When a company is looking to hire an executive recruiting partner, it's essential to ask the right questions to ensure they find a transformation leader who not only has the experience and credentials on paper, but matches the company’s culture and fit.

Here are some important questions a company can ask an executive recruiter before partnering on a search:

by Ted Stiles & David Portney
Stiles Associates

Americans are relocating for new roles at a record-low rate.

Recent data from outplacement services firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reveals just 1.6% of jobseekers in the first quarter of 2023 packed up their things and headed for a new city or state. This is down from 6% in 2019 and down from nearly a third of workers from the 1980s and 1990s. The reasons are complicated, but it’s clear this downward trend creates headaches for companies that need to source talent outside of their geographic areas. This downward trend is especially challenging for manufacturers looking to hire on-site, executive talent in an already tight market.

Here's what many of the top companies are doing to address the relocation challenge head on and create industry-leading rosters:

by Ted Stiles & David Portney
Stiles Associates

The last couple of years have been the most challenging for hiring since the start of the 2010s. This is because post pandemic, hiring companies in several industries – especially manufacturing – have faced challenges at nearly every level of the organization. One of the most prevalent aspects has been the market conditions favoring candidates. Increased competition for top executive talent while hiring demand was spiking forced employers to flex on compensation, relocation packages, signing bonuses, quality of life factors including remote / hybrid work arrangements and more.

by Ted Stiles and David Portney
Stiles Associates

There’s no better time than the summer to recruit new executives. While many senior leaders take some much-deserved time off at their favorite vacation destinations; the kids spend their days at summer camps and pools; and companies experience a seasonal dip in activity – there’s a pool of A-players standing by who are available to drive performance and cultural change. By going on offense, hiring managers can impact their companies for the long haul by taking advantage of the environment right now.

by Christina Vermette and David Portney
Stiles Associates

Executive recruiting firms don’t reach out to just anyone, only to those individuals who are uniquely qualified to talk about a particular role they’re hiring for on behalf of a client organization. You might be happy to stay in your current position, which is great, but speaking with recruiters can lead to doors you didn’t previously think could open.

by Matthew Ayers and David Portney
Stiles Associates

It’s no secret Q1 was an uncharacteristically slow time in private equity, as Pitchbook estimated a 14.4 percent drop in exits compare d to Q4 2022 – accounting for a combined value of $55.9 billion (the lowest total since Q2 2020). Is this a warning of what’s to come or just a blip on the radar? What does this mean for retaining, recruiting or potentially letting go of executives in PE firms and their portfolio companies? These are all questions being asked in the PE community, and executive recruiters like Stiles Associates often have the first insights of what to expect due to our close proximity to hiring trends.

Stiles Associates placed a number of A-level leaders in mission-critical roles located across the country in the first quarter of 2023. In order to better inform the marketplace on the latest compensation data, we added first-year bonus numbers and whether or not the placed candidate received a sign-on bonus. 

by David Portney, Marketing Manager
Stiles Associates

Finding and bringing in the industry’s top leadership talent is one of the most important responsibilities companies have, yet they often struggle to define the best methods to secure those individuals. Many turn to their own internal human resources departments to spearhead the searches, but they can easily overwhelm a staff and prevent them from performing their many other responsibilities. If companies even have specialized talent acquisition employees, they often don’t have the network that’s required to truly access the A-players.

The following is a sample of Interim Management searches Stiles Associates filled on behalf of client organizations. In each example, our dedicated executive recruiters worked with the client to craft a custom search strategy, tapping into our proprietary network of proven executives for each client’s mission-critical temporary need.

by Ken Plasz and David Portney
Stiles Associates

Relocation is as big a headache as ever for employers seeking top talent, especially in the manufacturing and operations spaces. There are a multitude of reasons for this, many having been exasperated by the recent pandemic combined with inflation rates; low unemployment; and more broadly, shifting attitudes about work.