How C-Level Executive Search Issues Impact Talent Acquisition Firms

For many businesses, finding C-suite executives to fill critical roles is incredibly difficult. They often lack the tools, experience, and resources to thoroughly vet candidates—leading to bad fit hires who bring more problems into the organization than they solve. That’s why organizations turn to Executive Search firms that offer C-level executive search services.

As an executive search specialist, issues in the search process can significantly impact your firm. How so? What are some red flags to avoid in executive candidates you send to clients? Most importantly, how can you identify these poor fits quickly and efficiently to improve the overall quality of the candidates you recommend to your clients?

How Do Issues in the Executive Search Process Impact Your Firm?

So, what’s the cost of a bad hire for a client business’s C-suite? While the client will often see impacts such as reduced productivity, increased turnover, and even legal fees spent on fighting hostile work environment suits caused by C-suite misconduct, these concerns don’t directly impact your firm.

In many cases, offering a poor-fit C-suite candidate doesn’t yield a successful hire. In fact, 40% of retained search engagements do not yield a hire. These candidates, after being reviewed by the client organization, are instead turned away and firms left to begin their search process from the beginning.

For an executive search firm, the biggest impacts of a poor recommendation include a damaged reputation and, potentially, lost clients. If clients aren’t getting the right candidates from a firm—either rejecting them outright or needing to quickly fire and replace them before they do further damage—the relationship between search firm and client can erode quickly.

If issues in the executive search process persist, the firm may earn a negative reputation, ultimately impairing its ability to attract more business in the future.

6 Issues in the Executive Search Process for Search Firms

Some of the issues in the executive search process that can lead to client attrition and other issues include:

1. Misaligned Expectations Between Search Firms and Their Clients. Executive search firms often face challenges when there’s a lack of clarity or agreement with the client on the ideal candidate profile. Quickly finding and hiring candidates is a main goal for search firms, but misaligned expectations regarding necessary skills, cultural fit, compensation ranges, or even timelines to find a well suited candidate can result in frustration for both the firm and the client. This not only prolongs the search process but also creates tension between the firm and their clients.
2. Poor Fit Candidates Making It Through the Initial Screening Process. When companies contract with an executive search firm, the expectation is that any candidates put forward by the firm will meet all of the client’s skills and culture fit criteria. Poor-fit candidates who make it to the final selection can cause frustration and, eventually, the dissolution of the business relationship. Some organizations may even try to sue the talent acquisition partner to recoup fees if a candidate has to be terminated shortly after being onboarded. In fact, executive search firm WittKieffer was required by courts to pay back client fees and was also temporarily banned from providing services in North Carolina as a result of due diligence failures. 
3. Not Finding Enough Candidates with the Appropriate Skills. While the available talent for a single executive search client is often much more limited than general talent acquisition, executive search firms still need a healthy pipeline of C-suite candidates. This allows them to fill short-notice needs of priority clients quickly. However, being able to match an appropriate executive candidate with the right skills to the needs of each client is often easier said than done. Failing to do so can make the organization appeal unreliable in clients’ eyes, impacting client retention and satisfaction. 
4. Candidates Violating Workplace Conduct Rules. The worst-case scenario is when an executive candidate makes it through the selection process and actually joins the client organization and then engages in gross workplace misconduct. Whether it’s fraud, discrimination, or sexual misconduct, such misconduct can have a severe negative effect on the client organization. The organization will then need to reassess their C-suite recruitment process—and may even try to demand compensation for damages done by an executive provided by the search firm.
5. Over-reliance on Traditional Vetting Methods. Traditional candidate vetting methods, such as resume reviews, reference checks, and interviews, often fall short when it comes to uncovering hidden risks that could jeopardize a client organization. For example, these methods may fail to identify signs of unprofessional behavior, past workplace misconduct, or toxic attitudes that might surface in a leadership role, especially if those signs are found in someone’s online or social media channels and not during the interview process. By not integrating advanced, data-driven screening tools and techniques, such as social media background checks or AI-driven behavioral assessments, executive search firms risk recommending candidates who appear qualified on paper but may later create serious challenges. 
6. Failure to Adapt to Changing Client Needs. Business priorities can shift rapidly, and clients may need to adjust their hiring requirements during the search process. And, if the search firm is slow to pivot its strategy, it risks wasting valuable time on candidates who no longer align with the client’s goals. A firm’s inability to respond to these changes or reframe the search strategy in real time can lead to frustration and diminished trust in the firm’s ability to deliver.

‍

These are just a small subset of the potential issues in C-suite talent acquisition that can impact companies engaging in executive search.

What are the Top Concerning Traits Found During Executive Search Candidate Screening Processes?

Odds are that, as an executive search specialist, you already have a list of warning signs you can use to filter out poor-fit executive candidates. And, with an idea of traits and behaviors that should not be funneled through the search process, you can more easily avoid a few of the common challenges of executive search listed above.

More specifically, you might already be on the lookout for problematic traits and negative candidate indicators such as:

• Lack of Solid References. Ideally, a C-suite candidate should have strong references guaranteeing their attitude and skills. A lack of references or only having lukewarm references is a fairly common warning indicator since it indicates they haven’t earned a good reputation with former coworkers.
• Poor Communication Skills. Great leaders should have great communication skills. They need to be prompt, even proactive, in communications and “command the room” when they’re speaking. If a candidate is slow to communicate and isn’t an impressive speaker, then they may not be a good fit for any leadership role.
• Inability to Answer Basic Questions Related to Their Role. While a leader doesn’t necessarily have to perfectly understand the minutiae of the work their teams complete, they should at least have a basic understanding of that work so they can speak to their role in helping their teams achieve their goals. Otherwise, they may struggle to establish realistic goals or respond effectively to employee requests for additional resources.
• Lack of Records to Support Listed Skills. If an executive candidate claims a specific set of skills, but doesn’t have documentation to endorse those skills (certificates of completed training programs, college diplomas, endorsements by others, etc.), that is an immediate area of concern.
• Frequent Job Changes. In a fast-paced business world, it’s not uncommon for a candidate, even one in the C-suite, to have worked with a large number of organizations. However, changing roles too frequently can be an indication of an issue with the candidate. For example, do they simply lack staying power? Are they leaving voluntarily or are they being forced out? Or, are they so highly sought after that they’re constantly being headhunted by other organizations and making the switch readily as better or more interesting offers come in? Building a strong C-suite team often requires longevity and having to fill and refill the role can be time consuming and costly.
• Lack of Strong Workplace Competency. Beyond technical or industry-specific skills, executive candidates need to demonstrate strong workplace competencies such as strategic decision-making, conflict resolution, team management, and adaptability to change. A lack of these core competencies can be a signal for potential issues down the line. For example, a candidate who can’t effectively resolve conflicts or manage teams may negatively impact workplace morale and hinder the client organization’s ability to achieve its goals. This is especially critical in leadership roles, where executives must guide their teams through challenges and help align day-to-day operations with larger organizational objectives.
• History of Misconduct. Screening for misconduct has become increasingly popular. C-suite candidates should be free from problematic behaviors like harassment, hate speech, and violence. The impact of this behavior on the company culture and brand is significant. Using a candidate screening tool for misconduct is a must early on in the process.

While the above concerns are common to executive search, their presence or absence doesn’t tell the whole story about any candidate. There are other warning signs to watch out for that aren’t always found in a simple reference and job history examination.

To find these risk factors, you’ll need to conduct a more intensive review of a candidate’s online and social media profiles.

How Using Social Media Screening Can Improve Executive Search for Your Clients

Not every warning signal for a poor-fit executive candidate is clear from a first review of their resume or their references. Sometimes, a candidate does an excellent job of presenting themselves well in person—giving all of the right answers to interview questions and appearing the part of the ideal candidate—while suppressing their actual attitudes.

One way to uncover hidden misconduct indicators is by using online and social media screening solutions to investigate C-suite candidates before presenting them to your clients. Many use the infamous “anonymity of the internet” to air out their actual beliefs that they try to keep hidden in a professional setting, but might influence their behaviors.

For example, some of the misconduct indicators a social media background check can unveil include:

• Toxic/Discriminatory Attitudes. A rapid scan of a candidate’s social media posts can often reveal potentially discriminatory biases they may hold or toxic behaviors they may exhibit once they feel “comfortable” in a new workplace environment.
• Posting of Salacious Content. What candidates put into their social media profiles often reflects their core interests. If a candidate for an executive position is posting or linking to graphic content in their social media profiles, that could be an indicator of inappropriate behaviors and attitudes that will clash with a client’s professional image or corporate values.
• Values Not Aligned with the Client Organization. Here’s a sign of trouble you may need to consider on a case-by-case basis for your clients. Different client organizations will have different value priorities. Social media screening can help you uncover candidates who closely align with the values of your clients so you aren’t putting someone who wouldn’t mesh culturally forward to them. This helps both your executive candidates and your clients find success in the executive search process.
• Promoting Dangerous, Violent, or Illegal Behaviors. Another critical indicator to look for during social media screenings is evidence that a candidate has promoted or previously engaged in dangerous, violent, or illegal activities. This can include sharing or creating content that glorifies violence, criminal behavior, or unethical practices. Such behaviors not only raise concerns about the candidate’s judgment and integrity but also pose significant reputational and legal risks for the client organization. Not to mention, the potential harm to other colleagues if a violent person is hired in a leadership role. 

These are just a handful of potential issues that a quick social media screening can uncover. The sooner you can find these misconduct indicators and use them to refine your executive candidate recommendations for your clients, the better.

Need help screening candidates in the C-suite? Reach out to Fama and request a demo! Our comprehensive screening solution equips executive search firms with the information they need to make reliable, data-driven evaluation of their candidates for clients.