Searching for a Search Firm?
Advice on How to
Choose Wisely

The recruitment and retention, and perhaps the retiring or firing, of a chief executive ranks among any board's singular most important duties. It goes to follow that if choosing the right chief executive is a top responsibility, then engaging the right search firm (when needed) becomes the first step towards success. However, many boards become stymied in their approach to the "search for the search firm" and, as a result, stumble at this crucial starting block.

Any good headhunter will tell you that you have to ask the right questions to get information that can help you make better decisions. Yet, these too many poor choices made by too many search committees are often guided by, regrettably, too many poor questions. On paper, and in the planning process, they seem like the right questions, the ones we have all heard before, but they fail to get to the root of the information that is so vital.

It is not unusual in a "shoot-out," those all-day affairs where search committees interview firm after firm after firm, to have each committee member ask the same question of each firm. It is also not unusual for each firm to give strikingly similar answers: "yes, we find top tier talent; yes, we charge an industry-standard fee of one-third of the hire's first year's cash compensation; yes, we guarantee our work." So, how is a committee to decide?

Our approach is different. At NPAG, we like to go first, taking advantage of opportunities to help search committees members ask better questions throughout the day, even if making sure committees are askng the right questions means that sometimes we are not the firm eventually hired. We know that asking the right questions improves the process for all involved and helps to ensure a good fit and clear expectations on both sides. All search firms are different; asking the right questions are the key to engaging the one that is appropriate for your organization at this moment in your evolution.

Recruiters are notoriously good at asking questions. Rather than thinking through what types of questions to ask, recruiters start by thinking through what types of answers we need to receive in order to make the most informed judgments we can, and in order to guide our clients to do the same. The question is merely formed from the pursuit of that nugget of information we seek. This article, then, approaches the "search for a search firm" similarly, indicating the type of information we think is necessary to help our potential clients find those nuggets most informative to their process.

Save the Date!
Members of the NPAG Team
Speaking Near You!

Members of the NPAG Team will be out around the country this fall speaking at a number of important industry conferences. Here are just a few:

2010 Massachusetts Nonprofit Network and Associated Grant Makers Conference. A practical conversation about effectiveness with three other nonprofit practitioners. September 27, Framingham (Boston), Massachusetts

2010 Nonprofit HR Conference. A session dedicated to deep references, and how to get them. October 3, Washington, DC.

2010 Independent Sector NGen Pre-Conference Program. A session for nonprofit professionals of all levels with new skills to help them map out, and act on a stellar career path. October 20, Atlanta, Georgia.

Harvard Business School Alumni Webinar Series. A two-part series on seeking work in the nonprofit sector. November 9 and January 26, Live Simulcast Online.

Upcoming Client Events

We are pleased to be supporting so many of our clients ongoing efforts through our NPAG Giving Back Program. We encourage you to check out some of these important, informational, and inspiring events:

Partners in Health's Lessons from Haiti Symposium. Even though event tickets have sold out, you can still join in online and watch a live simulcast of what is sure to be an informative discussion about lessons learned from Partners in Health's work to tackle acute and chronic disease in Haiti. September 25, 3pm, Live Simulcast Online.

Boston Collegiate Charter School, 3rd Annual Collegiate Cup Trivia Challenge. A fun and unforgettable evening under a tent at BCCS featuring team trivia with student captains, cocktails, and local chefs' interpretations of the school food you always wished was on the menu! Test your knowledge and compete with others (bring your own team of friends or we'll match you up) to win the coveted Collegiate Cup - all while raising money to support student programs at Boston Collegiate. September 30, 6pm, Boston, Massachusetts.

Raising a Reader 3rd Annual Goodnight Moon Gala. Dine with local authors in the courtyard of Davio's, all to benefit Raising a Reader in their quest to increase childhood literacy. October 13, 6pm, Boston, Massachusetts.

Higher Achievement's 3rd Annual Going Places Benefit. The third annual GoingPlaces! Benefit celebrates 35 years of dedication and commitment by Higher Achievement scholars, staff and champions. This year Higher Achievement will honor Steve Goldstein, retired Vice Chairman of Studley, former Chair of the DC Metro President's Council and long time supporter of Higher Achievement. October 14, 6pm, Washington, DC.

Best Buddies and Special Olympics International's Eunice Kennedy Shriver Challenge.A number of events, including a 20-mile cycling event, 5K run, 3K walk, Youth Fun Runs, and Criterium Friendship Races, starting and ending at the Washington Monument on the National Mall led by Mayor Adrian Fenty, Honorary Chair of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Challenge. October 23, 7:30am, Washington, DC.