Framework · Practice Note
Five Questions a Board Should Ask Before the Next Senior Hire.
A short brief for boards and CEOs. Five questions that separate an executive hire from a filled vacancy. Where numbers appear, they are sourced to public research. Where the honest answer is a range, it is written as a range.
What the Brief Covers
Five questions we work through with clients before a senior mandate opens. None of them are novel. Most search firms skip the first three because the answers do not generate a fee.
Where the Real Shortage Is
Which specific senior functions are structurally short in your corridor, not which are trending on LinkedIn. ManpowerGroup's 2024/25 survey of ~40,000 employers is the reference point.[1]
The Cost of Getting It Wrong
HBR's executive-hiring research puts the fully-loaded cost of a senior mis-hire at three to five times annual compensation. That range is the number worth planning against — not a point estimate anyone can defend.[2]
Who You Can Actually Reach
An engaged, single-sourced search reaches candidates who are not on a job board and will not respond to a contingency approach. AESC industry reporting is the standing reference.[3]
When to Start Looking
The honest lead time for a senior mandate is one to two quarters before the vacancy is public. Starting later narrows the pool to whoever happens to be available.
What Keeps the Hire Once Made
Retention and succession are the same question asked twice. If the second hire is not planned before the first arrives, the first one leaves inside eighteen months.
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