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Enlow & Associates Founder Mark Enlow lives by the core values of faith, family, fitness, and finances. These values inspire his philanthropy.

Founder Mark Enlow built his recruiting firm based on this philosophy. For 40 years, he and his associates have been helping everyone from startups to Fortune 100 companies find their next great leaders.

Founder Mark Enlow built his recruiting firm based on this philosophy. For 40 years, he and his associates have been helping everyone from startups to Fortune 100 companies find their next great leaders.

In the spirit of giving back to the community, Mark Enlow, CEO of Enlow & Associates, has announced the Mark Enlow Foundation will donate $1 million to the North Bay Children’s Center (NBCC) to ensure all children living in Marin and Sonoma counties will have the brightest future.

When you are looking for to fill a spot in the C-Suite it’s essential to frame up the costs as an investment in your company when it comes to bringing an executive search firm on board.

Too often, business owners are short-sighted in calculating these costs when balancing the pros and cons of making a hire through their own in-house system versus a retained executive search firm. What you might miss at first blush, when assessing the costs of a Silicon Valley executive search firm, is how to quantify the costs of the process if you rely on your human resource department. This is, of course, assuming that they have a system in place for hiring a CEO (or another executive position).

Your in-house costs might include, labor, software tools, website building, social media site-building, advertisements, and listing fees. These will quickly rack up as more and more time is spent identifying the right candidate in a flooded job market. Ultimately, these in-house efforts are all for nothing if they don’t result in a great candidate.

Moreover, these are only the upfront costs of trying to make a hire without relying on the expertise of an executive search firm. The list doesn’t take into account opportunity costs or the detrimental costs of making a bad hire. A top executive recruiting firm will be able to handle these potential issues before they happen, expedite the process, tap passive candidates, help throughout the entire process, make use of their network, increase diversity, and work discreetly.

Getting the Best Candidate as Fast as Possible

When high-level positions become available at your business, your human resources department should prepare for a flood of resumes and applications. There is the possibility that the right candidate is somewhere in that pile, but the time it takes to sift through all the applicants and even narrow it down to the few with the right skill sets and experience can be time-consuming.

An executive recruiter can turn their full attention to quickly finding the right candidate—they will not be distracted by the other elements of needing to keep your business running. Additionally, they can take care of nearly every step of the recruitment process, from sending out feelers and sifting through resumes to scheduling interviews and helping you evaluate candidates post-interview.

Reach Passive Candidates

Inevitably, some of the best candidates for the job will already have jobs and not be actively searching for a new one. But this doesn’t mean that they aren’t interested in joining your company if it’s a better fit. These people are known as passive candidates and can be challenging to reach if you don’t already have a direct, personal connection to them.

Pulling on a much larger network, executive search firm recruiters can discreetly reach out to such candidates and gauge their interest. By doing this, top executive recruiting firms can significantly increase the number of exceptionally qualified applicants in a search pool deluded with sub-part active candidates.

Make Use of Their Network

The advantages of an executive search firm recruiter’s network reach beyond simply tapping passive candidates. These firms have networks of contracts with various industries stretching across the globe, allowing them to pull from a pool of talented active job seekers that are highly qualified.

Increase Leadership Diversity

According to the Leaders 2020 study conducted by SAP and Oxford Economics, there is a real issue with diversity at the senior executive level. This is a problem beyond simply trying to create greater equality in the workplace; it’s a problem for your bottom line.

A McKinsey Global Institute study revealed that “companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.” Another study on diversity, this one conducted by Bersin by Deloitte, released in 2015, discovered that diverse companies had 2.3 times higher cash flow per employee during a three-year period when compared to non-diverse companies.

Finding diversity through your own, standard Silicon Valley executive search is unlikely to uncover the sort of diversity needed to help you unlock additional potential in your company. Limited by your private network and referrals from those in your network, you’re unlikely to be tapping into diverse talent pools. However, an executive search firm will help you understand how best to diversify your executive team and can track down the candidates that will fit the bill.

Another situation in which a top executive recruiting firm will be indispensable is when hiring for a newly created position or a position beyond your area of expertise. Such firms have the necessary experience to bridge that knowledge gap and sift through candidates to find the right person for your business.

Working Discreetly

When reaching out to talent in your field—especially if you’re tapping passive candidates—using a discrete, third-party firm can prevent ruffling feathers.

Though hiring anyone to the c-suite is of vital importance, you don’t want to be making enemies, damaging relationships, or be accused of poaching talent from a competitor. When you’re hiring from the same talent pool, an executive recruiting firm is the perfect middleman for reaching out to qualified candidates.

Help Throughout the Entire Process

Perhaps the best part of working with an executive search firm is that they are with you for the long run. The costs can be steep, but they don’t abandon you once they’ve brought in stacks of resumes; they don’t leave you after they’ve helped you with interviews; they don’t even leave you stranded after you’ve made the hire.

Top retained executive recruiting firms stick by your side from evaluating your current team to decide what sort of candidate is going to be best for your company during the on-boarding process and beyond. They don’t calculate their success based on the number of people they place in c-suite positions; they look at the contribution and longevity of the employee.

Final Thoughts: Why You Need an Executive Search Firm for your next C-Suite hire.

When you’re down a prominent position at your company, the last thing you want to be doing is pulling resources away from your core product or services to hire someone. This can be a severe problem for many small- and medium-sized companies. A long hiring process can even start to take its toll on a larger company. This is precisely when an executive search firm can step in and help your company increase its diversity while identifying high-quality candidates to consider for your C-suite.

A top executive recruiting firm not only expedites the hiring position—getting your company the leader it needs as quickly as possible—it will be able to discreetly help you through the entire hiring process. With their help, you will be able to snag the CEO, CFO, or COO your company needs.

Have more questions about how an executive search firm can pave the way for the future success of your company? Get in touch with the experts at Enlow to take the first steps!

Attracting and retaining top talent is key to building a successful company. It impacts every business function and the employees of a company create the culture and contribute to building the company’s brand equity that can also attract additional talent.

A study done by The Boston Consulting Group entitled “Realizing the Value of People Management from Capability to Profitability”, shows that recruiting is the most important human resources function when it comes to return on investment. Business units are able to grow and innovate more effectively when the proper talent is in place. In this same study, companies with great recruiting processes had two times more profit than companies that did not. Companies with successful recruiting are also seen as places that talent want to work. The employees of a company can be a determinant of the direction the company may go, and it is essential that the right people are put in the appropriate roles. Forbes magazine states that in order to create an impactful recruiting process, companies must implement the following:

• Define your organization’s values, vision and goals
• Find out if your candidates are talented, growth-oriented and mission driven
• Interview the candidates for their ability to meet the challenges specific to your organization
• Carefully decide who’s the best fit

Recruiting talent can be tedious and time consuming for companies. Successful companies are working towards creating a comprehensive recruiting process and tend to come across some of these concepts:

Companies are Looking to Recruiting Agencies

Recruiting agencies are supplemental resources that help companies grow their talent pool. They tend to have great market knowledge and collect helpful data that informs companies about the current landscape of the job market. Agencies can gather insights such as salary ranges, favorable companies and regional preferences. Recruiting agencies also have a great reach of candidates and have the ability to attract a diverse pool of talent. Recruiters also filter out candidates that are the right fit for certain roles and are typically very transparent about the company and roles they are pitching. Relationships with agencies are built on trust, therefore agencies tend to work with reputable companies and highlight positive attributes of the company’s brand and culture.

Saving Time and Money Through a Competitive Recruiting Process

A company’s recruiting process can impact their financial growth and also occupy valuable time of employees. When recruiting, it is important for the company to find candidates that are a good fit for the role and the company culture, while being transparent about both the positive attributes of the company and any opportunities for improvement. The hiring process can be very time consuming and monetary resources are also put into place for training on and onboarding initiatives. If a proper strategy is put into place for the recruiting process, this can ensure the retention of employees and cut costs on hiring activities. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the price of a bad hire, is at least 30% of the employees first-year earning . Poor hiring can also bring down the overall productivity of the business units, so it is very important to have a good process in place.

Great Talent can Attract Other Great Talent

Once talent is recruited into the company, they typically have a network of valuable talent that can be referred into the company. Companies are emphasizing the importance of employee referrals because it gives them the ability to utilize less resources on recruiting through credible sources.

The software company Careerify did a study and learned that referred employees are 23 percent less likely to quit than other hires.

When talent is referred, they will typically be mentored through the recruiting process and have a resource that provides a realistic perspective on the company. If a large number of employees choose to refer people in the company, this is a positive indication that the company is a favorable place to work. Referral systems give employees an opportunity highlight positive attributes and benefits of the place they work and incentivize them to share this with their friends, family and networks.

Finding the Right Fit to Retain Minimize Turnover

Throughout the recruiting process, it is important to follow a clear strategy to avoid a percent Increase in turn over. Although this must be managed throughout the employee life cycle, it begins at recruitment. Recruiters should screen for cultural fit in order to ensure that candidates can thrive in certain work environments. Transparency is very important in the process and recruits should be fully aware of the upcoming roles and responsibilities. The right questions must be asked, and the proper measures must be taken to get to know candidates. High turnover rates can impact a company’s brand equity and deter strong talent from seeking employment at the Company. Other outcomes of turnover can be legal consequences from upset employees that can also be a financial burden.

How executive search firms can streamline the recruiting process for companies and find executives for the c-suite.

Executive search firms having access to the best talent across different regions, and they can easily locate executives with a good mix of skills. These firms become experts in the field, and only focus on filling the top roles within the organization. When looking for C-Suite leadership, companies can be very specific when using search firms and utilize the resources of the firm to fill the open positions with top talent. Companies do not want to spend too much time sorting through hundreds of applications and resumes so it is best to have a firm narrow the search down and create an efficient process. They will research, vet, screen and interview all candidates for success and narrow the pool down to 3-5 top prospects. Forty-one percent of those surveyed by AESC said tenure was the most important metric of a successful candidate, and research shows that candidates placed by executive search firms stayed in their roles longer. Using a search firm will streamline the recruiting process for top C-Suite executives and the tailor the search to meet the unique characteristics and needs of the company.

The majority of employees at a company have been through some sort of recruiting and tend to have feedback regarding the positive and negative aspects of the process. It is important for companies to include current employees in the recruiting process and use any feedback to constantly improve. Strong companies are able to attract and retain strong talent which has great long-term benefits. The wrong hire can negatively impact the growth and development of the organization, so it is important to keep recruitment strategies at the forefront of company initiatives. When done right, recruiting talent will lead to productivity, a great company reputation and overall growth.

Have more questions about how an executive search firm can pave the way for the future success of your company? Get in touch with the experts at Enlow to take the first steps!

When you’re looking for a new job, a great recruiter can help you maximize your options and ensure that you get paid what you deserve.

According to Forbes, only about 39% of people negotiate their salary when they last changed jobs, which means that most of them left money on the table. A recruiter who understands your industry will know the market price for your skills and help you pull every penny off the table when it comes time to determine your compensation package.

Of course, an intimate knowledge of your industry is just one of many qualities that make a remarkable recruiter. That said, it is one of the four most important attributes that lift a recruiter above the rest. In addition to this in-depth knowledge, you’ll want your recruiter to have good listening skills, be readily available when you need them, and be willing to provide constructive criticism.

In-depth, intimate knowledge of your industry

If you need to dive into the minutia of the work you do to explain what your job is to your recruiter, that’s a surefire sign that you’re better off working with a different recruiter. Though your job title and duties might cause family members’ and friends’ eyes to glaze over, a great recruiter will intuitively understand your role in a company due to their familiarity with the industry.

After talking with you, a good recruiter will be able to use their insider knowledge of the industry to put you in touch with the right people. Additionally, they’ll be able to steer you away from companies and managers with dubious reputations — such pitfalls often look shiny and attractive at first blush.

A recruiter with an in-depth understanding of your industry will not only understand what types of job positions your skills make you most competitive for — they will also know where your experience and those skills put you in the job market. With this information, they can help you secure the best possible compensation package. Failure to negotiate your salary doesn’t just financially hurt you once: it continues to hurt you every time you collect a paycheck for as long as you are with the company.

Good Listening Skills

An exceptional recruiter doesn’t start spouting out advice before they get a feel for who you are and what you want. Any recruiter worth their salt is going to start by just listening to you. Despite this sounding like the most obvious thing in the world, far too many recruiters are so caught up in either placing large volumes of people that they don’t care about you enough to listen or they’re so egotistical that they can’t believe you have anything helpful to contribute to the conversation. You don’t want to be working with those kinds of recruiters.

What you need is a recruiter who does more than pretend to listen to you. You need a recruiter who will ask what you are looking for in your new job and what your long-term goals are. And, most importantly, you need a recruiter who will listen to your answers — adjusting their expectations and dialing in on the right job for you based on what you say.

At the end of that first talk with your recruiter, you want to hang up the phone feeling like your recruiter “gets you”. You want to feel that they really know who you are and where you see yourself on your career trajectory.

They’re Available to You

You don’t want to have a recruiter who keeps giving you the runaround. When you’re looking to advance your career with a position at another company, that leap is your number one priority, which means you want to work with a recruiter who is willing to make it their top priority, as well.

Working with a mediocre recruiter far too often means that you’ll find yourself calling them only to speak with a receptionist who doesn’t remember who you are, doesn’t care who you are, and is paid to run interference — preventing you from talking to your recruiter. Not only are interactions with such receptionist infuriating, but they do nothing to help you advance your career.

On the flip side, if you’re working with a top recruiter, they will personally answer your calls. Or, if they are with another client or are genuinely busy, they will promptly return your call.

It’s impossible to underestimate how important it is to have a recruiter who respects you and your time, by being available when you need them.

More Than a ‘Yes’ Man

If you wanted someone to blindly encourage you and agree with everything you say when preparing for an interview or when applying for jobs, save your money and dog-sit for someone: dogs are well-known for their eternal optimism and supportive nature. Of course, if you’re serious about working with a recruiter when seeking the best job, you want someone who is able to provide constructive criticism and help you grow.

Too often, job-seekers are blind to some of their own shortcomings. This can come in the form of undervaluing yourself, having poor interview skills, or being unprepared for the level of competition in the job market. A great recruiter will politely identify what your weakest link is so that you can focus on it and move into the job market with more confidence—and success.

Final Thoughts: What Makes an Outstanding Recruiter?

A remarkable recruiter is going to do a whole lot more than just get you a job. They are going to listen to you and use their intimate understanding of your industry to place you in the best possible positions. Because a top recruiter listens to you when you explain your short-term and long-term career goals, they will know what the best possible job is for you, rather than attempt to force a square peg in a round hole.

Lastly, and most importantly, an outstanding recruiter will know your market value and ensure that you get the best possible compensation package when you sign on with a new company

Tell us about your recruiter success stories—and horror stories—in the comment section below!

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