflects in the differences among them.

Unveiling the Search Process

Recruitment and executive search garner a very different search process. The diversity lies primarily in the business needs. Recruitment is for filling a vacant position and getting a talented individual on board. Executive search requires getting an already employed highly skilled individual of extensive expertise under their portfolio to join the higher positions at your organization. The approaches to search process for this could not be more dissimilar either.

Proactive Vs Reactive Strategies

Recruitment and executive search are proactive and reactive processes. 30% of the talent pool is active job seekers. Some members of this talent pool are on job boards and have their profiles stored in Dubai job placement consultancy databases. However, they are not looking for work. They might not be right for your executive search either. Recruitment has another demographic. Passive ones. They are not actively seeking a job opening at the moment, but can be persuaded. Among these demographics is the group of job seekers who are tiptoeing around it all. Connecting with recruiters and networking with other people. They are not applying directly but they signal themselves as approachable for vacant openings.

Deep Dives & Confidential Searches (Executive Search)

There are many times when an executive search is confidential because of a company’s policy. It is not publicly posted on job boards or advertised around in recruitment campaigns. The search is a subtle one and calls for expertise, networking skills and being specialized in certain industries. These are niche experts with an experience in these very particular executive searches.

Casting a Wide Net (Recruitment)

There are many individuals looking for employment opportunities. So the talent pool is vast. So is the competition in job market of Dubai. Throwing a wide net is bound to catch as many fish as it can. This wide net attracts highly skilled employees for the workforce of your business. They can be talented in any department or be a part of many teams you are hiring for.

Tailored vs Standardized Processes

While the search process for recruitment is a standard one, executive search involves getting tailored and personalized solutions. The firms for executive search first understand the business needs and discuss what the business is looking for. They understand the company’s culture, its value, mission and goals. It sees how the candidate will align with the requirements of a business.

Expertise & Resources

The firms specializing in executive search and recruitment have the kind of expertise that contrast each other. They have different kind of expertise in recruiting for the required position. The differences lie in the approach, subtlety and confidentiality. More often than not an executive search is a vastly confidential one. There are some exceptions of course. But it is the usual practice of keeping the executive search under wraps. The resource utilized in executive search and recruitment are not same either. Any staffing solution in Dubai has an extensive database of job seekers who have registered or applied on the platforms for job search. They have signaled themselves as approachable and interested in being hired for certain open positions. Executive search requires having the right resources for hiring difficult to fill and confidential job roles. They specialize in particular industries so they are equipped with resources corresponding to these needs.

Deep Industry Knowledge (Executive Search)

Your business is of course looking to fill a senior management position that requires more than standard procedures. It calls for industry knowledge that runs deep. Any business wanting success and practical results would prefer the placement consultants in Dubai that is well versed in the industry specific knowledge to recruit the right hands onboard to be the leading heads.

A job placement consultancy in Dubai having an expanded portfolio and niche expertise in specific industry rather than a generalized vast amount of experience with any and every industry is a plus for executive search.

Building High-Performer Networks

A reliable staffing solution in Dubai will specifically target high achievers to build up a network of high performers. This way they are ready and equipped to extend an offer when they are assigned the task by a company to fill the role for executive level positions. Being a part of this network, the potential next executive of your company knows they are not getting an offer out of the blue. This high performing network has the necessary experience for spearheading management programs or running your organization towards success as the director.

Employer Branding: A Shared Advantage

There are the matters of employer branding too. Executive search and recruitment both are further supported one step ahead when the branding of an employer is on point. Employer branding of course attracts and even retains the most productive employees of a workforce in their respective sectors. An organization that has actually worked on its positive employer branding would be sought by for executive search and recruitment. General positions in departments at your company will be enticing to the employees who have been making efforts to join you for your industry reputation. It will also be a great hook for senior level positions where the matching employees would want to associate themselves with an organization possessing a distinct employer brand.

Cost Considerations

A business, budget and expenses all go in hand. This makes for textbook profit and loss. A successful business cannot have its expenses exceeding its earnings. And when that starts happening, the business ceases to be a successful one. All in all general stuff. Yet it is important to consider how the cost is going to affect your business when you outsource executive search and recruitment.

It is a pretty important service. And something of this much importance is bound to have some great advantages to make it lucrative. One of the nice benefits of reaching out to placement consultants in Dubai is how it is going to save an ample amount of cost for your business. Saving resources, time and cost – these are some advantages you cannot deny for outsourcing executive search and recruitment of your employees.

Retained Search Fees (Executive Search)

Executive search and recruitment work on different payment models. Staffing solutions in Dubai that specialize in executive search charge thirty three percent upfront of the total cost. Their quality is guaranteed by this cost. Also, it shows how their procedure is extensive, so they cannot find a worker in a matter of days. Their fee structure reflects the resources they use, their expertise, and their network. A job placement consultancy in Dubai will not have all these things for mere recruitment. It is a very serious business, as evidenced by the upfront cost. The service provider in this regard will also have a refund policy if the candidate they have provided leaves the company before a certain amount of time. The fee structure is reflective of the industry wide practices of this niche.

Contingency or Fixed Fees (Recruitment)

Executive search and recruitment differ here too. Recruitment falls back on contingency based models. They charge a fixed fee after they have provided you with the right candidate matching the skills and requirements for your business. Their fixed fee model also invites a lower chance of taking risk and prioritizing speed in hiring. Recruitment agencies might prefer providing the candidates for filling the roles that ask for less resources. They may demand a slightly less amount of time or energy for filling these roles quickly. This is one of the features formed by the different pricing structure that executive search and recruitment agencies choose to have for themselves.