1. Y Scouts
Y Scouts is an innovative organization dedicated to providing not just quality candidates to companies and organizations but providing the right quality candidates tailored to each client’s needs. They have a strong focus on talent while incorporating skills such as communication, education, and teamwork as well as mentalities such as gratitude and dedication. Finding solutions through real human connections is what Y Scouts does best, boasting clients from small family-owned businesses in need of a single HRO to multi-billion dollar organizations in need of entire departments.

“There was a time when it was only about the resume when searching for a leader. Y Scouts has literally redefined executive recruiting to assure we have the right leader driving the bus.”
-Ann Rhoades, Founder/CEO, People Ink & Former Chief People Officer, Southwest Airlines

Y Scouts has dedicated their efforts to connecting millions of candidates to meaningful employment within the next 5 years by focusing on aligning the purposes of employees and organizations with proven leadership.

2. Korn Ferry International
Korn Ferry has worked to innovate executive search and recruitment since 1969, working closely with clients and candidates to build solutions for companies and employees alike. They strive to acquire talent and leadership within their own organization to better serve the needs of clients and their own employees, leading them to be one of the highest income search firms in the world.

“Every three minutes we place a professional in a new job.”
-Korn Ferry Employee
Korn Ferry International is dedicated to providing many quality jobs to a variety of employees with a strong focus on profits and diversifying the workplace to ensure a better future for everyone.

3. Heidrick & Struggles
Heidrick & Struggles was one of the first executive search firms in the U.S. and they’ve constantly improved and reorganized to offer their clients the best services possible. Despite some struggles in the past few years, the company has always put their clients and customers first with a methodology of understanding each client’s issues, needs, and goals to provide quality candidates to companies in need.

“CEOs increasingly recognize that talent is the most critical lever of business success. Standing at the intersection of strategy and execution, the human resources (HR) executive of today anticipates the business needs of tomorrow in order to drive the organization’s objectives through the acquisition, development and retention of the right human capital.”

H&S strives to match correctly qualified candidates with teams that need them in a rapidly changing workplace environment and provide true value to their clients.

4. Egon Zehnder
For the past 60 years, Egon Zehnder has been identifying, categorizing, and placing the right leadership with the right companies by using a long-term outlook. They match this with regular consultation follow-ups to ensure that they’ve found the right employee to fill the position and that they’ve found a lasting solution to the business needs while encouraging diversity and equality.

“But for boardrooms to truly reflect society, a new approach is needed. Egon Zehnder calls on businesses to apply the “magic of three” rule. Appointing one woman to the board is not sufficient. In order to reap the benefits of gender diversity, at least three women are needed to change the way the board is run and the way women are able to share their insights.”
-Egon Zehnder Press Release

Egon Zehnder believes in an equal workplace at a strategic level and that by opening their search to every possible candidate they are able to achieve both operational and societal success with the service they provide.

5. Recruiterie
For 2 decades, Recruiterie has focused on strategic recruiting while keeping in mind that every client has their own unique needs.  Rather than being transactional, they focus on building a relationship with their candidates. Their thorough face-to-face recruiting process results in the highest quality candidates for their high-quality clients.

“Our company worked with Recruiterie to fill two positions earlier this year. Jon quickly helped fill two very competitive roles we were having difficulty within our Sales and IT departments. He not only took time to understand our business but dug into our culture to help ensure the best fit. Jon’s versatility, results, and focus on service definitely set him apart from many recruiting resources we’ve seen.”
-Recruiterie Website

Recruiterie believes in 360 degree recruiting that involves learning, connecting, analyzing, delivering and deciding. They ensure that no step is overlooked and that their client is well-informed throughout the process.

6. Spencer Stuart
Spencer Stuart is possibly the most traditional search firm on this list, however, their strength doesn’t come from size or innovation but their solid approach and their striving to perfect their method. They routinely connect the right employees to clients ranging from multinational corporations to entrepreneurial startups and nonprofit organizations across several industries.

“With more than 60 concentrated areas of expertise and 57 offices in more than 30 countries, we collaborate with colleagues around the world to bring the right specialized industry, functional and geographic knowledge to each assignment.”
-Spencer Stuart Website

Spencer Stuart may be more traditional, but that doesn’t mean they don’t take their clients extremely seriously and they do their job well, connecting the right people to the right companies time and time again.

While we only briefly touched on what we consider the Top 5 Executive Search Firms for Human Resources Officers, there are many other criteria to consider!