Feedback – Key to Success When Engaging Executive Recruiting Firms
- Mar 15, 2025
- 5 min read
Harvard Group International has been successfully helping clients fill critical and strategic hiring needs for three decades. As consultant in this field, HGI regularly provides analysis and advice to executives and professionals who seek the firm's assistance. The door is always open to employers and individuals for courtesy discussions.
No question about it, providing feedback to one’s employees is a well-practiced and proven key to good leadership results. And the best of employees still value guidance and reinforcement. It’s then not a big step to keep in mind that when one engages an outside contractor, partner or consultant, for advisory or other purposes, the employer must make it a high priority to provide effective feedback to the outside source, as well as to actually maintain that commitment. With that in mind, the best of job descriptions still needs questions answered and priorities updated, whether this is to a current team member, or in the process of finding and filling an open slot, a strategic need.
Executive Recruiters are not an exception to this premise, while maybe representing a case for increased commitment toward assuring high coordination between the Hiring Manager, the HR/Talent Manager and the Recruiting Firm selected, so as to ensure a very positive outcome, as well as a timely one. Of course, feedback is more than beneficial to even in-house recruitment departments. Yet, effective two-way communication is not a given in such cases, from a long and broad experience HGI brings to the process of helping hiring managers land the best talent. In fact, it’s somewhat common for an employer to see providing the job description as all that’s required for a Recruiter to deliver a strong field of candidates. And yet, Hiring Managers regularly make decisions on who to interview and hire based on, let’s call them “priorities”, that are not in job descriptions. And further, at times it is even not fully established or realized by the employer as the Executive Recruiting Firm gets underway with the project. It’s just a reality of the process that bullseyes sometimes change and usually become clearer throughout the recruitment process.
Clarity of search specification requires active ongoing reinforcement, i.e. feedback
Considered feedback is the key to success in working with an outside Executive Recruiting Firm. “Recruiters thrive on feedback” is a common point reminded, when not a stated lament. Within the norms and standard practices of the employer, it is critical that the Recruiter has the same understanding of the target’s bullseye as does the Hiring Manager from the point of the preliminary meetings, that is prior to official launch of the search. It is further important that all keep in mind that there may well be a polishing of the bullseye definition, if not a shifting. The talent search is of itself a raising of awareness, as in how small might be the target demographic. The best Executive Recruiters, like HGI, know this and intentionally test and recalibrate. It’s critical for the employer to provide feedback through the HR department if not directly from the Hiring Manager to the Recruiter.
The hunting dog needs to know the right scent
Yes, outsourcing executive recruiting adds interim skilled resources as needed, with less distraction to other business priorities. Still, choosing to engage an outside Executive Recruiter does not reduce the need for the employer (HR/Talent management and Hiring Manager) to effectively assure sustained common understanding of the qualifications, along with relative priorities of each of these qualifications. Both client and recruiter are responsible for clear and mutual understanding of the target. Yet, it’s not uncommon for this need for good communications to become a less than essential priority. The best Executive Recruiters succeed because they work toward excellent, efficient communication with the client. The client/employer needs to share that priority. The hours and days (and nights) of work have been outsourced, the need to provide feedback cannot be.
Employers engaging Recruiters retain responsibility for timely effective feedback
There are common, even inherent complications to sustaining effective communication and direction when outsourcing executive recruitment. Too few or too many communication exchanges; starves or trivializes. Meetings are generally productive means, when efficiently planned and carried out. Further, they are best when the recruiter’s reports are taken as opportunities to steer the search, commenting at least just to acknowledge such input from the recruiting firm. Still, questions arising from the hiring manager can make for timely feedback. This is related specifically to engaging a good Executive Recruiting Firm that effectively surveys the available body of needed talent, where new reality uncovered may adjust the target’s bullseye. In this specific case, Hiring Managers’ questions are often the most effective feedback, as productive need for target reconsideration. This then raises the complications that can arise from too many “hunting dogs”. One very good executive talent hunter is almost always more efficient than a pack, when it comes to on-point direction and feedback.
Feedback should be efficient, productive... timely
So, clear up the question marks. Open communications, when engaging an outside Executive Recruiter, facilitates the feedback and bullseye definition need, which in turn improves the results of hiring the best candidate available to fill the job. Recruiters know they thrive on Feedback, while at times employers find it convenient to trust more than to verify…via guidance, reinforcement, feedback. The long hours of research and recruiting can be outsourced, while the responsibility to determine and communicate a clear and current picture of the target’s bullseye cannot. Hiring Managers most often finalize their selection based on priority qualifications that are in addition to Responsibilities spelled out in Job Descriptions.
Read more from Harvard Group International
Harvard Group International, Executive & Professional Recruiters
Harvard Group International was founded in 1997 with a primary focus on automotive manufacturers and tier-one suppliers. From its beginning, the culture has been one of providing help and advisory services to clients and candidates alike. As the firm grew, the practice evolved more of a generalist focus, covering almost every industry segment across finance & investment, medical, technology, consumer, and more, to manufacturers and suppliers; US and International. With that history, HGI has helped many of the largest corporations in the world as well as private businesses and start-ups. The key to success is grounded in the firm's process of thoroughly understanding the clients' needs as well as hiring managers' preferences to enable effective 'digging' into likely sources; and identifying accomplished candidates that require actual recruiting before presentation to clients. Along the years, HGI has become known for professional courtesy, confidentiality, and focused urgency. The associates and directors of the firm have reviewed many thousands of resumes, placing thousands of candidates across a broad spectrum of titles, roles, and diversity.
