process-contracts

These terms apply for Management positions, individual recruitments, not for mass recruitment contracts

RETAINER + EXCLUSIVITY contract

• Initial retainer fee when the search Kick-off
• Exclusivity, duration vary from 4 weeks to 12 weeks
• Dedicated team: 1 consultant + 1 researcher designated on a full-time basis during the whole assignment
• Commitment from the supplier to succeed a search, until a candidate to be hired

Fee (% from successfully hired candidate gross annual package)

• Europe: 18 to 30%. Lower fee can exist from suppliers struggling to survive, due to weak economy and low volumes of recruitment.
• USA: 18 to 30%
• Japan: 35 to 38%
• China – Asia: 20 to 33%

In Asia, in a candidate driven market, especially in China where candidate can select their next employer, organizations are facing high difficulties to attract and retain talents. Because of huge recruitment needs, a lot of fresh suppliers and freelancers try to get a part of the business. It results to be very challenging to find a reliable supplier too.

EXCLUSIVE contract

• No retainer fee
• Exclusivity, duration vary from 4 weeks to 12 weeks
• No obligation from the supplier to be successful
• Same fee than Retainer

SUCCESS FEE / CONTINGENCY contract

• No initial retainer fee or deposit
• No exclusivity
• No real search duration
• No obligation from the supplier to be successful
• Same fee than Retainer, sometimes little bit less from suppliers in need.

Very often, clients believe success fee assignments to be billed less than retainer or exclusive ones. In fact, the rates are practically the same, process and terms are different, but success fee assignments may have hidden cost like long delay for a position before to be completed, unsuccessful hire to replace, high turnover of candidates.

OUTPLACEMENT contract

Consultants target precise companies in specific industries (according to the selected candidate’s expertise) and will approach the targeted companies (Board / Headquarter or Country Manager or Asia HR Director or Country HRD).

• No initial retainer fee or deposit
• No exclusivity
• No search, only introducing selected profiles from the consultant network
• No obligation from the supplier to be successful.

1 – Executive search / Retainer
2 – Success fee / Contingency
3 – Outplacement

1 – EXECUTIVE SEARCH / RETAINER mode

• We evaluate the feasibility of each potential search: if we are able to guaranty the delivery, we will issue a proposal.
• If we evaluated the search to be unrealistic, we explain why we can’t handle it, to avoid wasting our time and client’s time.
• We prefer not to accept an assignment if we are not 100% confident.

We assign a dedicated search team

• 1 Senior Consultant is selected according to his/her expertise recruiting in a precise industry or for a precise position.
• 1 or 2 researchers support the consultant.
• Time spent by consultants + researcher per search is about 230 hours at total.
• Dedicated Team is allocated until success, managing only 1 case at the same time.

We must be the sole agency for this precise search during the contract duration: 4, 6 or 12 weeks.
We issue a PSS (Project Scope Summary), document to be approved by client that will direct the search.

• It summarizes the Job Description and all verbal exchanges between client and us, describes precisely the profile to be hunted,
• It is the very precise profile of the targeted candidates
• We elaborate a list of target companies (including or not an off-list companies) in some very precise industries according to client requirements, at least 50 companies, sometimes only 3.

Search team start the search, directly approaching target companies and target candidate in a one to one relation,

There will be a mid-point (middle of the search): we report to the client if some special issues have been discovered on the market (target salary matching with market, company reputation, how many good potential candidates in the pipeline),

Target candidates (for some searches 50 to 100 companies and 50 to 150 candidates must be identified as potential targets).
Sometimes, there are less than 10 relevant candidates worldwide.

First, we evaluate them during phone or visio-conference interviews, we ask them to update their resume.
Then we meet them face to face prior to short list them (or visio-conference if candidates are far away or not available rapidly to come for face to face interview).

Candidates are evaluated by at least 3 different consultants (team leader, senior consultant, consultant, client’ manager).
We are not “CV forwarders”, we act as investigators, hunters; such approach is extremely qualitative and need time to be completed.

We introduce a short list of RELEVANT candidates: at least 3 (contract), and very often 5 to 7 candidates.

The precise date of short list introduction to our client is guaranteed from the beginning when signing our contract: we work under precise deadlines.

Guarantee period 6 months. In China, most of recruitment agencies guarantee only 3 months. Strong process, deep technical and personality evaluation, and our consultants’ expertise enable us to allow such guarantee without risk.

2 – SUCCESS FEE / CONTINGENCY

Statistics in China

• “Best” Contingency agencies’ average success rate is 20 to 22% (1 successful case each 5 cases handled).
• “Most” of contingency agencies can’t reach more than 11% success rate (1 successful case each 9 cases handled)
• In Contingency, statistics demonstrate the time spent by consultants (average in China): less than 15 hours total (per case).
• In comparison, in Retainer mode, time spent by consultants + researchers per search is about 230 hours at total for an assignment.
• Contingency business model is based on speed (to be the first supplier to provide a resume to client).
• Contingency is very frequent in China and all around the world because it doesn’t require any commitment from client to recruitment suppliers.

ARA’ team policy (Acropolis Associates Group)

• When working under contingency mode, our ARA’ team select our searches to avoid wasting our time and our client’s time.
• Our contingency success rate is 32% (1 successful case for each 3 cases handled).
• To avoid wasting time-consuming resources, we reject searches if we are not 100% confident.

3 – OUTPLACEMENT

• Acropolis Associates Executive Search and Active Recruitment Asia’ consultants are conducting hundred of searches, meeting every year several hundred of candidates face to face.
• Short-listed candidates are excellent, but for each assignment, it will be “only 1” finalist candidate hired for 1 position.
• We may decide to “push” some candidates in some cases.
• Our consultants target precise companies in precise industries (according to selected candidate’s special expertise) and will approach targeted companies (Board / Headquarter or Country Manager or Asia HR Director or Country HRD).
• It is “reverse” headhunting, implementing same process and same knowledge to approach companies than hunting candidates.

Candidate profile: 8 mandatory requirements

1 – Chinese native born in China (NOT American or European born Chinese) – MANDATORY
2 – PhD obtained in Europe or North America – MANDATORY
3 – 12 to 15 years experience in R&D in Medical devices – MANDATORY
4 – At least 5 last years experience in medical imaging gained outside China in western R&D environment – MANDATORY
5 – Candidate must have published technical papers in major scientist publications – MANDATORY
6 – Candidate must have gained Patents as proof of his ability to create value to the company – MANDATORY
7 – Candidate current labor contract to be free of any Non-Compete agreement (maximum to wait would be 3 months after short list introduction) – MANDATORY
8 – No family issue (wife or kids born abroad) to relocate whole family from Europe or US to Shanghai. NO family split – MANDATORY

Contract / Strategy

• 12 weeks retained exclusive contract enabling Acropolis to conduct a thorough search worldwide.
• Dedicated team: 4 people: 1 Senior Practice leader (Medical Devices and R&D) + 1 Consultant during 12 weeks + 2 researchers 5 weeks each
• Industry mapping, targeting 30 leading Medical devices companies with R&D centers (specialized in Medical Imaging) in China, Asia, Europe, Canada, USA
• Pre-Identification of 65 potential candidates with various level of experience in related field
• Pre-short list 11 candidates
• Contract was to provide at least 3 relevant candidates
• Final short list 6 candidates (5 in USA, 1 in Singapore) provided at the precise contractual date.

Result

• Client hired the most senior as head of China R&D Department.
• Client hired the second most senior candidate and especially opened a new position especially for him.