“QUALITY BRIEF = QUALITY SOLUTION”

Never before has the need or the pressure been greater than at present for companies to ensure that they identify, attract, train and retain the best possible talent they can.

In spite of this it seems to me that the great majority of employers, large, medium and small still get the recruitment part of the equation wrong…… time and time again!

One of the fundamental reasons I have observed for this occurring is a failure at the outset to get the “front end” fundamentals of such an assignment correctly in place.

I have long held the view that the success or failure of any recruitment assignment is largely dependent on the quality and effectiveness of “The Brief”.

This article therefore contains some steps I would recommend company executives take should they decide to retain the services of an executive recruitment consultant to assume responsibility for their recruitment process.

Before Meeting With the Consultant

Having firstly established the real need to conduct a recruiting exercise and selected the executive recruitment consultant of your choice, the following is a handy check-list to ensure your brief to the consultant is planned, complete and provides every piece of information necessary for a recruiting campaign to be mounted. Before meeting with the consultant ensure:

1. A complete, accurate and updated position description has been drawn up identifying exactly what you want the person to do (include dimensions, accountability, parameters of responsibility & KPI’s).
   
2. Ensure a person specification has been prepared. Establish clearly the competencies, qualities, qualifications, skills and experience you seek.
   
3. Assemble a background of the company’s products and/or services, their performance, market share, product differentiation and so on. Provide financial results, brochures, a company profile and/or website details. Include the company management structure/organisational chart.
   
4. Ensure you have sufficient information to enable the consultant to gain a clear understanding of where the company/organisation has been, where it is at currently, its plans for the future and an overview as to how you would describe its culture. (The way you do things). Never make the assumption that the consultant or potential candidates are fully aware of your business simply because of it’s reputation, profile, brand or product range.
   
5. Assemble all information pertaining to the remuneration package. Ensure it is realistic and ‘negotiable’ to meet market conditions. Be prepared to take advice and guidance on this at the briefing with the consultant.
   
6. Give some thought to your intended instructions for the consultant to ensure he/she is aware of his/her responsibilities – limits of authority and the reporting procedure you wish to utilise. Consider the costs of the entire exercise. Try to have some idea as to whether you believe the recruitment assignment should be local, national or international in scope. Talk to everyone who will be affected by the appointment and ask for advice/input as appropriate.
   
7. Once the information is assembled, look very realistically at what you are proposing – are the necessary competencies, skills and experience available locally? Are there people working for competitors or in other industries known to you who would be of interest? Note and advise the consultant. Should the position be advertised in the first instance? Or is ‘search’ (headhunting) a better option? (An increasing number of roles at 1st, 2^nd and even 3^rd tier level and also for specialised positions are now being recruited for utilising “direct search” (headhunting) methodology.
   
8. Endeavour to eliminate the ‘interpretation’ factor as much as possible. Make sure in your own mind that the instructions you are giving the consultant are clear and concise. Consider advertising if it is likely to be used as part of the process, will company name, logo, remuneration, industry, products be mentioned? what publications would prove most effective for your business/industry sector? should the role appear on the internet job boards etc?
   
9. When setting up the appointment, ask the consultant what time you will need to set aside in order to ensure a quality briefing with him/her.

During the Briefing Session

1. Begin by giving the consultant a general overview of the company’s past, its present situation, the plans for the future and the reason the vacancy has occurred. Have all information and materials previously mentioned on hand to pass on to the consultant.
   
2. A consultant is a professional with his/her own briefing technique. It is essential that having presented the general overview, the consultant be given the opportunity to proceed with his/her formatted questioning procedure to ensure no detail is missed. Generally such a format is quite structured and will comprise questions surrounding – the detail of the company – position description – person specification – remuneration details – discussions around the manner in which the assignment best be conducted. i.e. advertised or direct search methodology, budgets/reporting format/project timetable, consultant/client liaison, advertising placement/dates etc. Allow plenty of time; the scope of the questions may be very broad depending upon the nature/level of the appointment. It is important that you accept the guidance and recommendations made by the consultant on all aspects of the assignment, remember executive recruitment is his/her area of specific expertise….which is after all the very reason you have retained a consultant in the first place.
   
3. Ensure the consultant is made aware of any possible internal interest in the role and insist that internal candidates are treated with exactly the same professionalism and courtesy as external candidates.
   
4. Advise the consultant of any sensitivities/issues around the role…be frank and open. Do not fudge or gloss over the bad or the ugly, he/she will inevitably uncover these during the recruitment process anyway.
   
5. Always work on the basis of “no surprises”.
   
6. Discuss and agree the recruitment process and the commercial arrangements (fees and costs) up front.
   
7. Ensure all advertising and search parameters are clearly established and that the consultant’s fee is clearly outlined, agreed and understood. An agreed budget must also be set in place for expenses.
   
8. Ensure the consultant confirms his/her full terms and conditions of business in writing within the Assignment Specification or Project Document. This will eliminate any issues surrounding method and frequency of payment of fees/accounts later.
   
9. Ensure an indicative project timeframe including proposed dates for initial short list candidate/client interviews, further assessment and subsequent interviews and proposed appointment confirmation date is put in place. I would however emphasise that any recruitment timeframe should be taken as a guide only as I am of the firm belief that it is important to recruit the right person as opposed to making an appointment to fit with time constraints.
   
10. With the specific detail taken care of, it is important the consultant be introduced to the management team and other appropriate persons. A tour of office/plant is important to allow them to experience the “feel/culture” of the company and how it operates.
    
11. When the briefing session is complete, ask the consultant to summarise and repeat the brief verbally as he/she sees it, and then request that it be provided to you in a written format. (Assignment specification or project brief) It is critical that the consultant’s understanding of your requirements is in direct alignment with your own. Further, that his/her subsequent recommendations are discussed in detail and agreed at the outset. This will ensure both are on the same wavelength before commencement.

Most recruitment assignments which break down, tend to do so as a result of the client and consultant being at cross purposes.

After the Consultant Briefing

1. Where appropriate, ensure the management team and everyone in the business are aware of the recruitment process, how it is to proceed and the indicative timeframe being adopted. (People do not like being surprised by seeing a role within their own company advertised without their knowledge, particularly when they may be a potential candidate).
   
2. Before the recruitment process begins, inform all potential internal candidates, advise them of the recruitment procedure being adopted and how they are to make application through the consultant.
   
3. Once the formal written Assignment Specification/Project Document has been received, review it and make any necessary final/minor amendments to it in conjunction with the consultant and sign it off. This document then effectively becomes the contract between the two parties.
   
4. Diary the regular progress reporting dates/meetings with the consultant and remain in close contact. Remember at all times that the process and the outcome involves joint ownership and full collaboration throughout.

A controlled and planned brief will prevent any major surprises being sprung at a later date. The consultant can only deliver a product as good as the brief from the client. Care and time taken at this juncture is an investment for the future.

Finally, 3 months after the Appointee commences diary an after placement “quality control check” with the consultant to review and improve future recruitment assignment strategies.

Note: This article is an update on this topic which I first wrote for my “Knightview” publication in 1986.

Barry T Knight