The Peter Principle & the Boutique Retained Search Firm: Why hiring the right person is harder than it sounds

Written by Shai Phillips, Associate

In management theory, The Peter Principle states that professionals will often rise to the level of their incompetence, leading to a systemic problem of under-qualified personnel serving in management positions. This is by no means a new concept, and it is discussed on sites such as mindtools.com but why is it the case? Simply put, many candidates are judged on how well they perform in their present role, rather than on their ability to successfully carry out the duties of the more advanced position. This oversight can lead to costly failures, which may be avoided by recognizing the difficulty of seeking out and vetting potential candidates for senior vacancies, and therefore obtaining professional help in the hiring process from the outset.

Done well, finding the right person to fill an important position is an arduous task, so outsourcing the process makes sense. The methodology used by retained executive search firms, especially boutique retained firms, helps client companies recruit senior-level candidates who will not suffer from the Peter Principle. Since search firms stand behind their placements by providing a year-long guarantee, they are invested in finding the right person, and vet candidates thoroughly (http://www.berkhemerclayton.com/retained-search-why-now/#.VG-pU8khC9A). In this scenario, true networking and sourcing takes place, which yields useful “on the grapevine” information about candidates by word of mouth, which would otherwise be unavailable.

When engaging a search firm, it is important to keep in mind that their broad network alone may not quite overcome the Peter Principle assessment of candidates, especially if such networks are largely database contacts, with few established professional relationships. In this case, the workload is equivalent to starting from scratch, which would not be such a terrible thing, were it not for the fact that an expansive network usually goes hand in hand with an expansive client base. Time for the search consultant becomes limited, candidates with excellent past employers and appropriate past titles become very inviting, vetting consequently becomes less thorough, and once again, the Peter Principle reigns. That’s why when it comes to finding experienced candidates who will be valuable assets to your company, working with a boutique retained search firm gives client corporations the best chance to defeat the Peter Principle.

The best option would be a boutique retained search firm that specializes in a niche industry or function. With a less vast but more focused client base and professional relationships in the true sense, the service provided is very efficient: thorough vetting is conducted; only candidates of high quality are presented; less time is expended by the employer; and there is a far greater chance of laying the Peter Principle to rest.