Promoting From Within? First, Talk with a Search Firm

by: Steven Haug, Ph.D.

 

Promoting from within is a great way to reward high-performing employees, contribute to company culture, and decrease ramp time. But leaders who do promote from within will still benefit from a conversation with a search firm. Here are two reasons to talk with a search firm even if you are not looking outside of your company for talent:

 

Talent Pool

For leaders that would like to promote from within, a search firm can ensure that decision is the correct one by helping you gain a sense of the talent pool. Perhaps there is a glut of consultants from top firms like McKinsey, Bain, and BCG looking to exit because they’ve gotten used to low travel and are looking to exit consulting before business travel returns in full force. Or maybe Controllers are hard to come by and the market is paying a premium for finance talent. Whatever the scenario, a conversation with a search firm can help you understand the opportunity in the market and help ensure your decision to promote from within is what is best for your company.

 

Cost of Backfilling

If you are promoting from within, you will likely need to backfill a position and replace the person you promote. A conversation with a search firm can help you develop a strategy for effectively executing the promotion and backfilling. They will be able to talk through each scenario, timeline, and explain where the best value is to be had. Leaning on a search firm to plan short to mid-term hiring needs will ensure you keep your organization filled with excellent talent from top to bottom.

 

One thing to keep in mind, when promoting from within – you may be straddling the executive search world and the world of junior talent search. To make the best use of your time, it’s recommended that you talk with a search firm that has a foot in both worlds. For example, ECA Partners (an executive search firm filling Director level to C-suite positions) works closely with its sister company, TalentCompass (a firm that specializes in filling associate level roles and can fill multiple positions quickly). Because of its knowledge and experience with the spectrum of talent search, ECA Partners can talk through several talent scenarios.

 

Having the option to promote from within is a mark of excellent talent development and recruiting. To guarantee you continue to have this option, consult a search firm and talk through your strategy.

 

 

Steven Haug, Ph.D. is a Project Manager of ECA Partners. He can be reached at [email protected].

 

 

Steven Haug, Ph.D.
Project Manager

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