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“What is the most significant change in client expectations over the past two years?”
WINNING RESPONSES
“I can summarize my client thoughts in one word: Relationships. Clients want to see a dedicated professional relationship. My clients want to work with service providers who invest time in getting to know them. They want to see time spent on site getting to understand the holistic value proposition their firm offers. Clients want a more personalized and unique approach, personal dedication, and a genuine interest in scaling with them versus a transaction. Process-wise, clients need confidence that we are one step ahead on logistics and have eliminated the obstacles to close smoothly. There is no tolerance for leaving the final step up to chance.”
Michael Inserra, Partner at Alchemy Search
“Talent. Because many clients do not have the ability to just add new talent to their teams due to budgets or hiring freezes, they are now top-grading. Their expectations of candidates are that it has to be better than anyone on their current team and if at all possible, they would like the person to be someone at a lower labor cost. The company’s financial expectations to work smarter/harder and cut costs are weighing on their shoulders.”
Sabrena Baker, Director of Nursing and Allied Health Services at Wilmington Group
HONORABLE MENTION
“Clients think they do what we do. With LinkedIn, Spoke, etc., they now have access to passive and targeted candidates that we always had. They assume the resume is all they need, but having the resume is only one thing - understanding the person they have in front of them is another game.”
Timothy Pappas, Principal at Pappas DeLaney, LLC
OTHER THINKING
- “The most significant change has been the increasing demand for formal assessments to be done on every candidate interviewed. These tests include case-based reasoning assessments as well as psychometric testing.”
- “With the demise of so many search consultants and firms the client wants to be sure we have longevity, they have to be sure we are in this for the long haul. They are buying into the consultant and the firm and they expect and want us to survive and thrive with them. Increasingly, clients expect us to have a strong consulting underpinning in our service product. They no longer want just "placement" people serving them. They expect us to be able to enhance their business through our relationship.”
- Years ago, search was about getting great candidates who could make a huge impact on the business. Now, it's still getting great candidates, but more importantly, managing the search amongst internal stakeholders and moving the search forward to successful completion. Differing opinions across various stakeholders and executives can derail selection of the best candidates. There are numerous reasons why searches can go sideways but it's the search professional’s responsibility to get everyone aligned and focused to a successful outcome.
- In the past two years, we've found that our clients are requiring more of our time and expecting faster, better results all for reduced fees.
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Exceptional Thinking Question of the Month
“In today’s business climate, what characteristics do you see as critical to success for retained search consultants, and why?”
Click here to submit your response.
Exceptional Thinking Past Questions and Responses
July 2010
“What new challenges have you faced when trying to convince your candidates to accept a position, and how have you dealt with them?”
April 2010
“Is it important to solicit constituent (clients, candidates, placements and colleagues) feedback? Yes or no - and why?”
December 2009
“What is the most important factor in building client trust and how have you achieved it?”
November 2009
“What new skills will exceptional search consultants most need to succeed over the next two years?”
October 2009
“What is the most significant change in client expectations over the past two years?”
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