At the end of every search we hand the client a report on everyone spoken to: who they are, where they sit, what they earn, why they did or did not go forward, and what they said about the client. Most clients file it. The ones who use it get more than one search's value from one search fee.
Succession planning
The map shows who, outside the organisation, could do this role and the roles around it. That is the external half of a succession review, already done. When the Board next asks whether the internal successor is credible, the comparison is in the file.
The next role in the function
A search for a finance director maps most of the people who could be a divisional finance director or a head of financial planning. The next search in that function starts from the map, not from scratch, and takes weeks less. On an annual partnership we build this in; on a standalone search it is there for the taking.
Reward
The map contains current package data for twenty or more people in comparable roles, gathered in conversation this quarter. That is a better reward benchmark than any survey, and it is already paid for.
What the market thinks of you
The most useful and least read section. A hundred senior people were told about your organisation and asked to consider joining it. Some said no, and they said why. Package, location, reporting line, reputation, a story in the press. That feedback is worth a page in the next Board pack.
Shelf life
Eighteen months at most. People move, packages change, and a map two years old is a list of names. If you have a map older than that and a role coming up, the refresh is faster than a new search and we do it as an advisory piece.