Research help...May seem like a strange request....

For the past 3 years we have been recruiting executive level candidates in the medical world, specific to the cardiovascular and peripheral vascular markets.

As a result, we have come to know a lot of lower level engineers and are now starting to think about putting more effort into this category for 2009.

Question - what is your experience with fee's if you have placed lower level (non-management) engineers within medical device organizations.

** Might seem strange for one recruiter asking others about their fee's. Not interested in your specific arrangements, but what is common for these roles with salaries in the $80k to $100k range...

Thanks for your help

Dave DeMink
Managing Partner
Elite Associates

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Permalink Reply by Charles Haines on November 14, 2008 at 10:12am

Hi Dave,

I too recruit at the executive level in healthcare, although in a different niche. A few things could possibly come into play when evaluating how you are going to price your services:

1. Will you be working on searches or will you be marketing candidates to employers?

2. If working on searches, will they be contingency or retained?

3. Are these candidates in high demand and/or hard to identify?

4. Will you be working with the same companies that currently use you for executive level searches?

The reason I ask is that the client’s perception of the value you bring will impact the fee’s you charge. In my niche, even non-executive retained searches command fees of 30-33%. However, clients have told me that they have paid as low as 18% on contingency searches. If you are marketing a candidate that is exceptional and find a client who has an urgent need then you could very well still negotiate a 30%+ fee, even though it is technically a contingency relationship. I would be careful in how you deal with your existing clients. My experience has been that companies tend to pigeon hole recruiters, and you are currently viewed as an executive search firm.

Something else to consider is amount of effort you or your firm will invest in placing one of these candidates. If you already have an inventory and receptive clients, then even a lower fee could yield a high margin.

Hope this helps. Please feel free to reach out to me directly if you would like to discus further.

Charles Haines
Managing Partner
Allen Adell Executive Search & Consulting
[ charles AT allenadell DOT com ]