Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
– Sun Tzu
For Clients
Types of Engagement
Retained
The primary advantage for clients with a retained approach is that the client knows that the position will be filled with the very best available candidate within a specified period of time. Pivotal Partners guarantees its Dedicated Search process with retained searches. We provide dedicated resource that screens the talent pool, contacts every potentially qualified candidate to discuss the opportunity, interviews them and then determines the best job and culture fit. Retained Searches are often preferred for the more senior, mission-critical positions that require the utmost confidentiality.
This service has the benefit of locking Pivotal Partners and its clients in together more completely. This can be important to clients if there is any chance of the search becoming protracted or particularly difficult. Because the client commits itself to us in a very real way it enables us to commit greater resources to the engagement.
This approach saves our clients time as they avoid having to manage multiple contingency firms (the lesser of which may simply rush to send poorly qualified resumes in first (since many don’t offer in depth pre-screening services).
Many clients feel they can better manage the single retained firm, which is important since the search company essentially becomes “the face” of the client during the engagement.
Contingency
The primary benefit for of the contingency approach is that our clients will not be charged any fee until a placement is made. This approach allows for open competition among a select number of search firms, which is sometimes sought by newer clients. This approach is often used for mid-level positions and when the client is not concerned with managing multiple relationships. (Under certain circumstances, Pivotal will ask for an exclusive agreement in contingency situations).
We conduct in-depth, critical behavioral interviews with qualified candidates to evaluate their motivation, qualifications, level of interest in the position, and compatibility with its client organization. We present top candidates and prepare an overview report on each finalist, detailing the personal and business history of the individual, including our own assessment of the candidate's suitability for the targeted position. Contingency engagements are more common among our newer clients as they get to know our work.
Contract
Pivotal Partners offers this service to help clients meet dynamic business demands that might not justify permanent placements. These assignments can be for interim C-level roles, sales directors and other highly skilled professionals brought in to augment existing teams. This service is often applied during a hiring freeze. Under this commercial construct, Pivotal recruits and hires the professional chosen by and managed by the client. Once a person is accepted by our client, we (through our MRINetwork infrastructure) pay their wages and are responsible for withholding and remitting all income, social security, paying workers’ compensation, state and federal unemployment insurance, and the employer’s share of social security taxes on their behalf (decreasing client liability).