Today many companies choose to engage an executive recruiter to provide assistance in the recruitment of key management level or one-of-a-kind positions. The chosen executive recruiting firm will learn a lot about the company and its people during this engagement, and the client company should expect the recruiter to honor any confidences it learns during the course of the assignment. In particular, it will not want the recruiting firm to actively recruit people from the company to other clients for whom the search firm may be working.
Off Limits Policies
Off limits policies are simply assurances that the executive search firm will not recruit people from the client company during the assignment and usually for a designated period after the assignment is concluded. There is no question that these off limits policies should be in place and that they should be respected.
The Challenge
The challenges come in how these off limits policies are enforced and how these policies impact a search firm’s ability to serve new clients. A new client should ask the search firm about its off limits policy, including questions about how long the off limits policy lasts and does it effect the entire company or only a division or geographical area.
In addition, a new client should consider the impact of a search firm's off limits policy on the company's search needs. Large executive search firms may have hundreds, or even thousands, of clients. If the selected firm has off limits agreements with many or most of these clients, will the search firm be able to provide a new client with a thorough, objective search of the marketplace?
One of the leaders of a large executive search firm admits,
"The single biggest operational issue we have is the off limits issue, because it prevents us from going after a lot of the best and the brightest. The more business we get, the more talent is blocked for us."
And Forbes magazine has cautioned,
"The largest recruitment firms are handicapped in doing the very job for which they are hired."
What About Specialized Search Firms?
The off limits policy may also have an impact on an executive search firm which is smaller in size, yet focused on a specialty such as an industry or functional area. These more specialized firms may have so many clients in their particular discipline or practice area that they are also blocked from providing a new client with a thorough, objective search of the marketplace in which the new client is seeking its candidates.
Conclusion
Most companies do not make key management level or one-of-a-kind hires frequently. When these important people needs arise, it is imperative that an objective and thorough assessment of the marketplace be accomplished. A company should not be limited in its search because the executive recruiter cannot approach one or more target companies in the marketplace.
